Leading bibliophile Alberto Manguel with his Jewish Lives biography of the medieval philosopher, physician and scholar.

One of the world’s foremost bibliophiles joins us to discuss the medieval philosopher and The Guide for the Perplexed author.

Forced from Córdoba by Almohad persecution Maimonides settled in Egypt, becoming Saladin’s personal physician. His work in extracting, interpreting and translating the commanding precepts of Jewish law from the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud became the model for translating God’s word into a language comprehensible by all.

As part of Yale’s Jewish Lives series Alberto Manguel, former director of the National Library of Argentina, examines Maimonides’ universal appeal – celebrated by Jews, Arabs, and Christians alike – in a time when the need for rationality is more vital than ever.

Buy a copy of Maimonides by Alberto Manguel.

This event will last approximately 1 hour, without an interval.

Digital events will take place over Zoom, with an event link sent to bookers 24 hours in advance of the event and a reminder email 30 minutes before the event starts. Ticket holders for digital events will also be sent a link to a recording of the event, available to watch until the end of March.

Book Week 24 Digi-Pass gives access to all 16 online streaming events for £39.50.

About the speakers:

Alberto Manguel is an internationally acclaimed reader, writer, and interpreter of a broad array of texts. From 2015 to 2018 he was the director of the National Library of Argentina. His books include The Library at Night and Fabulous Monsters. He lives in Lisbon.

Raquel Ukeles is curator of the Islam and Middle East collections of the National Library of Israel.