Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Alvin Hosenfeld


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.  

The result was delete. - Bobet 12:29, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Alvin Hosenfeld
Article seems to have been created as part of an attempt to lend credence to edits at Macedonians (ethnic group) about 17th c. licorice farming. See also editing at Licorice. Nothing relevant in a quick Google search. Even if this is not a hoax, we need some kind of verifiable source for this. Jkelly 20:20, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

As has been discussed on the talk page for ethnic Macedonians, the recent reference to Dr. Hosenfeld derives principally from Igor Janev's recent work "Arid Farmland: Development of Agriculture in the Aegean." Several scholars are purportedly working to ascertain the precise whereabouts and credentials of Dr. Hosenfeld, but given Janev's high-standing in the intellectual and academic communities, his pre-eminence on the topic (which, of course, presupposes his existence,) is not currently considered to be in question by any notable scholars. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Twizzman (talk • contribs)

It appears Dr. Hosenfeld was attached (prior to his death) to Indiana University. His field appears to have been post-middle ages Eastern Europe, and he was a contributor to the Oxford Journal of Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Spring 2000). While it is as of yet unclear what connection this has to his work on 17th Century farming (if any,) it should be adequate to substantiate his existence. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.193.132.253 (talk • contribs)
 * Delete per WP:HOAX, WP:V. No sources exist for the subject of the article or any of the supposed works listed on the page. DrunkenSmurf 21:04, 7 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Delete I found the Holocaust Studies reference mentioned above; if you enlarge the page where the name appears, you can see that it is actually Alvin Rosenfeld, not Hosenfeld - the OCR is picking it up incorrectly. And none of the works attributed to 'Hosenfeld' exist on Amazon or elsewhere.  This is a flat out hoax. --Brianyoumans 21:17, 7 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Do Not Delete Alvin Rosenfeld is Alvin Hosenfeld. I happen to be a close friend of Alvin's neice. Although he was born in Wisconsin under the latter surname, his family (from the Ukraine) was initially associated as Rosenfeld, however they were forced to flee for government reasons (I personally am not sure what the specifications were - I can find out when I see Lara in a few weeks). They took on this slightly altered name once they arrived in America to throw off the Ukrainian government. Alvin, as he gained credence in many historical circles, began publishing some small papers under a slight pseudonym- his family's former surname: Rosenfeld, which is the name he began to be associated with. I can only assume it was that name that was put on Amazon. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.44.48.23 (talk • contribs)


 * Alvin Hosenfeld's work was very obscure (look at the topics!) - I highly doubt you will find it on any mainstream stores, online or in real life. Perhaps if you inquire in some rare book stores or on ebay, you may find them. Please don't delete this - Lara Hosenfeld (the man's niece) and her family deserve recognition for Alvin's accomplishments. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.44.48.23 (talk • contribs)


 * Please, you are making me cry! Poor Lara!  Incidently, the name "Lara Hosenfeld" brings up no hits whatsoever on Google.  And searching on "Alvin Rosenfeld" on Amazon brings up a number of scholarly works, but none on anything remotely related to food history.  If you search on "Licorice" on Amazon, you do get such obscure works as "Licorice: Putting a Weed to Work" (Percy Houseman, 1944) and "Modern Practical Gum Work Manual..." (Octave Grillon, 1911 - a book on making gum drops) and "Licorice" (Barbara Briggs, 1949) - but, strangely, NOTHING by Alvin Rosenfeld or Hosenfeld or with the titles suggested for his books.  Searching on "Cashew" brings up such best-sellers as "A brief story of the development of cashew nut shell liquid in the United States" by Mortimer T. Harvey (1966), but, again, NOTHING by Alvin Rosenfeld or Hosenfeld or with a title like "Cashews in the Midst: A Popular History of Cashews", which the article says is the name of Mr. Hosenfeld's book.--Brianyoumans 04:46, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Delete funny but a hoax. Eusebeus 10:57, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.