Jewish Book World 29.4 by Naomi Firestone

Jewish Book World The Quarterly Publication of the Jewish Book Council

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JEWISH BOOK MONTH N O V E M B E R

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D E C E M B E R

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FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION

JEWISH BOOK COUNCIL 520 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018

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Winter 2011/5772 Vol. 29 No. 4

Jewish Lives

“Immensely entertaining.”

“Elegant and concise.”

—Newsweek

—RUSSELL BAKER, New York Review of Books

“Engrossing, elegant and erudite.” —Forward

“A fascinating portrait.” —Library Journal

“Insightful.” —STEVEN J. ZIPPERSTEIN, author of Imagining Russian Jewry

“A graceful appreciation.” —BOB MINZESHEIMER, USA Today

Go to JewishLives.org to discover more about these Jewish lives and forthcoming titles in this remarkable series of interpretive biography including Moshe Halbertal on Maimonides • Adam Phillips on Freud Ron Rosenbaum on Dylan • Dorothy Gallagher on Lillian Hellman • David Rieff on Robert Oppenheimer • Yair Zakovitch on Jacob Rachel Cohen on Bernard Berenson • Mordechai Bar-On on Moshe Dayan • Saul Friedlander on Kafka • Allen Shawn on Leonard Bernstein Anthony Gottlieb on Wittgenstein • Fritz Stern on Heine • Jack Miles on Rashi • Hillel Halkin on Jabotinsky

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Available wherever books and ebooks are sold

Jewish Book World the quarterly publication of the Jewish Book Council

features

on the cover

Arthur Szyk and the Jewish Book Council Irvin Ungar

the visiting scribe

Different Jokes for Different Folks Melissa Fay Greene

emerging voices

Stuart Nadler Phil Sandick

interviews James Kugel Helen Shulman 44 17 Bob Goldfarb

Beth Kissileff

book & author profiles

Jewish Lives/ Jewish Encounters A political profile of BenGurion and a meditation on Emma Goldman Bettina Berch

Cookbooks 23 Tasty choices for aspiring and 29 accomplished kosher cooks

Iréne 33 La A newly published novel by 35 Iréne Némirovsky, and one about her, by her daughter Sarah Shewchuk

Barbara M. Bibel Danièle Gorlin Lassner Maron L. Waxman

Poetic Defiance

Why did concentration camp inmates write poetry at all, and why in German? Michael N. Dobkowski Marcia Weiss Posner

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4 46 54 61

Teach Our Children Well The pioneering men and women who laid the foundation for American Jewish education Paul A. Flexner Judd Kruger Levingston

Variations 39 Goldberg Lyrical new translations of Lea Goldberg’s poetry and prose Hara E. Person

departments

Editor’s Note Children’s Booknotes Index

10 JBW Book Club

Recommendations

59 Contributors 62 2011 Index

Two Germans, one is Jewish. After forty years, a lost family heirloom will decide their fate. “A deftly woven and intriguing tale—a page turning thriller that won’t disappoint.” Dr. James Muyskens President, Queen’s College, New York

“A poignant story of two men whose lives are forever altered by a period of history that should never be forgotten.” Robert Dugoni NY Times bestselling author MURDER ONE and BODILY HARM

“I couldn’t put it down until the end. It is a page turner—greatly enjoyable and informative. Perfecto!” Connie Martinson Nationally syndicated journalist and TV host of Connie Martinson Talks Books

“An extremely clever, well-crafted thriller that compels the reader to turn page after page excitedly.” Before World War II, two German boys enjoy playing piano, and one visits twice each week to teach the other. When the Nazis seize power, the lessons must end. Available November 30, 2011 from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers, or order from your local bookstore. E-books available for Kindle, Nook, Apple iBooks, and other popular e-reading devices.

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Robert K. Tanenbaum Bestselling author of the Butch Karp thriller series Hardcover ISBN 978-0-9832596-2-6 Paperback ISBN 978-0-9832596-3-3 E-book ISBN 978-0-9832596-4-0

Glyd–Evans Press

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10/3/2011 12:33:04 PM

review highlights 13

THE BOOK OF LIFE Stuart Nadler Reviewed by Phil Sandick

THE DOVEKEEPERS Alice Hoffman Reviewed by Jaclyn Trop

american jewish studies

THE GREENING OF AMERICAN ORTHODOX JUDAISM: YAVNEH IN THE 1960’S Benny Kraut Reviewed by Susan M. Chambré

PRECIOUS OBJECTS: A STORY OF DIAMONDS, FAMILY, AND A WAY OF LIFE Alicia Oltuski Reviewed by Carol Poll

autobiography & memoir

THE ARROGANT YEARS: ONE GIRL’S SEARCH FOR HER LOST YOUTH, FROM CAIRO TO BROOKLYN Lucette Lagnado Reviewed by Claire Rudin

biography

THE WOMAN WHO DARED: A BIOGRAPHY OF AMY LEVY Christine Pullen Reviewed by Rachel Sara Rosenthal

contemporary jewish life

BEYOND THE FAÇADE: A SYNAGOGUE, A RESTORATION, A LEGACY Larry Bortniker, Roberta Brandes Gratz, and Bonnie Dimun Reviewed by Carol Poll

history

fiction

EINSTEIN BEFORE ISRAEL: ZIONIST ICON OR ICONOCLAST? Ze’ev Rosenkranz Reviewed by Jane Wallerstein

FAR TO GO Alison Pick Reviewed by Barbara M. Bibel

nonfiction

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JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY Simon Sebag Montefiore Reviewed by Harold B. Jacobsohn

RILEGE AFTER THE REFORMATION Magda Teter Reviewed by Pinchas Roth

IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS: LOVE, TERROR, AND AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN HITLER’S BERLIN Erik Larson Reviewed by Michael N. Dobkowski THE LONG NIGHT: WILLIAM L. SHIRER AND THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH Steve Wick Reviewed by Linda F. Burghardt

OUT OF THE DEPTHS: FROM BUCHENWALD TO JERUSALEM: Rabbi Israel Meir Lau Reviewed by Marcia Weiss Posner

THE PERFECT NAZI: UNCOVERING MY GRANDFATHER’S SECRET PAST Martin Davidson Reviewed by Michael Lavigne

MOTTI Asaf Schurr; Todd Hasak-Lowy, Trans. Reviewed by Bob Goldfarb

modern jewish thought &experience

38 SINNERS ON TRIAL: JEWS AND SAC-

holocaust studies

ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL: ESSENTIAL WRITINGS Abraham Joshua Heschel; Susannah Heschel, ed. Reviewed by Nathaniel Rosen IN THE NARROW PLACES: DAILY INSPIRATION FOR THE THREE WEEKS Erica Brown Reviewed by David B. Levy

poetry

WAR AND LOVE, LOVE AND WAR Aharon Shabtai; Peter Cole, trans. Reviewed by Jason Myers

THE ANATOMY OF INFLUENCE: LITERATURE AS A WAY OF LIFE Harold Bloom Reviewed by Henry L. Carrigan, Jr.

PALACES OF TIME: JEWISH CALENDAR AND CULTURE IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE Elisheva Carlebach Reviewed by Pinchas Roth

scholarship

israel studies

visual arts

THE ANATOMY OF ISRAEL’S SURVIVAL Hirsh Goodman Reviewed by Barbara M. Bibel

THIS BURNING LAND: LESSONS FROM THE FRONT LINES OF THE TRANSFORMED ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT Greg Myre and Jennifer Griffin Reviewed by Maron L. Waxman

A TIMELESS PEOPLE: PHOTO ALBUM OF AMERICAN JEWISH LIFE Saul H. Landa Reviewed by Carol Poll

women’s studies

THE MIRIAM TRADITION: TEACHING EMBODIED TORAH Cia Sautter Reviewed by Rachel Sara Rosenthal

editor’s note

efore a Jewish baby is born, says the Talmud, an angel teaches it the entire Torah in utero. As soon as the baby enters the world, the angel strikes it on the mouth and poof! the newborn forgets everything it has learned. This enigmatic passage has inspired many commentaries, but one common theme among the sages is that Jewish education differs from all other study—because of our pre-birth lessons, it is accessible to all Jews, and furthermore, Jewish education has the powerful and unique impact of recovering lost memory. Educators know that a strong Jewish education, whether from books or songs or the absorption of cultural surroundings, is the key to Jewish survival. In this issue, we feature two important books that chronicle early communal and individual efforts to address Jewish education in America. In The Benderly Boys and American Education, Jonathan Krasner, an assistant professor at Hebrew Union College, brings to life the Jewish education innovator Samson Benderly. Born into a Chassidic family in Safed, Palestine, Benderly immigrated to the United States in 1898 and gave up a career in medicine to devote himself to creating a form of Jewish education that would give American Jewish children a deep connection to the Jewish people. Faced with a disorganized hodgepodge of congregational schools, cheders, and private tutors, Benderly envisioned a community-based educational system with modern facilities, an accredited faculty, and an articulated curriculum. With the financial assistance of his benefactor, Jacob Schiff, he established the Bureau of Jewish Education in 1910 and created a new system of afterschool and Sunday programs known as Talmud Torahs. Organized Jewish education became the norm; today, more than seventy percent of all Jewish children receive some form of Jewish schooling. A century after Benderly’s innovations, the specific issues confronting Jewish educators, such as skyrocketing costs, conflicting ideological perspectives, inter-dating and intermarriage, and school vouchers, have changed. However, the fundamental challenge with which Benderly and his disciples—the “boys” and women he trained—remains the

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same: how to attract, engage, and educate Jewish students so that they are inspired to live Jewish lives of meaning and purpose. Benderly’s remarkable achievements must be replicated in each generation if Jewish education is to remain vibrant and relevant. His life and work offer much to inspire those who think and care about Jewish education today. The second book, The Women Who Reconstructed American Jewish Education, 1910-1965, profiles eleven women who brought new sensibilities and a muchbroadened curriculum to Jewish education. Assembled by Carol Ingall, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, this anthology is so much a companion piece to Krasner’s book it might have been titled ‘The Benderly Girls.’ Each of these women was a student of or influenced by either Benderly himself or Benderly’s close friend, Mordechai Kaplan. One of Professor Ingall’s personal favorite studies was that of the beautiful Sylvia Ettenberg, still alive at ninety two, one of the founders of Camp Ramah, who convinced JTS chancellor Louis Finkelstein that just as baseball needed minor leagues, pony leagues, and little leagues to produce great ball players, so were Zionistic feeder camps, schools, after school programs, and social clubs needed to produce great Jews. My own favorite study is Sadie Rose Weilerstein, who as the author of the K’Tonton books helped introduce a new genre of literature—children’s Jewish fiction. This brings me to the subject of several changes at Jewish Book World. With this issue, we welcome Michal Malen as JBW’s new children’s book editor. Michal, a longtime JBW reviewer, adds her new post to a busy life as school librarian at two schools and highly involved grandmother (yes, she reads to her grandchildren, a lot). We thank outgoing children’s book editor Lisa Silverman and editorial assistant Barbara Goelman with all our hearts; it has been a privilege to work with these able and dedicated colleagues. In another masthead change, we say thank you and farewell to our talented art director, Sean Kennedy, and welcome to the position our own Dani Crickman, whose beautiful new design you hold in your hands. The sages ask, if G-d made the effort to have an angel teach each child the whole Torah, why did He then cause each of us to forget? One answer is that the knowledge we gain by effort is so much sweeter. We hope the effort in reading these books and perusing this issue of JBW will likewise be a sweet experience.

www.jewishbookcouncil.org

Jewish Book Council is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1943 to promote the publishing, writing, and reading of quality books of Jewish interest. In sponsoring Jewish Book World the Council aims to meet the need for a journal devoted to providing thoughtful reviews of new Jewish books and features on the author and literary scene. It is our hope that Jewish Book World will be a valued resource in navigating today’s exciting Jewish literary scene. The Council is also the sponsor of Jewish Book Month, the National Jewish Book Awards, the Jewish Book NETWORK, the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature, and other programs and activities.

Staff

Carol E. Kaufman Naomi Firestone-Teeter Michal Malen Dani Crickman

Editor Managing Editor Children’s Book Editor Art Director

Jewish Book Council Lawrence J. Krule Harry I. Freund Judith Lieberman Mimi S. Frank Henry Everett (z”l)

President Vice-President Vice-President Secretary Honorary Chairman of the Board Carolyn Starman Hessel Director Miri R. Pomerantz Dauber Program Director Joyce Lit JBC Network Associate Sharon Bruce Program Assistant Alyssa Berlin Intern Mikey Weiss Intern

Board of Directors Tracy Brown Steven D. Burton Edith Everett Paul A. Flexner Ellen Frankel Samuel G. Freedman Sharon Friedman Ari L. Goldman Shelley Goldseker Matthew F. Golub Blu Greenberg Stephan Gross Rae Gurewitsch Miriam Holmes Altie Karper Francine Klagsbrun Warren Kozak

Myra Kraft (z”l) Carmel R. Krauss Ruth Legow Dan Levine William Liss-Levinson Stuart Matlins Deborah Miller Marcia W. Posner Julie Potiker Steven Siegel A.A. Steinberger Livia S. Straus Joseph Telushkin Jonathan Tepperman Alan J. Wiener Bernard Weinflash Jane Weitzman

Jewish Book World (ISSN: 1083-8341) is published quarterly by the Jewish Book Council, 520 8th Avenue, 4th floor, New York, NY 10018, (212)201-2920; jewishbookcouncil.org; email: jbc@jewishbooks.org. The subscription rate is $36.00 a year or $12.50 for an individual issue. Copyright © 2011, by Jewish Book Council. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Jewish Book Council, 520 8th Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10018. The articles and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the view of the Board of Directors, or any member thereof, or any particular editor or staff member. Advertising in Jewish Book World does not necessarily imply editorial endorsement. To advertise in Jewish Book World, please email naomi@jewishbooks.org or call (212) 201-2921 Claims on orders that have not been received must be made within two months of the date of publication.

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on the cover

Arthur Szyk

the

Jewish Book Council by Irvin Ungar

rthur Szyk (b. Łódź, Poland, 1894, d. New Canaan, CT, 1951) came to America in 1940. Known as a great miniaturist painter and political artist in Europe, Szyk also illustrated numerous fine limited edition art books in Paris in the 1920s. His magnum opus was his Passover Haggadah, first published in London in 1940, and reproduced numerous times since. In the United States Szyk became most well-known as a leading anti-Nazi artist—a selfdescribed “soldier in art”—and as the foremost creator of art advocating for the establishment of the State of Israel. A staunch activist for social justice, Szyk supported and was involved in numerous activist organizations, including the American Cancer Society; the British American Ambulance Corps; many of Peter Bergson’s political groups fighting for the rescue of European Jewry; and Hadassah Youth Aliyah. He also was a member of the National Committee of the Jewish Book Council of America during the presidency of founder Rabbi Mortimer Cohen. During World War II, Szyk’s art appeared everywhere—from the covers of Collier’s and Time magazines, to The New York Times and New York Post, to exhibitions at more than five hundred USO army bases, to billboards in Times Square and even the cover of the Manhattan telephone directory. He frequently exhibited at New York’s finest art galleries, raising funds for the Allies. Eleanor Roosevelt befriended Szyk and his wife, and wrote about him regularly in her newspaper columns. Even with all this activity, in 1943 Szyk found time to create his first poster for Jewish Book Council, which showed a helmeted American soldier seated, reading a Jewish book while balancing a machine gun on his lap. This work also was used as the wartime cover for the 1943–1944 Jewish Book Annual and reproduced as bookmarks. Following World War II Szyk returned to book illustration, which included numerous commissions by the Limited Editions Club. In 1946 he collaborated with Rabbi Mortimer Cohen to illustrate Pathways Through the Bible for the Jewish Publication Society. In that same year, for the Jewish Book Month poster, Szyk illuminated the saying by 12th century Jewish scholar Judah ibn Tibbon: “Books shall be thy companions; book cases and shelves, thy pleasure-nooks and gardens.” In addition to its appearance as a poster, this work of art served as the cover for the Jewish Book Annual that year and was reproduced on bookmarks. Szyk’s illumination was featured by the

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on the cover Celebrating Jewish Book Month Jewish Book Month, sponsored by the Jewish Book Council, is an annual event on the American Jewish calendar dedicated to the celebration of Jewish books. It is observed during the month preceding Hanukkah. In 2011, the dates are November 21-December 21st. To highlight the celebration each year the Jewish Book Council produces a colorful poster featuring original artwork with connection to the book. Among the well known participating artists have been the Israeli artist Agam, Mark Podwal and Tobi Kahn. In addition to the poster, available through Jewish Book Council, there are book marks with recommended titles for both children and adults. Jewish Book Council also helps local communities coordinate book fairs, book programs and book clubs as well as author tours. The origins of Jewish Book Month date back to 1925, when Fanny Goldstein, a librarian at a branch of the Boston Public Library, created an exhibit of Judaic books and used it as a focus of what she called Jewish Book Week. It was celebrated during Lag B’Omer, a scholars holiday. By 1943, the celebration became Jewish Book Month and was changed to the pre-Hanukkah gift buying period suggesting books as an appropriate gift. This format remains in place to this day 68 years later.

Council several times before the artist’s death. The illuminated Judah ibn Tibbon quote was last reproduced in 1979 as the Jewish Book Month poster and widely displayed at the Second International Book Fair in Moscow. Dr. Sidney B. Hoenig, then President of JWB’s Jewish Book Council and an attendee at the Fair, reported that “some people wanted to take the posters off the walls, but they had to settle for (Szyk’s) bookmarks.” The 1946–1947 Jewish Book Annual included an extensive article by Mortimer Cohen about, and in praise of, Arthur Szyk. Entitled “Szyk—Illustrator of Jewish Books,” Cohen’s tribute concluded with these words: “In viewing the life and work of Arthur Szyk, one cannot but realize that the great artist must first of all be the great man. The great man is one who lives intensely, feels intensely, and believes intensely. And seeks to serve that which is greater than himself. As such, Arthur Szyk has become through his dedicated art, the living chalice in which the divine spirit has brewed a rich mixture of passion, conviction and beauty that brings its elixir of life to the Jewish people and Mankind.” Irvin Ungar is the Founder and CEO of the noted firm of antiquarian booksellers HISTORICANA, which he founded in 1987. A former pulpit rabbi in Forest Hills, NY, and Burlingame, CA, Irvin has become the tireless force behind the revival of the artist Arthur Szyk. His authority on Szyk’s life and work is internationally recognized. As Curator of The Arthur Szyk Society, he has curated and consulted for numerous Szyk exhibitions at major institutions worldwide, including the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco; the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin; the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC; the Library of Congress; and the Spertus Museum in Chicago. Irvin is the author of Justice Illuminated: The Art of Arthur Szyk, the publisher of the luxury limited edition of The Szyk Haggadah, and the co-producer of two documentaries, “Arthur Szyk: Soldier in Art” and “In Every Generation: Understanding The Szyk Haggadah.”

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Jewish Book World

the visiting scribe

Different Different

for

Two-time National Book Award finalist Melissa Fay Greene is the author of five award-winning works of nonfiction. Her most recent book is No Biking in the House Without a Helmet, a memoir of life with nine children from three continents. She blogged for Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog series during the week of August 3, 2011.

wenty years ago, as I set out upon my very first book tour, for Praying for Sheetrock—my 1991 work of nonfiction about the heyday of a corrupt ‘courthouse gang’ on the flowery coast of Georgia and the belated rise of civil rights there—I discovered I had a line in my book-talk that only Jews laughed at. It was unintentional on my part. I thought it was funny; I didn’t realize until I criss-crossed the country with it, like a stand-up comic, that it wasn’t funny to non-Jews. The scene: “the blazing summer nights of 1975, as darkness dropped…” when the rural black citizens of McIntosh County, enraged by the police shooting of an unarmed man and by the deliberate neglect of the all-black public school system by the all-white school board, stormed across the sand parking lot, illuminated by bare light-bulbs dangling from wires strung through the live-oak trees, and crowded into the weather-beaten Shorters Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. I read aloud from my book: “Every pew in the church was packed; well-dressed people lined the walls and crowded into the rear of the church; and a choir in royal-blue satin robes led the congregation in rich and heartfelt music. The choir held hymnals without looking into them and swayed heavily

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back and forth in unison, stamping once as they leaned left, stamping again as they leaned right, and the congregation in full voice joined in.” Then I told a story that was not in the book. “Whenever I attended one of these political prayer meetings,” I told my audience, “I was always seated up front, an honored guest, the only white person in the room. It was a disadvantage because I couldn’t really see what was going on, without constantly looking over my shoulder. One night the minister, to be especially welcoming to me, invited me to come up and lead a hymn. ‘Oh no, I couldn’t,’ I stammered, ‘for two reasons: first, I can’t sing like THAT, like these incredible voices. And secondly, I’m Jewish and I don’t know the words.’ “’Welcome to you!’ cried the tall skinny perspiring coal-black reverend, dressed in a tight-fitting coal-black suit like a mortician. ‘The black and the white, the Greek and the Jew, we’re all children of Christ.” That’s when the Jewish people in my audiences laughed. From New York to Seattle, from Madison, Wisconsin, to Austin, Texas, Jews laughed at that line. If I heard one laugh only, I could glance up from my notes and spot him or her instantly: Of course, Mrs. Goldberg, there you are; oh, Dr. Stein, how are things here in Kansas City? It wasn’t a funny line to Christians, though. It comes from Scripture (I learned, on the road), from the Epistle to the Colossians (as it was pointed out to me) wherein it is written: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. [Colossians, 3. 9]

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So I had to help my Christian friends see the humor. If I delivered the reverend’s line and no one laughed, I added: “I hadn’t ever heard it put like that before.” I picked up a couple of chuckles here and there with that annotation, but it took another comment—“You know, that’s not what our rabbis tell us”—to really bring them home. Then everyone could laugh, because then they got why I thought it was funny and it suddenly struck my audiences as a funny scene after all. My high point with that line occurred here in Atlanta, at Central Presbyterian Church located in the heart of old downtown. I gave my Sheetrock talk and delivered my ‘We’re all children of Christ’ line and the entire audience exploded with laughter. I was so stunned I couldn’t go on. I came completely out of my author persona. “Wait… what?” I said. “Why did you all laugh at that?” The hearty audience laughed harder. “But… but that’s a line that only Jews laugh at.” Now they howled. I looked hard at them, through narrowed eyes. “Are there a bunch of converts from Judaism in this church?” Now they were shrieking. “I don’t get it,” I said. I stood quietly, waiting for an explanation. “Melissa,” said the hip young minister kindly. “I think we are laughing because we understand why that was funny to you.”

n 1996, I went on book tour again, this time with The Temple Bombing, about mid-twentieth century white supremacist extremism and the 1958 attack on a Reform temple in Atlanta whose rabbi, Jacob M. Rothschild, was a fire-breathing advocate for racial justice. Oddly, on this book tour, I ended up with a line that only Christians laughed at. It went like this: “We had a hard time coming up with a name for this book,” I told my audiences. “I wanted to call it When the Wolves of Hate were Loose, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning column, denouncing the bombing, written by Ralph McGill of the Atlanta Constitution the morning after the attack. “But my publisher said it was too long a title; they said I could call it The Wolves of Hate. But I said the book wasn’t about the wolves of hate; it was about a time when the wolves of hate were on the loose. Then the publisher said there were too many wolves on the bookstore shelves already—there were wolf calendars, wolf address books—so forget the wolves. Then my mother got into the act, because she loved the title. She said, ‘Sweetie, why don’t you just find a different animal?’ “’Oh great, Mom,’ I said. ‘You mean like … When the Gerbils of Hate were Loose?’ “That’s when a friend came up with his great idea. ‘Melissa,’ he said. ‘Just call the book A Bomb In Gilead.’” And that turned out to be a line that only Christians laughed at. Why? Because (I learned) ‘A balm in Gilead’ is a common phrase in the Christian church. There is a popular African-American spiritual and Christian hymn (I learned) that goes like this: There is a balm in Gilead/To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead/To heal the sin-sick soul. If you can’t preach like Peter,/If you can’t pray like Paul, Just tell the love of Jesus,/And say He died for all. Meanwhile, Gilead has been used by black preachers to refer to the American South. So my friend’s punning book title, A Bomb in Gilead, worked. For Christians.

the visiting scribe

But it happened, with my Temple Bombing talk, that I had reams of fantastic material that was mildly amusing to Christians, but really funny for Jews, about some of the traditions that emerged among the Reform temples in the middle of the twentieth century, like blowing a trumpet instead of a ram’s horn on Rosh Hashanah because a ram’s horn was too Jewish; or the High Holy Day Shrimp Fry in a Louisiana congregation; or the time an Orthodox fellow found himself in a Southern town with only one Reform temple in which to daven on Yom Kippur and when he began knocking on his chest during the Al chet confession of sins people rushed to his aid because they thought he was having a heart attack. So, I did this: I clipped together about six pages of my funniest stories for Jews and had them ready to go. If, when I delivered the Bomb in Gilead line, there was widespread laughter among my listeners, I—while continuing to gaze smilingly upon my audience—subtly removed my paper-clipped pages and pushed them to the side, to be saved for another day. But if the Bomb in Gilead line got no reaction, I looked out happily across my blank-faced audience, slipped my paper-clipped pages to the top, and prepared to give my fellow Jews a rollicking ride. Now I’m touring with my new book, No Biking in the House Without A Helmet, my first truly light-hearted book, about raising our nine children: four by birth, one adopted from Bulgaria, and four adopted from Ethiopia. I got into trouble with it my very first night out, the very first time I introduced material not from the book but from family life. It concerned bringing five-year-old Helen from her Ethiopian orphanage into our family and into Judaism. She’d lost both her parents in the vast HIV/AIDS pandemic and had landed in a evangelical Christian orphanage in Addis Ababa, where we found her. At six years of age, she sat between me and my husband at Yom Kippur services. I whispered to her the importance of this day. “Thousands of years ago,” I said, “it was on this day only that the High Priest stepped into the Holy of Holies inside the Temple and—on this day only—he pronounced God’s name. He was the only person alive who knew God’s name and these days nobody knows it.” “I know God’s name,” the adorable little girl whispered back happily. “You do?” whispered seven-year-old Jesse from my other side. “What is it?” And Helen tossed her braids happily and pronounced in a voice loud and clear enough for all to hear: “Jesus Christ.” Unfortunately I was 80% of the way into the telling of this story—I had reached “I know God’s name,” whispered the little girl—when I suddenly thought, What on earth am I doing?? this audience is three-quarters non-Jewish! this is not going to be funny!! I’m going to offend people!! Frantically I tried to invent, on the spot, a different punch-line. But once you’ve reached, “You do? What is it?” in that story, it’s too late to invent a new punchline. There was no way around it; I had to go through it. “Jesus Christ,” I said miserably, now whispering myself, and then I briskly turned the page and began with religion-neutral material. Now I look forward to touring amongst the Jewish Book Festivals this fall, with the confidence that—if there’s a story none of you finds funny—it may play very, very well in New Hampshire. *

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Jewish Book World

for book clubs JBW recommends...

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman See review on p. 14

1. The novel is split into four principal parts, with each of the main characters—Yael, Revka, Aziza, and Shirah— narrating one section. Which of these women did you find most appealing, and why? 2. Yael describes her relationship with Ben Simon as “a destroying sort of love” (p. 46). What does she mean by that? Are there other relationships in the novel that could be described in the same way? 3. From Yael setting free the Romans’ lion, to Shirah’s childhood vision of a fish in the Nile, and, of course, the women’s care of the doves, animals are an important component in the book. What did animals mean to the people of this ancient Jewish society, and what specific symbolic forms do they take in the novel? 4. Why do you think Alice Hoffman invented the figure of Wynn, “The Man from the North,” who comes to serve the women in the dovecote? In what ways does Wynn come to bring the women together? Compare Yael’s relationship with Ben Simon to her relationship with Wynn. 5. How do spells function in the novel? What is the relationship between Shirah’s Jewish beliefs and her witchcraft? If you have read other Alice Hoffman novels that include mystical elements—such as Practical Magic or Fortune’s Daughter—how do they compare to The Dovekeepers and its use of magic? 6. How do Shirah’s daughters react to the intimate friendship that develops between Yael and their mother? Is Shirah a good mother or not? 7. What do you make of Channa’s attempt, essentially, to kidnap Yael’s baby Arieh? In the way Hoffman depicts Channa, how is she different than the other major female characters in the book? 8. “You don’t fight for peace, sister,” Nahara tells Aziza. “You embrace it” (p. 343). What do you think of Nahara’s decision to join the Essenes? Is she naïve?

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9. Why is the Roman legion preparing to attack the Jews at Masada? From clues in the book, as well as your own knowledge of history, explain the roots of the conflict. 10. Revka’s son-in-law, the warrior known as The Man from the Valley, asks Shirah, “Did you not think this is what the world was like?” (p. 378). Describe the circumstances of this question. After all her training for battle, why is Shirah unprepared for this experience? 11. On page 458, Shirah, narrating, says, “We stood and watched as God abandoned us.” What do you think about this comment? How do the residents of Masada rectify their Jewish beliefs with their certain deaths in the siege? 12. In the final pages of the book, Yael sums up those who perished at Masada, remembering them as “men who refused to surrender and women who were ruled by devotion” (p. 478). Do you agree with her description? 13. From the work of the assassins to the treatment of slaves, and from suicide to the killing of children during battle, The Dovekeepers engages many difficult moral questions. What moral questions did you find in the novel, how did you reconcile them with our contemporary laws and morality? 14. For the women at Masada, dreams contain important messages, ghosts meddle in the lives of the living, and spells can fix a number of human ills. How does their culture’s acceptance of the mystical compare to our culture’s view on such things today? How do they compare to your own views? 15. In the acknowledgments to the novel, Hoffman explains that the historical foundation of her story comes from Josephus, the first-centur y historian, who has written the only account of the massacre. How does knowing that many details of the novel have a basis in history affect your reading of the book?

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for book clubs

The Arrogant Years

by Lucette Lagnado

See review on p. 20

1. Egypt’s Golden Era: Lucette Lagnado opens the Egypt section of her book with a description of Cairo in the 1920s and 1930s, a time when she says the different ethnic and religious groups lived in harmony and Jews held very high positions in this Muslim society. Is it still possible to imagine in our Post-9/11 universe a world where Jews and Muslims and Christians would live, and thrive, together in the same culture. What was it about King Fouad’s Egypt that made that possible, that hasn’t been the case in decades? 2. A Woman in Egypt: Lagnado’s mother, Edith, stands out because she pursues her educations, reads avidly, and gets a job as a teacher and librarian in 1930s Cairo. Yet she abandons her job when she becomes engaged to be married. How common was that in the world beyond Cairo – wasn’t it the same dilemma women faced even in America until fairly recently? How did the women’s movement of the 1970s change that? Is it changing back—with more and more young women electing to give up careers when they marry and have a family? 3. What Are “Arrogant Years”? What is the meaning of “arrogant years”? Is it only the purview of young women to have “arrogant years,” that time when they are at their prettiest and most self-confident – can the idea also apply to men? 4. The Significance of the Women’s Section: Lagnado’s narrative opens in a small synagogue of her childhood where women sit sequestered from the men—and Lagnado describes herself as both loving the section and wanting to break out of it. Discuss importance of the notion of dividers throughout this book; at the end does she feel differently about it? 5. The Divider As A Symbol Of The World Before The Women’s Movement And What Has Happened Since: Late in the book, Lagnado remarks that the last several decades were ones in which women generally—women who weren’t Jewish, women who weren’t observant— broke down barriers and, in a sense, went to sit with the men. But she seems bittersweet about this—discuss her ambivalence toward some

of the achievements of the feminist movement. What was it about the world of the women’s section that the author came to miss so much, and what relevance does it hold for women coming of age nowadays— is the longing for community and closeness making a comeback? 6. Rebuilding the Hearth: The theme of family and home are central to this book even as Lagnado depicts the unraveling of a family in America. Discuss the pressures that families face in this country and what makes children leave to live thousands of miles apart from their loved ones. Are there any signs this is changing? 7. The Care of the Elderly: A subtext of this book is how wretchedly the elderly fare in modern American society. Often left to fend for themselves many can’t cope and end up in institutions. Is Lagnado fair to the medical and nursing home system that has evolved the last several decades to care for the elderly? 8. The Mystery of the Pasha’s Wife: The narrative is carried by a mystery that haunts Lagnado—who was the Pasha’s wife who had haunted her mother (and who haunts Lagnado herself) and what was the meaning of the key? Discuss the significance of the relationship between Mrs. Cattaui Pasha and young Edith. 9. Superstition and the “Evil Eye”: Lagnado is also haunted by the sense that her family is cursed, that long ago a hex was put on them and that each member has suffered as a result. Discuss the significance of these superstitious beliefs – do they have any place or relevance in modern-day America? Do you think people are still superstitious? 10. Illness and its Aftermath: The notion of “sequelae”—of the psychological after-effects of a major illness—also drives the book. Does Lagnado ever overcome her bout with Hodgkin’s at 16? Is there ever any closure, any sense that she has gotten beyond it, or is the reader left feeling she is still suffering the after-effects?

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Jewish Book World

emerging voices a conversation with

Stuart Nadler

by Phil Sandick

The seven stories that comprise Stuart Nadler’s masterful debut collection, The Book of Life, are told with vivid characterizations and pitch-perfect dialogue. Nadler’s narrative control is on display in every story. Within only a few sentences, we feel like we know many of these characters, and many of us are sure to recognize ourselves at times as well. Nadler holds an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and was recently the Carol Houck Smith Fiction Fellow at the University of WisconsinMadison. You can visit him on the web at stuartnadler.com.

To me, The Book of Life is a masterful collection, full of realistically drawn characters and plots that reveal the great possibilities for flaws and heroism within each of us. But more importantly, how would you describe it? To my mind, a short story collection always seems to reflect a certain set of preoccupations for the writer, and this book, and these stories, were no different for me. By the time I’d finished working on these stories, I found myself hung-up on the ideas of religious and cultural identity, morality, sin and error, the relative immutability of family tradition. But what binds the book together, and what I suppose I’d say constitutes the core of these stories, is the idea of family: what keeps a family together, what fractures a family, what temptations and transgressions are irreconcilable with healing and forgiveness. I’m coming into my characters lives at their most desperate moments, and because of this, the reader is witness to some of their most terrible mistakes. But through all of this, I’d like to think that the book offers a glimpse of the possibility of redemption that exists for these men and women. I love longer short stories, ones that approach the 30-40 page range, like many of the stories in this collection. Tell us a little bit about your composition process and why this form works well for you. I’d love to write shorter stories! I really would. And I’ve tried. But no matter what I did when I was working on these stories, no matter how determined I was to keep everything to a tidy page-count, I couldn’t do it. Part of the trouble, I think, is that I’d never really worked on short stories before I went to the Writers’ Workshop. I’d started really concentrating on the form a few months before I left for Iowa, and that’s basically what I wrote, almost exclusively, for the next two years. Before that, I’d always tried to write novels, and so part of my trouble

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is probably a matter of habit: I was used to having the breathing room a longer piece of fiction provides. The form is such a beautiful one, but such a difficult one to get right. A successful short story—a true, ten or twelve page story—when it works, is one of my favorite things to read. I’m hoping at some point in the future to try again and get it right. I’ve noticed that a number of reviews (including mine) have drawn comparisons between your work and Bernard Malamud’s. As in Malamud, The Book of Life is so well voiced and we feel wiser for having experienced these tales. Who are some of your short story writing heroes and inspirations? For this book I was most moved by two books. The first is the Stories of John Cheever, the one in the orange cover. Word for word, I’m not sure there’s ever been anyone better at the short story. The prose in those stories, the rhythm to his sentences, the breadth of expression he manages in such a tight space is something I constantly find myself going back to over and over. I love those first few early stories, especially “Goodbye, My Brother.” And the second book is Ethan Canin’s collection Emperor of the Air. I read those stories six or seven years before I ever thought of going to Iowa, long before Ethan became my teacher, and my mentor for these stories. It’s difficult now to divorce those stories from my impressions of Ethan as a teacher and as a friend, but no one ever showed me more about what it meant to be a writer than he did. One Twitter follower of yours, @carrieliberry, responded to your book: “awesomely brilliant, made-me-cry-on-the-subway-multiple times.” First, how great is that kind of instant feedback? And second, tell us about some of your experiences as a writer on Twitter. Well, it’s terrific to see that. And it’s humbling to hear. This is one

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of the great benefits of something like Twitter—that relatively instant feedback. I had to be pulled kicking and screaming onto Twitter. My editor at Little, Brown suggested it, and then kept suggesting it, and when I kept refusing, armed with every array of defensive posturing I could muster, she went on suggesting it until I caved. The benefits, like hearing from Carrie, are innumerable. It’s become so easy to reach out to your readers, and for readers to reach out to writers they admire. It allows writers a relatively easy way to connect with one another during the arduously long time it takes to write a book. And it’s obviously valuable to editors and publishers, because it’s created an avenue for writers to take part, relatively guilt-free, in acts of self-promotion that a few years ago were widely considered to be graceless. The downsides are, of course, that Twitter is simply another thing to distract you, to occupy your time, and to which it’s dangerously easy to become addicted. I’m relatively new to Twitter, having only been on it a few months. But already I’ve come very close to closing down shop. I still may do it. We’ll see. How has your Jewish background influenced your writing? I’m not sure there’s a direct correlation. I grew up in a very relaxed, Reform home, but one that was a constant source of art and creativity. My sister is a successful singer and songwriter. And my mother is a painter. Growing up, we were always making things at home, or playing music, or my sister was making clothes while I wrote stories on

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my dad’s typewriter. I was a teenager before I realized that this was, at all, unique. We were lucky to have gone to great public schools, and to have had a great public library in our town. But we were also lucky to have gone to terrific Jewish summer camps, and to have had a terrifically rich Jewish Community Center nearby. We were never discouraged. And we were lucky to have parents that didn’t try to persuade us not to become artists. These things were the biggest influences on my becoming a writer.

Do you see yourself returning to any of the characters we meet in this book in the near future? Or, what can we expect to read from you next? Well, I’m fairly positive that none of the characters in these stories will be reappearing any time soon. For me, once the story’s done, it’s done. I have a novel coming out from Little, Brown at the beginning of 2013. It’s called Wise Men. It’s set across sixty years, and it follows the rise from poverty to wealth of one family. I finished it earlier this year, and I’m more excited about this than anything I’ve ever written. I can’t wait for people to read it. (See review below) Phil Sandick is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has taught courses in literature, composition, and creative writing since 2006. Phil is currently studying rhetoric and composition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

reviews The Book of Life STUART NADLER Reagan Arthur / Back Bay Books, 2011 Paperback 250 pp. $13.99 [e] ISBN: 978-0-316-12647-2

n this marvelous debut collection, Nadler gives us seven stories replete with memorable characters and expertly crafted plots. The tales—most of which take place in New England and are told by inviting first-person narrators—offer poignant portraits of men and women dealing with loss, loneliness, family rivalries, and the joys and pangs of lovesickness. The title story, for instance, a piece that evokes the dramatic tension of Malamud’s short fiction, presents an aging family man trying desperately to hide his affair with his longtime business partner’s twenty-something daughter. In “Our Portion, Our Rock,” we find a lawyer on his thirtieth birthday, forced to balance the stress of caring for his dying father with the rest of his life; the story is told with tenderness and pitch-perfect dialogue, and resolves in a stunning final few pages. “Beyond Any Blessing” follows Daniel—orphaned at a young age and raised by his rabbi grandfather—in his attempt to intervene after learning that his grandfather is being forced out of the synagogue. Typical of Nadler’s other stories, Daniel recalls his childhood and adolescence with raw candor; and the scenes involving Daniel’s adolescent love interest, Shari, who is still a part of his life, simply shine.

[e] denotes e-book is available Throughout, Nadler writes of Jewish characters, who, often burdened by guilt, doubt, regret or some combination thereof, navigate their lives with an acute and complex sense of personal history. With this collection, Nadler firmly establishes himself within the tradition of short story writers such as John Cheever and Richard Ford, and announces himself as a promising voice in contemporary fiction. PS

Boxer, Beetle NED BEAUMAN Bloomsbury USA, 2011 Paperback 256 pp. $16.00 ISBN 978-1-60819-680-7

oxer Beetle fictionalizes an obsession with eugenics. Online Nazi memorabilia collector Kevin “Fishy” Broom uncovers the story behind a letter written by Hitler to English entomologist Philip Erskine. Erksine had painstakingly bred a ruthless and indestructible beetle which displayed a swastika upon opening its wings. In thanking Erksine for the gift, Hitler writes, “It is a reminder that the conquests of the scientist are every bit as important to our important to our future as the conquests of the soldier.” While conducting his experiments, Erksine purportedly performs research on a Jewish boxer named Seth Roach, otherwise known as Sinner. He explains that the investigations are meant to breed the desirable trait of Sinner’s

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athletic physique and eliminate his stunted stature. However, the examinations turns out to be a ruse for an unrequited homosexual desire on par with Death in Venice. This obsession does not strive toward beauty, but toward justifying the underlying belief in the undesirability of Jews. By contrast, Erskine maintains that his education, wealth, and lineage make him a desirable specimen. His pompous self-delusion makes him a laughing stock to the reader. It also points to the societal eugenics that has occurred in maintaining the gentry class, whether in England or elsewhere. Broom, who suffers from a genetic disorder that makes him smell like repugnant fish, demonstrates that by a combination of wit, classiness, and a storehouse of Batman trivia one can prevail. NL

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and relationships. The reader is moved by and invested in Lily’s realization of who she is, where she comes from, and her hopes for a more tolerant and healed world. RL

The Lost Wife ALYSON RICHMAN Berkley, 2011 Paperback 352 pp. $15.00 [e] ISBN: 978-0-425-24413-5

The Dovekeepers ALICE HOFFMAN Scribner, 2011 Hardcover 512 pp. $27.00 [e] ISBN: 978-1-4516-1747-4

t’s not easy to make characters living in 70 C.E., fighting the Romans on Masada, breathe on the page, but Alice Hoffman’s masterpiece succeeds. Two women and five children survived the massacre, according to first-century Jewish historian Josephus. Hoffman builds upon his ancient account, using it as a starting point to tell the stories of four women whose divergent paths brought them to Masada. Chronicling the four years during and after the fall of Jerusalem, the novel opens with the tragic story of Yael, a redhead neglected and abused by her father, who never forgave her for her mother’s death in childbirth. Revka, a sharp-tongued grandmother, is quietly reeling from the brutal murder of her daughter as she cares for her grandsons. Shirah is an extraordinarily beautiful mystic, feared and revered for her healing powers. Her daughter, Aziza, was fathered by a warrior and raised as a boy, enabling her superlative skills as a rider and marksman. Together, they struggle to leave the past behind and forge a new society. Hoffman is painstakingly thorough, crafting detailed accounts of each woman’s life and infusing them with a timeless sensibility that resonates with a modern audience. JT

Far to Go ALISON PICK Harper Perennial, 2011 Paperback 312 pp. $14.99 [e] ISBN: 978-0-06-203462-5

anadian writer Alison Pick (The Sweet Edge) tackles the Holocaust with this chronicle of a Czech Jewish family, the Bauers. In 1938, wealthy factory owner Pavel Bauer, a Czech nationalist, does not believe that the

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Nazis will conquer the country despite their inroads in the Sudetenland. Of course this is not the case. Life becomes more difficult as anti-Jewish laws take effect and the family is forced to flee to the countryside. They eventually send their son, Pepik, to England on a Kindertransport. The story is told, somewhat awkwardly, from multiple points of view. Marta, the family’s very naïve governess, is not always convincing and a contemporary Holocaust historian, unidentified for a very long time, provides letters from files about the family. The historical detail is accurate and well presented, but the story as a whole is less satisfying than other novels dealing with this period. BMB

In the King’s Arms SONIA TAITZ McWitty Press, 2011 Paperback 230 pp. $13.95 ISBN: 978-0-9755618-6-7

ooking for a little romance? In the King’s Arms provides a Romeo and Juliet type story, stirs in English country life, poignant Holocaust history, and the struggle of two divergent insular worlds trying to reconcile their differences. Lily Taub, a beautiful, intelligent Jewish American girl, is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. Their horrific experiences have her dreaming of singlehandedly fighting anti-Semitism, yet also yearning for a more worldly life. She leaves New York City for Oxford University and meets sophisticated, bright, and upper class Peter. She then falls madly in love with his charming and handsome younger brother, Julian. The enchantment and early stages of falling in love are beautifully captured. Lily is invited to the family manor for Christmas break. There she encounters Julian’s parents’ blatant anti-Semitism, is witness to unconventional family dynamics, and is enmeshed in a terrifying accident. The plot twists are predictable at times, but do serve to advance the story to its hopeful and ultimate conclusion. Sonia Taitz weaves a witty, literate, and heartfelt story filled with engaging characters

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lyson Richman has crafted a powerful love story set in Prague as World War II begins. Lenka, a young art student, falls in love with Josef, who is studying medicine. As the Nazis enter the country, the two marry. Josef and his family flee to America, but Lenka refuses to leave her parents and her sister behind. Her family is sent to Terezin, where she works producing art and technical drawings while dreaming of the husband that she will never see again. Josef becomes a successful obstetrician, but he never forgets the wife that he thought the Nazis killed. Many years later, a chance encounter in New York brings them together and gives them a second chance. This novel, based on the experiences of survivors, is a tribute to the power of memory and the strength of those who survived and used art to bear witness. It includes a reader’s guide. BMB

Lunar Savings Time ALEX EPSTEIN; BECKA MARA MCKAY, TRANS. Clockroot Books, 2011. Paperback 118 pp. $15.00 ISBN: 978-1-56656-852-4

unar Savings Time, Alex Epstein’s exhilarating and provocative new collection of short short fiction, is made up of ninety-nine stories, which range in length from a single short line to four pages. Their subjects include, among other things, angels, astronomy, time-travel, myths, minotaurs, libraries, the Trojan War, Zen masters, beggars, and ghosts. Epstein’s language is poised on the thin line between poetry and prose. “On the Power of Russian Literature,” the first story in the collection, begins: “My great-grandmother once shut a book by Tolstoy so hard that a spark came from its pages, and the spark climbed up the curtains, and ignited a fire, and our summer house went up in flames.” The stories run the gamut from funny and tender to enigmatic, wild, and bizarre. In “Kafka, The Lost Years,” Epstein imagines four additional decades of Kafka’s life, had he not succumbed to tuberculosis at forty, in which Kafka survives the Holocaust, emigrates to

Palestine, Hebraizes his name, works parttime at a bank, encounters Max Brod, listens to Bach in the evenings, “and with great pleasure reads Agnon.” Alex Epstein, who was awarded the 2003 Israeli Prime Minister’s Prize for Literature, was born in St. Petersburg and came to Israel as a child. He is the author of three short story collections and three novels. JF

Motti ASAF SCHURR; TODD HASAK-LOWY, TRANS. Dalkey Archive, 2011 Paperback 208 pp. $13.95 [e] ISBN: 978-1-56478-642-5

enry David Thoreau spoke of men who lead lives of quiet desperation. Motti, the protagonist of this bleak novel, is one of them. He retreats from his empty life by fantasizing constantly about a future whose simple pleasures—a wife, sex, children, shared happy memories—will never be his. He lives in a godless universe where the weak are at the mercy of the strong and sensitive souls don’t have a chance. Motti’s beloved dog is named Laika, after the canine cosmonaut launched into space in 1957 by the Soviet Union. The original Laika, pictured on this book’s cover, was harnessed into a tiny capsule, endured a terrifying ordeal during its takeoff, and died of exposure to extreme heat after four days in orbit. In the cosmos where Motti’s story takes place, choice is an illusion, suffering for the sake of the powerful is the norm, and communication fails to mitigate existential loneliness. When Motti makes an altruistic decision for the sake of his self-centered friend Menachem he pays a great price. But there are no consequences for the casually cruel Menachem, and life goes on for Motti too. Whatever happens, it’s as though nothing really matters in the end. Asaf Schurr won the Israel Prize for Motti in 2008 at the age of 32. BG

survive the war, Feldman gives new insight into the sacrifices made by the “Greatest Generation”—on the battlefront as well as on the home front. The impact of the war on the soldiers, their parents, their wives and their children is one that lasts far beyond the war’s end: Feldman’s narrative spans from 1944 to 1964 and captures the emotional ripples that long outlast the war itself. Her protagonists experience violence and tragic losses; as they attempt to rebuild their lives, they bear witness to the birth of a new America. In the microcosm of their small New England town, Feldman’s characters witness the invention of credit cards, suburban tract housing, a nascent Civil Rights Movement, and the conspicuous consumption of the post-war boom era. The experiences of one of the three families Feldman portrays also offer a window into the period’s anti-Semitism. The novel is meticulously researched, with period details that enliven characters or situations that might otherwise seem stereotypical or trite. JBK

The Novel in the Viola NATASHA SOLOMONS Sceptre, 2011 Paperback 391 pp. $18.25 ISBN: 978-0-340-99569-3

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coast. Yet, on another level, through a series of letters that Elise exchanges with her sister Margot, Solomons also draws attention to the Landaus’ experiences of war in other contexts, be it Elise’s parents, a novelist and an opera singer who struggle to get visas to leave Austria, and her sister and her sister’s husband who build a new life in the United States. As Solomons reveals in the Author’s Note, Tyneford was based on the actual English village of Tyneham, which was requisitioned by the military during World War II, and Elise’s story was inspired by the experiences of Solomons’s great aunt. Therefore, although her prose is beautifully descriptive and her depictions of English country life are infused with a certain nostalgic charm, Solomons does not shy away from addressing the deeply troubling effects of war on the fractured families and communities of which Elise is a part. SS

Portrait of a Spy DANIEL SILVA HarperCollins, 2011 Paperback 464 pp. $15.00 [e] ISBN: 978-0062072184

et mainly in Tyneford, England, The Novel in the Viola follows the path of Elise Landau as she leaves a life of luxury in Vienna in 1938, amidst stifling restrictions on Jewish residents, to become a maid in an English country home. On one level, Solomons’s examination of Elise’s Jewish identity, her new social status, her experiences adapting to English customs, and her blossoming romance with Kit Rivers, the son of the owner of Tyneford House, provides the foundation for a richly imagined commentary on the effects of the war on the Rivers family and those living on the Dorset

ortrait of a Spy is Daniel Silva’s fourteenth espionage novel, the eleventh featuring Gabriel Allon. Silva takes his readers on an emotional rollercoaster ride as Allon emerges from reclusive retirement in Cornwall and takes a break from restoring an iconic masterpiece, drawn back to battle global terror and religious extremism. Like all in the series, this story is well-researched and reflects critical current world issues. Allon’s usual team of experts is reunited including his mentor, retired former leader of Israeli intelligence Ari Shamron. Their mission, to track down and assassinate the head of the networks perpetrating bombings in multiple European cities, proceeds with the high tech cooperation of the US, the UK, and Israel. Once again Silva

Next to Love ELLEN FELDMAN Spiegel & Grau, 2011. Hardcover 304 pp. $25.00 [e] ISBN: 978-0-8129-9271-7

asing her novel on the documented World War II story of the Bedford Boys, nineteen young men from the same small New England community killed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, Ellen Feldman paints an intricate portrait of the families left behind. Following the lives of three couples, not all of whose members

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educates and entertains his readers through an ingenious thriller. MBA

Stones Bear No Witness: A Historical Novel of the Kishinev Pogrom BORIS SANDLER; BARNETT ZUMOFF, TRANS. KTAV, 2011 Paperback 212 pp. $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-60280-177-6

n April 1903, Easter time, in the Bessarabia province of Russia, the Kishinev Pogrom continued for three days and left forty-nine Jews murdered, hundreds injured, and homes and businesses destroyed. It was a prelude to what the twentieth century would bring. Russian Jews lived in a precarious world, “saturated with hate,” where superstitions, rumors, and marketplace gossip replaced truth. The main sources of information were the virulently anti-Semitic newspapers whose banner headlines constantly fed fear and hatred to the peasants and government officials. They fueled Russian nationalistic fervor by blaming Jews for all of Russia’s ills. There are no heartwarming Sholem Aleichem tales here. The Dubossary incident, in a village about twenty-five miles north of Kishinev, is the focus of the first portion of the book. A fourteen-year-old Christian boy is murdered. Village life and prejudices, family intrigue, corrupt officials, and the infamous ages-old blood libel lie all conspire to bring the situation to the brink of a pogrom. Although the Jews are generally blamed, some see through the lies and the incident passes. But in Kishinev, the Dubossary furor, outside agitators, intimidation, and an unresponsive military do produce a well-planned pogrom. The “Zhids” are accused of tearing the Russian world apart, and Sandler provides the historical background and gripping eyewitness accounts of the victims and victimizers.

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Narratives of terror, murder, and also resistance are related in relentless detail. Boris Sandler, a writer, filmmaker, and editor, has written a historical novel that could aptly be titled Anatomy of a Pogrom. Sandler expertly weaves a fascinating, factual, analytical, and human account of how and why this pogrom occurred where and when it did. Stones Don’t Bear Witness presents the evidence and scenarios in a well-researched “you are there” style that should satisfy historians and interested readers alike. RL

The Things We Cherished PAM JENOFF Doubleday, 2011 Hardcover 304 pp. $24.95 [e] ISBN: 978-0-385-53420-8

harlotte Gold was dumped by her lawyer boyfriend, Brian Warrington, while they were deeply involved in the European project of prosecuting those who participated in the genocide in the former Yugoslavia. Since then, she’s pieced her life together again, becoming a competent, well-respected public defender in Philadelphia and hasn’t thought in a long time about her original dreams of becoming an international lawyer and prosecuting the Germans who participated in the war crimes of the Holocaust. However, Brian reappears and asks her to assist in the defense of Roger Dykmans, brother of the famous Hans Dykmans, who rescued numerous Jewish children during World War II. The charge states that Roger turned in his brother and thereby caused the death of hundreds of Jews attempting to flee Germany during the war. Charlotte is torn between being interested in the case and wrestling with old feelings of attraction toward Brian and anger at his easy betrayal of the bond they once shared. The story unfolds with a drama that includes a beautifully constructed “anniversary clock,” a love affair involving Roger and Hans’s wife, Magda, a child assumed to be dead,

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and a search for documents proving Roger’s innocence. A parallel bitterness exists between Roger and Hans, as well as between Brian and his brother Jack, two mysteries that for a long time make no sense to Charlotte. The story has a satisfactory ending but not until many enigmatic twists and turns in the plot fuel the reader’s desire to discover the source of the misunderstandings and passionate relationships that lie beneath the apparently distorted truths. DS

This Beautiful Life HELEN SCHULMAN Harper, 2011 Hardcover 240 pp. $24.99 [e] ISBN: 978-0062024381

his Beautiful Life is a ripped-from-theheadlines saga of a family torn apart by a teen folly: boy forwards a suggestive video made for him by a girl. The resulting expulsion from school, threat of a legal case, and anguish for both the Jewish mother and nonJewish father living in contemporary Manhattan leads to the mother’s ultimate rejection of the beautiful life her husband has created for her. The novel uses the Internet’s ability to broadcast adolescent folly publicly to explore the issues of public and private and the spaces where contemporary life is lived. Schulman’s saga begins when the family moves from bucolic Ithaca in upstate New York to the excitement and danger lurking among the more sophisticated denizens of Manhattan. Some of the fun of the book is the over-the-top descriptions of the lifestyle this family is exposed to: sleepovers at the Plaza hotel for kindergardeners, parties with legal and non-legal stimulants in a McMansion lining the Hudson in Riverdale. Schulman gets all this description of excess right, and her characters’ reactions to their new circumstances. The contrast between the smooth father at a meeting, able to negotiate the opposing forces at a neighborhood gathering in Harlem to discuss his Columbia-like university appropriating the space for its new campus, and the bewildered son and mother called to the headmaster’s office to view the forwarded video, is a masterful scene. There is much memorable writing here from Schulman, author of four previous novels and editor of an anthology on wanting a child; however, there is little content that is overtly Jewish, beyond mention of the mother’s maiden name, Cohen, and Co-op City Bronx origins. A reader wanting a warning about the hazards of the Internet—or a reader who wants to encourage a teen to use caution in all things online—will find much to enjoy here. BK

interview JBW talks with

Helen Schulman

by Beth Kissileff

Helen Schulman is the author of four previous novels and a short story collection. She teaches creative writing at The New School in New York City. © Denise Bosco

Beth Kissilef: What is the task of a novelist today? Helen Schulman: I can only talk about my task. I’m not prescriptive about others writers’ work. Everyone has their own passions and ideas. Manifestos about fiction are kind of silly, I think, although they do draw a lot of attention to themselves, which is probably why writers sometimes write them. What I hoped to do in my last two books (A Day at the Beach and This Beautiful Life) was write about the way we live now. BK: Why did you choose to write with Daisy [the character who sends the suggestive video] at the novel’s opening and closing but never in the middle, only about how her actions impact others? HS: I wanted to begin by casting a spell over the story. And I hope the prologue turns the reader into a voyeur of sorts—almost as if the reader herself were sent the video. This was something I hit upon well into the first draft of writing the book. I ended with Daisy because I think she hovers over the whole story, the mystery of who she is and who she may become, and I hope that her resolution sheds light on some of the ideas I was wrestling with throughout the book. I found her both resilient in terms of her life force and devastatingly sad. BK: I want to ask about the character Liz as a mother—is she too involved or not enough? HS: I think she is both too involved and not involved enough. It is extremely difficult to be a good parent. Life is very complicated, made up of rainbow shades of gray, and our internal contradictions and conflicts are what makes us human. Liz needs to both let go of her children and to hold on to them; it’s her timing that is sometimes off. I think she is a person who when faced with lousy choices makes worse ones. She loves her children with all her heart. In some ways, she is blinded by that love. BK: What is going on with the women’s roles in this novel? HS: There is a phenomenon I have seen where there are many welleducated women, lawyers and Ph.D.’s and MBAs for example, who don’t work. They often don’t work for good, loving parental reasons--they want to raise their children and their former careers and their husbands’ present ones don’t allow for much flexibility. These women are smart and capable, and I was interested in the choices they made (be-

cause they have choices) and what happens when you take well-trained people out of the workforce. Where do their energies go? How do they feel about themselves? How valued are they? What happens to women when their self-worth is wrapped up in the home and their appearance? What is the effect on the children that they raise? There is a crazy split in the culture now where women are on the Supreme Court and yet also overly sexualized, and at a very early age girls are taught that their sexuality is a major source of power. BK: The Jewish identities of Liz and Jake—how does it impact them? HS: Liz is Jewish, and so are her children. Her husband is not. They have had a good marriage up until this point and they love each other, but there is some tension over their religious differences, which adds another layer of complexity to their relationship. I think moving to New York City offers both a sense of relief and a new kind of self-recognition for Jake as a Jew. BK: Characters who are willing to reveal themselves online are Liz’s former flame Feigenbaum and Daisy. What connects them? HS: What is so fascinating about the Internet is that we can reach out to almost anyone at almost anytime anywhere in the world, yet we simultaneously often forget this same fact—that once sent or posted, our messages, images, etc. can indeed then go to almost anyone, anywhere, at any time. And at this point, there is no taking them back. Adults and teenagers make the same mistakes (look at Anthony Weiner, for instance). We’ve been given this monumental gift, this ability to connect, and we don’t yet truly understand its ramifications. Politically, the Internet provides exciting capabilities—look at how it helped to inspire the Arab Spring. But Twitter and Facebook also helped to perpetuate the London uprisings. Somehow, I don’t think we realize fully what happens when we give up privacy and the ability to wipe the slate clean. With the Internet, forgetting is over. (See review on p. 16) Beth Kissileff has taught Bible and English literature at Smith and Mount Holyoke Colleges, and holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Pennsylvania. She is finishing her first novel, Questioning Return, about graduate students and baalei teshuvah in Jerusalem.

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nonfiction american jewish studies

The Greening of American Orthodox Judaism: Yavneh in the 1960s BENNY KRAUT Hebrew Union College Press, 2011 Hardcover 178 pp. $35.00 ISBN: 9780878204656

n 1970, Charles Reich published The Greening of America, highlighting the sixties counterculture as a new form of consciousness. Building on the image, Benny Kraut notes that Yavneh played a similar role for modern Orthodox Judaism. His posthumously published book, The Greening of American Orthodox Judaism, is an organizational history of an important youth movement in the sixties and the seventies. Despite its short life, this student-run effort developed a host of innovative programs which served as models for current youth programs. Drawing on the resources of larger organizations—primarily the Orthodox Union, which provided space, money, and staff—Yavneh established a short-lived year in Israel program, Torah tours to various campuses, a summer learning program, campus-based social and educational opportunities, and served as the model for the network of campus-based Chabad Houses. Clearly the organization created an important space for Orthodox students on campuses which often did not accommodate students’ religious needs: courses and exams were held on Shabbat and Yom Tov, and not only were most Hillel chapters indifferent to their needs, some Hillel directors viewed Orthodox religious practices as outdated and unnecessary. The Hillel rabbi at Columbia University, for example, told one Barnard president that it was not necessary to keep kosher while living in a dormitory since “…being in a dormitory is like being in the army.” This was not an isolated incident.

Kraut emphasizes another facet of the organization’s impact, one which he admits was not a major motivation for most participants, that members “wrestled with many of the internal controversies that faced modern Orthodoxy as it engaged modern culture, religious pluralism, and the Yeshiva world.” Undoubtedly, Yavneh served as an important incubator for a number of today’s lay and religious leaders and teachers. Bearing in mind the fact that the book was in draft form at the author’s death, there are several glaring limitations which might have been modified if Kraut had had the opportunity. First, is the author’s bias toward a certain strand of modern, what some call ‘open’ Orthodoxy. This is evident in unsubstantiated claims and oversimplifications. He points out that “While the religious palette of the Orthodox right in rhetorical style and substance tended to the monochromatic, that of the modern Orthodox exhibited a distinctively colorful spectrum of halacha and theological hues.” At a later point, he claims that Yavneh members created a model for Art Scroll publications but that they, in contrast to Art Scroll founders, “were astutely aware of the deficiencies of American Jewish educational resources and pedagogic methodologies and conceived of remedies for the situation.” In a discussion of the legacy of Yavneh’s summer learning program, his one example is Drisha, a small program limited to young women, while overlooking the highly successful and far more numerous NCSY summer programs and learning and work/learning programs in the centrist and ‘modern’ camps Morasha, Mesorah, Lavi, and Moshava. A second limitation is the fact that the broader context of Orthodox life is not adequately portrayed early in the book. Key works on modern Orthodoxy, especially the work of Jenna Weisman Joselit and Jeffrey Gurock, are notably absent. A detailed discussion of campus conditions for Orthodox students at the time of Yavneh’s founding is not described until Chapter 7, with very brief references at earlier points in the book. Completely missing is the following fact: the

year of Yavneh’s founding coincides with the beginning of a growing number of college students who were graduates of the Jewish day schools founded in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. Moreover, some of these young people were probably the children of European refugees whose outlook was quite different from earlier Orthodox college students. Regardless, Kraut has provided an interesting discussion of a multi-campus effort advocating for Orthodox students on college campuses, giving them social and educational opportunities, expanding access to kosher food, and providing them with a reference group. SMC

Precious Objects: A Story of Diamonds, Family, and a Way of Life ALICIA OLTUSKI Scribner, 2011 Hardcover 357 pp. $24.00 [e] ISBN: 978-1-4165-4512-5

recious Objects: A Story of Diamonds, Family and a Way of Life takes the reader on an intriguing journey into the hidden world of the diamond industry. The author, Alice Oltuski, the daughter and granddaughter of Forty-Seventh Street diamond dealers in New York City, provides a riveting social history of the diamond industry and the interwoven nature of the industry and the Jewish people. For example, when diamond dealers finalize the sale of a stone they say “Mazal” which is short for “Mazal and brucha,” luck and blessing. This one word conclusion of a deal signifies that “the stone has transferred possession, no matter who is physically holding the gem….” It is a closing used by Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish dealers all over the world. I loved the book. I think readers will be enthralled by this insider view of the workings of the Forty-Seventh Street Diamond Exchange and Oltuski’s gripping accounts of the lives of her family and the people who work in the industry. The author’s detailed endnotes provide even more fascinating specifics about this secretive world. Endnotes, index. CP

The Synagogue in America: A Short History MARC LEE RAPHAEL New York University Press, 2011 Hardcover 246 pp. $ 30.00 [e] ISBN: 978-08147-7582-0

n his book, The Synagogue in America: A Short History, Mark Lee Raphael has accomplished what seems like an impossible task,

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creating a short and comprehensive history of synagogues in America. Raphael draws on his exhaustive study of the archival records of approximately one hundred and twenty-five Jewish congregations, along with surveys, interviews, and other primary sources. It is a fascinating story of Jews in America told through the words of congregants, rabbis, cantors, and accounts of the period. Shearith Israel, which appeared on a New York map in 1695, was the first documented synagogue building in colonial America. Discrepancies about date of origin of synagogues abound in synagogue archives. Raphael is a masterful researcher and ably sifts through conflicting reports to identify what appears to be the most accurate portrait of the period. Newport, Rhode Island’s Jeshuat Israel dates its beginning as 1658 and is thought to be the “first congregation” in colonial America. The synagogue later became known as “Touro,” the name of its first spiritual leader, Cantor Isaac Touro, a native of Holland, who was appointed in 1758. Other colonial congregations in North America were Philadelphia’s Mikve Israel (1781), Congregation Mickve Israel of Savannah (1733), Beth Elohim of Charleston (1749), and Beth Shalome in Richmond, Virginia (1789). All six of these synagogues were Sephardic (Spanish-Portuguese) in their rituals and organization. Many of the congregations got money, members, and religious items from established Sephardic communities in England and Holland. Only the Touro Synagogue building still stands today. The first half of the nineteenth century brought dramatic changes to synagogue life with the arrival of over 30,000 Central European Ashkenazi Jews. Customs changed and congregational antagonisms grew. Differences in minhag (ritual), such as those between Polish and German congregants, split congregations. For the first time in American history, there was more than one synagogue in a town. This pattern of the repeated splitting of congregations has continued in all branches into the twenty-first century. This also led to an increasing need for funds to create new synagogue buildings and to buy land for a cemetery. Sanctuary seats were sold, as were ritual honors, and appeals for donations became mainstays of synagogues. Raphael identified still other dramatic changes in nineteenth century synagogue life. Synagogues started to “reform” themselves. The “reform” process did not mean they necessarily became part of the “Reform” denomination. More often it was a response to the new immigrants’ desires to become American and accepted by the larger community. Raphael suggests that this new emphasis may also have been a response to the nineteenth century emphasis on “beauty, dignity and order” leading to almost a “Protestantization”

of Judaism. Synagogues developed constitutions which had bylaws mandating trustees to be committed to promoting “ order and decorum during divine services.” Worshipers were fined for leaving their seats or talking during worship and the sermon; some even prohibited children under six in the sanctuary during the prayer service. In all congregations women lacked any congregational voting rights and were only recognized as members of the ladies auxiliary, a fundraising group. The second half of the nineteenth century also brought more radical changes. Reform Judaism was beginning in Germany and immigrants brought these beliefs with them to America. According to Raphael, classical Reform Judaism rejected “traditional Judaic belief in Divine revelation—that God revealed the Torah to Moses at Mt. Sinai” and rejected “the authority of Scripture, the commandments of the Torah, and even the ceremonies, customs, observances and rituals of the tradition.” Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, an activist Reform rabbi, arrived from Bohemia in 1848 and immediately began to institute Reform changes first in his congregation in Albany, New York and then his pulpit in Cincinnati. He traveled all over the country encouraging synagogues to adopt what he called “American Judaism.” He called a conference in Cleveland in 1873 out of which grew the Union of American {Reforming} Hebrew Congregations. By 1879 it had one hundred and five synagogues as members. Changes in synagogues varied but the adoption of the Union Prayer Book, which severely truncated the liturgy in services, became “the mark of a full-fledged Reform congregation.” Some instituted far more radical measures, for example, adding instrumental music and a mixed choir to the prayer service, no longer calling men to the Torah, eliminating the women’s gallery, forbidding men to wear a prayer shawl, and dropping the mourner’s prayer (kaddish) during Sabbath services. Some congregants became concerned about the nature of the reforms taking place in their synagogues and split off to form more traditional synagogues which sought to “conserve” more of the traditional ritual. This was the beginning of the development of the “Conservative” stream of Judaism. Still other great changes in synagogue life were in the offing in the 1880s. Great waves (over two million) of Eastern European Jewish immigrants began to settle in America and they brought with them a commitment to traditional Jewish Ashkenazi synagogue practice. There was an “explosion” of traditional synagogues as they sought to establish houses of worship that matched their religious practices. “Orthodox” immigrant synagogues appeared all over the nation wherever Jewish immigrants settled, including Atlanta, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. Some of their children brought

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nonfiction

still more changes as they split off from their parents’ immigrant “Orthodox” synagogues to form “Conservative” congregations that were more open to moderating traditional customs, ceremonies, and observances. Later generations would bring still other synagogue changes, including Reconstructionism and the development of different streams in the world of Orthodox Judaism. Raphael has a storyteller’s talent and a scholar’s mastery of the subject. His vivid portraits of synagogue life and its many permutations and his respect for all aspects of Jewish congregational life make this book appealing to all readers who relish reading Jewish and American history. Bibliography, endnotes, index, photos. CP

The Wizard of Lies: Bernard Madoff and the Death of Trust DIANA B. HENRIQUES Henry Holt, 2011 Hardcover 421 pp. $30.00 [e] ISBN: 978-0-8050-9134-2

iana B. Henriques, a financial reporter for the New York Times, has written an interesting, but hardly definitive, account of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme which surfaced in December 2008. Among the questions she was unable to answer were: when did Madoff actually begin his financial chicanery, precisely how much money did his victims lose, and were Madoff’s wife and two sons complicit. Henriques makes a good but necessarily tentative case that, in fact, they were innocent. Madoff’s eldest son, Mark, was so shamed by the revelations concerning his father that he committed suicide in December, 2010, soon after agreeing with his wife that she and her children should change their last name to Morgan. Madoff was a swindler par excellence. He convinced many of the world’s most astute financial advisors and institutions that he was able, both in good times and bad, to make steady investment gains of around ten percent per year. This is, of course, impossible. He

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nonfiction also shrewdly appealed to the status strivings of the gullible rich by convincing them that he did not accept everyone as investors, and those that he did should be grateful for being granted entry into this exclusive club. The Madoff scandal particularly impacted American Jewry. Madoff and most of his biggest investors were Jews, many of them members of the Palm Beach Country Club, a predominately Jewish watering hole in Florida. Jewish organizations which had invested with Madoff were severely affected by the scandal. The American Jewish Congress had to close its doors, and the activities of other Jewish organizations had to be scaled back. These included the foundation established by Elie Wiesel. Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, feared the scandal had created a “perfect storm for the anti-Semites.” In fact, it was an example of the dog that did not bark. There is no evidence that anti-Semitism significantly increased because of it, and, in any case, anti-Semites did not need the example of Madoff to confirm their preconception that Jews were mercenary and dishonest. Thankfully, most Americans believed otherwise. ESS

autobiography & memoir The Arrogant Years: One Girl’s Search for Her Lost Youth, from Cairo to Brooklyn LUCETTE LAGNADO HarperCollins, 2011 Hardcover 385 pp. $25.99 [e] ISBN: 978-0-06-180367-3

his new memoir by the author of The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit contains a reminder that “once upon a time in old Cairo it was possible to be Jewish and a pasha . . . Jewish and an aristocrat, Jewish and a friend to ministers and kings.” Such a time was fated to end when Gamal Abdel Nasser and his gang of anti-Semites assumed power in Egypt during the 1960s and prompted a new Jewish exodus from Egypt, which encompassed the Jewish populace from the humblest shopkeepers to the once politically important, highly cultured and wealthy Cattaui family. While many departing Jews headed for Israel and Europe after Nasser’s ascent, some elected to emigrate to America, and it becomes apparent that Leon Lagnado’s decision to move his family to New York led to his own decline and his family’s difficult struggle to succeed in their new world.

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It is their story that is told in this memoir, which begins with a light-hearted description of the author’s religious life as a rebellious child in Cairo’s Jewish community, and continues to describe and examine the years that followed, her arrogant years, splashed with misery at Vassar, but success at Columbia, and enriched by the Donnell library, but spattered by social misadventures, all culminating in her struggle to survive the ravages of cancer. Reaching adulthood in a new land was not without its challenges for Lucette and her adored mother. The tale she tells is one of desperation mixed with some triumph, and acceptance of the inevitable. Writing with humor and affection, Lagnado provides a masterful interlacing of her life story with the history and subsequent displacement of Cairo’s Jewish community. Of those whose lives touched hers, many fared well in the lands to which they had escaped, as she later learns and discloses. With this memoir, Lagnado has transcended the passage of time, bringing her vanished world back to life and creating an indelible family picture, with her mother towering over all, and lingering in the mind. CR

Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent’s Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice FRED BURTON AND JOHN BRUNING Palgrave Macmillan, 2011 Hardcover 258 pp. $26.00 [e] ISBN: 978-0-230-62055-1

n 1973, on a Saturday night, a lone gunman hiding behind a tree stepped out and fired five shots into Josef Alon. Alon, an Israeli Air Force pilot with a family, was living in Bethesda, Maryland. His neighbor, Fred Burton, was sixteen years old at the time. The murder shocked him and it was never solved. In 2007, Burton, now a State Department counterterrorism special agent, reopened the case, and this book tells the story of his effort to solve it. Alon was not a mere pilot. He was a high-ranking military intelligence officer.

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Burton had to chase clues all over the world. His account of the investigation reads like a spy thriller. Readers will be turning the pages, eager to see where the case leads Burton. The story also demonstrates how international power is used, misused, and sometimes sold to the most convenient bidder. Anyone interested in international affairs and the history of the Cold War era will be fascinated by Burton’s efforts to find his neighbor’s killer. BMB

Four Kitchens: My Life Behind the Burner in New York, Hanoi, Tel Aviv, and Paris LAUREN SHOCKEY Grand Central Publishing, 2011 Hardcover 337 pp. $24.99 [e] ISBN: 978-0-446-55987-4

orking as a kitchen intern in restaurants is educational but definitely not easy. Lauren Shockey knew she had been well taught at the French Culinary Institute (she had also earned a Master of Arts in food studies from New York University), but realized that hands-on experience was vital. She records her apprenticeships in four kitchens, where in two cases, she didn’t speak the local language. Recipes are shared but what makes the book come alive are the stories. Shockey clearly understands what it takes to get along with the varied and often ego driven personalities. In the main, the recipes are not kosher and we learn a lot about crabs and their prep and cooking. What we do admire are Shockey’s sense of ethics in the kitchen and the laborious efforts of behind the scenes restaurant line productions. We travel with the author to the back rooms of kitchens and learn how work is divided as we pick up tips on food prep in the US, Vietnam, Israel, and France. The four kitchen adventures are challenging and Shockey makes the most of each one. The smells and rhythms of the countries permeate her writing, as does her appreciation of what she is learning. After this exciting

year, Shockey realizes that while restaurant cooking is not what she wants, she really loves home cooking, with all the warmth of hearth and people that it involves. She tells us, “I discovered what I loved: cooking for my friends and family and sharing the bounty of the table together. And the friends I made along the way taught me that home can be anywhere, and so can your home kitchen. Itʼs those you share it with who really matter.” DGL

Kosher Chinese: Living, Teaching, and Eating with China’s Other Billion MICHAEL LEVY Henry Holt, 2011 Paperback 256 pp. $15.00 ISBN: 978-0805091960

hen Mike Levy’s two-year Peace Corps assignment lands him a position teaching English at Guizhou University, located in the city of Guiyang, far from China’s Westernized coast, he has to learn a lot fast about adapting to a new culture. As a Jew in China, Mike is something of novelty. New acquaintances immediately associate him with Karl Marx and Einstein, and his students start the Jewish Friday Night English and Cooking Corner Club to spend time with him and learn about Western culture— traditional Shabbat observance not required.

As a Jew in China, Mike is something of a novelty. He befriends his students and learns their opinions on the competing pulls in their lives, especially love versus career and Communist ideals versus Western influence. The friendship he fosters with three young sisters who are Bouyei, one of China’s little-mentioned ethnic minorities, and his insight into the discrimination they face, make up a touching segment. Levy recounts with humor and sensitivity to cultural difference some of the difficulties that come with being a foreigner in China. A bus ride forces him to consider whether what defines animal abuse is culturally relative, and a basketball game reveals the extent to which guanxi (personal connections) determine who gets ahead. In a short but necessary epilogue, Levy describes his return to Guiyang in 2010 and acknowledges how much has changed, even in this slow-to-evolve region of China, and speculates about future developments. An entertaining read for those curious about China or the teach abroad experience, told from an accessible and humorous outsider perspective. DCC

nonfiction

The Memory of All That: George Gershwin, Kay Swift and My Family’s Legacy of Infidelities

Swift’s vibrancy comes across as a welcome counterbalance to Kaufman’s personality. The book is chock full of interesting stories well told. Weber makes it clear that the events she portrays, even the ones that happened before her birth, are both key to understanding who she is and also worth remembering for their own sake. DC

KATHARINE WEBER Crown, 2011 Hardcover 268 pp. $24.00 [e] ISBN: 978-0-307-39588-7

hough the title makes mention of infidelity, this book is about fidelity to one’s past, about keeping stories alive and trying to understand them. Many of Katharine Weber’s family members are woven into the narrative, but the author, best known for her novel Triangle, has chosen to focus on her father, Sidney Kaufman, and her maternal grandmother, Kay Swift. Both are long deceased, and Weber herself is in her mid-50s—she seems to be digging deep to write definitively about all that is no more in her family. Swift gets top billing, along with her longtime lover George Gershwin, but the first portion of the book is devoted to Kaufman, a seemingly accomplished scoundrel whose life appears to have been a mix of illusion and delusion. Kaufman came from immigrant parents and ended up in the film industry, though largely on its margins—you won’t find his name in many credits (“Most of my father’s movie career took place at the intersection of making it and making it up,” Weber writes). As described here, he was a terrible husband —unfaithful and totally lacking in empathy for his very passive wife. His relationship with his only daughter was based on his being reliably unreliable, at least, that is, until he stopped talking to her altogether. The book takes a sharp turn when Weber switches her focus to her grandmother, who married a Warburg before falling for a Gershwin. Their romance lasted a decade and was not fully over at the time of the composer’s tragic death. (Weber has much of interest to say on the horrifying circumstances of his demise.) A talented musical figure in her own right, Swift moved in glamorous circles and lived a fascinating life, though ultimately she didn’t do that much parenting, either. Still,

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A Secret Gift: How One Man’s Kindness–and a Trove of Letters– Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression TED GUP Penguin Press, 2010 Hardcover 365 pp. $25.95 [e] ISBN: 978-1-59420-270-4

he week before Christmas 1933, a newspaper ad offered a gift of cash to residents of Canton, Ohio. The applicants never knew the identity of “Mr. B. Virdot.” their pseudonymous benefactor. In June 2008, Ted Gup’s mother handed him a suitcase that had belonged to his grandfather, Sam Stone, containing a cache of letters and canceled checks labeled “Pertaining Xmas Gift Distribution.” Gup, a former investigative reporter for the Washington Post and Time magazine, and currently chair of Emerson College’s Journalism Department, seeks to solve a mystery story in reverse. Why had Stone done it? Why had he kept it secret? Why had he saved the letters? Gup searches for the descendants of the letter-writers to learn: Did the recipients survive? Prosper? Did their progeny know about the secret gift and did it make a difference in their lives? Eventually uncovering his grandfather’s hidden identity as a Finkelstein from a Romanian shtetl, Gup comes to better understand his own complex family heritage. And using the missives’ moving stories of hope and suffering as impetus to learn what subsequently happened to the families, Gup creates a poignant personal portrait of the Great Depression. Interweaving the two strands, Gup powerfully reveals the surprising

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commonalities between donor and recipients, and how a seemingly small act of charity reverberated across eighty years. Index, photographs, timeline. JVB

Waiting: Selected Nonfiction

their possessive and possessed relationship to sound,” she writes, “composers need to be tyrants. . . . Jealousy and cruelty are not unusual in any of the arts. But in music, wicked tongues and devious behavior are common. It’s an antisocial occupation.” Such writing is as refreshing as it is rare. BB

ELIZABETH SWADOS Hanging Loose Press, 2011 Paperback 200 pp. $18.00 ISBN: 978-1-934909-21-8

biography

The Woman Who Dared: A Biography of Amy Levy

his slim but wide-ranging volume shows the comparably slim but wide-ranging Liz Swados—composer, author, director, playwright—to excellent advantage. The topics covered include her upbringing in a Jewish family liberally cursed with mental illness to her own history of bipolar disorder and a gallery of unforgettable characters, including several eccentric relatives and such creative luminaries as Peter Brook, Marlon Brando, and Ellen Stewart. Throughout, Swados appears as a creative artist possessed of both deep empathy and strong boundaries, able to get her casts, which tended to include untrained, non-professional (and often deeply troubled) adolescents, to deliver outstanding work without exploiting them or feeling any need to “save” them. The pieces that document her creative processes —especially her reimagining of the Book of Job as a clown show—are particularly compelling, as is her tribute to her schizophrenic brother, Lincoln. Perhaps the most intriguing moment in the book recounts how her uncle Kim, an art director and artist of some renown, late in life received a generous commission to paint a series of realistic portraits of the leaders of the Third Reich. The family was pleased that Kim was finally doing well financially, and Swados’s father approvingly noted that the portraits were quite accurate. Swados muses, “Does anyone remember that we’re Jews?” Swados’s prose style is delightful throughout. She is a firm believer in direct declarative sentences that pull no punches. “Because of

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CHRISTINE PULLEN Kingston University Press, 2010 Paperback 241 pp. $19.99 ISBN: 978-1-899999-43-9

ullen’s biography of author Amy Levy offers a solid and thoughtful analysis of an all-too-short life. Born to a Jewish family in Victorian England, Amy Levy broke convention to study at university, travel abroad without the then-common proper supervision, and contribute to intellectual circles in discussions of feminism and the changing role of women, among other radical issues of the day. Despite her early literary success, however, Amy Levy ended her life. Pullen explores the possible reasons for this final act by means of a comprehensive look at the parallels between Levy’s written work and her lived experiences as reflected in a wide range of primary sources, especially letters between Levy and her friends and family. Readers should anticipate that The Woman Who Dared is not a typical mass-market biography. Pullen does an excellent job of telling Levy’s story through textual analysis rather than simple narration, and therefore the book focuses heavily on Levy’s short stories and poetry and less on cataloguing the events of Levy’s life. This is a strength, but is best enjoyed by those who appreciate a literary perspective. Index, notes. RSR

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contemporary jewish life Beyond the Façade: A Synagogue, A Restoration, A Legacy LARRY BORTNIKER, ROBERTA BRANDES GRATZ, AND BONNIE DIMUN The Museum at Eldridge Street/ Scala Publishing, 2011 Hardcover 176 pp. $50.00 ISBN: 978-85759-718-9

hy save an old dilapidated synagogue? Beyond the Façade: A Synagogue, A Restoration, A Legacy answers that question. A beautifully illustrated chronicle of saving the Eldridge Street Synagogue (Kahal Adath Jeshurun), the book is a joint effort, as was the restoration. Larry Bortniker is the writer of much of the narrative describing the restoration. Roberta Brandes Gratz, Executive Director of the Eldridge Street Project, wrote the Foreword, and Bonnie Dimun, the Executive Director of the Museum of the Eldridge Street Synagogue wrote the Afterword. The Eldridge Street Synagogue was the first Orthodox synagogue built from the ground up on the Lower East Side. It opened its doors at 12 Eldridge Street on September 4, 1887. The building itself was designed by two German immigrant architect brothers, Peter and

The story of the Eldridge Street Synagogue’s restoration is an epic saga. Francis Herter. These two Catholic young men won the commission based on their elaborate tenement façade designs done uptown in Yorkville and elsewhere on the Lower East Side. The beauty of the Eldridge Street Synagogue launched them onto a career of designing over sixty buildings. The Eldridge building was the only synagogue they designed. The synagogue was the “preeminent mainstay of Orthodox Jewish life in the area” for over forty years, reports Borniker. The sanctuary seated seven hundred and fifty people. Over a million Jews settled on the Lower East Side from 1880 to 1924. Immigration to the Lower East Side dramatically dropped with the passage of the 1924 immigration law, which stopped almost all of the immigration from Eastern Europe. After that, the size of the congregation rapidly dwindled, as did its finances. The Great Depression provided still another blow to the synagogue. Nonetheless, loyal Eldridge congregants continued to worship at the synagogue. When the main sanctuary became too dilapidated in the 1950’s, they moved their worship services to the modest

book profile

Jewish Lives Jewish Encounters The latest offerings in Nextbook Press’s Jewish Encounters Series and Yale University Press’s Jewish Lives Series continue to display astute pairings of subject and author. Ben-Gurion: A Political Life

Emma Goldman: Revolution as a Way of Life

SHIMON PERES WITH DAVID LANDAU Schocken Books, 2011 Hardcover 240 pp. $25.95 [e] ISBN: 978-0-8052-4282-9

VIVIAN GORNICK Yale University Press, 2011 Hardcover 160 pp. $25.00 ISBN: 978-0-300-13726-2

ver the course of many Friday mornings in 2009 and 2010, Shimon Peres sat down with journalist David Landau to talk about David Ben-Gurion, and their discussions formed the basis of this remarkable political biography from Nextbook Press’s Jewish Encounters Series. The book itself follows a rough chronological order, briefly reviewing BenGurion’s early Polish shtetl life and his decision to leave for Palestine, before focusing in depth on the issues surrounding Partition, wars, and statehood. What could have been a bewildering narrative of Israeli politics and personalities is saved by strategic footnotes and an appendix reviewing Israeli history for the uninitiated. Personal anecdotes spice the narrative; feisty dialogues between Peres and Landau close most chapters, preventing the account from veering into hagiography. While attention is paid to key debates of Ben-Gurion’s career—his approach to the Holocaust, his position on a two-state solution, his pursuit of the Lavon affair—the focus remains on Ben-Gurion’s political and moral philosophy. An omnivorous reader, Ben-Gurion educated himself in world military history, Biblical studies—anything he felt would broaden his insight into the world his people would need to navigate. Both a pragmatist and an idealist, he understood that compromise is necessary when no other options remain. A deeply moral man, he tolerated mistakes, but not lies. While many readers may disagree with Peres’s assessments of Ben-Gurion’s positions, few can argue with the political courage and leadership this man offered the Jewish people. Appendix summarizing Israeli history, chronology, source notes.

he Yale series of interpretive biographies of Jewish lives includes some figures known for their Jewish identity—Rashi, Solomon—but others not primarily identified as Jewish—Bob Dylan, Bernard Berenson, and now, Emma Goldman. These are not designed as traditional, in-depth biographies, but as meditations on the importance of the subject in the eyes of an author with a significant point of view. Many readers, particularly leftist-feminists who were active in the Sixties, will be eager, now that some of the dust of that era has settled, to know Gornick’s ‘take’ on Goldman. In Gornick’s eyes, Goldman was the quintessential American anarchist; unfettered personal freedom was her lifelong ideal. Two big challenges for Goldman came from her sense that Marxism seemed to elevate ‘ends’ above ‘means’ when the two, for Goldman, were completely interrelated, and the conflict between Goldman’s theories of sexual radicalism and the realities of her own heart. By sketching out the often-neglected trajectory of Goldman after her deportation to the Soviet Union—her disillusioned wanderings through Europe with lifelong friend Sasha Berkman, her solidarity with the Spanish anarchists, and then her final phase with Canadian anarchists—Gornick offers a surprisingly nuanced account of Goldman’s political dilemmas. While some readers may find the details of Goldman’s sex life—her penchant for younger men, her flagrant eroticism, her raging jealousies—memorable, what’s truly haunting is the way Gornick shows us a woman ahead of her times—maybe even ahead of our times. Bibliography, index.

Bettina Berch, author of the recent biography From Hester Street to Hollywood: The Life and Work of Anzia Yezierska, teaches part-time at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

beit medrash (study hall). There was a fortuitous turnaround in 1971. Gerald Wolfe, a New York University professor and architectural historian, persuaded the sexton of the shul to let him view the main sanctuary. Despite its state of disrepair, Wolfe was impressed with the extraordinary beauty

of the sanctuary, with its hand carved pews and prayer stand, beautiful stained glass windows, carved pillars, and other distinctive features. Wolfe led walking tours of the building and enlisted a group of other people committed to restoring the building to its original architectural glory.

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The story of the Eldridge Street Synagogue’s restoration is an epic saga of activists who were committed to saving a handsome but decrepit building, and preserving an important part of Jewish and Lower East Side history. It is an inspirational and visually exquisite record. CP

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nonfiction

cookbooks A Jewish Calendar of Festive Foods JANE PORTNOY; ROBIN REIKE, ILLUS.; MARSHALL PORTNOY, COMMENTARY Janelle International, 2010 Hardcover 211 pp. $29.95 ISBN: 978-1-615-33631-2

onth by Hebrew month, Jane Portnoy has gathered a year of recipes to mark all the significant days in the annual cycle. Marshall Portnoy, a cantor, has collaborated with his wife, explaining the calendar and introducing each month with a summary of its place and importance in Jewish life. Rounding out the book, Robin Reikes’s lively illustrations of a shtetl family provide a heimish touch. A practicing doctor and surgeon, Portnoy understands the challenges of holiday preparation on a busy schedule and introduces shortcuts—frozen pie crusts, soup mixes for flavoring—and suggests where ready-made dishes—gefilte fish, challah—can be used. The recipes draw on the traditional menu with contemporary touches. Portnoy has helpful tips for keeping the pantry stocked with holiday ingredients to head off last-minute shopping and techniques that will be helpful for kitchen novices. Clearly a labor of love, A Jewish Calendar of Festive Foods makes an attractive gift for any occasion and one that may be consulted month after month. Appendixes, illustrations, indexes, photographs. MLW

The Kosher Carnivore: The Ultimate Meat and Poultry Cookbook JUNE HERSH St. Martin’s Press, 2011 Hardcover 208 pp. $27.99 [e] ISBN: 978-0-312-69942-0

or the kosher cook looking for fresh, contemporary recipes, The Kosher Carnivore presents a host of appealing meat and poultry dishes for both family and company meals. Recognizing that kashrut dictates certain limitations on cuts of meat and on flavor

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combinations, June Hersh, an accomplished cook and former teacher, consulted with several leading professionals, including eco-kosher experts, to suggest the cuts of meats and techniques that will maximize the flavor of any given dish. Dishes range from Argentinean-flavored Grilled Steak Chimichurri, accompanied by a bracing sangria, to Pesto-crusted Roasted Lamb Shoulder, to Classic Pot Roast. Poultry dishes include Chicken and Sausage Gumbo and Breast of Duck Salad as well as Chicken in Lettuce Cups, a Chinese-inspired fifteen-minute meal. In addition to beef, lamb, veal, chicken, and turkey, Hersh suggests trying bison and venison, especially if lean meat is a consideration; she also has a good selection of hearty soups. Throughout, Hersh’s tone is friendly and supportive, and in keeping with this, she has added several helpful asides to enhance preparation and presentation. Behind the Counter provides information the cook needs when buying the meat cuts used in the recipes; Side Dish is cross-referenced to a well-chosen group of accompaniments to round out any meal; Feedback provides tips and variations. Introductory chapters give brief but excellent instructions on meat preparations and equipment and on building flavor. All in all, The Kosher Carnivore is a fine addition to any well-rounded cookbook shelf. Color insert, index. MLW

Kosher Elegance: The Art of Cooking with Style EFRAT LIBFROIND Feldheim, 2011 Hardcover 257 pp. $44.99 ISBN: 978-1-59826-762-4

ost home cooks look at the beautifully presented foods in magazines and wonder how they can replicate the elegant look. Israeli chef Efrat Libfroind makes it easy. Her cookbook, Kosher Elegance: The Art of Cooking with Style, provides detailed instructions and handy tips to guide both novice and experienced cooks through the preparation of a wide variety of dishes. A full-page color

nonfiction photograph of the finished dish accompanies each recipe. The chapters are organized by theme rather than by type of dish. “Sophistication” includes fancy dishes such as pistachio liver pate with caramelized onions. “Occasions” covers recipes for Shabbat and holidays. “Brunch” contains dairy dishes for breakfast, lunch, and informal gatherings. “Simplicity” has quick recipes and “Temptation” and “Chocolate” provide desserts. With dishes such as lettuce, sweet potato and apple salad; eggplant rollups with cashew, cheese, and herb filling; and pomegranate-topped chocolate cups, any kosher cook will be able to prepare a well-presented, delicious, elegant meal. This book would make a lovely wedding present. BMB

Kosher Revolution: New Techniques and Great Recipes for Unlimited Kosher Cooking GEILA HOCHERMAN AND ARTHUR BOEHM Kyle Books, 2011 Hardcover 224 pp. $29.95 ISBN: 978-1906868536

s a well-known TV culinary channel emboldens us with the words, “Stay Hungry,” I urge you to feast (pun intended) your eyes on the elegant but approachable recipes coupled with exquisite photographs by Antonis Achilleos in Kosher Revolution. This cookbook will inspire the novice as well as the experienced cook to put

a delectable meal together. The book’s premise is reflected in “The Chart: Ingredient Exchanges at a Glance.” For dairy, pareve, or meat dishes, the authors list exchanges for Kosher Foods and Non-Kosher Foods, (e.g. Smoked dark meat turkey for ham) as well as for Passover, (e.g. 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water, boiled, for 1 cup corn syrup). The detailed source list for ingredients with their web pages is well thought out. The luscious dishes are highlighted by “Geila’s tips” featuring explicit instructions and guides for serving. Recipes for Miso Glazed Black Cod, Fried Pea and Parmesan Ravioli, Hamentashen with Four Fillings, or Ceviche with Avocado and Tortilla Chips draw you in as you leaf through the pages. The clear instructions for making paneer (an unripened cheese which is a staple of Indian cooking) is something I had never seen in my collection of close to a thousand cookbooks. In the introduction, the author indicates, “Your understanding of cooking anatomy, of the techniques that define dish making, will expand too, so you’ll become a crack improviser, a creative kitchen force.” Geila Hocherman further admits, “Because I fell off the kosher wagon for a while, I know what trafe tastes like, and some of it is very, very good. So I can help you create the best, most diversely flavorful kosher cooking.” Important guides such as “Your Menu Comes First,” “More about Texture,” “The Pantry,” and “Baking” spur you on. This is a blue-ribbon volume, with a clear index. DGL

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cookbooks

Ceviche with Avocado and Tortilla Chips From Kosher Revolution by Geila Hocherman and Arthur Boehm (Kyle Books; 2011) Serves 6 Here’s a confession: I never serve gefilte fish. That favorite has been replaced on my table by this more exciting dish, which will do wonders for your menu as a starter or light main. Tangy with fresh lime, the ceviche also pairs buttery avocado and crunchy chips, a terrific textural play. And most of the dish is made ahead, a big plus when you’ve got other cooking to do. 1½ pounds fluke, flounder or other non-oily, white-fleshed fish, cut into bite-size pieces (about 1-inch square) 1 medium tomato, skinned, seeded and cut into ¼-inch dice 4 scallions, white parts only, sliced thin ½ cup chopped cilantro ½ cup of mango, cut into ¼ -inch dice (optional) 2 garlic cloves, minced ½ jalapeño, seeded and minced ⅓ cup fruity, extra-virgin olive oil ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lime juice ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste 2 avocados, sliced ¼ inch thick Tortilla chips, for serving

Sweet Potato Apple Casserole From A Jewish Calendar of Festive Foods by Jane Portnoy (Janelle International; 2011) This sweet potato apple casserole is a light and refreshing way to present sweet potatoes for a holiday dinner. I include it in my Thanksgiving chapter, but it would be equally appropriate for other holiday menus. After baking is completed, the dish can be garnished with fresh pomegranate seeds which are in season during the late fall and winter. The seeds add a nice color and tang to the recipe. 6 sweet potatoes 3 apples (Golden Delicious are nice for this recipe) Vegetable cooking spray ½ cup orange juice 3 tablespoons lemon juice ¼ cup sugar 2 tablespoons brown sugar ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ cup pomegranate seeds for garnish Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish Boil sweet potatoes until tender and remove skins. When cooled, slice into 1/3inch slices. Peel, core, and slice apples. Spray baking dish with vegetable cooking spray. Place potatoes and apple slices in dish. Pour orange and lemon juices over potatoes and apples. Sprinkle with sugars and cinnamon. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds. Yield: 8 servings

1. In a medium nonreactive bowl, combine the fish, tomato, scallions, cilantro and mango, if using. 2. In a separate small bowl or large measuring cup, combine the garlic, jalapeño, oil, lime juice and salt, and stir to blend. Pour the mixture over the fish and toss gently. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 3. Using a slotted spoon, fill a 4-ounce ramekin with the ceviche. Tip to drain any excess liquid and unmold onto the center of each serving plate. Alternatively, mound portions of the ceviche onto the plates. Fan the avocado around the ceviche, garnish with the chips, and serve. Geila’s Tips: To dismantle an avocado for slicing, first cut it lengthwise and gently twist the halves apart. Embed the pit on the blade-heel of a large knife, twist, and lift to remove the pit. Peel the avocado, then slice the flesh as required. I’ve found that jalapeños with a brown line or veins on the outside are hotter than those without.

Mediterranean Focaccia From Kosher Elegance by Efrat Libfroind (Feldheim; 2011) Makes approximately 15 focaccias, depending on pan size In this recipe I managed to take focaccia, which is normally roundish and asymmetrical, and turn it into a perfect square. The new shape, together with a rich Mediterranean topping, makes this dish unbeatable. Dough: 3½ - 4 cups flour 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1½ - 2 cups water 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon salt 4 tablespoons olive oil

Topping: 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 bunch rosemary leaves 1 red onion, diced 2 zucchini or 1 small eggplant, diced 1 handful cherry tomatoes, quartered 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 handful olives

Dough: Put yeast in a mixer bowl. Add sugar and ½ cup of the water. Let yeast stand for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and combine until a soft dough forms. Let rise in a warm place for about an hour. Topping: Heat olive oil and rosemary in a frying pan. Add onion and saute on a high flame for about 3 minutes. Add zucchini or eggplant, tomatoes, and garlic, and saute for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard rosemary and add olives. Preheat oven to 350°F. Press the dough into any symmetrical silicone mold you choose. If you don’t have silicone molds, you can make traditionally shaped focaccias. (Divide dough into about 15 balls (for mini-focaccias, divide into 20–25 balls). Shape each ball into a flat oval and pierce with a fork.) Top dough with a generous amount of topping and bake for about 20 minutes. Tip: You can substitute whole wheat flour for white flour, but you may need to add ¼ cup water. Tip: For an even richer taste, sprinkle focaccias with cubes of feta cheese 5 minutes before they are finished baking.

Coffee Crusted Hanger Steak From The Kosher Carnivore by June Hersh (St. Martin’s Press; 2011) Why not save time and have your coffee with your dinner rather than after. Freshly ground espresso beans and lots of companion spices combine to give a little jolt to the seared crust of this full-flavored steak. Side Note: For the complete steakhouse experience, try whipping up a batch of creamed spinach to serve on the side. Behind the Counter: Have your butcher cut hanger steak, remove the sinewy vein and present two halves, each half makes one perfect serving. Alternate cuts: rib eye, rib steak (+$) or a “London broil” cut from the shoulder (-$). About 2 servings Start to finish Under 30 minutes 1 (1- to - 1 ¼ - pound) hanger steak, halved 2 tablespoons espresso or strong coffee beans, ground 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground ancho chili pepper 1 teaspoon smoked paprika Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Canola oil Preheat the grill or a stovetop grill pan. Grind the coffee and spices in a spice or coffee grinder and pour that out onto a large plate. Let the steaks come to room temp, coat them in oil and then roll in the ground coffee and spice mixture. Grill, about 15 minutes for rare - medium/rare turning the steaks to brown all sides. After a 10 minutes’ rest, cut into large slices on the diagonal.

nonfiction

God of Our Understanding: Jewish Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction RABBI SHAIS TAUB KTAV, 2010 Paperback 186 pp. $18.95 ISBN: 978-1-60280-153-0

abbi Shais Taub follows in the tradition of Rabbi Abraham Twerski in applying Jewish spiritual and Hasidic concepts to the treatment of alcohol and substance abuse. There is little doubt in the substance abuse treatment community that the twelve-step approach, which involves a spiritual component, contributes to long term recovery in a significant number of cases. George Vaillant, at Harvard, considered one of the foremost authorities on recovery from alcohol abuse, has documented this in landmark longitudinal studies. The reader approaching God of Our Understanding will need to be open to Rabbi Taub’s analysis and application of the twelve-step method from a Hasidic perspective. Unfortunately, his style and approach is much more dependent on the abundant use of religious terms and sources than Rabbi Twerski’s well-known and accessible works. The result is that the secular clinician and all those with a more materialistic and biologically-based conception of addiction will be easily put off by this book. Rabbi Taub’s new book will thus be welcomed by a limited readership of spiritually inclined counselors and clergy seeking a religious explanation of the need on the part of so many for substances that bring relief from the pain of existence but, so often, at a very heavy price. For readers seeking an authentic, scholarly Lubavitch perspective on addiction, God of Our Understanding will be a valuable reference. Appendix , glossary of rabbinic sources. SAL

history Antisemitism: A History ALBERT S. LINDEMANN AND RICHARD S. LEVY, EDS. Oxford University Press, 2010 Paperback 288 pp. $31.95 ISBN: 978-0199235025

fter the horrors of the Holocaust, reasonable people assumed or maybe hoped that this persistent prejudice, the “longest hatred” as Robert Wistrich called it, would finally slide into obsolescence. But today the evidence is unmistakable that anti-Semitism is dramatically on the rise again and that it is global and powerful. The torching of European synagogues, suicide

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terror in Israel, the Holocaust denial literature spreading throughout the Muslim world, the relentless comparison of Israelis to Nazis, the violence and calumny erupting on American and Canadian college campuses, the paranoid conspiracy theories, the proliferation of anti-Semitic literature harking back to medieval myths of blood libel, all suggest that anti-Semitism is alive and well and that it has become appealing and socially and politically acceptable to many. Antisemitism: A History offers a readable overview of the historical context and reach of this old and now “new” and renewed social pathology. The editors, Albert Lindemann and Richard Levy, experts in the field, have gathered an impressive group of recognized scholars who have taken into account the most important developments in their areas of expertise. The fifteen essays contained in the volume for the most part provide succinct and readable introductions to the history and nature of anti-Semitism, emphasizing thematic coherence and balance. Collectively, they cover a range of the topic, from the ancient world and the pre-Christian era, through the Medieval and Early Modern periods, to the Enlightenment and beyond. The later chapters focus on the history of anti-Semitism by region and country, looking at Germany and Austria, France, the English speaking world, Russia and the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, the Arab and Muslim world, and Nazi Germany. The editors provide an excellent introductory chapter that deals with the issues of definition, uniqueness, theory, ideology, and action as well as a suggestive conclusion that reflects on the challenges of the new anti-Semitism. The essays are uniformly good with several, particularly the contributions of the editors; Doris Bergen on Nazi era anti-Semitism, Norman Stillman on anti-Semitism in the Islamic world and Meir Litvak and Esther Welman on Israel and anti-Semitism, being especially impressive. One notable weakness is the barely three pages devoted to American anti-Semitism. To readers seeking a short book that covers a daunting and complex phenomenon, this book will not disappoint. MND

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Einstein Before Israel: Zionist Icon or Iconoclast? ZE’EV ROSENKRANZ Princeton University Press, 2011 Hardcover 368 pp. $35.00 ISBN: 978-0691144122

his is the story of a brilliant man who began life regarding his Jewishness as an obstacle and later embraced it as fully as he could. The book covers the scientist’s early years, before he left Europe in 1933 for Princeton, New Jersey. Archivist, curator, and editor of Einstein sources, the author delivers a wealth of down-to-earth, human material about his famous subject. Raised as a Jew in Munich, Einstein emigrated to Switzerland to escape late nineteenth century German anti-Semitism, took Swiss citizenship, married a Gentile, then returned to Germany to become an academic star. He then divorced his wife and rejected their two sickly (and therefore unproductive) sons as “not valuable.” Though unloved, this first family was always well supported. As a religion, Judaism had no meaning for Einstein. But he married Elsa, a cousin, and began to find Jewish friends more “comfortable.” “Blood is thicker than water,” he said, and as he matured he joined efforts to help Jews suffering persecution in Eastern Europe After World War I, Einstein yielded to attempts to interest him in the growing Zionist movement and also in efforts to found a Hebrew University in Palestine. This institution would be staffed by refugee Jewish professors and attended by Jewish students who were refused admission elsewhere. Academic standards would be of the highest. Einstein was by then so eminent that putting his name on an appeal constituted a major coup. Although he was showcased in a Zionist American fundraising tour, Einstein was only lukewarm about efforts to establish a Jewish homeland. To the despair of his sponsors, his heart belonged to the Jerusalem University. In 1923, during the early British Mandate, Einstein made a wildly acclaimed tour of

book profile

Teach Our Children Well The history of American Jewish education is replete with innovative educators who sought to teach young people how to live as proud, knowledgeable Jews in their new country. The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education JONATHAN B. KRASNER Brandeis University Press, 2011 Hardcover 498 pp. $95.00 ISBN: 978-1-58465-983-9

amson Benderly inaugurated the Bureau of Jewish Education in 1910, seeking to modernize Jewish education and professionalize the field by training a younger generation of teachers, principals, and bureau leaders. These young men became known collectively as the Benderly Boys and, from the 1920s to the 1970s, they were the dominant force in Jewish education in the United States. In this study Jonathan Krasner captures the essence of both early twentieth century educational thinking and the nature of life for the new immigrants who were arriving from Eastern Europe. Benderly and his protegés understood the importance of making Judaism come alive in the classrooms for the children who were growing up American and Jewish on the Lower East Side and other areas of New York City. Footnotes, index. PAF

The Women Who Reconstructed American Jewish Education, 1910-1965 CAROL K. INGALL, ED. Brandeis University Press, 2010 Hardcover 243 pp. $60.00; Paperback $35.00 ISBN: 978-1-58465856-6; 978-1-58465855-9

Passionate Pioneers: The Story of Yiddish Secular Education in North America, 1910-1960 FRADLE POMERANTZ FREIDENREICH; JONATHAN SARNA, FWD. Holmes & Meier Publishers, 2010 Hardcover 522 pp. $55.00; Paperback $35.00 ISBN: 978-0-8410-1458-2; 978-0-8419-1457-5

seeing how secular and public-sponsored Yiddish schools thrived. Young Jews were taught to affirm elements of Jewish tradition that were “in harmony with Jewish life in America.” Regrettably, we all know how the story ends; but did we know, for example, that at Camp Boiberik in upstate New York, most camp communications came in Yiddish until the 1940s, when only 47% of the parents requested Yiddish communications? And who knew that by 1961, all of the parents were asking for English communications? With so many photographs and images, this hefty book is a pleasure to read for academics and for general readers as it brings the Yiddish shuln and camps to life. Appendix, bibliography, CD with fifteen Yiddish camp songs and lyrics, glossary, index, including extensive listings of shuln. JKL

hile much is known about afternoon “Hebrew schools” in the United States and Canada, Fradle Pomerantz Freidenreich opens our eyes by chronicling the rise and decline of Yiddish schools and camps of all ideologies. By including a CD with fifteen summer camp songs in Yiddish, this book has a joyful sound track. The one thousand Yiddish schools, or shuln, that thrived from 1910-1960 ranged in ideology from religious to avowedly secular, from a Labor Zionist stance to a focus on the arts and literature. At least one school offered classes in black history alongside classes in Jewish history. Yiddish secular summer camps also flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, promoting cultural continuity and moral development in the out of doors. This book will be especially interesting to Jewish community leaders and to proponents of Hebrew language charter schools in our era who are interested in

his remarkable collection of educational portraits depicts the lives of eleven women with an indefatigable drive to teach young people and emerging professionals to perpetuate the Hebrew language and literature, Jewish art, Jewish music, and Jewish religious rituals. In Chapter 1, readers meet Ethel Feineman and Grace Weiner, who worked with young women in Jewish settlement houses, providing job training, instruction in personal care, and a Jewish education that instilled a sense of pride and an ability to anchor a Jewish home with holiday celebrations, special foods, and a sense of community responsibility. Libbie L. Braverman, introduced in Chapter 4, taught religious school, insisting that the arts, drama, and music were indispensable, bringing Jewish history to life through shows and pageants. Sadie Rose Weilerstein, introduced in Chapter 6, invented the beloved thumb-sized little boy named K’tonton who appeared in several books, embodying American Jewish aspirations for Israel and attending synagogue like a good American who was confident and comfortable in his faith. The final chapter, written by Dr. Ingall, depicts Sylvia Ettenberg, a woman who was instrumental in founding Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and the Prozdor high school program at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Like many of the women portrayed in the book, her admirable persistence, her dedication to the cause, her involvement with teacher training, and her ability to modify her expectations in lean times combine to make her a role model for all of us. Indeed this book is for all of us with an interest in education, whether we are male or female, seasoned or novice, volunteer or professional. Index. JKL

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nonfiction Palestine and lectured at the site of the university-to-be. Of the envisioned nation he predicted, “nothing will come of it as an agricultural community (the Zionist dream).” But he admired the Jewish commercial dynamism of the cities. As his beloved university took shape, the executive director, Judah Magnes, a prominent New York Reform rabbi, began taking it in a direction that horrified their famous sponsor. Instead of the German research institute Einstein and other European donors and academics expected, it was becoming a highly structured American-style school. Zionists knew that a research orientation would send young people out of the country in droves to get their BA’s. Einstein wanted to resign but having won the Nobel Prize and published the theory of relativity, he was too important to withdraw publicly. The book ends with the issue still unresolved—what was the proper function of a university: to sponsor research, or to teach? Busy readers will have to skim and flip. Students and researchers will find treasures here. JW

Eisenhower 1956: The President’s Year of Crisis, Suez and the Brink of War

he year was 1956, Dwight Eisenhower was president, and the U.S. government was considering sanctions against Israel. And a blockade. And, possibly even having to fight Israel. While these events may sound distant and almost unfathomable, they are a significant part of the story David A. Nichols tells. His book is an extensively researched effort to chronicle Eisenhower’s handling of the Suez Canal crisis, which culminated in Israel, Britain, and France fighting Egypt—and the United

Jewish Book World

How the End Begins: The Road to a Nuclear World War III RON ROSENBAUM Simon & Schuster, 2011 Hardcover 304 pp. $28.00 [e] ISBN: 978-1-4165-9421-5

DAVID A. NICHOLS Simon & Schuster, 2011 Hardcover 346 pp. $28.00 [e] ISBN: 978-1-4391-3933-2

States and Soviet Union strenuously objecting to their efforts. The author focuses on the level-headed leadership of Eisenhower, who juggled the explosive crisis as he dealt with the Soviet invasion of Hungary, his health woes, and the 1956 election. Nichols likes Ike, but his sympathies don’t extend to Israel. Consecutive chapters are titled “Betrayal of Trust” and “Double-Crossing Ike,” and the author highlights Israel among Ike’s betrayers. Nichols generally casts Israel as brutal and devious, without even any consideration that, for instance, an alliance among Egypt (and its new Soviet-supplied arms), Syria, and Jordan would have given Israel real reason to fear for its security. This is disappointing. Another issue: Though Nichols is highly critical of the Allies’ deceitfulness, he doesn’t let himself get too bothered by the administration’s artifice about Ike’s precarious health before the 1956 election. End notes, index. DC

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ow the End Begins: The Road to a Nuclear World War III recounts several instances when the world came close to nuclear war. The author, Ron Rosenbaum, maintains that even with the demise of the Soviet Union, the threat of nuclear war is rising due to the proliferation of nuclear weapons among unstable/aggressive countries such as Pakistan and Iran. The fact that Russia and the United States continue to keep their respective nuclear forces on a hair-trigger alert is also of great concern to the author. Rosenbaum does a good job surveying several cases where nuclear war almost occurred, including the Cuban missile crisis and the Yom Kippur War (1973). On occasion he becomes overwrought as when he speculates that

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the 2007 Israeli Air Force raid on the Syrian nuclear reactor could have provoked Russia to threaten to launch a nuclear attack against Israel. Rosenbaum does a better job, however, in his interviews of various people who have held jobs in the nuclear arms field. He asks each of them to evaluate the ethics of launching a retaliatory nuclear strike killing tens of millions of people following a devastating nuclear attack against the United States. The crux of the ethical dilemma is that if nuclear deterrence failed and the population of the United States was wiped out, what would be the point of launching a retaliatory strike that would result in the loss of tens of millions of additional lives? Much of the book focuses on this ethical question and the answers that various people provide. It is interesting to hear the responses of those who were tasked with possibly launching a nuclear retaliatory strike. GE

Jerusalem: The Biography SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE Knopf, 2011 Hardcover 672 pp. $35.00 [e] ISBN: 978-0-307-26651-4

he author’s great-great uncle, Sir Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) had a tremendous influence on the city of Jerusalem and modern-day Israel. Perhaps that is what motivated Simon to tackle this monumental task: a history of the “only city that exists twice—in heaven and on earth”—from the Bronze Age through the current negotiations on the city’s “final status.” With a keen eye for detail, the author parades for the reader the invasions of Jerusalem, after the Jewish Kings, by the Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, and Ottomans. The leaders of these groups— known to many only as statues or paintings in museums—come alive with their intelligence (mostly wicked), savagery, foibles, and even bedroom peccadilloes. However, it is perhaps Jerusalem’s history from the eighteenth century on through which the reader gains the most new insight into the decisions of past leaders quoted today to build credence for one argument or another. The Epilogue, in which the author attempts to sketch Jerusalem’s likely future, left this reviewer wanting but that is not Sebag Montefiore’s fault. He is a historian, after all, and never intended to join the ranks of Jonah, Micah, and Nahum, the prophets who walked Jerusalem in Biblical times. This book should interest all who feel close to Jerusalem and want to connect with the history of those stones we and others treasure so much. Bibliography, genealogy, index, maps, notes, photographs. HBJ

nonfiction

Jews and Magic in Medici Florence: The Secret World of Benedetto Blanis EDWARD GOLDBERG University of Toronto Press, 2011 Hardcover 331 pp. $70.00 [e] ISBN: 978-1-4426-4225-6

hat was it like to be a Jew in Florence, Italy, in the early seventeenth century? Edward Goldberg answers that question by compiling a mass of original material into a readable narrative. No ordinary historian, he follows the personal problems of a Jew and a nobleman while skillfully exploring various aspects of Florentine life. The author is an archivist of Florentine history. As in many other cities, a Jewish bargain basement flourished in the Florentine ghetto. Luxury goods, either used or stolen, were for sale there at temptingly low prices. Jews were also the economy’s money lenders. Since it was considered sinful and was illegal to charge interest, collecting a bad debt was a problem. As a self-governing community, the Jews lavished care on their synagogue and holiday observances. Benedetto Blanis, a merchant of some wealth and distinction, lived with his wife and daughters in one room. Residents were marked as Jews by yellow badges for all. With his noble Medici patron and some priests, Benedetto undertook occult studies and attempted to turn base metals into gold. In good Renaissance style this “magic circle” grasped at any classical manuscripts not banned by the Inquisition, copied them by hand and tried to learn Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Certainly for academics, but for many others, too, Jews and Magic offers a rare view of one western ghetto before the gates were opened. JW

Sinners on Trial: Jews and Sacrilege after the Reformation MAGDA TETER Harvard University Press, 2011 Hardcover 358 pp. $39.95 [e] ISBN: 978-0-674-05297-0

ention of Jews in the Middle Ages often conjures up words like ritual murder accusations and burning at the stake. Though the medieval period was undoubtedly a violent one during which countless Jews suffered and died, such atrocities are at least as, if not more, representative of the modern period. Magda Teter’s new book discusses hundreds of cases from sixteenth and seventeenth century Poland in which Jews were implicated in one way or another in charges of sacrilege against Catholic churches and their contents.

The pages of Sinners on Trial are replete with accounts of torture and violent executions, but also of the deeply intertwined lives of Jews and Christians in post-Reformation Poland. Teter is one of the only historians writing in English who is familiar with source material in Polish and in Hebrew, and her wide erudition allows her to place these trials in the many contexts—religious, political, economic, emotional—in which they took place. An important aspect of her analysis is the insight that, in many cases, the real conflict was between Catholics and Protestants, and that the Jews were merely convenient pawns in the power struggle between Christians. Sinners on Trial is an important contribution to early modern European history that gives Jewish history an integral but not exclusive place. PR

holocaust studies Children During the Holocaust: Documenting Life and Destruction: Holocaust Sources in Context Series PATRICIA HEBERER Altamira Press, 2011 Hardcover 530 pp. $49.95 ISBN: 978-0-7591-1984-0

his new series by the USHMM Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies uses first hand accounts of those who suffered during the Shoah, those who were the perpetrators, and those who, as bystanders, were witnesses. The book under review is the second in the series, preceded by Jewish Responses to Persecution, 1933-1946 by Jürgen Matthaus and Mark Roseman in 2009. This book’s ten chapters depict the persecutory policies of the Nazis and their sympathizers and the impact on Jewish children and adolescents. It is estimated that 1.6 million

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children lived in areas that would fall under Nazi control. Here are descriptions of the stunned reaction of the children in the early years of persecution, as former friends turn against them. This is followed by the loss of jobs by their fathers; disappearance of friends, family, often parents; roundups and deportations; hiding and trying to outwit persecutors like wild hares dodging the hunter’s gun. Despite all this, when given a little respite and a little space, the children played! They tailored their games to their specific environment. Even the children subject to Nazi doctors’ experimentations dared to dream, to pretend to be in another place—their way of coping. Adolescents, on the other hand, were the most daring: it was they who stole out of the ghetto to bring food to their parents, who dared to steal from peasant farmers for the resistance, or to waylay Nazi trains with explosives. On the other hand, the Aryan youth, having been second-class citizens in the family prior to Hitler’s elevating them to the specially chosen, relished their new status and activities, some worshipping Hitler like a god and gobbling up the Nazi mantras. Of course, there were some rare teens, usually from religious Christian families, who, like their parents, obeyed not Hitler, but the golden rule. They were among the rescuers. Rescuers often had to invent new names and personalities, falsify identity papers, and manufacture histories for the children they were bringing to the homes of resistance members. The children had to remember this and act convincingly in their new roles. Convents took Jewish children, who then had to learn the prayers and ways of that religion; some had to convert. In addition to the narrative, personal testimonies by the children form the mainstay of the book: their experiences, including some horrifying narrow escapes from death. Many of these children would testify against their persecutors years later. Finally, in the last chapter, the surviving children had to decide where to go next. Surviving parents searched convents for their children. Parentless children had to be cared for. Both Jewish and non-Jewish survivors had

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high-ranking officers who were anti-Hitler members of the Wehrtmacht, the failed plot to kill Hitler, the tragic British bombing of two vessels containing Jewish camp survivors, and our heroine’s machinations with the charming Brits of the occupying force made fascinating reading. MWP

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin

to face the daunting challenge of rebuilding their lives. Children wondered if they should seek their families in their former homes, remain in an orphanage until someone came for them or directed them otherwise, or go to a DP camp. The Red Cross helped, and Jewish organizations such as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee worked nonstop. Many individual accounts are provided here. Photos. MWP

Commemorating Hell: The Public Memory of Mittelbau-Dora GRETCHEN SCHAFFT AND GERHARD ZEIDLER University of Illinois Press, 2011 Hardcover 216 pp. $70.00; Paperback $25.00 ISBN: 978-0-252-03593-7 ISBN: 978-0-252-07788-3 (pbk.)

ittelbau-Dora was an underground rocket-assembly camp in the middle of Germany. It was a death camp without gas chambers. Its workers worked and lived like moles in the bowels of a damp, dark, cold mountain. In the short time that it existed, both in the main camp and the sub-camps, approximately 20,000 of the 60,000 prisoners died. Because the camp developed rockets used in warfare, it was subject to extensive bombing by the Allies trying to eliminate it and for “payback.” Because this is an anthropological examination of the Nazi camp, it is less about events than it is about how people find meaning in the events: how that meaning is produced; and how and by what means it changes over time. The memory of this camp has been maintained by people living and working in many countries and under a variety of political regimes, including a divided Germany. The official records are but the architecture upon which anthropology hangs “fragments” of documentation. Poems, mementos, memoirs, and oral histories are what it values and there are many moving examples of each here. One cannot help but note that the Nazi scientists were brought into

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the United States to lead its space explorations, a fact kept in mind by Eli Rosenbaum, director of its Office of Special Investigations (O.S.I.). For the past three decades, he has kept Mittelbau-Dora in mind, as he built a case against Arthur Rudoph, who managed the U.S. Pershing Missile program and the Saturn V program, which developed the first rocket to the moon. Rudolph had been a member of the Nazi party two years before Hitler took office. In Mittelwerk, he had voluntarily watched the slow strangulation by hanging of prisoners accused of sabotage. In all, this is a fascinating account of a period of history and the people who experienced the horror and heroism of the era. Bibliography, index, photographs. MWP

Gretel’s Story: A Young Woman’s Secret War Against the Nazis GRETEL WACHTEL AND CLAUDIA STRACHAN Lyons/Globe, 2011 Hardcover 288 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 978-0-7627-6413-6

ow many times have you heard a great story and said: “You ought to write a book!” Such was the case when German-born author Claudia Strachan moved to England and met Gretel Wachtel, an older expatriate. Wachtel had plenty to tell: first of all, how, as a top-notch trader on the black market, she funneled as much food as possible to the good priest who was housing Jews on the run; how as a sexy young German with Socialist leanings and Jewish friends, she used her sexual maneuvers to sabotage every job assigned to her by the Third Reich and married an oversexed, albeit masochistic, member of the resistance to get out of working for Hitler. Sex was Wachtel’s secret weapon and she utilized it with ingenuity and flair, until at last, she found her true love. As limned by writer Claudia Strachan, the book reads like a novel. One reads it for adventure, but it is also a most interesting history of what happened in Germany during the Third Reich. Wachtel’s friendship with

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ERIK LARSON Crown Publishers, 2011 Hardcover 434 pp. $26.00 [e] ISBN: 978-0-307-40884-6

rik Larson, the bestselling author of The Devil in the White City, focuses his meticulously researched new book on the first few years of Hitler’s ascendancy to power as experienced by the newly appointed American ambassador to Berlin and his family. William E. Dodd was a professor of American history at the University of Chicago when President Roosevelt appointed him to that important post. Dodd took his family to Berlin, including his twenty-four-year-old beautiful, charming, and sexually adventurous daughter Martha. Martha Dodd was ultimately entranced by the Nazi revolution—the pomp and energy of the new Germany, the handsome young men of the Third Reich, the lush parties and the intrigue of Berlin. Many men courted her and found her eagerly responsive. Her lovers included Rudolph Diels, the young first chief of the Gestapo; the writer Thomas Wolfe, when he came to Berlin; a German flying ace; a French diplomat; and most important, Boris Winogradrov, who was connected to the Soviet Embassy. “I tried in a self-conscious way to justify the actions of the Nazis, to insist that we should not condemn without knowing the whole story,” she wrote in her memoir. To a friend she said, “We sort of don’t like the Jews anyway.” In this opinion she echoed the general sentiment that prevailed at home. Public opinion was isolationist and there was a rising tide of anti-Semitism that manifested in the emergence of fascist movements, violence, intimidation, and opposition to opening the doors to German-Jewish refugees. The State Department was filled with anti-Semites like William Phillips, Undersecretary of State, and Wilbur J. Carr, an Assistant Secretary of State, in charge of the consular services, who were inclined to let the Nazis have their way with the Jews. Her father, increasingly skeptical and outraged by what he was witnessing, voiced his concern to a largely indifferent State Department and watched with alarm as Jews were arrested, the press censored, and drafts of new laws that discriminated and ultimately disenfranchised Jews were proposed and implemented. William

book profile

La Iréne Némirovsky’s newly published 1947 novel, All Our Worldly Goods, explores the effects of the two World Wars across multiple generations. The Mirador, a fictional biography by Némirovsky’s daughter, examines the consequences of World War II for her and her mother.

hen Irène Némirovsky died in Auschwitz in 1942, only months before the death of her husband, Michel Epstein, she left behind two daughters, Denise Epstein and Élisabeth Gille, and the unfinished manuscript for her now-famous novel Suite Française. Sandra Smith, who translated Suite Française into English, has also translated other books by Némirovsky; the most recent of these to reach the North American market is All Our Worldly Goods (Vintage, 2011. 272 pp. $14.95 ISBN: 978-0-307-74329-9), which was originally published in France in 1947. At the outset of the novel, when Pierre Harledot goes against his parents’ wishes, breaking off his engagement to Simone Renaudin in favor of Agnès Florent, he sets in motion a series of events through which the families and offspring become increasingly entwined. In this way, in All Our Worldly Goods, which leaves off after the German occupation of Saint-Elme, Némirovsky provides a fascinating commentary on the personal and social effects of war by exploring the interactions of three families over multiple generations against the backdrop of the First and Second World Wars in France. In comparison, in The Mirador: Dreamed Memories of Irène Némirovsky by Her Daughter (The New York Review of Books, 2011. 256 pp. $14.95 [e] ISBN: 978-159017-444-9), which was originally published in France in 1992, Élisabeth Gille combines

Dodd, who at first thought that Hitler could be controlled, soon realized that they were living in a “garden of beasts” intent on war, domination, and destruction. Eventually, Martha also became disillusioned with the Nazis and was recruited by Soviet intelligence, a relationship that continued when she returned to the United States in 1938. She became prominent in Communist causes and fled to Mexico in 1953 when subpoenaed by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Larson, a master of historical nonfiction, has written a fascinating book that fleshes out many of the key players in Hitler’s ascendancy to power through the lenses of these “innocents abroad” as they come to realize the dangers of the gathering storm. He provides new insight into the question of how ordinary Germans willingly allowed themselves to be

fact and fiction to explore the effects of the Second World War on her and her mother’s lives. As the subtitle implies, the book is written as a biography of Némirovsky in which Gille assumes her mother’s voice. In it, Gille explores Némirovsky’s childhood in Russia, her family’s flight to France during the Bolshevik Revolution, her literary education at the Sorbonne, her life with Michel Epstein, as well as literary success and her experiences in the town of Issy-l’Évêque, where she wrote Suite Française. At the conclusion of each chapter, Gille also includes a short section that is written in the third person in which she describes episodes in her own life between May 1940 and October 1991. Here, Gille reflects upon her experiences of the war and its aftermath, her Jewish identity, and the process of coming to terms with her childhood memories and the complexities of her mother’s past. Notably, The Mirador was originally published four years before Gille’s death and twelve years before the publication of Suite Française. For this reason, amidst the plethora of recent biographical and critical material that has been released about Némirovsky, it is a testament to the lasting effect of the writing that both Némirovsky and Gille left behind. Sarah Shewchuk is pursuing a Ph.D. in Comparative literature at the University of Alberta. Her doctoral research examines Holocaust literature.

brought in line with Nazi ideology and policy. The book, although carefully researched and documented, reads like a political thriller. It is highly recommended to anyone interested in the rise of the Third Reich and America’s role in that process. MND

The Lemberg Mosaic: The Memoirs of Two Who Survived the Destruction of Jewish Galicia JAKOB WEISS Alderbrook Press, 2011 Paperback 430 pp. $18.00 ISBN: 978-0-9831091-0-5

eautiful, cultured Lemberg, the “Vienna”of Eastern Europe, also known as Lvov, was the third largest city in Poland with the third

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largest Jewish population, after Warsaw and Lodz. As the soul of Galicia, a vibrant Jewish cultural center for the hundreds of surrounding towns, villages, and shtetls, the destruction of Lemberg was particularly tragic. This book gives the reader a blow-by-blow description of what happened, when and how it happened, and to whom it happened. Lemberg was the site of the Janowska death and transit camp. It is the mass grave of more than 200,000 Jewish martyrs, and was the rerouting point for another 500,000 sent to Belzec, the Nazis’ death factory. Over 1,000,000 Jews were systematically murdered there. The Ukrainian militia, worse than the Nazis, served these overlords with fervor fed by avarice and hate—the hatred of the Ukrainian populace unleashed in all its fury. Most of the Polish and Ukrainian partisan groups were also antiSemitic and made life miserable for any who

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contemplated escape; they were little more than robbers. In the shtetls, every department was given a name that in actuality was the opposite of the normal meaning of the word— the “Welfare Department” being merely a tool for the roundup of Jews to be murdered, etc. Jews were made even more desperate when they heard that among the dead were two of the most beloved rabbis in Lemberg, Chief Rabbi Ezekiel Lewin and Rabbi Benzion Halberstam (the “Bobover Rabbi.”) This book is the most detailed indictment of the death and destruction of a former citadel of beauty and culture, and the death of the Jews who once lived there. It is a necessary book for any Holocaust library since there are few, if any, books devoted to Jewish Galicia. MWP

correspondents. Yet he points out that Shirer and the news people he worked with, along with even the highest-ranking officials in government, were unable to predict that by the middle of 1941 the Germans would have begun murdering Jews by the hundreds of thousands. Few foreign correspondents, Shirer included, wrote much about the Nazi efforts against the Jews. Still, his dedication to uncovering the truth and his manner of reporting permanently changed the face of foreign correspondence and significantly shaped the way in which Americans back home experienced the war. Bibliography, index, notes. LFB

The Long Night: William L. Shirer and the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

JULIAN PADOWICZ Academy Chicago Publishers, 2011. Paperback 256 pp. $17.95 ISBN: 978-0-89733-616-1

STEVE WICK Palgrave Macmillan, 2011 Hardcover 245 pp. $27.00 [e] ISBN: 978-0-230-62318-7

Loves of Yulian: Mother and Me, Part III

ecades after its publication, Shirer’s masterwork, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, remains the gold standard in Holocaust research, and now Steve Wick, an award-winning journalist, has dug deeply into its creation in this thought-provoking and accessible exposition about the man, the times in which he worked, and the book itself. Wick did much of his voluminous research at the William L. Shirer Collection at the library at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sifting through Shirer’s letters, journals, cables, telegrams, and memoirs, material that enabled Wick to deduce Shirer’s moods and thoughts, his hopes and fears during the years between 1925 and 1940, when he lived and worked in Europe. Wick writes with wit and authority about how horrified Shirer felt standing beside Hitler and hearing his threats and attending parties thrown by high-ranking Nazis for foreign

he three books in this series are the merriest Holocaust books I have ever read. That is because the author has a great sense of humor and he and his mother are “characters.” She is gorgeous, resourceful, and knows how to use her looks and sex to get her and her son to safety. In addition, the author himself was a weird little guy who had strange ideas about God and religion, couldn’t relate to other children and formed conclusions about situations that were quite bizarre (both the situations and his conclusions!) After escaping over the Carpathian Mountains into Hungary (Book 1), eight-year-old Yulian and his mother, Barbara, with courage, wit, and a large diamond ring, finally make it by boat to Brazil—where they have adventures—he with an older female refugee (Irenka), and she with a wealthy suitor whose Latin ardor clashes with her European upper-class values, but she really needs his money . . . So many romances and so much pretending! What a movie, maybe a musical, this would make. MWP

Out of the Depths: From Buchenwald to Jerusalem: A Memoir RABBI ISRAEL MEIR LAU Sterling Publishing, 2011 Hardcover 368 pp. $24.95 [e] ISBN: 978-1-4027-8631-0

hanks to his mother’s quick thinking (she sized up the situation as soon as she saw the Nazis sort the cattle cars by men, and women and children to different cars) she grabbed her seven-year-old son’s back with both hands and shoved him in the direction of the men, saying: “Tulek, take Lulek. Goodbye Tulek; goodbye Lulek.” Tulek was Lulek’s (Israel’s) older brother, Napthali. When the door of the cattle car shut behind them, the young Israel was angry and bereft, not realizing that his mother had saved his life. For the rest of the war, through all the prison camps, the transition to different trains, different camps, Napthali protected his little brother, Israel—even leaping from one train car to another when the brothers became separated and Napthali deduced that the cars might later be detached. Entering Buchenwald, Israel survived the initial shaving, vaccination, etc. due to a kind gentile doctor, a prisoner from Czechoslovakia, who did not believe little Israel’s declaration of being fifteen, and explained to Napthali that the child would die if given the serum, full strength. When Napthali told him the truth, that his brother was only seven-and-a-half, the doctor gave him only a half vial. When the brothers were separated and Israel went to a different block, the Russian prisoners were kind to him and one prisoner, Feodor, protected him, and acted as a messenger between the brothers. The story of how Napthali fought to stay near his little brother until the end of the war, and how the brothers finally reached Israel after Buchenwald was liberated in 1945, is a rich, beautifully told story. Little Israel Meir, one of the youngest survivors of Buchenwald, and descended from a 1,000-year unbroken chain of rabbis, grew up to become Chief Rabbi of Israel. He is also chairman of Yad Vashem. MWP

The Perfect Nazi: Uncovering My Grandfather’s Secret Past MARTIN DAVIDSON G.P. Putnam and Sons, 2011 Hardcover 366 pp. $26.95 [e] ISBN: 978-0-399-15701-1

he story he’d always heard was how his German grandfather, who’d served in the Wehrmacht, was saved from execution by a Russian officer suddenly sick of all the killing.

