Curriculum Vitae

Kevin Alan Brook

HISTORIAN • POPULATION GENETICIST • GENETIC GENEALOGY RESEARCHER

E-mail:
CITIZENSHIP: United States of America
LANGUAGES: English (native), Spanish (advanced), French (basic/reading), Portuguese (basic/reading), West Frisian (keywords), Dutch (keywords), Yiddish (keywords), Russian (keywords)
EDUCATION: Bryant College (Smithfield, Rhode Island), 1993-1997, Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Business Administration, Magna Cum Laude, 1997. Major: Computer Information Systems. Other areas of study in coursework at college: Russian History, Russian Politics, Marketing.
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION: Khazars, medieval Armenian Jews, East European Jews, East European Karaites, Mountain Jews of the Caucasus, Sephardim in Eastern Europe, Jewish genetics, trade routes, Russian steppe archaeology


Print publications

Books:

1a. Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 1st edition. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1999.

1b. Kevin Alan Brook. Bir Türk İmparatorluğu: Hazar Yahudileri. Istanbul, Turkey: Nokta Kitap, 2005. (Turkish translation by İsmail Tulçali of the 1st edition of The Jews of Khazaria.)

1c. Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 2nd edition. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2006. Peer-reviewed.

1d. Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 3rd edition. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2018. Peer-reviewed.

2. Kevin Alan Brook. The Maternal Genetic Lineages of Ashkenazic Jews. 1st edition. Brookline, MA: Academic Studies Press, 2022. Peer-reviewed.

Articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals:

1a. Kevin Alan Brook. "The Origins of East European Jews." Russian History/Histoire Russe 30:1-2 (Spring-Summer 2003): 1-22. Peer-reviewed.

1b. Kevin Alan Brook. "Doğu Avrupa Yahudilerinin Kökeni." Karadeniz Araştırmaları No. 6 (Summer 2005): 1-23. (Turkish translation by Osman Karatay of a revised version of "The Origins of East European Jews".) Peer-reviewed.

2. Kevin Alan Brook. "The Genetics of Crimean Karaites." Karadeniz Araştırmaları No. 42 (Summer 2014): 69-84. Peer-reviewed.

3. Kevin Alan Brook. "Potential Khazar Genetic Markers in the Ashkenazi Jewish Population." Submitted, accepted, forthcoming circa 2024.

Chapters in books:

1a. Kevin Alan Brook. "A Brief History of the Khazars." In The Kuzari: In Defense of the Despised Faith by Yehuda HaLevi, trans. N. Daniel Korobkin, pp. xxv-xxxi. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1998.

1b. Kevin Alan Brook. "A Brief History of the Khazars." (Revised version.) In The Kuzari: In Defense of the Despised Faith (2nd edition) by Yehuda HaLevi, trans. N. Daniel Korobkin, pp. 31-40. Jerusalem, Israel and Nanuet, NY: Feldheim Publishers, 2009.

2a. Kevin Alan Brook. "Khazar-Byzantine Relations." In The Turks, vol. 1, eds. Hasan Celâl Güzel, C. Cem Oguz, and Osman Karatay, pp. 509-515. Ankara, Turkey: Yeni Türkiye, 2002.

2b. Kevin Alan Brook. "Hazar-Bizans İlişkileri." In Türkler, vol. 2, eds. Hasan Celâl Güzel, Kemal Çiçek, and Salim Koca, pp. 473-480. Ankara, Turkey: Yeni Türkiye, 2002. (Turkish translation by Zülfiye Veliyeva of the article from The Turks.)

Encyclopedia articles:

1. Kevin Alan Brook. "Kyrgyz." In Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, vol. 3, eds. David Levinson and Karen Christensen, et al., pp. 421-423. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002.

2. Kevin Alan Brook. "Iznik." In Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, vol. 3, eds. David Levinson and Karen Christensen, et al., pp. 191-192. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002.

