Hersh Dovid Nomberg (1876-1927) was one of a new wave of Yiddish writers who made a name for himself with his characteristically atmospheric short stories populated by artists, philosophers and other outcasts. Newly translated by Daniel Kennedy, Nomberg' s stories explore modern Jewish life in the growing cosmopolitan city of Warsaw: young intellectuals in pursuit of truth, beauty, and love; working class fathers tempted by schemes for easy money; teenagers divided between their traditional religious upbringings and the world of secular culture and political revolution.