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book profile

Poetic Defiance Poems written in German while the authors were in concentration camps were expressions of “poetic defiance” against the silencing and dehumanization imposed by the perpetrators. Women Against Tyranny is a paean to the many women who fought in the Resistance. Traumatic Verses: On Poetry in German from the Concentration Camps, 1933-1945 ANDRÉS NADER Camden House, 2010 Paperback 270 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 978-1571134806

ne cultural fact of our age is that the imaginative literature on the Holocaust continues to proliferate at an astonishing rate. Fiction, memoirs, film, drama, and poetry about the Shoah appear with predictable regularity. Despite the horror of the subject matter and the ambiguity of many of the conclusions that can be drawn from it and concerns expressed by literary and social critics like George Steiner and Theodor Adorno, who warn of the collapse of the imagination when confronted with the Holocaust, the temptation to withdraw from it has been resisted. One reason for this is that many artists see their pursuit of the subject as an inherently moral one. Traumatic Verses, an erudite, well-researched, and lucidly reasoned academic study by Andrés Nader, closely examines a representative range of poems written in German in a variety of camp settings by Hasso Grabner, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Karl Schnog, Ruth Kluger, Edgar Kypfer-Koberwitz, and Ilse Weber, among others, composed in Buchenwald, Dachau, Flössenburg, and Theresienstadt. These poems are marked in two particular ways. They were written while the authors were imprisoned in concentrations camps and they were written in German, the language of their persecutors. Nader provides a psychoanalytically informed reading of these poems, tells the stories behind the composition and preservation of these writings, and discusses their significance for aesthetic theory and for research on the concentration camps. Most of these poems appear for the first time in English translation along with the original German texts. The book explores some important and fascinating questions. Why did some inmates engage in aesthetic practices? Why poetry? Why would people deprived of the most basic and essential human requirements and human rights resort to creative expression? What do their verses tell us about poetry and language in conditions of extremity? And most specifically, what is the significance of the cultural production

What he didn’t know, and what he never asked, was why his grandfather had been singled out for execution in the first place. This is the story that BBC television producer and journalist Martin Davidson finally—at the

from the camps in the language of the perpetrators? At its most profound level, poems in German, particularly those composed by Jews, directly defied the Nazi ideology that linked culture and language to race and claimed that Jews were incapable of authentic expression in German. By writing in German they were reclaiming the language that had been corrupted and co-opted by Nazism. Their poems are examples of the ways in which inmates tried to resist the attacks on their cultural identity and their individuality. By composing poems in German and poems that occasionally incorporate classical aspects of the lyric tradition, Jewish writers implicitly were insisting on a cultural role for themselves in German. The poems engage questions of morality, agency, and authentic voice. They are also expressions of “poetic defiance” because they are gestures that contradict the humiliation, silencing, and dehumanization imposed by the perpetrators. The poems are thus private acts of protest, on the one hand, and expressions of private creativity and freedom, on the other. This book makes an important contribution to Holocaust Studies, and to trauma studies, that fills in the gaps left by literary scholars who, for the most part, have not carefully studied the poetry produced in the camps in German. It adds a significant and nuanced dimension to our understanding of the camp experience and of the Adorno question of the feasibility of “poetry after Auschwitz.” MND

Women Against Tyranny: Poems of Resistance During the Holocaust DAVI WALDERS Clemson University Digital Press, 2011 Paperback 102 pp. $19.95 [e] ISBN: 978-0984259878

paean to the many women who figured in the Resistance: their spirit, their courage, what they might have thought, considered, sacrificed, and accomplished, told in lyrical free verse that seems to impel the reader to share the lines with an audience, a single listener, or a classroom. Even though the author’s words populate each poem, I hear the voices of the women she channels and whom I, too, have met through their writings and the writings of others. Now I feel as if they are speaking to me. MWP

age of thirty-five and after his grandfather’s death—was determined to uncover. To little Martin, Bruno Langbehn was a jovial dentist living in Berlin. But what he eventually learns is that Bruno had not been an average soldier,

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but a devout, one might say “born-again” Nazi officer who had joined the S.A. (Stormtroopers) so early he was honored with the “old timers” Gold Party Badge. Indeed, he had enlisted in one of the S.A.’s most violent

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battalions, Sturm 33, in the Charlottenberg section of Berlin, where some of the S.A.’s bloodiest offences occurred. Later, Bruno joined the S.S., signing on to its most dreaded division—the S.D, architects of the Final Solution. All this Davidson reveals in the order of his discoveries as he tries to come to grips with the truth. Alas, there is so little hard information on Bruno that the bulk of the book devolves into a history of the rise of the S.A. and some of the doings of the S.S. and S.D. We rarely get insights into Bruno’s character or the psychology of Nazi believers, or the ethical and personal ramifications of family secrets and the legacy of Nazism. Nevertheless, this is an often fascinating and unsettling journey which many readers will appreciate. Bibliography, index, notes. ML

A Physician Under the Nazis: Memoirs of Henry Glenwick HENRY GLENWICK; DAVID GLENWICK, ED.; THANE ROSENBAUM, FWD. Hamilton Books, 2011. 92 pp. $17.99 [e] ISBN: 978-0-7618-5136-3

lenwick’s memoir focuses on his experiences as a physician in Russian-occupied Ukraine after the outbreak of World War II until the Germans took over. With help, he then smuggled himself back to Warsaw to be with his family in the ghetto, became registered to practice medicine and worked in the hospital, amid all the surrounding horror and confusion of the ghetto, until he too was marched to the camp where selection was taking place. Luckily he was sent to Budzyn, a labor camp where he met five other physicians from Warsaw and two German Jewish physicians. The German officers employed them all in a clinic with decent living accommodations. From there, he was transferred to a series of other camps until liberation, a DP camp, and eventual immigration to the United States. The book would have benefited from stories about how the doctors helped some of the prisoners survive. MWP

Waltzing with the Enemy: A Mother and Daughter Confront the Aftermath of the Holocaust RASIA KLIOT AND HELEN MITSIOS Urim, 2011 Paperback 272 pp. $19.95 ISBN: 978-1-936068-21-0

o survive the Holocaust, Rasia Kliot of Vilnius, Poland relied on her “good”—i.e. Aryan—features, good fortune (her family’s wealth allowed her to buy sanctuary from non-Jews), Polish Christian friends who

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provided her with false documents enabling her to live outside the ghetto, her intuition, and her ability to submerge her Jewish identity under an assumed Christian one. The war’s end never fully liberated her from the sense of threat, her distrust of people, and her ambivalence toward her Jewishness. These post-traumatic consequences permeated her complicated relationships with her Greek, non-Jewish husband, himself a survivor, and her only daughter, Helen Mitsios, raised as a Catholic until she began her own journey back to her Jewish roots. The book offers a window into the internal mechanisms of trauma and survival (Rasia’s narrative) and the transmission of trauma across generations (Helen Mitsios’s narrative) in an unusual family constellation marked by multiple religious identities. Though marred by inconsistencies and errors and a sometimes jumpy and unclear chronology, the book nevertheless successfully conveys Rasia’s determination to survive and the emotional costs that survival demanded. The book is strongest when communicating Helen’s struggles to extricate herself from the web of over-protection, love, and fear that were her mother’s legacy and her determination—as strong as her mother’s—to make peace with her mother, herself, and her Jewishness in a post-Holocaust world. Photographs. DLW

We All Wore Stars: Memories of Anne Frank from Her Classmates THEO COSTER Palgrave Macmillan, 2011 Hardcover 224 pp. $24.00 [e] ISBN: 978-0-230-11444-9

n 1941, the Nazis separated all Jewish students and made them attend a special school, the Amsterdam Jewish Lyceum. Theo Coster was a student at this school and one of his classmates was Anne Frank. His family went into hiding, but unlike the Franks, they all survived. He returned to Amsterdam, finished his university studies, and immigrated

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to Israel, where he married and became a successful businessman. In 2001, Dienke Hondius wrote a book about the Lyceum and invited any surviving students to attend the launch party. Realizing that all of the survivors were now in their eighties, he decided to make a film to document their memories of the war and their impressions of Anne. This book is based on the 1995 film, The Classmates of Anne Frank. It introduces readers to a remarkable group of people who remember Anne as vain and generous, ordinary and creative, rebellious and precocious. Noting that the situation caused children to grow up quickly, this book becomes a tribute to their resilience. Among Anne’s classmates are Albert Gomes de Mesquita, who hid in ten different towns across Europe during the war, and Hannah Goslar, who survived the horrors of Bergen Belsen and reconnected with Anne just before her death. This is a wonderful chance for readers to learn more about Anne Frank as well as to meet other children who survived. BMB

When Courage Prevailed: The Rescue and Survival of Jews in the Independent State of Croatia 1941-1945 ESTHER GITMAN Paragon House, 2011 Hardcover 300 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 978-1-55778-893-1

he Jews in Serbia suffered greatly during the Shoah at the hands of the Nazis, but they were also active in the Partisan movement, along with other Serbs. Croatia, on the other hand, officially collaborated with the Nazis. The Ustase adopted Nazi ideology and were, if possible, even more ardent in their persecution and cruelty toward Jews. When Courage Prevailed examines the ways in which Jews were rescued by Croatians, and how they survived. One of the things that made rescue possible was the designation by Pavelic, the leader of the Ustase, that Jews whose professions were vital to Croatia’s national interest,

and their families—about five hundred persons—were termed “Honorary Aryans;” members of mixed marriages—about one thousand—were also subsumed under this title. Until 1943, “Aryan Rights” was another term under which Jews could apply and a few thousand obtained, if they were important to the Croatian society and were the only ones with the credentials for certain occupations, since the larger Croatian population was illiterate. There were many among the Croatian populace who helped Jews. For a Jew to survive, he or she had to be brave, resourceful, and willing to seize every opportunity for escape and would then owe a debt of gratitude to as many as twenty helpers. Entire villages hid Jewish children. The Partisans helped at least fifteen hundred Jewish non-combatants and also aided Jews escaping over the mountains. Many efforts entailed great risk. Even though the Croats were known as Nazi collaborationists, this book reveals the practical and ethical motives animating rescue. MWP

The Words to Remember It: Memoirs of Child Holocaust Survivors SYDNEY CHILD HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS GROUP Scribe Publications, 2010 Hardcover 346 pp. $29.95 ISBN: 9781921372636

ver twenty years ago, child survivors in Sydney, Australia, created a group in which they could share their stories. With a foreword by Caroline Jones, The Words to Remember It: Memoirs of Child Holocaust Survivors brings together thirty of these stories. As survivors age, books such as this become valuable reminders of the importance of preserving individual stories for future generations, and, as such, the authors reflect not only on how they experienced World War II as children, but also on the ways in which they are able to recollect their experiences as adults. From hiding in the countryside

near Vilno, to enduring life in Auschwitz and the Warsaw Ghetto, being sent to England on a kindertransport, fleeing to Shanghai, and being hidden by the French Resistance, these memoirs reveal how Jewish children in different contexts experienced the war. In addition, the authors discuss the complexities of adapting to life in orphanages, foster homes, and new countries; the shock of being reunited with loved ones; their attempts to cope with trauma associated with losing their families, as well as their post-war involvement in Holocaust education in Australia. Along with the written narratives, some of the authors also include photographs of themselves as children and adults, as well as images of their families before the war. Since many of the family members in these photographs did not survive to tell their stories, this haunting collection also ensures that their experiences and the sacrifices they made for the authors will not be forgotten. SS

israel studies The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival HIRSH GOODMAN Public Affairs/Perseus Book Group, 2011 Hardcover 256 pp. $26.99 [e] ISBN: 978-1-58648-529-0

ne has only to look at the headlines or turn on the television news to know that Israel is facing major military and political problems. Hirsh Goodman, a senior research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, takes an evenhanded approach to examining the country’s dilemma. He traces Israel’s history and assesses its security as well as its prospects for peace and prosperity, examining its place in the Middle East and the challenges it faces from its neighbors. Taking an approach that is different from that of most analysts, Goodman notes that Israel’s obsession with threats from the outside obscures the more difficult issues

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that it faces from within. The fissures in the social and political system and the competence of the country’s leaders pose more danger than a potential attack by Iran. He feels that the country needs to concentrate on a peaceful solution so that “no Arab country will have moral justification for going to war with Israel in the future.” This means sharing Jerusalem as an international city and creating a society where all share equally in benefits and commitments. This is an important book with a timely message. BMB

Brothers at War: Israel and the Tragedy of the Altalena JEROLD S. AUERBACH Quid Pro Books, 2011 Paperback 161 pp. $27.49 [e] ISBN: 978-161-0270618

he tragedy of the Altalena affair “still hovers over Israel more than six decades later, raising vital issues of political legitimacy that have yet to be resolved in the Jewish state.” Jerold S. Auerbach, a professor emeritus of history at Wellesley College, has compiled a succinct and interesting account of this affair as well as its antecedents and long-term affects. The book begins with a discussion of the ancient roots of Sinat Hinam, the concept of baseless or groundless hatred, that relates to

...the story of the Altalena...has its echoes in the Biblical and classical past. the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. The Zionists “drew vital lessons from Jewish antiquity,” among them the story of the Zealots and Masada. The author argues that the story of the Altalena, when Jews turned guns on each other, has its echoes in the Biblical and classical past. The bulk of the book is taken up by the third chapter, which details the history of the purchase of the Altalena and its long circuitous route to France, where it picked up weapons and people, and thence to Israel. The book then details the well-known story of the battle that erupted when the boat arrived, after Israeli leader David Ben-Gurion declared, “a political coup is being deliberately aimed against the army.” The event traumatized the early state; one poet wrote “of brothers in arms we dreamt, but encountered the cannon blast.” The author combines both primary and secondary sources in this well written book, one of the only English language accounts devoted to this incident. He also provides a chapter analyzing the ramifications of the event. Bibliography, index, photographs. SJF

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One Hundred Years of Kibbutz Life MICHAL PALGI AND SHULAMIT REINHARZ, EDS. Transaction Publishers, 2011 Hardcover 350 pp. $59.95 ISBN: 978-1-4128-4229-7

hen thinking of Israel, the kibbutz is one of the first things that come to mind. The social experiment in collective living celebrates its centennial this year. This collection of papers by Israeli academics examines the kibbutz, its contributions to Israeli society, and its evolution. They cover issues such as the Kibbutz Crisis of 1980, the privatization of the kibbutz, spousal relations on the kibbutz and the moshav, and aging on the kibbutz. They also look at the changes that have occurred in kibbutz life over the years. These include the use of international workers, the development of urban kibbutzim, and the influence of eco-Zionism and ecology. The depiction of the kibbutz in literature and film, and the culture of the kibbutz appear as well. This broad range of topics offers interesting material for study and discussion. The book will be a valuable addition to academic library collections supporting graduate programs in the social sciences, history, and Jewish studies. BMB

This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict GREG MYRE AND JENNIFER GRIFFIN John Wiley and Sons, 2011 Hardcover 336 pp. $25.95 [e] ISBN: 978-0-470-55090-8

reg Myre and Jennifer Griffin arrived in Jerusalem in fall 1999, he a correspondent for The New York Times, she for Fox News. After fifteen years of covering conflicts across Africa, the former Soviet Union, and Afghanistan, the couple found Israel an island of security

and comfort. Israelis and Palestinians mingled at work and at leisure. The border was not marked on most of their maps, and the Israeli soldiers often lounged on the side of the road as the couple toured the country and passed through the infrequent checkpoints. Within a year the entire landscape had changed, and over the next seven years Myre and Griffin, with their two young daughters, learned to live “normal” lives in a place of constant conflict. It is this experience—waking up, taking children to school, going to work, shopping, all the time aware that violence may erupt at any moment—that Myre and Griffin so effectively record in this compelling and personal book. At the same time, they bring their professional ability to observe, largely without bias, both sides of the conflict and the unremitting hostility beneath it. Intrepid reporters, Myre and Griffin travel to outposts where intensely devout Jewish youngsters set up unauthorized settlements, to the 3:00 a.m. rush hour at the Gaza crossing where Palestinians line up to get to work in Israel, to a cramped and sweaty shelter in Kiryat Shmona where a family of eight regularly huddles for days during rocket barrages. They interview an Israeli Nobelist who explains that suicide bombers are rational and a former Fatah wannabe who believes they are not. They talk with an Arab informer and an Israeli activist who are fighting the legitimacy of many settlements. They dissect the subtleties of military euphemism and both sides of the public relations war. As veteran war reporters, Myre and Griffin can testify to the futility of military superiority in today’s inconclusive wars and to the international criticism it often brings in its wake. Israel can control almost any aspect of Palestinian life, but it can’t control the ability of the Palestinians to just fight on. Is there a solution to this longest of unresolved conflicts? Myre and Griffin list ten major obstacles to its end. Number 10 states flatly, “The Israelis and Palestinians hate one another.” This is an eye-opening and heartbreaking book. Afterword, chronology, index, map, notes, photographs. MLW

modern jewish thought Abraham Joshua Heschel: Essential Writings ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL; SUSANNAH HESCHEL, ED. Orbis Books, 2011 Paperback 200 pp. $20.00 ISBN: 978-1570759192

his latest collection of Abraham Joshua Heschel’s work serves as a wonderful introduction to the man widely regarded as one of the most important religious voices of the twentieth century. Though many of the selected writings in this collection come from previously published work, Essential Writings also includes some hitherto unpublished material—a treat for all those who cherish the writings of the spiritual giant. Heschel long commented on the power of language to affect change in this world, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that his own language is intense and oftentimes thunderous. At its best, Heschel’s writing can leave a reader in awe at the majesty of his language and the profundity of his ideas. But precisely because his language is often so loaded, Heschel can, at times, become difficult to swallow—as if his thoughts and exhortations simply become too much to digest in one sitting. The beauty of this volume is that it largely avoids that pitfall. By organizing Essential Writings into six sections and selecting relevant and telling writings, Susannah Heschel—the book’s editor and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s daughter—succeeds in providing a palatable and deeply enjoyable introduction to her father’s work. NR

The God Who Hates Lies: Confronting and Rethinking Jewish Tradition DAVID HARTMAN WITH CHARLIE BUCKHOLTZ Jewish Lights Publishing, 2011 Hardcover 192 pp. $24.99 [e] ISBN: 978-1-58023-455-9

n response to his own inner struggles with Jewish religious extremism, Yeshiva University-trained congregational rabbi turned professor, philosopher, and educator—he founded the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem—Rabbi Dr. David Hartman has developed a covenantal model in which God rejoices when Jews take responsibility for their religious life and are empowered to be independent. This call for qualified autonomy

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book profile

Goldberg Variations On the centennial of her birth, new translations of Lea Goldberg’s poetry and prose echoes her apparent simplicity while conveying her depth and intensity. Her novel And This is the Light uses spare language, like her poetry.

his is a banner year for Lea Goldberg, who died in 1970 and would be one hundred years old today. Goldberg, one of the classic Israeli poets of the modern era, is well known to English readers through the work of many different translators. With This Night (The Center for Middle Eastern Studies/The University of Texas at Austin, 2011. 120 pp. $16.00 ISBN: 978-0-29272647-5), Annie Kantar’s new volume of translations is a welcome addition to the array of Goldberg translations, especially because this is the final collection of Goldberg’s poems published while she was alive, and thus less familiar than some of her other poems. These poems are full of enticing contrasts: night and morning, sea and land, youth and age, there and here. In these juxtapositions there is a sense of being on the edges, or constantly in transition, in a state of in between. In “Songs of the Strange Woman” she writes, “I’m from there—/the village of small winds…” and continues in the second section of the poem, “…on what shore did the gulls call/the name of my dead country?” She places herself ever on the margins—an integral part of Israel and yet always “from there,” about to start a new day, and yet still in the night that precedes the coming day. At the same time there is a sense of rich maturity, an arch to the poems that hints at the poet’s stage in life, a clarity of vision developed over many years of experiences. Kantar’s translation captures the chiseled clarity of Goldberg’s Hebrew as she evokes the starkness of the poet’s Israel.

is at odds with normative Orthodox Jewish thinking. In The God Who Hates Lies, Hartman seeks to contextualize rabbinic thinking with respect to social factors and cultural influences. He raises some important questions, such as: How can we maintain a commitment to Judaism when it violates our sense of morality? Is there a place for subjective intuition in a halakhic system? Does a philosophic commitment to pluralism trump a covenantal commitment to halakha? These are by no means new questions. Philosophers have been arguing for centuries about the relative merits of humankind’s reason vs. God’s law. Hartman, however, is making the claim that this subjectivity is what God really wants. He constructs a Maimonidean platform, buttressed by selected rabbinic teachings, to make the case that this

These translations echo Goldberg’s deceptive simplicity while managing to convey the depth of her images and intensity of her language. Goldberg is not as well known as a novelist, but Barbara Harshav has published a new translation of her novel And This Is the Light (Toby Press, 2011. 224 pp. $24.95 [e] ISBN: 978-159-264-228-8), originally published in Hebrew in 1946. This translation, published by Toby Press, serves as a fitting companion to their other fine Goldberg publication, Selected Poetry and Drama by Lea Goldberg, poetry translated by Rachel Tzvia Back and drama by T. Carmi. This semi-autobiographical novel was not well received when it was first published, but with renewed interest in Goldberg’s complete oeuvre the publication in English of this neglected novel is timely. Goldberg’s spare style of language, familiar to students of her poetry, is evident in this novel as well. Partly a coming-of-age story, and partly a story of struggling with identity and anti-Semitism in Lithuania in 1931, the novel expresses Goldberg’s ambivalence about her own sense of belonging. This rich and lyrical novel is worth a read purely on its own merits. The language feels alive and supple, a tribute to Harshav’s careful translation. Yet And This Is the Light is also an important piece of Israeli history, one of the first Hebrew novels written by a woman. Hara E. Person was ordained by Hebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion. She is a writer and editor.

is indeed an Orthodox perspective. His frustration with the haredi hijacking of the rabbinic courts in the areas of conversion, marriage, and “who is a Jew,” and the current trend to

Hartman takes on his revered teacher and mentor Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, as well as other rabbinic luminaries, to argue for change based on the covenantal imperative that he has developed. ignore objective reality regarding feminism, agunot, the Shoah, and the very existence of the State of Israel, have led Hartman to formulate the results of his anguished thinking

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in this book. Some Orthodox Jews might call his approach heretical, since this is essentially what progressive Judaism has espoused. Hartman takes on his revered teacher and mentor Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, as well as other rabbinic luminaries, to argue for change based on the covenantal imperative that he has developed. Unfortunately, except for those who agree with him ab initio, this thesis will need further elucidation and rigorous study before it is given serious consideration even in Modern Orthodox circles. Rabbi Dr. Hartman is a gifted teacher who has given us an outline of an approach. It needs to be expanded. If we avoid big issues because they are sensitive or divisive, we will then only deal with little issues. We cannot abandon the big issues, but how to deal with them is the challenge. WG

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War and Love, Love and War AHARON SHABTAI; PETER COLE, TRANS. New Directions, 2010 Paperback 192 pp. $15.95 ISBN: 978-0811218900

In the Narrow Places: Daily Inspiration for the Three Weeks ERICA BROWN Maggid Books /OU Press, 2011 Hardcover 131 pp. $22.95 [e] ISBN: 978-159-264-340-0

s a clear communicator and expert teacher who knows how to reach her readers, Brown makes a positive contribution to meditations on the significance of the three weeks before the High Holidays as a time for spiritual growth, inspiration, and recollection of Jewish memory turned into practice, misery into repentance, catastrophe into redemption, and expanded consciousness. For each day of the Three Weeks, Brown presents an inspirational essay followed by a kavana—an exercise involving “reflection, imagination, or action to integrate the learning.” While not a work in the halakhah of the Three Weeks, Brown’s work stands on its own, seeing hope in gloom. DBL

poetry In This House HOWARD ALTMANN Turtle Point Press, 2010. Paperback 81 pp. $15.95 [e] ISBN: 978-1-933527-33-8

oward Altmann writes an amalgamation of poems, blending musings on relationships, loneliness, nature, aging, time, and faith. He is strongest when writing about relationships: reserved, delicate, implied, lyrical, and beautiful. Some of his poems, while full of clear images, take work to discern, and occasionally his poetry feels contrived and stiff. Yet other poems, such as “Shoes,” a work about viewing an exhibit of remnants of the Holocaust with his father, walk hand in hand

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with the reader through unfolding openness and great tenderness. Howard Altmann writes, for the most part, in the third person and sometimes the impact of his perspective causes a sense of distance. There is often a surprise ending that turns the meaning of his poems in satisfying ways. When the writer allows himself to come closer to his subject matter emotionally, with sensitivity and richly-wrought images, his poetry holds strength and beauty. EDB

Pearls of Yiddish Poetry JOSEPH AND CHANA MLOTEK; BARNETT ZUMOFF, TRANS.; MARK MLOTEK, ED. KTAV, 2010 Hardcover 540 pp. $39.50 ISBN: 978-1-60280-156-1

udos to the producers of this collection of Yiddish poetry and song, compiled from the Pearls of Yiddish Poetry section of Forverts, the Yiddish Jewish Daily Forward newspaper. The work of thirty-eight writers is included, both men and women, spanning a century of Yiddish poetic writing, presented side by side in English and Yiddish. This book was originally published in Israel, in Hebrew, in 1974. Many of these poems are deeply poignant, intimately lamenting exile and the generations lost in the Shoah. Vignettes of Yiddish life in prewar Europe and immigrant America are presented in great detail. Songs and poems cross class and gender boundaries and strike the reader as vividly, startlingly authentic, marbled with expressive joy and tragedy. With classic, bitter, biting Yiddish humor, much of this work is immediate and accessible; you can taste and smell the worlds that have been lost. There is well researched biographical information about each poet included with his or her work, adding to the riches of this Yiddishkeit anthology. Highly recommended, whether you are a Yiddish reader or not. EDB

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n this collection that spans some forty years of work, there are “nipples of thorn” and a “belly…like a leveled bowl/and at its tip are leaves of laurel.” Some of the love poems are so tender a Hallmark writer might consider them over-sentimental, while others describe sex so frankly that even Ron Jeremy would blush reading them. Shabtai relishes life’s contradictions, as the repetition and juxtaposition of words in this volume’s title might suggest. There are echoes of the Old Testament prophets as well as Catullus; in some poems I hear strains of his contemporaries Yehuda Amichai and C.K. Williams, who calls Shabtai “one of the most exciting poets writing anywhere.” But for the most part the voice is singular and strong, owning with wit and melancholy a range of experiences. Shabtai is equal parts skeptic and enthusiast, in one poem questioning love and country and in the next unabashedly singing their praises. While some of the poems, er, rubbed me the wrong way, others had remarkable pathos. “Hebrew Culture” is as hilarious and compressed as any short political lyric, while pieces in Part IV are as haunting as any love poems since Jack Gilbert’s Great Fires. JM

scholarship The Anatomy of Influence: Literature as a Way of Life HAROLD BLOOM Yale University Press, 2011 Hardcover 368 pp. $32.50 [e] ISBN: 978-0-300-16760-3

ike the greatest literary critics of the past—Longinus, Samuel Johnson, Lionel Trilling—Harold Bloom restlessly, proudly (many would say self-importantly), and lovingly breathes fresh life into an astonishingly broad range of literary texts, urging us to pick up, read, and get lost in the labyrinthine ways of writers, ancient and modern. In this “sequel” to his groundbreaking The Anxiety of Influence (1973), Bloom delivers his final statement on the subject of literary influence; he now defines influence simply as “literary love, tempered by defense (his emphasis)… the overwhelming presence of love is vital to understanding how great literature works.” Bloom admits that this book is a critical

self-portrait and a sustained meditation on the writings and readings that have shaped him as a person and a critic. By combining lively reflection of his own reading life with his typically attentive close readings of texts, Bloom demonstrates fascinating connections between a wide range of writers from Shakespeare, Dante, and Milton to Shelley, John Ashbery, and Amy Clampitt. He declares, for example, that “Hamlet centers the literary cosmos, Eastern as well as Western. His only rivals are comic—Don Quixote—or on the border of divinity: the Gospel of Mark’s amazingly enigmatic Jesus, who is unsure who he is and keeps asking his thick-headed disciples, “but who or what do people say I am?” While Bloom often repeats himself many times over—sometimes creating the impression that he’s thrown the book together from earlier writings without careful editing—his deep wisdom about life and literature reveals itself in little gems like this one: “Literature for me is not simply the best part of life; it is itself the form of life, which has no other form.” As with the best literary criticism, Bloom’s stunning new book compels us to lose ourselves in the literature about which he writes so forcefully and gracefully. HLC

Becoming the People of the Talmud: Oral Torah as Written Tradition in Medieval Jewish Cultures TALYA FISHMAN University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. Hardcover 413 pp. $65.00 ISBN: 978-0-8122-4313-0

his ambitious book strives to tell the story of rabbinic culture from the end of the Talmudic period up to the beginning of modernity, from Babylonia to Germany, through the prism of one issue: textualization. Much recent scholarship has been informed by the realization that the Talmud did not always exist in written form, and in fact was

probably preserved for hundreds of years by sages who committed the entire corpus to memory. Talya Fishman explains that it is not simply a question of whether the Talmud was written (or, to use her term, inscribed), but rather of the larger cultural significance that was given to the Talmud in its written form. Is Talmud, and by extension all of Jewish law, found within books, or is it determined by complex interactions between written sources, traditions, local customs, and more? Fishman’s sweep of rabbinic history is based upon several generations of Israeli scholarship, much of which has never appeared in English. Presenting that Hebrew scholarship to an Anglophonic audience and bringing it into dialogue with wider historiographic debates is a major service that makes Becoming the People of the Talmud a vital addition to any Jewish studies library in America. PR

Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Modern Judaism J. H. CHAJES University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011 Paperback 288 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 978-0812221701

ybbuks are best known today by virtue of An-Sky’s play of the same name, and so they are usually associated with nineteenth century Eastern European Jewish culture. But the phenomenon had its heyday centuries earlier. This impressive work of scholarship studies Jewish accounts of spirit possession from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Chajes frames these stories in several contexts, including the proliferation of similar possession stories and learned discussions about them in Christian society during the same period. Another important context he provides is the development of Kabbalah in Safed and its impact on the beliefs and practices of Jews throughout the Mediterranean. On the conceptual level, Chajes incorporates recent theoretical discussions of magic

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language, gender relations, and mental health. The book is written in rich prose, studded with references to twentieth century music and culture. Now released in paperback, Between Worlds deserves a place in any collection with an interest in Jewish culture. PR

The Invention of Jewish Identity: Bible, Philosophy, and the Art of Translation AARON H. HUGHES Indiana University Press, 2010 Paperback 176 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 978-0-253-22249-7

rofessor Aaron Hughes is a gifted writer with a passion and talent for understanding the philosophical underpinnings of biblical translations. His own use of language in this volume may be a bit over the top even for an academic work, but it can be viewed as a long epic lyrical poem. Translation is a tapestry of various analytical, linguistic, philosophical, and aesthetic processes. Biblical translation seeks to understand the past by utilizing contemporary language to demonstrate revelatory continuity. A key question for translators is whether to lead the reader to understand the cultural and linguistic universe of the original or to transform the original by adopting and adapting it to the reader’s own cultural and linguistic universe. Hughes maintains that biblical translation is a philosophical activity which verifies the narrative as a source of wisdom. It is not merely a philological exercise. It is a reflection of the translators and of their understanding of what Judaism should be. Hughes selects translators who were philosophers to make his case. Saadia Gaon, Moses ibn Ezra, Maimonides, Judah Messer Leon, Moses Mendelssohn, Martin Buber, and Franz Rosenzweig all attempted to bring the Bible to a population for whom Hebrew was no longer comprehensible. Access to the Bible is an important component of Judaism and these translations were as much salvific as they were works of philosophy and scholarship. These translations were as much exegesis as they were renditions of the original text. The translators selected for this study each require a more detailed and exhaustive analysis. We are tantalized by the snippets offered here. In essence this volume is an introductory essay to the field of translation as Jewish philosophy and social and cultural history. Utilizing literary theory from a Jewish postmodernist perspective is worthy of examination. The glaring omission of the classic Targum and Septuagint translations is a deficiency. The last paragraph of the book is worth citing: The language of truth and the truth of

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language here collide. It is a collision, however, that can take place only in and through words—an understanding of their malleability, their transferability, and their pointing to what resides beyond. WG

In the Valley of the Shadow JAMES L. KUGEL Free Press, 2011 Hardcover 256 pp. $26.00; Paperback $15.00 [e] ISBN: 978-1-4391-3009-4; 978-1-4391-3010-0

ames Kugel’s vast erudition and straightforward style made his course on the Bible one of the most popular at Harvard in the 1990s. He brought those same gifts to a very different task after he was diagnosed with a form of cancer that was expected to be fatal—when, as he puts it, the background music of daily life suddenly stopped. Kugel ponders mortality as one instance of an ongoing sense of a “smallness” in the face of a world that overshadows and ultimately controls much of our lives. Our idea of a self that decides the important things in our lives, Kugel reminds us, would be considered strange or incomprehensible to cultures in other places and times. Even science is now doubtful that there is any single “command center” in the brain that corresponds to what we think of as our individual mind. Death, once a familiar reminder of human limitations, is now put out of sight and virtually out of mind; otherwise it might upset our new-found sense of our sovereign selves. Exploring what he calls the “stark world” of conversion experiences he finds a common theme: a sudden revelation in black-and-white terms that opens a radically different way of seeing the world, one that loses “the detail in favor of the essence.” Prof. Kugel remarks on the “eerie proximity” of that starkness to the everyday world in ancient times, where it was unsurprising that gods and angels would walk among human beings, barely disguised. Inevitably Kugel asks what he calls the “sickening question” of the abundance of unfairness in the world, and it may come as a surprise that he finds an expectation even in polytheistic cultures that the gods nonetheless preferred the world to be mainly good. Prof. Kugel draws on a daunting array of sources that include the poets Rilke and Housman and Jarrell, Hanna-Barbera cartoons and Wittgenstein, neurobiology and anthropology, Augustine and Herodotus, St. Jerome and the Hebrew Bible. Yet all the while he keeps his conversational, anecdotal tone, even in his translations of his sources. The book is full of fresh ideas, offered by a decent and humble man with a probing interest in the mysterious forces we sense beyond our world. BG

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Palaces of Time: Jewish Calendar and Culture in Early Modern Europe

The Serpent’s Skin: Creation, Knowledge, and Intimacy in the Book of Genesis

ELISHEVA CARLEBACH Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011 Hardcover 304 pp. $35.00 ISBN: 978-0-674-05254-3

MARC KLEIN Urim Publications, 2011 Hardcover 207 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 978-965-524-054-2

alendars are the kind of object that are usually taken for granted, that are almost invisible to our everyday glance; therefore they are a perfect subject of analysis for cultural history. Very little good cultural history has been produced about Jewish subjects, and Elisheva Carlebach’s book sets a very high standard for the field. Tackling a subject that is ubiquitous but also obscure, Carlebach looks at the topic of Jewish calendars from a number of perspectives. The actual calendrical aspects of the Jewish calendar, the references

Tackling a subject that is ubiquitous but also obscure, Carlebach looks at the topic of Jewish calendars from a number of perspectives. to non-Jewish dates that were incorporated into many calendars, the startling artistic traditions that are found in many early modern Jewish calendars—each subject is analyzed on its own, and placed in a diachronic and synchronic historical context, explaining how it developed from internal Jewish traditions while incorporating and responding to outside occurrences. Highlights include handwritten calendars from colonial America, symbolic pictures of elephants and bare-bottomed men, informative curses of Christian saints and statistics of fair attendance in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Despite the ostensibly obscure subject matter, Palaces of Time is as far from arcane as can be, written in language that is enjoyable and accessible. The numerous color photographs of Jewish calendars make the volume even more enjoyable and easier to follow. PR

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am not sure that the serpent’s shedding his skin hints at immortality, as the author suggests, or that his guile hints at immorality, but I am certain that Marc Klein’s collection of essays on the Book of Genesis deserves to be read and considered seriously. Ranging from the creation and the Garden of Eden to Noah and the flood, continuing through the patriarchs to Joseph, and culminating with a glimpse at the crossing of the Sea of Reeds (entitled: “The Last Creation”), the author, although a neuroscientist by profession, offers numerous insights into literary and linguistic coincidences and correspondences in—primarily—the first book of the Torah. While I would decline to offer an opinion in the author’s professional field of neuroscience, such is not the case with Torah study; it requires no advanced degrees, only integrity and a dedication to truth. Both abound in this stimulating book, along with a keen sense of language and a feel for literature that are more common among Bible scholars. MS

visual arts A Timeless People: Photo Album of American Jewish Life SAUL H. LANDA Gefen Publishing House, 2011 Hardcover 378 pp. $50.00 ISBN: 978-965-229-486-9

n his lovingly prepared book, A Timeless People: Photo Album of American Jewish

Life, Saul Landa presents a photographic paean to the vitality and richness of traditional American Jewish life. It is the story of his four year journey of over tens of thousands of miles to photograph and compile the sociocultural history of observant Jewish communities in eighteen major cities of the American Northeast, South, Midwest, and the West. The photographs and archival material trace the history of the Jewish presence from the earliest Jewish settlements to contemporary times. Synagogues, religious items, ritual practices, old and new, are beautifully shown in archival photographs, illustrations, and drawings. However, the reader must be forewarned that the book’s title is misleading. It is not a photographic study of all streams of Jewish observance in America. Photographs and archival material about Conservative, Reform, or Reconstructionist synagogues and leaders are noticeably absent from the local history and photographs presented by Landa. The book emphasizes the role of traditional or Orthodox Jewish practices, (both Ashkenazim and Sephardic) in the communities he visits. Nonetheless, the book is beautifully done and well worth reading. It is an informative travel and history guide that reveals an important

nonfiction

light on a fascinating subject. Though overall an excellent work, a few sections of Sautter’s analysis slip from helpful explanation to conjecture stretched a bit too far. Readers will nevertheless appreciate the attention to detail and creative thinking that makes this book exceptional. The Miriam Tradition is primarily intended for academic audiences. Readers will benefit from familiarity with well-known authors such as Rachel Adler, Judith Plaskow, Tikva Frymer-Kensky, and Carol Meyers as they read Sautter’s important contribution to this field. Bibliography, index, notes. RSR

dimension in the development of American Jewish city life. CP

women’s studies The Miriam Tradition: Teaching Embodied Torah CIA SAUTTER University of Illinois Press, 2010 Hardcover 184 pp. $65.00 ISBN: 978-0252035777

he Miriam Torah presents a thorough and engaging look at the role of dance in Sephardic women’s Jewish practice. Using biblical and rabbinic sources to provide context, Sautter explores the possible meanings of certain dances, focusing especially on how and when women might have performed these dances and how such dances might have fit into the practices of the Jewish community in general. Most noteworthy is Sautter’s incorporation of feminism and theory of dance into her analysis; these secular analytic tools shed new

quick centering methods for extremely busy people

Here I Am The eight simple stress-reduction practices Leonard Felder presents here are ones he’s been using in his holistic psychotherapy practice for over thirty years. They’re about learning to outsmart your anxious, moody brain; about learning to connect with the peaceful place beneath any experience of agitation, and about being open to the infinite possibilities of each moment. This book is a breath of fresh air for anyone overwhelmed by their complicated life. $15.95 paperback

Trumpeter | www.shambhala.com

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interview JBW talks with

James L. Kugel by Bob Goldfarb

Prof. James L. Kugel has received several major awards for his scholarship, including a $200,000 Grawemeyer Award for The Bible As It Was and Traditions of the Bible. In 2007, he won a National Jewish Book Award for How to Read the Bible, which was also recognized by The New York Times as one of the best books of that year. His latest book is more personal, inspired by his thoughts while being treated for a form of cancer that is often fatal. JBW’s Bob Goldfarb talked with Prof. Kugel about In the Valley of the Shadow at a cafe in Jerusalem. Bob Goldfarb: A lot of time has passed since the illness that inspired this book. James L. Kugel: When I started the book it had been seven years since I’d begun my treatment. Part of writing it, part of why I wanted to wait, was to stick myself back into that situation. That was not easy, but after seven years I felt safe. Right after it was over I did other things. BG: Did you rethink your ideas as a result of the illness? JLK: I can’t say there was any great reconceptualization. What I wrote about was a certain state of mind; it was what I saw most vividly after I got my diagnosis. Seven years later, though I pretty much returned to my old way of being, I remembered very vividly what that sense of self was like. It had always seemed to me when it was happening that it was something very real. I think everybody at some point comes to his or her senses—you kind of feel yourself fitting into the world in a different way. That was multiplied so much by this experience. BG: Do atheists feel that way? JLK: A lot of them try to locate the beginnings of religion in prehistoric times and try to talk about what it was in early man’s brain that led him into this false belief in the gods. All those explanations are projections of the writer’s own self back in time. That seems all wrong to me. Where we came from was a very different kind of self. In earlier times they felt a sense of smallness; that they fit in the world more than we do. I don’t mean to say that our sense of smallness has any ethical dimension. I guess I wish it did, but I’m not sure. I say it’s a kind of somatic smallness and that’s what I mean—fitting in your own borders, just being the person you happen to be.

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BG: Is there a way to recover that sense of smallness? JLK: I’ve always thought it’s connected to something basic in religion. I’m not sure there’s any studying one can do to will it into existence. But I think people who practice a particular religion may have a bit of an advantage because it pushes you in that direction. I’ve thought the most one can do is, in reading about it or talking about it, to be more attuned to one’s own state of mind, so that if it comes along you’ll know it. It’s part of our patrimony from our ancient past. At one time it didn’t need to be said out loud; it was taken for granted. BG: You quote Koheleth (Ecclesiastes), who says that even the most memorable person is eventually forgotten. What has your experience taught you about how to live in the face of that knowledge? JLK: I’ve always liked the first chapter of Koheleth, his insistence that for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Koheleth is complicated: he questions the canons of wisdom literature, but he comes out of the school of Israelite sages. To me life is like a painting. Everyone is given a canvas, you get to work on it for a certain number of years, and you get to do one painting. You can do with it whatever you want. It becomes more and more detailed. It’s done when the last detail is added. We all want, or should want, to do the best painting we can. In this kind of painting everyone is absolutely equal. You just have to come up with the best painting you can. (See the review on p. 42) Bob Goldfarb is the president of the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity and writes the blog “At Home Abroad” for the Los Angeles Jewish Journal. He lives in Jerusalem.

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Jewish Authors Conference Ad PAGE Writing for Adult Readers

Save the Date for the 2011 Conference

at the Center for Jewish History New York, New York

Sunday, December 11th Contact the Jewish Book Council at jbc@jewishbooks.org for more information.

If you write adult fiction or non-fiction for the Jewish market, then this conference is for you! The Jewish Authors Conference: Writing for the Adult Reader will afford authors the opportunity to network and learn from other authors, agents, editors, publicists, and members of the Jewish literary world in order to enhance their understanding of the Jewish literary market and gain insight into the path to publication. Whether you are a new author or have already been published, this is your opportunity to network with the experts who can help you get your work into print.

children’s

Baby Barbells: The Dad’s Guide To Fitness and Fathering JOSHUA LEVITT; MATT STEVENS, ILLUS. Running Press Book Publishers, 2011 Board book 40 pp. $13.95 ISBN: 978-0-7624-4055-9

aby Barbells is a cutesy gift, perfect for a first-time father who has no idea what he’s in for. Its author, Joshua Levitt, describes himself as a naturopathic physician and certified human jungle gym. He’s also a father of three, so he’s been around the block a few times. In this board book, he shares some of the knowledge he’s gleaned along the way, from working out to nutrition, marital advice, and bonding with baby. His writing is full of funny quips, but with them is the profound acknowledgement of how involved fathering changes a man’s life and how incredibly rewarding it is. Rather than coming across as preachy, Baby Barbells is a fun, light-hearted read with lots of good advice. For example, on maintaining a happy marriage, he suggests “showing the love.” “It’s not enough to feel it,” he writes. “More than ever now…tell her how cute she is, send her a fiery email, rub her feet.” On healthy eating, his bite-sized bullets include cautions to stay away from partially hydrogenated foods, avoid high fructose corn syrup, and refrain from eating food with ingredients you cannot pronounce. It’s sensible stuff, and simply put. Baby Barbells contains lots of suggestions for exercising with baby, taming fussy infants, and maintaining a balance between work and family. One of Levitt’s most valuable pieces of advice comes right at the beginning, in his five action steps for involved fathers: “Pay attention to your attention,” he says. “Your email can wait. During Daddy time, keep your child at the center of your attention.” Amen to that. LK

Big Small or Just One Wall LEIBEL FAJNLAND; TOVA LEFF, ILLUS. Hachai Publishing, 2011 Hardcover 30 pp. $12.95 ISBN: 978-1-929628-59-9

shul fair comes to town, and the children of the town discover what makes different shuls unique and what each shul has in common with all others around the world. The book teaches readers that a shul is always special. The illustrations are done in airbrush; they cover the whole page and are very colorful. The back of the book includes photographs of the fifteen shuls and asks readers can find these shuls in the illustrated pictures in the book. Leibel Fajnland is a rabbi and has written one other children’s book. This book was written primarily for the Orthodox community, but it has something to say to every Jewish child. Recommended for ages 4-8. BS

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Bim and Bom: A Shabbat Tale DANIEL J. SCHWARTZ; MELISSA IWAI, ILLUS. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2010 Paperback 21 pp. $8.95 ISBN: 978-0-7613-6717-8

im and Bom: A Shabbat Tale is a picture book about the experience of preparing for and observing Shabbat. Both the text and illustrations effectively convey the spiritual uniqueness of Shabbat. I particularly enjoyed the illustrations, which show challah baking and candle lighting. I also like that the book communicates that people can use their different talents and strengths to help make Shabbat a rich and spiritually rewarding experience. Additionally, I appreciate the ethical message conveyed through both the text and illustrations. On Fridays, Bim, who works as a carpenter, builds homes for needy people. On Fridays, Bom, who works as a baker, bakes challah to give to needy people. The book gave me a greater appreciation for the role of chesed in Judaism. Bim and Bom: A Shabbat Tale is a fun way of introducing children to Shabbat observance. The book also teaches that preparing for Shabbat and observing Shabbat can be, and frequently are, spiritually rewarding. Recommended for ages 5-9. NW

Can Hens Give Milk? JOAN BETTY STUCHNER; JOE WEISSMAN, ILLUS. Orca Book Publishers, 2011. Hardcover 32 pp. $19.95 ISBN: 978-1-55469-319-1

an Hens Give Milk? is a brand new, old-fashioned folktale straight from the town of Chelm. And what a delightful tale it is! Tova and her family live on a farm filled with hens and a rooster. They have plenty of eggs, but Tova’s mother wants fresh milk and butter. Alas, the family cannot afford to buy a cow. When Tova’s father dreams about cows giving milk, he turns to Tova to figure out how to substitute their hens for the cows. “Cows give milk because they eat grass,” advises little Tova, and the fun begins. Getting the hens to eat grass is no easy task and one uproarious plan after another fails. Tova finally brings in the Rabbi from Chelm and he helps solve the mystery in a way that is udderly hysterical. Children will enjoy watching this family try to do the impossible, cheering Tova and her family on, all the while knowing they can’t succeed because, after all, hens can’t give milk. Or can they? The delightful illustrations created by Joe Weissman (illustrator for Joseph Had a Little Overcoat) add to the humor and enjoyment. This is an excellent story and is recommended for ages 4-8. MB

Children of the Holocaust STEPHANIE FITZGERALD Compass Point Books, 2011 Paperback 64 pp. $25.32 ISBN: 978-0-7565-4390-7

hildren of the Holocaust is a well-written documentary-style book about what Jewish children were subjected to durimg the Holocaust. After a brief preface describing Hitler’s rise to power and an overall description of his reign of terror, author Fitzgerald goes on to describe the fate of the majority of Jewish children living in Nazi-controlled Europe. Major events of that time period, including the Kindertransport, Kristallnacht, life in the ghettos, and surviving the concentration camps, are told with vivid details. Interspersed within this historical retelling are photographs taken during this time and vignettes of various children told in their own words. The information and the photographs accurately portray the horrors Jewish children had to endure. It is an excellent book for the young adult Jewish audience, one guaranteed to have a profound effect on readers as they become immersed in the tragic events of the Holocaust. Recommended for ages 14 and up. MB

A Circle of Smiles: A Story About Beit Issie Shapiro, Israel’s Leading Organization in the Field of Disability SYLVIA ROUSS Beit Issie Shapiro, 2010. Hardcover 21 pp. $ 36.00. ISBN: 978-0-9829273-1-1

Circle of Smiles is a beautifully crafted and very unusual introduction for young children to learn about children with disabilities. It allows the reader to look at a particular setting that services these children in Israel, Beit Issie. Told in the voice of a young American girl who travels to Israel with her family to visit family members including her cousin, Yoni, a child with multiple disabilities, it is age-appropriate and sensitive. Rachel speaks no Hebrew but manages to communicate with Yoni via gestures and facial expressions, which are his method of communication as he is unable to speak. Rachel’s story is illustrated with actual color photographs taken at the school, allowing readers to share in her experiences. Explanatory text enhances many of the photos. A well-thought-out, one-page addendum called “Ideas for Educators and Parents” contains trigger questions and ideas to open discussion with young children. Sylvia Rouss, noted children’s author and awardwinning author of the Sammy Spider series, has donated her talents to Beit Issie to introduce their outstanding programs to others and to sensitize children to those with disabilities. This is not a book that children will pick up or read on their own, but will be introduced to in the classroom or at home by adults. Recommended for ages 4-9 as a shared experience. SF

children’s

Deadly: How Do You Catch an Invisible Killer? JULIE CHIBBARO Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011 Hardcover 293 pp. $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-689-85738-6

eadly is Julie Chibbaro’s second book, a riveting teen read delivered in the form of a diary by protagonist Prudence, a seventeen-year-old Jewish teen living in New York in the early 1900s. Fiercely observant of life around her and deeply troubled by death and disease, Prudence seems set to finish polishing school and become a typist until she is hired as an assistant by the New York Department of Health. The job catapults her into the worlds of research and medicine, compelling and fascinating her but also frightening her with the choices they demand. Under the guidance of her boss, Mr. Soper, Prudence begins investigating the source of a typhoid epidemic, eventually tracing the “invisible killer” disease to Mary Mallon, a cook for the rich. This is where fiction and non-fiction collide, for through the voice of her lead character, Chibbaro retells Mallon’s story as the first person identified as a typhoid carrier and the effects this identification had on her life. Prudence’s diary entries are compelling, combining the maturity of a woman coming of age with an environment in which women were seen as far from equal. Limited by poverty and her gender, Prudence nevertheless forges ahead professionally, committed to her ambition and learning in the process about love, loyalty, and her family’s deepest fears. Deadly is a quick, easy, and fun read, particularly for teens interested in history, medicine, or both. Recommended for ages 12 and up. LK

Engineer Ari and the Hanukkah Mishap DEBORAH BODIN COHEN; SHAHAR KOBER, ILLUS. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2011 Hardcover 32 pp. $17.95; Paperback $7.95 ISBN: 978-0-7613-5145-0

ngineer Ari and his red steam engine return to celebrate the Festival of Lights. As Ari hurries to the Jerusalem station with his arms full of packages, he passes two boys reenacting the triumph of the Maccabees and two girls playing dreidel to commemorate Hanukkah’s great miracle. Ari is looking forward to returning to Jaffa so he can celebrate with his friends but when his train encounters a stubborn camel on the tracks in Modi’in, it is a Bedouin shepherd who comes to his aid. Ari asks his new friend, Kalil, to join him while he lights the Hanukkiah and eats his sufganiyot. Once again, young readers will enjoy the familiar elements of the holiday and also the simple charm of Engineer Ari, whose friendly, earnest demeanor makes these books such a pleasure to read. Of particular note are the girls’ dreidels that display the Hebrew letters Nun, Gimel, Hay, and Pay (Nes Gadol Hayah Po), reminding children that the great miracle of Hanukkah happened “here” in the Land of Israel. Combining cheerful illustrations, a friendly text, appealing characters and a bright red train, this book

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will have children chanting “Toot! Toot!” for eight days and nights. Includes a brief description of the holiday, a glossary, and a photo-history of the first steam engine to travel between Jerusalem and Jaffa in 1892. Recommended for ages 2-7. TM

This well-designed book is a great resource for those who want to learn about this terrible period of history. Recommended for ages 11 and up. DG

Green Bible Stories for Children

ELENA PASQUALI; STEVE LAVIS, ILLUS. Lion Children’s/Lion Hudson, 2010 Hardcover 32 pp. $14.99 ISBN: 978-0-74596253-5

TAMI LEHMAN-WILZIG; DURA YAEL BERNHARD, ILLUS. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2011 Paperback 48 pp. $7.95 ISBN: 978-0-7613-5136-8

eginning with the story of Creation, according to our author, the Bible teaches readers to respect the land and conserve natural resources. Stories from the Bible are retold in the author’s own language, often humorously. Titles of stories include: Greener Pastures, Abraham and Sustainable Herding; Reduce Reuse Recycle, Building the Tabernacle; and Every Seven Years, a Sabbath For the Land. Suggested kid-directed activities follow each story, which can be useful, particularly for parents and teachers who want to help children carry out simple projects to involve them in recognition and care of their environment. In some stories, archaeological or historical points are also raised. The “Noah’s Ark” activities focus on biodiversity in an age-appropriate fashion. “Joseph in Egypt” focuses on creating a survival kit including a clever, hands-on set of directions for preserving pickles. The story of Joshua in which he commands the sun to stand still is a powerful jump-off to address the use of solar power. The Shmittah year, a yearlong rest from planting, presents the concept of sustainable agriculture, overcrowding, and preserving fruits. A nine-page potpourri follows the stories as a corollary, with Jewish-centered thoughts on topics such as Bal Tashchit (Don’t Waste or Destroy). The Biblical content is interwoven with contemporary environmental goals. Illustrations assist the reader in visualizing people and events from the Biblical periods and work well with the text. This new book, while interesting for children to read alone, can also be useful for Tu B’Shevat and Earth Day events. Recommended for ages 8-11. SF

The Legacy of the Holocaust JASON SKOG Compass Point Books, 2011 Hardcover 64 pp. $33.32 ISBN: 978-0756543938

his title, one of four in a series, takes an in-depth look at the legacy of the Holocaust. Even after fifty years, there is a lasting influence as it has impacted music, art, literature, popular culture and even international law. This brief title does an excellent job of providing a bridge from the past to the present by combining heart-wrenching black and white photographs with personal survival stories, a detailed timeline, a glossary and a bibliography. A special code in the back of the book connects the reader to an Internet site that provides additional articles and information about all aspects of the Holocaust.

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Mrs. Noah’s Vegetable Ark

his is a thoroughly enjoyable new view of how all those animals and Mr. and Mrs. Noah, too, thrived on the ark. Mrs. Noah is an avid gardener and, although her garden could use a bit more water, she realizes that if Mr. Noah is correct, her vegetable garden will be ruined. Combining Noah’s determination to carry on with his plans for the upcoming flood and Mrs. Noah’s insightfulness and her efforts to save the plants, Noah’s family and the animals are well fed during the deluge and the world’s future gardens are saved. The active participation of Mrs. Noah will serve educators and parents in answering a young child’s questions: what did the animals eat, where did their food come from? Mrs. Noah’s actions address the larger environmental landscape and provide material for developing discussions on the care of plants and our food sources that can also be expanded into the concepts of Tikkun Olam. The author does not directly use the name of God, yet the support that Mrs. Noah gives to Mr. Noah and his determined faith can be easily woven into the text, reinforcing Judaic thought. At the end, it is one of Mrs. Noah’s misplaced olive trees that announces the sighting of land to the grounded ark, joining the overarching theme of people and nature working together. The artwork of Steve Lavis is a joyful adventure. His use of color, pattern, and realism, along with a touch of humor, brings the text to life, making it fun and interactive. Children will be involved in the discovery of the plants and animals. Recommended for ages 2-7. CM

Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles TAMI LEHMAN-WILZIG WITH NICOLE KATZMAN; JEREMY TUGEAU, ILLUS. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2011 Hardcover 29 pp. $17.95; Paperback $7.95 ISBN: 978-0-7613-6657-7; 978-0-7613-6658-4

acob’s brother, Nathan, is autistic. Sometimes his repetition of phrases drives Jacob crazy, but Jacob’s mother explains that Nathan’s brain is just wired differently. A new boy moves in next door, and Jacob is happy to have a friend to play basketball with him. Jacob’s mother invites his new friend, Steven, for the first night of Hanukkah, but Jacob is mortified when Nathan blows out the Hanukkah candles. Every day, when Steven sees Jacob, Steven teases Jacob by pretending to blow out candles. On the last night of Hanukkah, Jacob’s mother invites Steven and his family to celebrate Hanukkah Nathan’s way. After lighting the menorah in the window, everyone is given a jelly doughnut with a candle in it and

they all blow out their candles. The story is based on a real “Nathan,” a high-functioning autistic child. The book is designed to introduce young children and families to autism and other developmental disorders. It helps reinforce the Jewish teaching of acceptance of every person as having been created in God’s image. The illustrations are colorful and portray the characters’ feelings in a sensitive manner. Recommended for ages 5-8. DR

Noah’s Swim-a-Thon ANN D. KOFFSKY URJ Press, 2011 Hardcover 30 pp. $14.95 ISBN: 978-0-8074-1168-1

oah loves camp. He loves kickball, he loves singing Shabbat songs, he loves arts and crafts, but he does not like the pool. The water makes his arms get goose bumpy, his eyes feel stingy and his nose feels stuffy. The lifeguard tries to get Noah in the water by offering stickers but to no avail. Then, Mrs. Rubin, the camp director, tells the campers that they can get prizes for entering the Swim-a-Thon but Noah says he doesn’t care about prizes; he still doesn’t want to swim. Mrs. Rubin says that there are many children who can’t afford to come to camp and, by swimming in the Swim-a-Thon, he can help send some of these kids to camp with the camp’s tzedakah fund. Noah gets pledges from friends and relatives to give money for every lap Noah swims which will go toward the tzedakah fund. Noah practices swimming in the pool and swims a lap in the Swim-a-Thon, earning $25 for the tzedakah fund. Swim-a-Thon is a registered trade name owned by USA Swimming and was used by permission. Make-a-Splash is a national child-focused initiative created by the USA Swimming Foundation, with the goal of teaching every child in America to swim. Ann Koffsky’s full-page acrylic illustrations cheerfully teach tzedakah and perseverance. Recommended for ages 6-8. BS

OyMG AMY FELLNER DOMINY Walker & Company, 2011 Hardcover 247 pp. $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8027-2177-8

llie Taylor is passionate about speech and debate, so much so that she attends the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts summer camp in the hopes of earning a scholarship to Benedict High School. The only pickle is that Ellie is Jewish and her Zayde doesn’t think a Jewish girl at a Christian camp is such a good idea. Ellie has a warm and loving relationship with her Zayde, who loves to cook and peppers his speech with Yiddishisms. Ellie swallows any personal concern and focuses on her goal of beating out her competition in the final tournament at speech camp. Life gets complicated for Ellie when she falls for Devon, whose benefactor grandmother will decide Ellie’s final fate. When Ellie discovers that being Jewish might affect her chances of success, she makes choices that affect her relationship with her grandfather

children’s

and challenge her personal integrity. Ellie is a likeable, believable character. Her interactions with her peers and the adults in her life ring true, with only a moderate amount of teen angst. Although many humorous scenes appear throughout the book, there is a great deal of thought-provoking conflict that will encourage readers to examine their own value systems. In spite of the pop culture title, OyMG manages to engage the reader on many levels. Issues about social class, religion, and family loyalty are skillfully woven into the story. Without being pedantic, Dominy educates and entertains in a compelling, contemporary story. In addition, the world of speech and debate is an interesting setting. Highly recommended for ages 10-14. BB

Sadie’s Sukkah Breakfast JAMIE KORNGOLD; JULIE FORTENBERRY, ILLUS. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2011 Paperback 24 pp. $7.95 ISBN: 978-0-7613-5648-6

harming and focused, this fresh holiday tale brings delight and information by showing young children in the sukkah in the morning when it is daylight; fears of the dark do not enter the story. Already, you have to smile. Two tots, older sister, Sadie, and younger brother, Ori, are very excited about Sukkot. They cannot wait to use the sukkah decorated with their creations, made at Sunday school (neat plug). Rising super early, they come up with the idea to eat breakfast in the booth on their own. Having achieved the task, Sadie remembers Daddy explaining the mitzvah of inviting guests to eat in the sukkah with them but the hour is too early for the real people they know. Sadie saves the day with her great idea of inviting special friends, their stuffed animals. It’s a delicious happy-to-teary ending as the children and toy guests enjoy the sukkah together. Illustrations and page layout add to the message with lovely warmth. The paintings depict the children’s personalities, supporting the text and underlining the innocence. The scenes of finding food and utensils and then porting them to the back yard burst with energy and determination. Highly recommended for readers aged 4-6. EGC

Savvy Auntie: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers, and All Women Who Love Kids MELANIE NOTKIN Harper Collins Publishers, 2011 Hardcover 240 pp. $24.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-199997-0

his book is unique. No other book has focused on women who have no children but enjoy the role of being an aunt. It is written for an audience of middle and upper class women who have the sophistication and financial resources to make use of its contents. It is encyclopedic in the breadth of information it provides. The introductory part of the book is about the women who fill these roles, i.e. first time aunts, experienced great aunts, long distance aunts, celeb aunts (Oprah Winfrey), fantasy

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aunts (Auntie Em from the Wizard of Oz). Then it focuses on the needs of parents and children from infancy to age five and aunts’ interactions with them. How to help the expecting mother when she is pregnant, showers for the coming child, care of the newborn, developmental charts, and Internet and library resources are only a few of the subjects that are included. It also addresses the psychological needs of the “savvy auntie” such as her feelings about not having children, how to answer why she may not be married and how to stand up against the second-hand treatment she may experience. Toward the end of the book, there are specifics about both the possible financial role aunts may have in the lives of the nieces and nephews and what steps to take if an aunt is asked to become a legal guardian. The author does an excellent job of making this book valuable for both aunts and parents as well as bolstering the egos of a group of women who are often unappreciated. MK

Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel HARLAN COBEN Penguin Young Readers Group, 2011 Hardcover 303 pp. $18.99 ISBN: 978-0-399-256509

his is the first in a young adult series starring Mickey Bolitar, who has lost his father to a car accident and his mom to drugs. Both parents belonged to a “Do Good” type of cult and spent their lives trying to help people. When sent to live with his Uncle Myron, who has been estranged from the family, Mickey has to switch high schools, make new friends and also, unfortunately, enemies. Into this mix throw a gorgeous new girlfriend (who vanishes into a seedy underworld), a fat female pal (who doesn’t), and a conspiracy as shocking as it is unexpected. It also involves a mysterious witch-like elderly woman who knew his father very well. This is a book that pulses with excitement, tragedy, humor, suspense and surprise–its Jewish connection. MP

The Synagogue Speaks ANITA KOSSOF; JONATHON SCOTT FUQUA The Jewish Museum of Maryland, 2011 Paperback 48 pp. $18.00 ISBN: 978-1-88-3312-12-1

n The Synagogue Speaks, a 166-year-old building tells its history. The personified building is full of emotions. It is happy when it is full, used and it sees children. At one point, half of the synagogue’s first congregation disagrees with the move to allow women to have a more involved role in the congregation. They leave and build their own temple a block away. Their break embarrasses the building. The building is childishly confused and hurt by the demographic changes that make its German-Jewish, then Christian Orthodox Lithuanian, then UkrainianJewish populations leave the building and neighborhood to search for what they believe are better lives in greener and, presumably, wealthier areas. It is an interesting approach to tell the many-layered ethnic history of Baltimore, Maryland and the United States through

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the point of view of a building witnessing life around it. Baltimore’s demographic shift of Jews out of the city is expertly explained by the associate director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland. It is a story repeated often as Jews move out of urban cores. Readers anywhere can use the book to reflect on demographic shifts in their own area and the dynamics and history behind them as told by buildings which were often torn down, turned into churches or, sometimes, made into museums. The sepia toned, well-researched images clearly convey by-gone eras. Many, though, are dark. The illustrator’s painting technique renders the figures overly splotchy and awkward. Recommended for ages 4-10. DW

What’s the Buzz: Honey for a Sweet New Year ALLISON OFANANSKY, ELIYAHU ALPERN, ILLUS. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2011 30 pp. $15.95 ISBN: 978-0-7613-5640-0

change from the usual apples and honey presentation, What’s the Buzz, through wonderful photographs and simple explanations, teaches both adult readers and young children how we get honey. The narrative begins with a trip to a bee farm in Israel. The children who go on the trip are concerned at first that they might be stung. However, the beekeeper shows them how he protects himself and assures them that only he, in his special suit, will go inside where the bees are. Using a plastic bee, the beekeeper explains how the girl bees do almost all the work. This includes sipping nectar from the flowers, making wax to build honeycombs and taking care of the babies and the queen. The queen lays the eggs and boy bees hope to mate with the queen. After the children get a taste of the honey, they receive beeswax and shape it into candles. The book concludes with a scene showing a child’s abba and ima dipping an apple into the honey she has purchased. The “Fun Facts” at the end of the book are an excellent resource. They tell us that there are over 90,000 beehives in over 6,000 locations within Israel and that there have been clay beehives found there that are over 3000 years old. Unique as a resource for Rosh Hashanah, What’s the Buzz guides us on a delightful Israeli excursion. Recommended for ages 4-7. MK

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children’s and business. Karl’s world comes crashing down around him. His family is evicted and terrorized by Kristalnacht. In the end, Karl’s boxing world connections help his family. This heavy-duty book weaves in the topics of German expressionistic art, depression, homosexuality, and bullying. Recommended for ages 10-15. DW

starred reviews The Berlin Boxing Club ROBERT SHARENOW Harper Teen, 2011 Hardcover 400 pp. $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-06-157968-4

he Berlin Boxing Club begins during Hitler’s rise to power. It is the story of what it was like for one individual Jewish high school student, Karl Stern, at the onset of Nazism. The Sterns are not religious and Karl doesn’t look stereotypically Jewish like some members of his family. Nonetheless, Karl is bullied, beaten, and humiliated in school by students and then publicly by the school administration because of his religion. He is given an amazing opportunity to learn how to fight when, instead of paying Karl’s intellectual art-dealing father in cash for a painting, the boxing hero Max Schmeling offers to give Karl boxing lessons. The Sterns need the money but Karl’s father agrees. This story, told in the first person by Karl, includes his diary sketches, helping the reader feel closer to the protagonist. Through the sketches, the reader sees Karl flip-flop from kindly older brother entertaining his younger sister with cartoons, to a mature boxing fan. Training and physically changing to prepare to fight while society turns against him is cathartic but also dangerous as Germans exclude Jews from schools, athletics

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The Blood Lie SHIRLEY REVA VERNICK Cinco Puntos Press, 2011 Hardcover 160 pp. $15.95 ISBN: 978-1-933693-84-2

ack Pool has lived in the remote town of Massena in upstate New York all his life and, although he is Jewish, has always assumed that he and his family are fully accepted by the community. His father, the hard-working owner of Pool’s Dry Goods, the general store, prides himself on positive relations with all their neighbors regardless of their religious beliefs and, because of his meager beginnings, has pushed himself to be successful and make a secure place for his family. Jack, a perpetual daydreamer, is a gifted musician; as a talented cello player, he secretly desires entry to The Bentley School where he can gain enough confidence to enter a conservatory in New York City and escape the steady but monotonous existence of small town life. When Jack turns sixteen on September 22, 1928, he wakes up to a day that should be full of promise. He has feelings for a young Gentile lady, the stunning Emaline Durham, and plans to ask her to the school’s fall festival dance. Emaline’s day starts out with a hike in the woods with her friend to look for her four-year-old sister, Daisy, who

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has not come home. Thinking that Daisy is being playful and hiding in the woods, Emaline calls out to her sister but she never answers and is finally reported missing. The local police begin an intense search and an assumption is made about Jack and his family. Gus, the policeman who overheard a comment that Jack made about getting ready for Yom Kippur flatly states, “That girl who disappeared, it’s the Jews…They have strange customs for their holidays. They use blood. Drink it and bake it in their special foods.” Jack, Rabbi Abram, and the rest of the Jewish population find themselves under close scrutiny and interrogation. At one point, Jack is threatened by a restless crowd outside the temple and has to trick the crowd with the blowing of the shofar to escape and find safety at home. Although Daisy finally reappears, it is too late for Jack; he has been the pawn of anti-Semitism and realizes that he will only find acceptance in a more cosmopolitan atmosphere. Based on an event that actually happened in 1928, Shirley Reva Vernick has skillfully woven a powerful story of suspense and terror that would be a perfect stepping stone for dialoguing about tolerance. Recommended for ages 13 and up. DG

Cleopatra’s Moon VICKY ALVEAR SCHECTER Arthur A. Levine Books, 2011. Hardcover 350 pp. $18.99 ISBN: 978-054-522-1306

n Cleopatra’s Moon, Vicky Alvear Schecter (Alexander the Great Rocks the World) takes a little bit of historical white space and a feisty, feminist heroine and weaves a beautiful novel of love and country. Cleopatra Selene is the daughter of Cleopatra of Egypt and General Marcus Antonius. She is smart and curious and loyal to her country. The reader meets her at age sixteen, burying her twin in the traditional way. After that, the story shifts back to 34 BC, when Cleopatra Selene was seven and moves chronologically forward. In this novel, the reader experiences Cleopatra’s reign as her daughter lives it. The political scene is engaging and complicated. We see her living in the house of her enemy. Of course, Cleopatra Selene is determined to return to her native land. Cleopatra’s Moon is rich in authentic details, including faith. It never slows. Jewish readers of historical fiction will enjoy seeing Egypt in a new way from this unique and sometimes naïve point of view. Schecter, as in her first novel, makes full use of the extensive facts she has of this time period. Her story of love and power satisfies. Occasionally violent, Cleopatra’s Moon will work well in book clubs and

children’s opportunity to share the Sabbath with him. Peluso’s two-page spreads fill pages to the edge, intense with jewel pastel and ink detail, blues and purples and the green of the fish. She draws solid, stately figures with stylized beards and a mysterious spark of animation in their eyes. It is true teamwork. Is the woman who later shows up as Joseph’s wife one of the neighbors whom Joseph welcomed when he was no longer wealthy? Like Joseph, Kimmel has taken care to honor tradition while adding his own inimitable storytelling touches. Recommended for ages 5 to 8. SE

Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime GLORIA SPIELMAN; MANON GAUTHIER, ILLUS. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2011 Paperback 32 pp. $17.95 ISBN: 978-0-7613-3961-8 discussions. A cast of characters precedes the text. A section “The Facts within the Fiction” follows. Recommended for ages 13 and up. SA

Four Seasons JANE BRESKIN ZALBEN Alfred A. Knopf, 2011 Hardcover 322 pp. $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-86222-9

lly comes from a musical family where her father is a famous violinist and her mother was a former opera star. She was admitted to the Julliard School of Music when she was six, not because of her family’s achievements but because of her own. This book focuses on the year between her twelfth and thirteenth birthdays, a time when the pressure to achieve at recitals and master classes are at their peak. This is made more difficult because her mother is trying to relive her musical life through her daughter and pushes her beyond the young woman’s capacity. Her music teacher, Miss Pringle, also undermines Ally’s confidence at every turn. Fortunately, there are some supportive people in her life. Her grandmother is always there for her as is her best friend, Opal, and her boyfriend, Brad. All these individuals try to redirect Ally’s focus from being a successful musician to having a normal teenager’s life. The climax of the book is unexpected and shocking. It graphically shows what can happen to an individual when stresses become overwhelming. Subsequently, Ally realizes that she must determine her goals rather than allowing others to do so. As her friends and family rally around, she regains

her self-confidence. The book focuses on the musical world; however anyone who has tried to be successful from a young age in any endeavor (sports, art) will empathize with the struggles and challenges Ally faces. Recommended for ages 11 and up. MLK

Joseph and the Sabbath Fish ERIC A. KIMMEL; MARTINA PELUSO, ILLUS. Kar-Ben Publishing, 2011. Hardcover 32 pp. $17.95; Paperback $7.95 ISBN: 978-0761359081; 978-0761359098 (pbk.)

immel bring satisfyingly warm detail to a well-known folktale, in an elegant picture book set long ago on the shores of Galilee. Joseph of Tiberius loves to celebrate the Sabbath by selecting choice ingredients when preparing food and inviting all to share dinner with him. When his neighbor, Judah, scoffs that Joseph needs to be more selective, Joseph insists that the honor he gives to the Sabbath by keeping his house open is returned “a thousandfold.” When Joseph’s fortunes turn and he becomes poor, those he has helped now share in providing food so that the Sabbath table is still filled with people. Judah, however, dreams that Joseph is in possession of his wealth and he sells all that he owns, buys a ruby and sets sail. A storm whips the cap with the jewel from Judah’s head and flings it into the sea. The ruby reappears inside a large fish, which Joseph’s wife is preparing, changing Joseph fortunes once again. When Judah returns, now poorer, he turns down Joseph’s offer to give him the ruby’s value. He would rather have Joseph’s friendship and the

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he noteworthy life of Marcel Marceau, born Marcel Mangel, is explored in this attractive picture book. Adults who are familiar with his famous work as a mime will be interested in his early experiences as a young boy growing up in Strasbourg, France on the eve of World War II. In an expressive and straightforward text, the author tells the story of a popular boy who wanted to be an entertainer like Charlie Chaplin from a very young age. As a citizen in Strasbourg, he and his family were forced to leave the city in a mass exodus of residents immediately after the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939. At sixteen years old, he joined the French resistance and used his drawing skills to alter information on the identity cards of children. He also led several trip across the border, taking them into the safety of Switzerland. His father, a kosher butcher, died in Auschwitz, but his mother and brother survived with Marcel in Paris. Eventually, he went to drama school and singlehandedly revived the art of mime, which had been almost forgotten. The pen and ink with watercolor art is striking and complements the softly told story perfectly, with the muted browns and beiges of wartime changing to red as Marcel finally peeks around the red curtain at his first show in 1947. The last two pages thankfully include real photos of the famous French artist in various poses as present day adults remember him. The book would have benefited from an author’s note offering a simple background history of the region or why Marcel’s family would be ordered to leave their city by their own government or what eventually happened to Marcel’s father. (This would help the adult reader of the book, actually.) Marcel died in 2007 and this effective picture book is a pleasing tribute to his life and memory. Recommended for ages 7-10. LS

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booknotes

Note: All book descriptions have been taken from information provided by the publisher.

american jewish studies The Jewish Origins of Cultural Pluralism: The Menorah Association and American Diversity DANIEL GREENE Indiana University Press, 2011. 278 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 978-0253223340 Greene traces the emergence of the idea of cultural pluralism to the lived experiences of a group of college students and public intellectuals.

autobiography & memoir Black Elephants KAROL NIELSEN University of Nebraska Press, 2011. 224 pp. $16.95 ISBN: 978-0803235373 Trekking through the Peruvian Andes in search of an adventure and a good story, Karol Nielsen, an aspiring writer and reporter, finds Aviv, an Israeli traveler fresh out of his mandatory military service. This memoir follows this idealistic, yet unlikely, pair as they explore the Americas, until Aviv asks Karol to return with him to his homeland. A vivid portrait of love during wartime, and the terror, loneliness, and absurdity of war.

provides us with our most extensive portrait of Roth’s tumultuous life—his father’s madness, his wife’s schizophrenia, his parade of mistresses, and his classic westward journey from a Hapsburg shtetl to Vienna, Berlin, Frankfurt, and finally Paris. This book evokes the crumbling specters of the Weimar Republic and 1930’s France, while also displaying Roth’s ceaselessly inventive powers and his descent into despair.

Journeys to War and Peace: A Congressional Memoir STEPHEN J. SOLARZ Brandeis University Press, 2011. 272 pp. $29.95 ISBN: 978-1584659976 Solarz recounts his noteworthy career as a congressman from New York who eventually sought and won a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he earned a reputation as an expert in international relations. He retells his experiences as he travelled to over a hundred countries, having the opportunity to meet with men like Anwar Sadat, Menachem Begin, and Nelson Mandela.

The Muselmann at the Water Cooler ELI PFEFFERKORN Academic Studies Press, 2011. 300 pp. $50.37 ISBN: 978-1936235667 A survivor of concentration camps and the

A Cluttered Life: Searching for God, Serenity and My Missing Keys PESI DINNERSTEIN Seal Press, 2011. 312 pp. $17.00 ISBN: 978-1580053105 A Cluttered Life chronicles Dinnerstein’s search for order and simplicity amid an onslaught of relentless interruptions. When a chance encounter opens her eyes to the extent to which disorder has crept into every corner of her existence, she begins a quest to free herself from the excess baggage she carries, and finds the meaning she’s been searching for amid her own clutter.

Joseph Roth: A Life in Letters MICHAEL HOFMANN, ED. W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 512 pp. $39.95 ISBN: 978-0393060645 Nine years in the making, this work, pieced together by over 457 newly translated letters,

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Death March, Eli Pfefferkorn looks back on his Holocaust and post-Holocaust experiences to compare patterns of human behavior in extremis with those of ordinary life. By juxtaposing these two worlds, he demonstrates that ultimately the human condition has not changed and human responses are triggered by self-preservation rather than evil.

Shadows in Winter: A Memoir of Love and Loss EITAN FISHBANE Syracuse Univ Press, 2011. 156 pp. $19.95 ISBN: 978-0815609896 In this memoir, written during the dark time of the first year following his wife Leah’s death, Fishbane gives a voice to the overwhelming power of grief and to the deep love that underlies such pain. He tells the story of his efforts to be a good father to his grieving child and of his discovery of himself as parent in ways he had not known before.

The Smartest Woman I Know ILENE BECKERMAN Algonquin Books, 2011. 112 pp. $15.95 ISBN: 978-1565125377 Though she had no more than a third-grade education, Beckerman’s grandmother Ettie dispensed unforgettable wisdom about life and love. Ettie is long gone, but thanks to Beckerman, her wisdom lives on through this book.

booknotes Soul to Soul DEBORAH MASEL Gefen Publishing House, 2011. 120 pp. $14.95 ISBN: 978-9652295590 After being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, Masel’s life collapsed. Two and a half years later her struggle to find meaning in the shadowy world of terminal disease prompted her to write not only of her cancer experience, but of the threads from the past that were woven into the fabric of this “final curtain.” Her challenge was to accept the fact of death without losing her love for this world.

biography Confidential: The Life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon- Arnon Milchan MEIR DORON AND JOSEPH GELMAN Gefen Publishing House, 2011. 310 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 978-0615433813 Doron and Gelman recount the life story of Arnon Milchan, the legendary Hollywood producer who was recruited in the 1960’s by Shimon Peres, Moshe Dayan, and Benjamin Blumberg to an Israeli intelligence unit called LAKAM.

Howard Cosell: The Man, the Myth, and the Transformation of American Sports MARK RIBOWSKY W. W. Norton & Company, 2011. 512 pp. $29.95 ISBN: 978-0393080179 Howard Cosell’s colorful bombast, fearless reporting, and courageous stance on civil rights have made him one of the most recognizable and controversial figures in American sports history. With more than forty interviews, Ribowsky portrays Coswell’s life as an American panorama, examining racism, anti-Semitism, and alcoholism, and reveals much about the explosive commercialization of sports.

A Life Spent Changing Places LAWRENCE HALPRIN University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. 288 pp. $45.00 ISBN: 978-0812242638 Featuring more than ninety black-andwhite and one hundred color reproductions of photographs, plans, and sketchbooks, A Life Spent Changing Places is Halprin’s account of how a young boy who listened to the fireside chats of FDR on the radio became the man who designed the memorial to that president in the nation’s capital.

Out of Time: The Vexed Life of Georg Tintner TANYA BUCHDAHL TINTNER UWA Publishing, 2011. 431 pp. $39.95 ISBN: 978-1742582566 Blessed with perfect pitch, George Tintner was a man who lived and breathed music. Tanya, his third wife and widow, recounts his riveting life story from being the first Jew to join the Vienna Boys’ Choir, to being forced to flee to New Zealand in the late 1930’s, to eventually settling down in Canada.

Quantum Man: Richard Feynman’s Life in Science LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS W. W. Norton & Company, 2011. 350 pp. $24.95 ISBN: 978-0393064711 In Quantum Man, Krauss illustrates the scientific and personal biography of the mercurial and rakish genius Richard Feynman, while also highlighting his noteworthy contributions to the field of modern physics.

Schoenberg’s New World: The American Years SABINE FEISST Oxford University Press, 2011. 400 pp. $35.00 ISBN: 978-0195372380 Feisst illuminates Schoenberg’s legacy as a polarizing figure of twentieth century music, and sheds a corrective light on a variety of myths about his sojourn in the United States. A refugee from Nazi Europe, he spent a significant amount of his creative life in the United States (1933-1951), yet unlike his European career, his success in the United States has received little attention.

contemporary jewish life Bad For the Jews: Jews in the News Who Embarrass the Tribe SCOTT SHERMAN St. Martin’s Griffin, 2011. 272 pp. $13.99 ISBN: 978-0312668457 Scott Sherman has taken it upon himself to compile a list of fifty Oy-vey inducing members of the tribe—from politics, entertainment, and white collar crime—who make it tougher than it already is to be a Jew these days.

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booknotes fiction The Vices LAWRENCE DOUGLAS Other Press, 2011. 352 pp. $15.95 ISBN: 978-159051415 Oliver Vice is missing and presumably dead over the side of Queen Mary 2. Troubled by his friend’s possible suicide, the narrator launches into an all-consuming investigation into Vice’s life. Fascination turns to obsession as he peels back the layers of the Vice family’s rich and bizarre history.

A Woman of Heart MARCY ALANCRAIG Mazo Publishers, 2011. 270 pp. $18.95 ISBN: 978-1936778942 After breaking her hip, Rheabie Slominski decides that the time has come for her to share her life’s secrets with her granddaughter, Shoshana. Rheabie’s tales about the Jewish chicken ranchers of Petaluma, California, a vibrant cluster of Zionists, anarchists and communists struggling to survive the Depression, are filled with the most surprising characters, calling into question everything Shoshana knew about herself.

israel

minorities brings about. He makes the case that sexual diversity is part of the beauty of nature, and that same-sex families will strengthen, not threaten, the values religious people hold dear.

activists from these two communities. Each essay discusses a different episode from the twentieth and twenty-first century American milieu that has either linked these groups or torn them apart.

Morality for Muggles: Ethics in the Bible and the World of Harry Potter

The Newlywed Guide to Physical Intimacy

MOSHE ROSENBERG KTAV Publishing House, 2011. 128pp. $12.95 ISBN: 978-1602801837 Moshe Rosenberg uses Jewish tradition and Harry Potter as the twin prisms through which to examine everything from friendship to free choice, prejudice to prophecy, and rule breaking to repentance. Along the way he demonstrates how popular literature can be used to teach timeless, ethical concerns.

Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalities, Contentions and Complexities REZA ASLAN AND AARON J. HAHN TAPPER Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 228 pp. $30.00 ISBN: 978-0230108615 An exploration of the sometimes contentious, sometimes conciliatory, and often complex relationship between Jews and Muslims in America, this book contains chapters by important scholars, religious leaders, and

A Privilege to Die: Inside Hezbollah’s Legions and Their Endless War Against Israel THANASSIS CAMBANIS Free Press, 2010. 336 pp. $27.00 ISBN: 978-1-4391-4360-5 Thanassis Cambanis, a veteran Middle East correspondent, offers a detailed look at the surprising cross section of people willing to shed their own blood for Hezbollah and its relentless agenda to remake the map of the region and eradicate Israel for good.

modern jewish thought God vs. Gay: The Religious Case for Equality JAY MICHAELSON Beacon Press, 2011. 232 pp. $25.95 ISBN: 978-0807001592 Scholar Jay Michaelson asserts that not only does the Bible not prohibit same-sex intimacy; it honors the values of love, justice, diversity, and compassion that equality for sexual

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JENNIE ROSENFELD, PhD, & DAVID S. RIBNER, DSW Gefen, 2011. 96 pp. $15.00 ISBN: 978-9652295354 This guide aims to provide an essential resource for the many young religiously observant couples who are in search of learning more about the various aspects of their sexual experience and intimacy.

Political Evil: What It Is and How To Combat It ALAN WOLFE Knopf, 2011. 352 pp. $27.95 ISBN: 978-030727185 In an age of genocide, terrorism, ethnic cleansing, and torture, evil threatens us in ways radically different from tsunamis and financial panics. At once impassioned and pragmatic, Political Evil sheds essential light on the creation of policy and on a concrete path to a more practicable and just future.

booknotes Song of Teshuvah: A Commentary on Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook’s Oros Ha Teshuvah RAV MOSHE WEINBERGER Penina Press, 2011. 351 pp. $34.95 ISBN: 978-1-936068-24-1 Though HaRav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook’s Oros HaTeshuvah has forever been accepted as a classic of Jewish thought and hailed for its brilliance of ideas, warmth of feeling, depth of psychological insight, holiness of spirit, and mastery of Torah knowledge, its difficult language and abundance of exalted concepts have made it too complex for many readers to understand. Rav Moshe Weinberger unveils the riches embedded within Oros HaTeshuvah in a way that is clear, articulate, and accessible.

history

Jewish-Christian interactions in a city from which Jews were expelled and banned from residence for four hundred years. Using archival records alongside more traditional sources, this book unearths the active Jewish participation in early modern society, traces the impact of the Reformation on local Jews, discusses the meaning of tolerance, and describes shifting boundaries that divided communities.

Frankfurt School’s Critical Theory from 1923 to 1974. It investigates three key issues, the first being the Frankfurt School’s original program of providing a general theory of modern capitalist society. The second is the claim to represent a continuation of the original Marxian theory and the third is the scientific validity of Critical Theory in light of accepted canons of natural and social sciences.

Comparative Perspectives on Judaisms and Jewish Identities

In Her Hands: The Education of Jewish Girls in Tsarist Russia

STEPHEN SHAROT Wayne State University Press, 2010. 317 pp. $37.95 ISBN: 978-0814334010 Sharot uses his previously published work over the past thirty-five years to examine a spectrum of Jewish communities across both time and geographic proximities. His sociological analyses reflect religious developments from Imperial China and Renaissance Italy to contemporary Israel and the United States.

ELIYANA R. ADLER Wayne State University Press, 2010. 196 pp. $44.95 ISBN: 978-0814334928 Adler examines the private schools for Jewish girls in the Russian empire. The first section follows the emergence and development of these new private schools. In the second section Adler looks at interactions between these new education institutions and their communities.

Beyond Expulsion: Jews, Christians and Reformation Strasbourg

The Frankfurt School: The Critical Theories of Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno

DEBRA KAPLAN Stanford University Press, 2011. 272 pp.$60.00 ISBN: 978-0804774420 Debra Kaplan writes a history of

ZOLTÁN TARR Transaction Publishers, 2011. 271 pp. $34.95 ISBN: 978-1412818346 This in-depth study covers the historyof the

The Making of the Modern Jewish Bible: How Scholars in Germany, Israel, and America Transformed an Ancient Text ALAN T. LEVENSON Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. 262 pp. $49.95 ISBN: 978-1442205161 Tracing its history from Moses Mendelssohn to today, Alan Levenson explores the factors that shaped the modern Jewish Bible and its centrality in Jewish life today. He argues that German, American, and Israeli Jews, in creating their own Bibles, wrestled with the demands of a non-Jewish environment and their own indigenous traditions.

The Shadow of a Great Rock: A Literary Appreciation of the King James Bible HAROLD BLOOM Yale University Press, 2011. 320 pp. $28.00 ISBN: 978-0300166835 Critic and teacher Harold Bloom makes an impassioned and convincing case for reading the King James Bible as literature, free from dogma and with an appreciation of its enduring aesthetic value, showing how it echoes in the works from the Romantic period to the present day.

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booknotes holocaust studies

Accomplices: Churchill, Roosevelt, and the Holocaust ALEXANDER J. GROTH Peter Lang Publishing, 2011. 293 pp. $85.95 ISBN: 978-1433114632 Groth’s work explores the notion that there was tacit cooperation in the Nazi extermination of the Jewish population of Europe by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Second World War. Groth claims that though the Allies publicly recognized the Nazi massacre of the Jews, the policies that they pursued failed to ensure an end to the genocide. This volume discusses the motivation for the policies they pursued, and moreover the three distinct ways in which they allowed the mass murdering of Jews to continue.

Hitler and America KLAUS P. FISCHER University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. 344 pp. $29.95 ISBN: 978-0812243383 Historian Klaus P. Fischer seeks to understand Hitler’s split-minded image of America, the nation that was integral to ensuring Germany’s defeat. Hitler would publicly declare the United States a feeble and inferior nation and yet simultaneously characterize it as an industrial colossus worthy of emulation.

Jews used translations of Byron’s works to help construct a new Jewish identity.

visual arts

The Commentators’ Bible: The JPS Miqra’ot Gedolot: Numbers

Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore

MICHAEL CARASIK Jewish Pubn Society, 2011. 266 pp. $75.00 ISBN: 978-0827609211 The third volume of the acclaimed English edition of Miqra’ot Gedolot, which includes the voices of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Nahmanides, Rashbam, and other medieval Bible commentators, speaking in a contemporary English translation annotated and explicated for lay readers.

The Third Pillar: Essays in Judaic Studies GEOFFREY HARTMAN University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. 240 pp. $39.95 ISBN: 978-0812243161 Hartman has brought together some of the most important and eloquent essays he has written on the major texts of Jewish education. In three groups, Bible, Midrash, and education, he clarifies the relevance of contemporary literary criticism to canonical texts in the tradition, while demonstrating what has been and still remains to be learned from the Midrash.

We Are Here: New Approaches to Jewish Displaced Persons in Postwar Germany AVINOAM PATT AND MICHAEL BERKOWITZ, EDS. Wayne State University Press, 2010. 416 pp. $29.95 ISBN: 978-0814333501 Patt and Berkowitz offer the most current research on the 250,000 Jewish refugees that remained in displaced persons camps of Germany, Italy, and Austria between the end of World War II and the creation of the State of Israel.

scholarship Byron and the Jews SHEILA A. SPECTOR Wayne State University Press , 2010. 244 pp. $59.95 ISBN: 978-0814334423 In Byron and the Jews, author Sheila A. Spector investigates why, of all the British Romantic poets, Byron is the most frequently translated into Hebrew and Yiddish and how

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KAREN LEVITOV The Jewish Museum/Yale University Press, 2011. 80 pp. $20.00 ISBN: 978-0300170214 This publication gathers forty-seven artworks from the internationally renowned Cone Collection, including paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin, Renoir, van Gogh, Courbet, and other masters. Karen Levitov’s essay tells the story of the Cone sisters, the daughters of prosperous German-Jewish immigrants, and how they assembled one of the world’s most important art collections.

Israeli Cinema: Identities in Motion MIRI TALMON AND YARON PELEG, EDS. University of Texas Press, 2011. 380 pp. $55.00 ISBN: 978-0292725607 This anthology’s illuminating readings of Israeli films reveal that Israeli cinema offers rare visual and narrative insights into the complex national, social, and multicultural Israeli universe, transcending the superficial images of this culture in world media.

MIRIAM BRADMAN ABRAHAMS (MBA) is Cuban born, Brooklyn bred, lives in Woodmere, NY, Hadassah Nassau Region’s One Book Coordinator and liaison to the Jewish Book Network, Hewlett Hadassah Herald editor, longtime school book fair chairlady. SARAH ARONSON (SA) holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. She is a full time writer and has recently published her first novel, Head Case (Roaring Brook) for young adults. Sara blogs every Thursday for the Lilith blog. ELLIE BARBARASH (EDB) is a writer, musician, and disability activist living in Philadelphia. Her non-fiction has been published in Bridges. Ordained as a Kohenet, she is working on producing an anthology, Clearing the Spring, Sweetening the Waters: A Renewed Call to Torah. BETTINA BERCH (BEB), author of the recent biography, From Hester Street to Hollywood: The Life and Work of Anzia Yezierska, teaches part-time at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. BARBARA M. BIBEL (BMB) is a librarian at the Oakland Public Library in Oakland, CA, and at Congregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley, CA. MARCIA BERNEGER (MB) is a wife, mother of two teenage sons, second grade teacher, and in her spare time (lol) a writer. She has written stories and articles for children’s magazines and has a few picture book manuscripts making the rounds. Her goal is that one day she will have her own book reviewed by Jewish Book World. BARBARA BIETZ (BB) is a freelance writer and children’s book reviewer. She is currently a member of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee. Barbara is the author of the middle grade book, Like a Maccabee. She has a blog dedicated to Jewish books for children at www.BarbaraBBookBlog.Blogspot. com. BILL BRENNAN (BB) is an independent scholar and entertainer based in Las Vegas. LINDA F. BURGHARDT (LFB) is a New York-based journalist and author who has contributed commentary, breaking news, and features to major newspapers across the U.S., in addition to having three non-fiction books published. She writes frequently on Jewish topics. JIM VAN BUSKIRK (JVB), co-author of Gay by the Bay, Celluloid San Francisco, and co-editor of Identity Envy and Love, Castro Street, worked as a San Francisco Public Librarian and Book Group Coordinator at the BJE Jewish Community Library. His writing has been featured in various books, periodicals, websites, and radio broadcasts. Jim’s grandfather changed his name after arriving from Russia and hid his Jewish identity, a recently revealed secret that

contributors

he is currently exploring in a memoir entitled My Grandmother’s Suitcase. HENRY L. CARRIGAN, JR. (HLC) writes about books for Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, BookPage, and ForeWord. He has written for numerous newspapers including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Charlotte Observer, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Orlando Sentinel, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Washington Post Book World. SUSAN M. CHAMBRÉ (SMC) is a professor of sociology at Baruch College. She studies Jewish philanthropy, civil society, and health policy. Her recent books are Fighting for Our Lives: New York’s AIDS Community and the Politics of Disease and Patients, Consumers and Civil Society. DAVID COHEN (DC) is a senior editor at Politico. He has been in the journalism business since 1985 and wrote the book Rugged and Enduring: The Eagles, The Browns and 5 Years of Football. He resides in Rockville, MD; his wife, Deborah Bodin Cohen, writes Jewish children’s books. ELLEN G. COLE (EGC), the librarian of the Levine Library of Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles, is a wellknown reviewer of Jewish books for children and adults. She is a past judge of the Sydney Taylor Book Awards and a past chairperson of that committee. She is a co-author of the AJL guide, Excellence in Jewish Children’s Literature. Ellen is the recipient of two major awards for contribution to Judaic Librarianship, the Fanny Goldstein Merit Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries and the Dorothy Schroeder Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries of Southern California. She is on the board of AJLSC. DANI CRICKMAN (DCC) is the artistic director for the Jewish Book Council. She is currently in China, teaching English at Qufu Normal University. MICHAEL N. DOBKOWSKI (MND) is a professor of religious studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He is co-editor of Genocide and the Modern Age and On the Edge of Scarcity (Syracuse University Press); author of The Tarnished Dream: The Basis of American Anti-Semitism; and co-author of The Nuclear Predicament. GIL EHRENKRANZ (GE) is a lawyer in the District of Columbia specializing in telecommunications law and international transactions. He has been published in MIDSTREAM Magazine including an article concerning Israeli military options regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons program, as well as in the Middle East Review of International Affairs. SHARON ELSWIT (SE), Head Librarian at Léman Manhattan Preparatory School, is author of The East Asian Story Finder and almost done adding 265 stories to a 2nd edition of The Jewish Story Finder. JUDITH FELSENFELD’S (JF) short fiction has

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appeared most recently in The Southwest Review, The Chicago Review, The Blue Mesa Review and on National Public Radio’s “Selected Shorts.”

SHELLY FEIT (SF) has an M.L.S. and a Sixth-Year Specialist’s Certificate in Information Science. She is currently the library director and media specialist at the Moriah School in Englewood, NJ. PAUL A. FLEXNER (PAF) is an instructor in educational psychology and early childhood education at Georgia State University. He is a co-editor of What We NOW Know About Jewish Education (2008) and is a member of the Board of the Jewish Book Council. SETH J. FRANTZMAN (SJF) received his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he currently holds a Post-Doctoral Fellowship. He is a columnist for the Jerusalem Post and Fellow at the Jerusalem Institute of Market Studies. DEBRA GOLD (DG) has been a children’s librarian for over 20 years in the Cuyahoga County Public Library System. An active member of the ALA, she has served on many committees including the Caldecott, Newbery, and Batchelder committees. BOB GOLDFARB (BG) is the president of the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity, a regular contributor to the newsletter eJewishPhilanthropy. com, and writes the blog “At Home Abroad” for the Los Angeles Jewish Journal. He lives in Jerusalem. MELISSA FAYE GREEN (MFG) is the author of five works of nonfiction. Her most recent book is No Biking in the House Without a Helmet and her first book, Praying for Sheetrock, was named one of the top 100 works of American journalism in the 20th century and was recently named one of Entertainment Weekly’s “New Classics—The 100 Best Books of the Last 25 Years.” WALLACE GREENE (WG), who writes and lectures on contemporary Jewish topics, served as Assistant Rabbi to David Hartman from 1969-1971. HAROLD B. JACOBSOHN (HBJ) was born in Colombia and lives with his family in Delray Beach, FL, where he is in the real estate business. He is a trustee of The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, Florida. MARGE KAPLAN (MLK) is a retired English as a Second Language teacher. She is a consultant for the children’s literature group for the Roseville, MN school system and is a storyteller of Jewish tales. BETH KISSILEFF (BK) has taught Bible and English literature at Smith and Mount Holyoke Colleges, and holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Pennsylvania. She is finishing her first novel, Questioning Return, about graduate students and baalei teshuvah in Jerusalem.

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contributors

JEFFREY KOBRIN (JBK) is the Principal of the North Shore Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, NY. In addition to Ordination from RIETS, he has a BA and MA in English Literature from Columbia University, where he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. Rabbi Kobrin lives in Riverdale, NY with his wife and four daughters. LAUREN KRAMER (LK) is a Vancouver-based journalist, wife, and mother with a lifelong passion for literature. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, she has won awards for her writing and reported from many corners of the world. Read more of her work at www.laurenkramer.net.

Humanities, certifications in Museum Studies and Cultural Property Protection. She is currently completing her M.L.I.S. Her interests are philosophy and the impact of art and technology on culture. TERI MARKSON (TM) has been working with children in public and school libraries for over 18 years. She has also been a book reviewer for many years, and is still delighted when a children’s book makes her laugh, cry, or both. She is currently a children’s librarian at the Fairfax Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, where children and books go together like a cat in a hat.

currently studying rhetoric and composition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. DEBORAH SCHOENEMAN (DS) is a former English teacher/Writing Across the Curriculum Center Coordinator at North Shore Hebrew Academy High School and coeditor of Modern American Literature: A Library of Literary Criticism, Vol. VI, published in 1997.

JASON MYERS (JM) is a writer whose work has appeared in AGNI, BOOKFORUM, and Tin House.

EDWARD SHAPIRO (ESS) is professor of history emeritus at Seton Hall University and the author of A Time for Healing: American Jewry Since World War II (1992), We Are Many: Reflections on American Jewish History and Identity (2005), and Crown Heights: Blacks, Jews, and the 1991 Brooklyn Riot (2006).

HARA E. PERSON (HEP) was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She is a writer and editor.

SARAH SHEWCHUK (SS) is pursuing a Ph.D. in Comparative literature at the University of Alberta. Her doctoral research examines Holocaust literature.

CAROL POLL (CP), Ph.D., is a professor of sociology at the Fashion Institute of Technology of the State University of New York. Her areas of interest include the sociology of race and ethnic relations, the sociology of marriage, family and gender roles, and the sociology of American Jews.

BARBARA SILVERMAN (BS) has an MLS from Texas Woman’s University. She worked as a children’s librarian at the Corpus Christi Public Libraries and at the Corpus Christi ISD before retiring. She now works as a volunteer at the Astor Judaic Library of the Lawrence Family JCC in La Jolla, CA.

MARCIA WEISS POSNER (MWP), Ph.D., is librarian and program vice-president of The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County.

LISA SILVERMAN (LS) is director of Sinai Temple’s Blumenthal Library in Los Angeles and a former day school librarian. She is the former children’s book review editor of this magazine.

MICHAEL LAVIGNE (ML) is a recipient of the Sami Rohr Prize Choice Award for his novel, Not Me. Formerly an advertising creative director, his work has been honored by the Cannes Film Festival, the Clio, and the ADDY. He is a founder of the Tauber Jewish Studies Program in San Francisco, where he lives with his wife, Gayle.

DIANE LEVIN RAUCHWERGER (DLR) is librarian for Congregation Beth Am, Los Altos Hills, California, and a children’s librarian for the Sunnyvale Public Library. She is the author of a series of children’s picture books, including Dinosaur on Hanukkah, Dinosaur on Passover, and Dinosaur on Shabbat, published by Kar-Ben Publishing.

MOSHE SOKOLOW (MS), Ph.D., is the Fanya Gottesfeld-Heller Professor of Jewish Education at the Azrieli Graduate School, Yeshiva University.

JUDD KRUGER LEVINGSTON (JKL), Ph.D. and rabbi, serves as Director of Jewish Studies at Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy in the Philadelphia area. He is the author of Sowing the Seeds of Character: The Moral Education of Adolescents in Public and Private Schools (Praeger, 2009).

NATHANIEL ROSEN (NR) is a junior at Cornell University, where he majors in English and writes a bi-weekly column for the Cornell Daily Sun.

JANE WALLERSTEIN (JW) worked in public relations for many years. She is the author of Voices from the Paterson Silk Mills and co-author of a national criminal justice study of parole for Rutgers University.

DANIÈLE GORLIN LASSNER (DGL) (wife, mother, grandmother) retired after 35 years at Ramaz where she served as Dean of Admissions, Foreign Language Department Chair and teacher of French and Spanish. She owns hundreds of cookbooks. She has translated several children’s books from French into English. She has recently translated A Memoir of Sanctity by Mayer Moskowitz (Mazo Publishers, Jerusalem, Israel) from Hebrew into English. No matter the language, food is a “constant.” RENITA LAST (RL) is a member of Hadassah Nassau Region’s Education Committee. She is currently involved in volunteer work at the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County. A retired teacher of the Gifted and Talented, she participates in book clubs and writing projects.

DAVID LEVY (DL) (B.A. Haverford College, MLS UMCP, Ph.D. Baltimore Hebrew University) is the librarian at TC. LCW. He has pubished over 1,800 book reviews and various papers in Judaica library science including, most recently, “Halakhic Ethical Issues of the Online Environment” (AJL, 2011, Montreal) and “Teaching Judaica Library Science” (AJL, 2010 Seattle). STEVEN A. LUEL (SAL), Ph.D., is associate professor of education and psychology at Touro College, NY. He is a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice. He is co-editor (with Paul Marcus) of Psychoanalytic Reflections on the Holocaust: Selected Essays. CHRISTINE MAASDAM (CM) holds a Masters in

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RACHEL SARA ROSENTHAL (RSR) is an environmental attorney in Washington, DC. Originally from Greensboro, NC, she graduated from Duke University in 2003 and Columbia University School of Law in 2006. PINCHAS ROTH (PR) is a graduate student in the Talmud department at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. CLAIRE RUDIN (CR) is a retired director of the New York City school library system and former librarian at the Holocaust Resource Center and Archives in Queens, NY. She is the author of The School Librarian’s Sourcebook and Children’s Books About the Holocaust. PHIL SANDICK (PS) is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of WisconsinMadison. He has taught courses in literature, composition, and creative writing since 2006. Phil is

www.jewishbookcouncil.org

JACLYN TROP (JT) is a business reporter for The Detroit News and a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

DINA WEINSTEIN (DW) is a Miami, FL-based journalist. She is currently researching author, illustrator, and cartoonist Syd Hoff for a 2012 centennial exhibition and series of articles. She can be reached at dina_w@hotmail.com. NATHAN WEISSLER (NW) is a senior in high

school and lives in Chevy Chase, MD with his family. He has been writing for Jewish Book World for two years. Nathan loves to read, especially books related to Judaism and history. DIANE WYSHOGROD (DLW), PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, mindfulness expert, and writer living in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the author of Hiding Places: A Mother, A Daughter, An Uncovered Life, to be published by SUNY Press in Spring 2012.

index

A complete alphabetical listing of titles included in issue 29-4 of Jewish Book World BR = Book Review CBR = Children’s Book Review BN = BookNote Abraham Joshua Heschel, Heschel, BR 38 Accomplices, Groth, BN 58 All Our Worldly Goods, Nemirovsky, BR 33 The Anatomy of Influence, Bloom, BR 40 The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival, Goodman, BR 37 And This Is the Light, Goldberg, BR 39 Antisemitism, Lindemann, BR 28 The Arrogant Years, Lagnado, BR 20 Baby Barbells, Levitt, CBR Bad for the Jews, Sherman, BN Becoming the People of the Talmud, Fishman, BR The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education, Krasner, BR Ben-Gurion, Peres, BR The Berlin Boxing Club, Sharenow, CBR Between Worlds, Chajes, BR 41 Beyond Expulsion, Kaplan, BN Beyond the Façade, Bortniker, BR Black Elephants, Nielsen, BN The Blood Lie, Vernick, CBR The Book of Life, Nadler, BR Brothers at War, Auerbach, BR Byron and the Jews, Spector, BN Can Hens Give Milk?, Stuchner, CBR Chasing Shadows, Burton, BR Children During the Holocaust, Herberer, BR A Circle of Smiles, Rouss, CBR Cleopatra’s Moon, Schecter, CBR A Cluttered Life, Dinnerstein, BN Commemorating Hell, Schafft, BR Comparative Perspectives on Judaisms and Jewish Identities, Sharot, BN Confidential, Doron, BN

46 55 41 29 23 52 57 22 54 52 16 37 58 46 20 31 47 52 54 32 57 55

The Dovekeepers, Hoffman, BR

Einstein Before Israel, Rosenkranz, BR Eisenhower 1956, Nichols, BR Engineer Ari and the Hanukkah Mishap, Cohen, CBR

28 30 47

Four Kitchens, Shockey, BR Four Seasons, Zalben, CBR The Frankfurt School, Tarr, BN

20 53 57

The God Who Hates Lies, Hartman, BR God of Our Understanding, Taub, BR God vs. Gay, Michaelson, BN Green Bible Stories for Children, Lehman-Wilzig, CBR Gretel’s Story, Wachtel, BR

38 23 56

Hitler and America, Fischer, BN Howard Cosell, Ribowsky, BN How the End Begins, Rosenbaum, BR

58 55 30

In Her Hands, Adler, BN In the Garden of Beasts, Larson, BR In the King’s Arms, Taitz, BR In the Narrow Places, Brown, BR In the Valley of the Shadow, Kugel, BR In This House, Altmann, BR The Invention of Jewish Identity, Hughes, BR Israeli Cinema, Talmon, BN

57 32 14 40 42 40

Jerusalem, Montefiore, BR The Jewish Origins of Cultural Pluralism, Greene, BN Joseph and the Sabbath Fish, Kimmel, CBR Joseph Roth, Hoffman, BN Journeys to War and Peace, Solarz, BN

47 32

41 58

54 53 54 54

Kosher Chinese, Levy, BR

The Legacy of the Holocaust, Skog, CBR A Life Spent Changing Places, Halprin, BN The Long Night, Wick, BR The Lost Wife, Richman, BR Loves of Yulian, Padowicz, BR Lunar Savings Time, Epstein, BR

The Making of the Modern Jewish Bible, Levenson, BN Marcel Marceau, Spellman, CBR Memory of All That, Weber, BR The Mirador, Nemirovsky, BR The Miriam Tradition, Sautter, BR Morality for Muggles, Rosenberg, BN Motti, Schurr, BR The Muselmann at the Water Cooler, Pfefferkorn, BN Muslims and Jews in America, Aslan, BN Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles, Lehman, CBR The Newlywed Guide to Physical Intimacy, Rosenfeld, BN Next to Love, Feldman, BR Noah’s Swim-a-Thon, Koffsky, CBR The Novel in the Viola, Solomons, BR

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One Hundred Years of Kibbutz Life, Palgi, BR Out of Time, Tintner, BN OyMG, Dominy, CBR

37 55 49

Palaces of Time, Carlebach, BR Passionate Pioneers, Freidenreich, BR Pearls of Yiddish Poetry, Mlotek, BR The Perfect Nazi, Davidson, BR A Physician Under the Nazis, Glenwick, BR Political Evil, Wolfe, BN

42 29 40 34

Portrait of a Spy, Silva, BR A Privilege to Die, Cambanis, BN

15 56

Quantum Man, Krauss, BN

36 56

Sadie’s Sukkah Breakfast, Korngold, CBR 49 49 Savvy Auntie, Notkin, CBR Schoenberg’s New World, Feisst, BN 55 A Secret Gift, Gup, BR 21 The Serpent’s Skin, Klein, BR 42 The Shadow of a Great Rock, Bloom, BN 57 Shadows in Winter, Fishbane, BN 54 Shelter, Coben, CBR 50 Sinners on Trial, Teter, BR 31 The Smartest Woman I Know, Beckerman, BN 54 Stones Bear No Witness, Sandler, BR 16 The Synagogue in America, Raphael, BR 18

55 34 14 34 14

The Things We Cherished, Jenoff, BR The Third Pillar, Hartman, BN This Beautiful Life, Shulman, BR This Burning Land, Myre, BR A Timeless People, Landa, BR Traumatic Verses, Nader, BR

16 58 16 38 42 35

57 53 21 33 43 56 15

The Vices, Douglas, BN

Waiting, Swados, BR Waltzing with the Enemy, Kliot, BR War and Love, Love and War, Shabtai, BR We All Wore Stars, Coster, BR We Are Here, Patt, BN What’s the Buzz, Ofanansky, CBR With This Night, Goldberg, BR The Wizard of Lies, Henriques, BR A Woman of Heart, Alancraig, BN The Woman Who Dared, Pullen, BR The Women Who Reconstructed American Jewish Education, 1910-1965, Ingall, BR Women Against Tyranny, Walders, BR The Words to Remember It, Sydney Child Holocaust Survivors Group, BR

22 36

54 56 48 56 15 49 15

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40 36 58 50 39 19 56 22 29 35 37

2011 index

A complete alphabetical listing of titles included in this year’s issues of Jewish Book World. 1,000 Mitzvahs, Cohen, BN 21 Aldgate, Friedberg, BR 36 Letters, Sohn, BN Ablest Navigator, Wandres, BR Abraham Joshua Heschel: Essential Writings, Heschel, BR Accidental Anarchist, Kranzler, BN Accomplices, Groth, BN After the Girls Club, Ford, BN Al Jaffee’s Mad Life, Weisman, BR Alefbet Illuminated, Rajic, CBR All Our Worldly Goods, Nemirovsky, BR American Hebrew Literature, Weingrad, BR American Jewry’s Comfort Level, Gerstenfeld, BR Anatomy of Influence, Bloom, BR Anatomy of Israel’s Survival, Goodman, BR And This is the Light, Goldberg, BR And You Shall Tell Your Children, Akerman-Tieder, BN Anne Frank, Jacobson, BR and CBR Annexed, Dogar, CBR Antisemitism, Lindemann, Levy, BR Anya’s War, Alban, CBR Arabs of the Jewish Faith, Schreier, BR Architects of the Holocaust, Stille, CBR Around the World in One Shabbat, Bernhard, CBR Arrogant Years, Lagnado, BR Ashes in the Wind, Presser, BR Baby Barbells, Levitt, CBR Bad for the Jews, Sherman, BN Becoming the People of the Talmud, Fishman, BR Beginnings, Shalev, BR Behind the Walled Garden of Apartheid, Datnow, BN Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education, Krasner, BR Ben-Gurion, Peres, Landau, BR Benny the Big Shot, Deutsch, CBR Berlin Boxing Club, Sharenow, CBR Best Laid Plans, Schnurnberger, BN Between Rashi and Maimonides, Kanarfogel, Sokolow, BR Between Shades of Gray, Sepetys, CBR Between Worlds, Chajes, BR Beyond Expulsion, Kaplan, BN Beyond Lucky, Aronson, CBR Beyond the Façade, Bortniker, Gratz, Dimun, BR Bible Now, Elliott, Dolansky, BR Biblical Seductions, Rapoport, BR Big Small or Just One Wall, Fajnland, CBR Bim and Bom, Schwartz, CBR Binocular Vision, Perelman, BR Black Elephants, Nielsen, BN Blinding Pain, Simple Truth, Ellis, BN Blindness of the Heart, Franck, BR Blood Lie, Vernick, CBR Bloodlands, Snyder, BR Book of Life, Nadler, BR Book of Trees, Lieberman, CBR Boxer, Beetle, Beauman, BR Boy, Porat, BR Bratislava Pressburg Pozsony, Neurath, BR

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Breaking the Silence, Mandel, Palcovitz, BR Brother Keepers, Brod, BR Brothers Ashkenazi, Singer, BR Brothers at War, Auerbach, BR Burning Land, Myre, Griffin, BR By Fire Possessed, Toro, BR Byron and the Jews, Spector, BN Cain, Saramago, BR Cambridge Introduction to Emmanuel Levinas, Morgan, BR Can Hens Give Milk?, Stuchner, CBR Chapter and Verse, Bellm, BR Chasing Shadows, Burton, Bruning, BR Chicago’s Jewish West Side, Cutler, BN Child Al Confino, Lamet, BR Children During the Holocaust, Heberer, BR Children of the Holocaust, Fitzgerald, CBR Choice, Weiss, BN Choosing, Myers, BN Churchill’s Secret Agent, Ciampoli, BN Circle of Smiles, Rouss, CBR City of Spies, Kim, CBR Claude Lévi-Strauss, Wilcken, BN Cleopatra’s Moon, Schecter, CBR Cluttered Life, Dinnerstein, BN Cobbler’s Last, Kruger, BN Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters, Levitov, BN Colors of Zion, Bornstein, BR Comic Torah, Freeman, BN Commemorating Hell, Schafft, BN Commemorating Hell, Schafft, Zeidler, BR Commentators’ Bible, Carasik, BN Comparative Perspectives on Judaisms and Jewish Identities, Sharot, BN Confidential, Doron, Gelman, BN Confronting Scandal, Brown, BR Cosmopolitans, Kalman, BR Creating Space Between Peshat and Derash, Angel, BN Cross Too Heavy, O’Shea, BN Crossing Borders, Claiming a Nation, Deutsch, BN Cry of the Giraffe, Oron, CBR Cut Throat Dog, Sobol, BR Dangerous Woman, Foster, BN Daniel Stein, Ulitskaya, BN Daughter of Her Century, Foster, BR Dave Tarras, Strom, BN Daviborshch’s Cart, Fraser, BN David Franks, Stern, BN Deadly, Chibbaro, CBR Death Marches, Blatman, BR Defiance, Jacblonskil, CBR Departures, Zweig, BN Devil Himself, Dezenhall, BR Disenchantment, Chatterley, BN Dispute for the Sake of Heaven, Hidary, BN Double Life of Alfred Buber, Schmahmann, BN Dovekeepers, Hoffman, BR Druggist of Auschwitz, Schlesak, BR Ecclesiastes, Shapiro, BN Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, Collins, BN

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Einstein Before Israel, Rosenkranz, BR Eisenhower 1956, Nichols, BR Ella’s Trip to Israel, Newman, CBR Emma Goldman, Gornick, BR End of the Holocaust, Rosenfeld, BR Endgame, Brady, BN Engineer Ari and the Sukkah Express, Cohen, CBR Envoy, Kershaw, BR Essential Jewish Stories, Rossel, BR Everyone Helps, Everyone Wins, Levinson, BN Extraordinary, Werlin, CBR Faith and Freedom, Gottlieb, BN Families, Rabbis, and Education, Stampfer, BR Families, Rabbis, and Education, Stampfer, BR Family Chanukah Book, Goldschmidt, CBR Far to Go, Pick, BR Festivals of Faith, Lamm, BR Final Reckoning, Bourne, BR Final Verdict, Schneir, BN Five Story House, Kass, CBR Folktales Of The Jews, Volume 3, Ben-Amos, BR For the Love of Being Jewish, Lowenstein, CBR For the Love of God and Virgins, Peled, BN Four Kitchens, Schockey, BR Four Seasons, Zalben, CBR Frankfurt Judengasse, Backhaus, et al., BR Frankfurt School, Tarr, BN Freedom Journeys, Waskow, Berman, BN Fridays with Eva, Gorny, BN From Kabbalah to Class Struggle, Krutikov, BN From the Jewish Heartland, Steinberg, Prost, BN Frumkiss Family Business, Wex, BR Gathering Sparks, Schwartz, CBR Gender and Jewish History, Kaplan, Dash Moore, BR German City, Roember, BN Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Thompson, BR Gersonides, Feldman, BR Ghost Runners, Rubenstein, BN Give Me Your Heart, Oates, BR Glatstein Chronicles, Glatstein, BN Glorious, Accursed Europe, Reinharz, Shavit, BR Glory and Agony, Feldman, BN God of Me, Lyon, BN God of Our Understanding, Taub, BR God vs. Gay, Michaelson, BN God Who Hates Lies, Hartman, Buckholtz, BR God’s Optimism, November, BR Going on a Hametz Hunt, Jules, CBR Good Eggs, Potts, BR Greed, Sarna, BR Green Bible Stories for Children, Lehman-Wilzig, CBR Green Fantasy, Chayen, CBR Greening of American Orthodox Judaism, Kraut, BR Gretel’s Story, Wachtel, Strachan, BR Hammerin’ Hank Greenberg, Sommer, CBR Hank Greenberg, Kurlansky, BR Hanukkah Trike, Edwards, CBR Happy Hanukkah Lights, Jules, CBR Hat, Hughes, BR

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Hear O Lord, Cohen, BR Heart of Deception, Malcolm, BR Heart of the City, Sabar, BR Heaven of Others, Cohen, BR Heavens Are Empty, Bendavid-Val, BR Hereville, Deutsch, CBR Heroes of the Holocaust, Fishkin, CBR Historical Dictionary of the Holocaust, Fischel, BR Historical Dictionary of the Jews, Unterman, BN History Lessons, Wenger, BR Hitler and America, Fischer, BN Hold on to the Sun, Govrin, BR Hollow Tree, Rosenberg, BR Holocaust Object in Polish and PolishJewish Culture, Shallcross, BR Hope Will Find You, Levy, BR Hoppy Passover , Glaser, CBR Houdini, Biskup, CBR House on Crash Corner and Other Unavoidable Calamities, Greenstein, BR How the End Begins, Rosenbaum, BR How to Make Peace in the Middle East in Six Months or Less Without Leaving Your Apartment, Levey, BR Howard Cosell, Ribkowsky, BN Human Figure and Jewish Culture, Strosberg, BR Hush, Chayil, BR I Have Always Loved the Holy Tongue, Grafton, BN I Keep Kosher, Raubvogel, Schwartz, CBR I’m God, You’re Not, Kushner, BR If a Tree Falls, Rosner, BR Images of God for Young Children, Delval, CBR In Her Hands, Adler, BN In Search of the Good Life, Marcus, BR In the Demon’s Bedroom, Dauber, BR In the Garden of Beasts, Larson, BR In the King’s Arms, Taitz, BR In the Narrow Places, Brown, BR In the Valley of the Shadow, Kugel, BR In This House, Altmann, BR Inconvenient, Gelbwasser, CBR Influencing Machine, Gladstone, Neufeld, BR Inheriting Anne Frank, Maarsen, BR Insiders and Outsider, Cohen, BR Invention of Jewish Identity, Hughes, BR Invisible Harry Gold, Hornblum, BN Iphigenia in Forest Hills, Malcolm, BR Island Eyes, Island Skies, Levine, CBR Israeli Cinema, Talmon, Peleg, BN Italian Renaissance, Rubinstein, BN It’s Too Crowded in Here, Weber, CBR Ivory From Paradise, Schmahmann, BR Jackie’s Gift, Robinson, CBR Jersey Sting, Sherman, Margolin, BR Jerusalem, Montefiore, BR Jerusalem Maiden, Carner, BR Jewish Calendar of Festive Foods, Portnoy, BR Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices: Social Justice, Dorff, BR Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices: War and National Security, Dorff, Ruttenberg, BR Jewish Feminine Mystique, Diner, BR Jewish Identity and Civil Rights in America, Marcus, BN

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Jewish Journeys, Jordan, BR Jewish Life in Nazi Germany, Nicosia, Scrase, BR Jewish Mysticism and the Spiritual Life, Fine, BN Jewish Odyssey, Halter, BR Jewish Origins of Cultural Pluralism, Greene, BN Jewish Studies, Bush, BR Jewish Studies at the Crossroads of Anthropology and History, Boustan, et al., BN Jewish West Virgina, Presiler, BN Jews and Magic in Medici Florence, Goldberg, BR Jews and the Making of Modern German Theatre, Malkin, BR Jews at Home, Bronner, BR Jews of Capitol Hill, Stone, BR Jews of North Africa, Taieb-Carlen, BR Jews of San Nicandro, Davis, BR Job, Roth, BR John Lennon and the Jews, Maghen, BN Joseph and the Sabbath Fish, Kimmel, CBR Joseph Roth, Hofmann, BN Journal of a UFO Investigator, Halperin, BN Journeys to War and Peace, Solarz, BN Judaism for Everyone, Sorj, BN Jumping Jenny, Bari, CBR Just One Catch, Daugherty, BR Kabbalah in Italy, Idel, BN Kabbalistic Culture of EighteenthCentury Prague, Flatto, BN King Solomon and the Bee, Renberg, CBR Kings and Carpenters, Coulter, CBR Knitter’s Home Companion, Edwards, Gotch, BR Kosher By Design Teens and 20Somethings, Fishbein, CBR Kosher Carnivore, Hersh, BR Kosher Elegance, Libfroind, BR Kosher Revolution, Hocherman, Boehm, BR Kvetch Who Stole Hanukkah, Berlin, CBR Lampshade, Jacobson, BR Land of Big Dreamers, Waldman, CBR Last Brother, Appanah, BR Last Folio, Dojc, Krausova, BN Last Jew of Treblinka, Rajchman, BR Latino Migrants in the Jewish State, Kalir, BN Lazar, the Good Deed Dog, Shanker, CBR Lee Krasner, Levin, BR Lemberg Mosaic, Weiss, BR Lenin’s Jewish Question, Petrovsky-Shtern, BR Leon Uris, Nadel, BR Leonard Bernstein at Work, Sherman, BR Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise, DePaola, CBR Levinasian Meditations, Cohen, BR Liberty’s Voice, Silverman, CBR Life and Opinions of Amy Finawitz, Toffler-Corrie, CBR Life in a Jar, Mayer, BR Life in Motion, Howe, BR Life Spent Changing Places, Halprin, BN Limassol, Sarid, BR Lipmann Pike, Michelson, CBR List, Fletcher, BR Literary Passports, Pinsker, BR

www.jewishbookcouncil.org

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2011 index

Little Bride, Solomon, BR Littlest Mountain, Rosenstock, CBR Long Night, Wick, BR Lost Loves, Lost Art, Muller, BR Lost Minyan, Gitlitz, BR Lost Wife, Richman, BR Loves of Yulian, Padowicz, BR Lunar Savings Time, Epstein, BR Maccabee, Balsley, CBR Making of the Modern Jewish Bible, Levenson, BN Man in Uniform, Taylor, BR Marcel Marceau, Spielman, CBR Material Culture and Jewish Thought in America, Koltun-Fromm, BR Memoirs of a Grandmother, Wengeroff, Magnus, BR Memory of All That, Weber, BR Mesillat Yesharim, Luzzato, BR Mighty Walzer, Jacobson, BR Miracle of the Golden Dove and Other Stories, Krohn, CBR Mirador, Gille, BR Miriam Tradition, Sautter, BR Mitzvah the Mutt, Rouss, CBR Mixed Multitude, Maciejko, BN Model Nazi, Epstein, BR Modern Jewish Literatures, Jelen, et al., BR Morality for Muggles, Rosenberg, BN Most Musical Nation, Loeffler, BR Motti, Schurr, BR Mr. Funny Pants, Showalter, BR Mrs. Honig’s Cakes, Frankel, CBR Mrs. Noah’s Vegetable Ark, Pasquali, CBR Mufti of Jerusalem and the Nazis, Gensicke, BR Muriel’s War, Isenberg, BR Muselmann at the Water Cooler, Pfefferkorn, BN Music Was It, Rubin, CBR Muslims and Jews in America, Aslan, Tapper, BN My Los Angeles in Black & (Almost) White, Furman, BN My Times and Life, Keller, BR Nachas Ruach, Fish, BN Narrating the Law, Wimpfheimer, BR Nathan Blows Out the Hanukkah Candles, Lehman-Wilzig, CBR Nazi Palestine, Mallmann, BR Nazis on the Run, Steinacher, BN Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace, Eisenberg, Caplan, BR New Essays in American Jewish History, Nadell, BR New Shoah, Meotti, BN New Voice for Israel, Ben-Ami, BR Newlywed Guide to Physical Intimacy, Rosenfeld, Ribner, BN Next to Love, Feldman, BR Noah’s Swim-a-Thon, Koffsky, CBR Novel in the Viola, Solomons, BR Odessa, King, BR Of Exile and Music, Schay, BR Omega Theory, Alpert, BN On Changes in Jewish Liturgy, Sperber, BR Once They Had a Country, Gillick, BR

winter 5772/2011

Jewish Book World

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2011 index

One Hundred Years of Kibbutz Life, Palgi, Reinharz, BR One is Not a Lonely Number, Krieger, CBR Operation Exodus, Thomas, BR Oracle of Stamboul, Lukas, BR Orchards, Thompson, CBR Oriental Wife, Toynton, BR Origins of Jewish Mysticism, Schäfer, BR Origins of Jewish Secularization, Feiner, BR Orphan Rescue, Dublin, CBR Other Others, Shankman, BR Other Schindlers, Grunwald-Spier, BR Otto, Ungerer, CBR Ottoman Brothers, Campos, BR Our Exodus, Silver, BR Our Haggadah, Roberts, BR Out of Left Field, Alpert, BR Out of the Depths, Lau, BR Out of Time, Tinter, BN Oy Vey, Minkoff, BN OyMG, Dominy, CBR Palaces of Time, Carlebach, BR Palestinian and Israeli Public Opinion, Shamir, BR Palestinian Right to Israel, Grobman, BR Panorama, Adler, BR Parachuting, Freedman, CBR Passionate Pioneers, Freidenreich, BR Passover Zoo Seder, Guttman, CBR Peace in the Making, Hurwitz, BN Peace in the Making, Hurwitz, BR Pearls of Yiddish Poetry, Mlotek, BR People of the Book, Switsky, BR Perfect Nazi, Davidson, BR Persecution, Polemic, and Dialogue, Berger, BR Philosophical Retrospective, Montefiore, BN Physician Under the Nazis, Glenwick, BR Picnic at Camp Shalom, Jules, CBR Pirke Avot, Berkson, BR Pitching in the Promised Land, Pribble, BR Political Evil, Wolfe, BN Politics in Dark Times, Benhabib, BN Portrait of a Spy, Silva, BR Precious Objects, Oltuski, BR Prelude to Catastophe, Shogan, BR Price of Escape, Unger, BR Privilege to Die, Cambanis, BN Problems in Purimville, Fisman, CBR Promise Me, Brinker, BN Promised Lands, Rubin, BR Purifying the Nation, Solonari, BR Purim and the Persian Empire, Landy, BN Quantum Man, Krauss, BN Queen Who Saved Her People, Balsley, CBR Rabbis and Revolution, Miller, BR Reasonable Doubts, Berman, BN Reassessing Jewish Life in Medieval Europe, Chazan, BR Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls, Grossman, BN Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century, Washofsky, BR Refusing to Crumble, Burgan, CBR Remarkable Journey of Josh’s Kippah, Elissa, CBR Remarkable Park, Argoff, CBR Requiem, Janeczko, CBR Revolution, Unferth, BR

Jewish Book World

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winter 5772/2011

Rooftop Adventure of Minnie and Tessa, Littlefield, CBR Royal Table, Lamm, BR Running the Books, Steinberg, BN Russian Winter, Kalotay, BN Sacred Trash, Hoffman, Cole, BR Sacred Treasures, Glickman, BR Sadie’s Sukkah Breakfast, Korngold, CBR Safta’s Diaries, Appleman, BN Sage Tales, Visotzky, BR Sages, Lau, BR Salute to Romanian Jews in America and Canada, Werstman, BN Sammy Spider’s First Simchat Torah, Rouss, CBR Sara Finds a Mitzva, Simhaee, CBR Savvy Auntie, Notkin, CBR Say Hello, Lily, Lakritz, CBR Scenes From Village Life, Oz, BR Schoenberg’s New World, Feisst, BN Scorpions, Feldman, BR Second Son, Raab, BR Secret Fiend, Peacock, CBR Secret Gift, Gup, BR Sephardi Family Life in the Early Modern Diaspora, Lieberman, BR Serpent’s Skin, Klein, BR Settlers, Taub, BR Sexual Violence Against Jewish Women During the Holocaust, Hedgepeth, BR Shadow of a Great Rock, Bloom, BN Shadows in Winter, Fishbane, BN Sharing Our Homeland, Marx, CBR Short History of a Tall Jew, Danziger, BR Silver from the Land of Israel, Morrison, BN Sinners on Trial, Teter, BR Skinny, Spechler, BR Sliding into the New Year, Weinstein, CBR Smartest Woman I Know, Beckerman, BN Social Climber’s Handbook, Jong-Fast, BN Solomon, Weitzman, BR Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut, Kargman, BR Song of Teshuvah, Weinberger, BN Soul to Soul, Masel, BN SPHAS, Stark, BR Stages of Spiritual Growth, Gallant, BN Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit, Magness, BR Stones Don’t Bear Witness, Sandler, BR Story of Esther, Kimmel, CBR Stranger on the Planet, Schwartz, BR Stronger Than Iron, Balberyszski, BN Suddenly in the Depths of the Forest, Oz, CBR Survivors, Moore, BR Swimming in the Daylight, Paul, BR Sylvia Chronicles, Hollander, BR Synagogue in America, Raphael, BR Synagogue Speaks, Kossof, CBR Synagogues of Britain and Ireland, Kadish, BN Tashlich at Turtle Rock, Schnur, CBR Terezin, Thomson, CBR Terrorist Cop, Dzikansky, BR Thera, Shalev, BR Things We Cherished, Jenoff, BR Third Pillar, Hartman, BN This Beautiful Life, Schulman, BR Three Chords for Beauty’s Sake, Nolan, BR

www.jewishbookcouncil.org

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Through a Narrow Window, Wix, BR Through Eva’s Eyes, Unterman, CBR Time for Torah, CBR Timeless People, Landa, BR Transforming Relations, Harkins, BN Traumatic Verses, Nader, BR Traveling Light, Pastan, BR Tri-Faith America, Schultz, BR Truths Desired by God, Tamari, BR Turbulent Times, Kahn-Harris, Gidley, BR Twentieth Century Jews, Penkower, BR Unexpectedly Eighty, Viorst, BN Universal Jew, Dekel, BN Vaclav and Lena, Tanner, BR Vices, Douglas, BN Vidal, Sassoon, BN Vienna Jazz Trio, Böhm, BN Visitation, Erpenbeck, BR Visual Culture of Chabad, Katz, BN Vow Fulfilled, Laufer, BN Waiting, Swados, BR Waltzing with the Enemy, Kliot, Mitsios, BR Wandering Soul, Safran, BR War and Love, Love and War, Shabtai, BR War in Bom Fim, Scliar, BR Warsaw Anagrams, Zimmler, BR Washington Haggadah, ben Simeon, BR We All Wore Stars, Coster, BR We Are Coming Unafraid, Keren, BR We Are Here, Patt, Berkowitz, BN What the Furies Bring, Sherman, BR What We Brought Back, Hoffman, BR

What’s the Buzz, Ofanansky, CBR When Bob Met Woody, Golio, CBR

When Courage Prevailed, Gitman, BR When We Danced on Water, Fallenberg, BR Where Am I?, Schon, CBR Where Did Noah Park the Ark, Katz, BN Where the Streets Had a Name, Abdel-Fattah, CBR Who Knew, Cooper, BN Who Shall Live, Oliner, BR Why Mahler, Lebrecht, BR Why We Pray What We Pray, Freundel, BN Wisdom Books, Alter, BR With This Night, Goldberg, BR Witness House, Kohl, BR Witness to History, Lichtenstein, BR Wizard of Lies, Henriques, BR Woman of Heart, Alancraig, BN Woman Who Dared, Pullen, BR Women Against Tyranny, Walders, BR Women and the Messianic Heresy of Sabbatai Zevi, Rapoport-Albert, BN Women Who Reconstructed American Jewish Education, Ingall, BR Words and the Land, Shlomo Sand, BN Words to Remember It, Sydney Child Holocaust Survivors Group, BR Working in Flour, Friedman, BR Yossi and Laibel Learn to Share, Rosenfeld, CBR You Could Lose an Eye, Riech, BN Young Tel Aviv, Helman, BR Yuvi’s Candy Tree, Simpson, CBR Zellig Harris, Barsky, BR Zishe the Strongman, Rubenstein, CBR

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