3a. Kevin Alan Brook. "Khazars and Judaism." In The Encyclopaedia of Judaism, vol. 4: Supplement One, eds. Jacob Neusner, Alan J. Avery-Peck, and William Scott Green, pp. 1821-1832. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003 and New York, NY: Continuum, 2003.

3b. Kevin Alan Brook. "Khazars and Judaism." (Revised version.) In The Encyclopaedia of Judaism, Second Edition, vol. 2, eds. Jacob Neusner, Alan J. Avery-Peck, and William Scott Green, pp. 1510-1521. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers, 2005.

4. Kevin Alan Brook. "German Settlers." In Encyclopedia of Russian History, vol. 2, eds. James R. Millar, et al., pp. 554-555. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004.

5. Kevin Alan Brook. "Khazar Empire." In Encyclopedia of World Trade: From Ancient Times to the Present, vol. 2, ed. Cynthia Clark Northrup, p. 559. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2005 and London, England: Routledge, 2015.

6. Kevin Alan Brook. "Jews in Medieval Armenia." In Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, vol. 3, ed. M. Avrum Ehrlich, pp. 1113-1114. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2008.

Articles in magazines and newsletters:

1. Kevin Alan Brook. "The Khazar Kingdom: A Unique Medieval Experiment." SAGA: The Newsletter for Ancient and Medieval Historians and Wargamers No. 70 (June-July 1999), pp. 23-25.

2a. Kevin Alan Brook. "Los Khazares: Un Experimento europeo de construcción de un Estado Judío." Informaciones de la Central Pedagógica Hebraica 1:17 (Caracas, Venezuela, March 27, 2001).

2b. Kevin Alan Brook. "Los Khazares, un experimento Europeo de construcción de un estado Judío, 586-1083." Toldot, la publicación periódica de la Asociación de Genealogía Judía de Argentina No. 34 (May 2008).

3a. Kevin Alan Brook. "The Unexpected Discovery of Vestiges of the Medieval Armenian Jews." Los Muestros: The Sephardic Voice No. 45 (December 2001), pp. 15-16.

3b. Kevin Alan Brook. "Unexpected Discovery in Armenia." Kulanu Newsletter 8:4 (Winter 2001-2002), p. 11. (Condensed version of the article from Los Muestros)

4. Kevin Alan Brook. "Tales about Jewish Khazars in the Byzantine Empire Resolve an Old Debate." Los Muestros: The Sephardic Voice No. 54 (March 2004), pp. 32-34.

5a. Kevin Alan Brook. "From the East, West, and South: Documenting the Foundation of Jewish Communities in Eastern Europe." Roots-Key, Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles 24:1 (Spring 2004), pp. 4-6.

5b. Kevin Alan Brook. "From the East, West, and South: Documenting the Foundation of Jewish Communities in Eastern Europe." Shem Tov, Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Canada (Toronto) 20:2 (June 2004), pp. 5-7.

5c. Kevin Alan Brook. "Documentando los Origenes de las Comunidades Judías del Este de Europa." Toldot, la publicación periódica de la Asociación de Genealogía Judía de Argentina No. 28 (April 2006), pp. 12-14. (Spanish translation by Eva Fried of "From the East, West, and South".)

6a. Kevin Alan Brook. "The Chinese Lady Who Joined the Ashkenazic People." Jewish Times Asia 9:10 (March 2015), p. 19.

6b. Kevin Alan Brook. "The Chinese Lady Who Joined the Ashkenazic People." Bulletin Igud Yotzei Sin (Bulletin of the Association of Former Residents of China) No. 414 (June 2016), pp. 55-56.

6c. Kevin Alan Brook. "The Chinese Lady Who Joined the Ashkenazic People." (Revised version.) Points East, Newsletter of the Sino-Judaic Institute 31:3 (November 2016), pp. 9-10.

7a. Kevin Alan Brook. "Sephardic Jews in Galitzian Poland and Environs." Shem Tov, Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto 31:3 (September 2015), pp. 13-15.

7b. Kevin Alan Brook. "Sephardic Jews in Galitzian Poland and Environs." (Extended version.) ZichronNote, Journal of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society 36:2 (May 2016), pp. 5-6 and 11-12.

8a. Kevin Alan Brook. "Sephardic Jews in Lithuania and Latvia." Shem Tov, Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto 32:1 (March 2016), pp. 4 and 7 (part 1) and 32:2 (June 2016), p. 8 (part 2).

8b. Kevin Alan Brook. "Sephardic Jews in Lithuania and Latvia." (Extended version.) ZichronNote, Journal of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society 36:3 (August 2016), pp. 9-11.

9a. Kevin Alan Brook. "Sephardic Jews in Central and Northern Poland." ZichronNote, Journal of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society 37:1-2 (February/May 2017), pp. 18-20.

9b. Kevin Alan Brook. "Sephardic Jews in Central and Northern Poland." (Revised version.) Submitted to Shem Tov, Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto

10. Kevin Alan Brook. "Sephardic Jews in Belarus." ZichronNote, Journal of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society 38:1-2 (February/May 2018), pp. 5-6.

11. Kevin Alan Brook. "Sephardic Jews in Central, Eastern, and Southern Ukraine." ZichronNote, Journal of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society 39:2 (May 2019), pp. 14-15.

12a. Kevin Alan Brook. "More Evidence for Sephardic Jews in Poland." (ZichronNote version.) ZichronNote, Journal of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society 41:3 (August 2021), pp. 13-14.

12b. Kevin Alan Brook. "More Evidence for Sephardic Jews in Poland." (Shem Tov version.) Shem Tov, Newsletter of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Toronto 37:3 (September 2021), pp. 5-6.

13. Kevin Alan Brook. "Matching a Medieval Erfurt Jew to Modern Ashkenazic Jews." ZichronNote, Journal of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society 43:2 (September 2023), pp. 16-19.

Book reviews:

1. Kevin Alan Brook. Review of The Karaites of Galicia: An Ethnoreligious Minority Among the Ashkenazim, the Turks, and the Slavs, 1772-1945 by Mikhail Kizilov. Slavic Review 69:2 (Summer 2010): 467-468.


Electronic publications

1. Kevin Alan Brook. Khazaria Information Center (American Center of Khazar Studies), 1995-present. Also editor of the Center's Khazaria News: The International Newsletter of Khazar Studies, 1997-present.

2. Kevin Alan Brook. Bibliography of Khazar Studies, 1901-Present, 1999-present.

3. Kevin Alan Brook. "Umay." The Encyclopedia Mythica, 2000.

4. Kevin Alan Brook. "Manas." The Encyclopedia Mythica, 2000.

5. Kevin Alan Brook. "The Khazars: A European Experiment in Jewish Statecraft." World Zionist Organization, August 9, 2000.

6. Kevin Alan Brook. "The Genetic Bonds Between Kurds and Jews." Netewe, January 19, 2002. Reprinted on page 371 of The Middle East: Abstracts and Index, volume 28C (Library Information and Research Service, 2004).

7. Kevin Alan Brook. "Sephardic Jews in Galitzian Poland and Environs." Somos Primos, November 2015, as a reprint from Shem Tov's September 2015 issue.


Conference presentations

1. "Current Research on the Khazars and the Origins of East European Jews." Presented, by invitation, at 22nd IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, August 5, 2002.


Other lectures

1. "New Discoveries about the Khazars' Civilization and Conversion to Judaism." Presented, by invitation, at the Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies, Beachwood, Ohio, USA, November 9, 2003. 105 attendees.

2. "The Jews of Khazaria: The Story of a Missing Chapter in Jewish History." Presented, by invitation, at New Horizons - A Jewish Cultural Experience at the Springfield Jewish Community Center, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, June 8, 2004. 84 attendees.


Radio interviews

1. Interviewed by Jay Bernstein on the program "Shalom USA" on WVIE (1370 AM), Pikesville, Maryland, USA, June 8, 2008. About 20 minutes.

2. Interviewed by Ronnie Mink on the Jewish history show on Chai FM (101.9 FM), Johannesburg, South Africa, February 22, 2009. About 55 minutes.