THE GYPSIES: Wanderers in Time

by Katherine Esty ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1969

This is no Hokkani Baro, the Great Trick played on the unsuspecting, but a comprehensive and well supported study of a way of life threatened (especially in the U.S.) by industrialization and assimilation. The ties to northern India are established by language similarities and blood type distribution; a history of persecution and the tradition of travel are also confirmed. The stereotype (clannish, thieving, brightly clad, musically gifted) is examined, the genuine separated from the disparaging associations. Herb healing is taking second place to public health services; more rely on welfare than on tinkering; and Mrs. Volga Adams had to answer to the D.A. after swindling Mrs. Frances Friedman in Manhattan. More thorough than Hornby's Gypsies, somewhat less vivid than Jan Yoors' penetrating firsthand account (The Gypsies), this is a reliable, admiring portrait.

Pub Date: March 1, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Meredith

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION