Surveys the early modern period of Jewish history, which is seen as a transitional period that is distinct from the Jewish Middle Ages and the post-Enlightenment era. Israel (Dutch History, U. College, London) maintains that Europe's Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities were subject to a common set of pressures and influences from the end of the 15th century through the 18th, and that economic, intellectual, and cultural changes in the larger European world were the primary driving forces behind changes in Jewish society. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR