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Spring 5770/2010 Vol. 28, Number 1<br />

FEATURES<br />

4 National <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> Awards<br />

22 Hear, O Israel...<br />

Maron L. Waxman<br />

AUTHOR/BOOK PROFILES<br />

30 Children in Flight<br />

Marcia Weiss Posner<br />

36 Figures Lie, Liars Figure<br />

Noel N. Kriftcher<br />

38 The Psycho-Resilient <strong>Jewish</strong> Soul<br />

Audrey Freshman<br />

46 <strong>Jewish</strong> South Africa in Fiction<br />

Lauren Kramer<br />

Malvina D. Engelberg<br />

52 In the Grasp of the Shoah: Tales of Travail<br />

and Its Aftermath<br />

Marcia Weiss Posner<br />

54 “Curb” Couple Memoirs<br />

Jaclyn Trop<br />

REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS<br />

26 AMERICAN JEWISH STUDIES<br />

26 The Baseball Talmud: A Definitive Position-By-<br />

Position Ranking of Baseball’s Chosen Players<br />

Howard Megdal<br />

Reviewed by Maron L. Waxman<br />

26 We Remember with Reverence and<br />

Love: American Jews and the Myth of<br />

Silence After the Holocaust, 1945–1962<br />

Hasia R. Diner<br />

Reviewed by Michael N. Dobkowski<br />

28 AUTOBIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR<br />

28 The 188 th Crybaby Brigade<br />

Joel Chasnoff<br />

Reviewed by Jessica B. Horwitz<br />

31 Curriculum Vitae<br />

Yoel Hoffmann; Peter Cole, trans.<br />

Reviewed by Bob Goldfarb<br />

37 BIOGRAPHY<br />

37 Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet<br />

Seth Rogovoy<br />

Reviewed by David Cohen<br />

37 CONTEMPORARY JEWISH LIFE<br />

37 The Art of Giving: Where the Soul<br />

Meets a Business Plan<br />

Charles Bronfman and Jeffrey<br />

Solomon; James Wolfensohn, fwd.<br />

Reviewed by Stephen G. Donshik<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

42 Jews, God, and Videotape: Religion<br />

and Media in America<br />

Jeffrey Shandler<br />

Reviewed by Jeff Bogursky<br />

44 Why The Dreyfus Affair Matters<br />

Louis Begley<br />

Reviewed by Bob Goldfarb<br />

40 COOKBOOKS<br />

41 <strong>Jewish</strong> Slow Cooker Recipes<br />

Laura Frankel<br />

Reviewed by Danièle Gorlin Lassner<br />

44 EDUCATION AND JEWISH IDENTITY<br />

44 Sowing the Seeds of Character<br />

Judd Kruger Levingston<br />

Reviewed by Jeffrey Schein<br />

45 FICTION<br />

45 36 Arguments for the Existence of God:<br />

A Work of Fiction<br />

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein<br />

Reviewed by Margaret Teich<br />

51 HISTORY<br />

51 Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural<br />

History of the Great Depression<br />

Morris Dickstein<br />

Reviewed by Bill Brennan<br />

53 HOLOCAUST STUDIES<br />

54 The Death of the Shtetl<br />

Yehuda Bauer<br />

Reviewed by Carl J. Rheins<br />

55 HUMOR<br />

55 I Drink for a Reason<br />

David Cross<br />

Reviewed by Joshua Daniel Edwin<br />

55 ISRAEL STUDIES<br />

56 Lone Soldiers: Israel’s Defenders<br />

From Around the World<br />

Herb Keinon<br />

Reviewed by Gil Ehrenkranz<br />

56 Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s<br />

Economic Miracle<br />

Dan Senor and Saul Singer<br />

Reviewed by Peter L. Rothholz<br />

57 MODERN JEWISH THOUGHT<br />

AND EXPERIENCE<br />

57 The Seder Night: An Exalted Evening:<br />

The Passover Haggadah With a<br />

Commentary Based on the Teachings<br />

of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik<br />

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik;<br />

Rabbi Menachem Genack, ed.<br />

Reviewed by Wallace Greene<br />

58 POETRY<br />

58 Beads for the Messiah’s Bride: Poems<br />

on Leviticus<br />

Yakov Azriel<br />

Reviewed by Deborah Schoeneman<br />

59 These Mountains: Selected Poems<br />

of Rivka Miriam<br />

Rivka Miriam; Linda Stern Zisquit, trans.<br />

Reviewed by Hara E. Person<br />

59 VISUAL ARTS<br />

59 The <strong>Book</strong> of Genesis<br />

Robert Crumb; Robert Alter, trans.<br />

Reviewed by Elliot Fox<br />

60 Reinventing Ritual: Contemporary Art<br />

and Design for <strong>Jewish</strong> Life<br />

Daniel Belasco; Contributors:<br />

Arnold M. Eisen, Julie Lasky,<br />

Tamar Rubin, Danya Ruttenberg<br />

Reveiwed by Arlene B. Soifer<br />

61 WOMEN’S STUDIES<br />

61 Mitzvah Girls: Bringing Up the Next<br />

Generation of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn<br />

Ayala Fader<br />

Reviewed by Shelomo Alfassa<br />

62 CHILDREN’S<br />

DEPARTMENTS<br />

2 Editor’s Note<br />

24 JBW <strong>Book</strong> Club Recommendations<br />

25 Emerging Voices: David Sax<br />

Laurie Gwen Shapiro<br />

62 Children’s<br />

67 Barbara Bietz Chats with<br />

Zachary Shapiro<br />

69 <strong>Book</strong>s of Note<br />

75 Now in Paperback<br />

76 Contributors<br />

79 Index<br />

CORRECTION: <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World regrets the following errors in the Winter, 2009 issue:<br />

The reviewer of the Doll Shop Downstairs (Yona Zeldis McDonough) is Naomi Morse.<br />

The correct subtitle for Business Mensch is Timeless Wisdom for Today’s Entrepreneur.<br />

Winter 5770/2009 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 1


EDITOR’S NOTE<br />

The massive earthquake<br />

that devastated<br />

Haiti on January 12<br />

triggered an equally massive<br />

global response. The<br />

swift worldwide outpouring<br />

of humanitarian and<br />

financial aid in reaction<br />

to Haiti’s horrific suffering and urgent need<br />

demonstrated once again that catastrophes<br />

often give rise to teachable moments.<br />

What, exactly, is a teachable moment? It is<br />

“a moment of educational opportunity, a time<br />

at which a person is likely to be particularly disposed<br />

to learn something or particularly<br />

responsive to being taught or made aware of<br />

something” (MSN Encarta). President Obama,<br />

whose use of the phrase has popularized it, said<br />

about the earthquake, “In the aftermath of disaster,<br />

we are reminded that life can be unimaginably<br />

cruel. That pain and loss is so often<br />

meted out without any justice or mercy. That<br />

‘time and chance’ happen to us all. But it is also<br />

in these moments, when we are brought face to<br />

face with our own fragility, that we rediscover<br />

our common humanity. We look into the eyes<br />

of another and see ourselves.”<br />

In the continuing aftershock of Haiti’s catastrophic<br />

earthquake, Rabbi Jill Jacobs’ new<br />

book, There Shall Be No Needy: Pursuing Social<br />

Justice through <strong>Jewish</strong> Law & Tradition (see<br />

review, p. 43), is particularly relevant and<br />

timely. A comprehensive exploration of the<br />

concepts of tzedakah and tikkun olam, the<br />

book stems from the principle that in Judaism<br />

healing the sick and providing for the poor are<br />

not choices but obligations. Rabbi Jacobs,<br />

who is rabbi in residence at <strong>Jewish</strong> Funds for<br />

Justice, goes deeply but comprehensibly into<br />

classical <strong>Jewish</strong> sources, contemporary policy<br />

debate, and real-life stories to explore aspects<br />

of social justice as well as stories about repairing<br />

our broken world, each from a deeply <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

perspective.<br />

2 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Winter 5770/2009<br />

Amidst the worldwide flood of support for<br />

Haiti, Israel stood out for its ability to quickly<br />

set up a field hospital in a Port-au-Prince soccer<br />

field and begin performing surgery while<br />

other nations were still waiting for supplies.<br />

Within three days, Israel had ten tons of medical<br />

equipment, 40 doctors, 24 nurses, medics,<br />

paramedics, x-ray equipment and personnel, a<br />

pharmacy, an emergency room, two surgery<br />

rooms, an incubation ward, a children’s ward,<br />

and a maternity ward up and running. It was<br />

no accident that the <strong>Jewish</strong> State got there<br />

first; it was no public relations stunt, either.<br />

The reason Israel had the know-how and<br />

capability to do what was needed in Haiti is a<br />

reflection of something deep in the nation’s<br />

character, a central <strong>Jewish</strong> value that demands<br />

engagement in public life and a sense of obligation<br />

to each other.<br />

Special envoy to Haiti former President<br />

Bill Clinton pointed out that the response to<br />

great tragedy can be predictive of the future.<br />

Israel’s quick and thorough response in helping<br />

to alleviate Haiti’s suffering was an example<br />

of our Biblical mission to be a light unto<br />

the nations. Our core values, our belief in<br />

tzedakah, justice, and tikkun olam, demand<br />

that we come together whenever and wherever<br />

necessary to bring light and hope to those who<br />

are in need. In the words of Rabbi Jacobs, “we<br />

understand giving beyond our immediate<br />

community as a means of increasing peace<br />

and of emulating the divine quality of mercy.”<br />

As Jews we have brought upon ourselves<br />

some of the problems in the way the world<br />

perceives us. But in the broader scales of justice,<br />

Israel’s speedy and effective response in<br />

Haiti is a glimpse into our core, of which we<br />

can , and should, be proud.<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong><br />

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among others.<br />

This project is supported by a generous grant from the Rohr family of Miami.


59 NATIONAL<br />

The National <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong><br />

Awards is the longest running<br />

North American awards program<br />

of its kind and is recognized<br />

as the most prestigious. The<br />

TH 59 NATIONAL TH<br />

awards, presented by category,<br />

are designed to give recognition<br />

to outstanding books, to stimu-<br />

late writers to further literary<br />

creativity and to encourage the<br />

reading of books of merit.


JEWISHBOOKAWARDS<br />

The following synopses of the NJBA winners and finalists were written by either<br />

the Members of the judging panels in each category or the publisher of the title.<br />

EVERETT FAMILY FOUNDATION<br />

2009 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> of the Year Award<br />

LOUIS D. BRANDEIS:<br />

A LIFE<br />

Melvin I. Urofsky<br />

Pantheon <strong>Book</strong>s<br />

During the half-century<br />

from 1890 to<br />

1940, the pre-eminent<br />

Jew in American public<br />

life was without doubt<br />

Louis D. Brandeis. And<br />

almost 70 years after his<br />

death in 1941 he remains<br />

an iconic figure well<br />

worth close examination.<br />

Happily, Melvin Urofsky<br />

has now provided us with a<br />

comprehensive, deeply<br />

researched and highly readable<br />

biography of this man<br />

who occupies so significant<br />

a place in the history both of our nation and of American Jewry.<br />

In the pages of Urofsky’s Louis D. Brandeis: A Life, we meet the secular<br />

Jew from Louisville whose path takes him from Harvard Law<br />

School to a highly successful career as a young lawyer in Boston and<br />

then, unpredictably, to fame as an idealistic advocate who brilliantly<br />

deploys his legal skills as the champion of reform in municipal affairs,<br />

labor relations, banking, and big business. We watch as Brandeis<br />

becomes the close advisor of Woodrow Wilson and we witness the furious<br />

battle in the U.S. Senate over his nomination as the first <strong>Jewish</strong> justice<br />

of the U.S. Supreme Court and the two decades of distinguished<br />

service on the Court that followed. In the midst of this already crowded<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

and stormy career, again utterly unexpectedly, we see Brandeis take up<br />

the cause of Zionism and the leadership of the nascent, fragile Zionist<br />

movement in America, famously declaring that “to be good Americans<br />

we must be better Jews, and to be better Jews we must be Zionists.”<br />

Finally, in this account of the public and private life of the man that<br />

FDR called “Isaiah,” we meet an amazing cast of historic figures with<br />

whom Brandeis worked or fought—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Felix<br />

Frankfurter, Dean Acheson, Chaim Weizmann,<br />

Arthur Balfour, Robert Lafollette, Herbert Hoover,<br />

Stephen Wise, and many others. In short, this is a<br />

vivid biography of a man who, by force of intellect,<br />

energy, and passionate idealism had a transforming<br />

effect on America, on the story of Jews in America,<br />

and on the historic course of Zionism.<br />

JEWISH BOOKCOUNCIL<br />

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD<br />

RUTH GRUBER<br />

INSIDE OF TIME: MY JOURNEY FROM ALASKA TO ISRAEL<br />

(Basic <strong>Book</strong>s)<br />

AHEAD OF TIME: MY EARLY YEARS AS A FOREIGN CORRE-<br />

SPONDENT<br />

(Wynwood)<br />

EXODUS 1947: THE SHIP THAT LAUNCHED A NATION<br />

(Crown)<br />

DESTINATION PALESTINE: THE STORY OF THE HAGANAH<br />

SHIP EXODUS, 1947<br />

(Current <strong>Book</strong>s)<br />

HAVEN: THE DRAMATIC STORY OF 1000 WORLD WAR II<br />

REFUGEES AND HOW THEY CAME TO AMERICA<br />

(Coward-McCann)<br />

I WENT TO THE SOVIET UNION<br />

(Viking Press)<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 5<br />

Virginia Commonwealth University


59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

ISRAEL TODAY: LAND OF MANY NATIONS<br />

(Hill and Wang)<br />

RAQUELA: A WOMAN OF ISRAEL<br />

(Coward, McCann & Geoghegan)<br />

RESCUE: THE EXODUS OF THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS<br />

(Atheneum)<br />

WITNESS: ONE OF THE GREAT CORRESPONDENTS<br />

OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY TELLS HER STORY<br />

(Schocken <strong>Book</strong>s)<br />

Ruth Gruber is a true 20th century hero of the <strong>Jewish</strong> people. A gifted<br />

writer and a woman of great courage and determination she<br />

has devoted her life to rescuing her fellow Jews from oppression. Her<br />

journey began with a series that she did for the New York Herald Tribune<br />

about women under communism and fascism. It was her skill as a<br />

young journalist that called her to the attention of the then Secretary<br />

of the Interior, Harold Ickes. Gruber’s life defining moment came in<br />

1944 when Mr. Ickes, impressed by her work, asked her to take on a<br />

special and dangerous mission: secretly escorting a group of 1,000<br />

refugees from Italy to America. Later, while in Jerusalem she learned of<br />

a former American pleasure boat, renamed the Exodus, which had been<br />

attempting to deliver 4,500 <strong>Jewish</strong> refugees. Her moving photographs<br />

and stories of these events remain an important chronicle of <strong>Jewish</strong> history.<br />

In her latest work, Witness: One of the Great Correspondents<br />

of the Twentieth Century Tells Her Story,<br />

Gruber writes about what she saw and shows us,<br />

through her haunting and life-affirming photographs—taken<br />

on each of her assignments—the<br />

worlds, the people, the landscapes, the courage, the<br />

hope, the life she witnessed up close and firsthand.<br />

AMERICAN JEWISH STUDIES<br />

Celebrate 350 Award<br />

Winner:<br />

WE REMEMBER WITH REVERENCE<br />

AND LOVE: AMERICAN JEWS AND<br />

THE MYTH OF SILENCE AFTER THE<br />

HOLOCAUST, 1945–1962<br />

Hasia R. Diner<br />

New York University Press<br />

In We Remember with Reverence and Love,<br />

Hasia Diner singlehandedly topples a<br />

central pillar in our understanding of<br />

American <strong>Jewish</strong> behavior in the years following<br />

the Holocaust. In a book that will<br />

profoundly alter debate and discussion<br />

about post-war American Jewry, Diner demonstrates that far from<br />

sublimating the tragedy until the 1960’s as many previous historical<br />

accounts would have us believe, in the years immediately following the<br />

end of the war American Jews went to great lengths to mourn and<br />

memorialize their fallen kin, succor struggling survivors, educate<br />

themselves and the American public, and confront the perpetrators of<br />

the tragedy. Diner convinces us that this was not a marginal phenomenon<br />

within the American <strong>Jewish</strong> world. Jews and <strong>Jewish</strong> organizations<br />

across the religious, social, and political spectrum engaged with<br />

the Holocaust in a variety of meaningful ways. In compelling and pas-<br />

6 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

sionate prose, Diner reveals that memory of the Holocaust came to<br />

infuse American <strong>Jewish</strong> life, present in its poetry and popular culture,<br />

its polemics and internal debates, and in its post-war worldview and<br />

programs of political action. The author marshals a vast quantity of<br />

new and exhaustively gathered evidence from numerous untapped<br />

sources—summer camp journals, archival records of landsmanschaftn<br />

and sisterhood groups, sermons, and speeches—capturing<br />

the voices of a generation that sought to<br />

remember it with reverence and love. This monumental<br />

volume shows incontrovertibly that our<br />

understanding of American <strong>Jewish</strong> post-war response<br />

to the Holocaust has not only been wrong, but<br />

extraordinarily and unfairly so.<br />

Finalists:<br />

ORTHODOX JEWS IN AMERICA<br />

Jeffrey S. Gurock<br />

Indiana University Press<br />

Agreat story teller, Professor Gurock<br />

masterfully tells the tale of how Jews<br />

in America fashioned an Orthodox lifestyle<br />

that both mirrored and shaped their understanding<br />

of themselves as American Jews.<br />

What did it mean to be an Orthodox Jew<br />

in America—as a young <strong>Jewish</strong> mother in a<br />

small town without reliably kosher food, a<br />

peddler traveling long distances by foot to<br />

make it to synagogue for Yom Kippur, or a businessperson socializing<br />

with Gentile colleagues? Weaving together personal narrative, anecdotes,<br />

sermons, and social observations in this richly textured book,<br />

Gurock paints a fascinating picture of the variety of Orthodox behavior,<br />

belief, and aspirations. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of<br />

how each generation of Orthodox Jews established institutions and<br />

norms that they hoped would enable them to flourish in America while<br />

ensuring <strong>Jewish</strong> survival. Gurock also demonstrates<br />

how outside forces, such as feminism, compel Orthodox<br />

Jews to constantly redefine and reimagine the<br />

extent to which modern culture and religious life can<br />

be compatible. Gurock’s work is an enormously valuable<br />

contribution to the field by American Orthodoxy’s<br />

preeminent historian.<br />

JEWISH IMMIGRANTS AND AMERICAN CAPITALISM,<br />

1880–1920: FROM CASTE TO CLASS<br />

Eli Lederhendler<br />

Cambridge University Press<br />

Eli Lederhendler’s bracing scholarly study challenges much of what we<br />

thought we knew about East European <strong>Jewish</strong> immigration to the<br />

United States. Jews, Lederhendler argues, brought little in the way of<br />

human capital with them from the Old World. Characteristics like Jews’<br />

middle class affinities and left-liberal biases, that others trace back to Eastern<br />

Europe, he shows to be “at the most, sets of acquired ideas that developed<br />

among Jews in the United States after immigration.” For Lederhendler,<br />

economics, rather than identity, culture, or politics propels the<br />

story of <strong>Jewish</strong> immigration forward. By focusing on the economic discontinuities<br />

between Eastern Europe and the United States, he sheds new light<br />

on the uniqueness of the American <strong>Jewish</strong> experience as a whole.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


ANTHOLOGIES AND COLLECTIONS<br />

Winner:<br />

RETHINKING EUROPEAN<br />

JEWISH HISTORY<br />

Jeremy Cohen and Moshe Rosman, eds.<br />

The Littman Library of <strong>Jewish</strong> Civilization<br />

This volume represents the second in a<br />

new series of conferences and publications<br />

entitled “New Perspectives on<br />

European Jewry,” a project of the Goldstein-Goren<br />

Diaspora Research Center at<br />

Tel Aviv University. The editors explained<br />

the purpose of this volume in the<br />

Acknowledgements: “As the field of <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

history positions itself at the beginning of a new century and a new<br />

millennium, ‘New Perspectives’ will grapple afresh with the theoretical,<br />

topical and methodological issues that nourish the relationship<br />

between the <strong>Jewish</strong> present and the <strong>Jewish</strong> past.”<br />

This volume, edited by two of the leading historians of the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

past, is divided into four sections. Each section focuses on a different<br />

aspect of this “new perspective” on the <strong>Jewish</strong> past and includes essays<br />

from leading historians and scholars. The first section is entitled “Reorienting<br />

the Narrative” and includes essays reevaluating such central<br />

themes as anti-Semitism and the role of women. The second section is<br />

called “From the Middle Ages to Modernity” and contains essays that<br />

attempt to set an agenda for the study of the <strong>Jewish</strong> past and to redefine<br />

what is meant by modernity in <strong>Jewish</strong> history. The third section, “On<br />

the Eve of the Spanish Expulsion,” includes essays that re-examine some<br />

of the categories and dynamics of the experience of the Jews in 15th century<br />

Spain. The last section is entitled “From Europe to America and<br />

Back” and explores the relationship between Europe and America both<br />

prior to World War II and in the post-<br />

World War II generation.<br />

The essays in this volume, which<br />

are written in a scholarly yet accessible<br />

manner, will hopefully take a prominent<br />

place in the study of the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

past during the 21st century.<br />

Finalists:<br />

PLACE AND DISPLACEMENT<br />

IN JEWISH HISTORY AND<br />

MEMORY: ZAKOR V’MAKOR<br />

David Cesarani, Tony Kushner, Milton Shain, eds.<br />

Vallentine Mitchell<br />

This book is a collection of twelve<br />

essays which analyze the concepts of<br />

history, geography, and migration,<br />

whether forced or voluntary, in a diverse<br />

range of <strong>Jewish</strong> communities and individuals<br />

and their effect on the formation of<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> identities and “sense of place.” The<br />

case studies cover a wide range of geographic populations including<br />

those in parts of Europe, North and South America, Australia, North<br />

and South Africa and the Far East over the time periods from the early<br />

modern era to the early 21st century. The essays originated at an inter-<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

national conference held at the University of Cape Town, South Africa<br />

in January, 2005 comprised of 30 scholars from around the world.<br />

The essays explore the meaning of place in the formation of <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

identities as the varied peoples interact with their places of origin, and also<br />

when they leave them. After their migrations, the effect of memory of<br />

home and the passage of time are examined as these influence their new<br />

community experiences and resettlement. The <strong>Jewish</strong> experience, in terms<br />

of adaptation to the worlds in which Jews find themselves, are ongoing<br />

issues critical to the future of the <strong>Jewish</strong> people. The book will increase the<br />

insights and understanding<br />

of these experiences,<br />

not only for<br />

scholars, but for all readers<br />

who are concerned<br />

about the challenges to<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> continuity.<br />

JEWISH MUSICAL MODERNISM,<br />

OLD AND NEW<br />

Philip V. Bohlman, ed.<br />

University of Chicago Press<br />

This volume is an important study of<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> music from the late 19th century<br />

to the end of the 20th within the context<br />

of social, cultural, political, and scientific<br />

change. <strong>Jewish</strong> music ranges in definition<br />

from art music to folk music; from synagogue liturgy to political<br />

cabaret, and in languages and harmonies that reflect the <strong>Jewish</strong> Diaspora<br />

and the State of Israel. An overview of the subject is given in the<br />

Forward and Introduction. Subsequent chapters provide vivid examples<br />

of the ways in which <strong>Jewish</strong> music responded to the challenge of<br />

modernism: an account of how a small Sephardic community in Vienna<br />

reacted to its cosmopolitan environment; the history of the long and<br />

difficult relationship of Germans to Jews and to <strong>Jewish</strong> music with its<br />

climax in the Shoah. The third example is the ongoing story of the Beta<br />

Israel people of Ethiopia, whose founding myth and liturgy were utterly<br />

transformed by contact with Europe and with Israel. They now call<br />

themselves <strong>Jewish</strong> Ethiopians, the remnant of the lost tribe of Dan. The<br />

last example is a persuasive analysis of the work of Charlotte Salomon,<br />

a German <strong>Jewish</strong> artist who composed an arresting series of 769 paintings<br />

entitled Leben? oder Theater? (Life? or Theatre?). Seemingly autobiographical,<br />

the paintings may also reflect the social and cultural mores<br />

of her North German background. These studies are brought to a close<br />

with an epilogue offering a conceptual framework for understanding<br />

the pattern of <strong>Jewish</strong> music during the past century and a half, and the<br />

burst of creativity at the end of this period. Even in Theresienstadt,<br />

Viktor Uhlman composed his opera “Der Kaiser Von Atlantis.” Art<br />

music, folk music, Yiddish songs, theater and cabaret, klezmer,<br />

Sephardic, and Ashkenazic liturgy—music from the widespread <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Diaspora and music from Israel with its Hebrew texts all testify to the<br />

vibrant energy of the creators and performers of <strong>Jewish</strong> music. An<br />

appendix discusses <strong>Jewish</strong> popular music, illustrated in the CD that<br />

accompanies this beautifully produced book.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 7


59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

BIOGRAPHY, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, AND MEMOIR<br />

In Memory of Simon & Shulamith (Sofi) Goldberg<br />

Winner:<br />

THE FALL OF A SPARROW: THE LIFE<br />

AND TIMES OF ABBA KOVNER<br />

Dina Porat; Elizabeth Yuval, trans. & ed.<br />

Stanford University Press<br />

Abba Kovner’s picaresque life reads<br />

like that of a character in a <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

novel: partisan, poet, writer, kibbutznik,<br />

and Israel Prize winner. Kovner was an<br />

active participant in both of the major<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> events of the 20th century: the war<br />

against the Jews during World War II and<br />

the War of Independence to establish the<br />

State of Israel. Born in Sevastopol in 1918, a descendant of the Vilna<br />

Gaon, he made Vilna his home. Kovner was the first to recognize<br />

Hitler’s designs to murder all the European Jews and was a defender<br />

of the Vilna ghetto. Escaping immediately before the ghetto was liquidated,<br />

Kovner organized a partisan group and fought the Nazis from<br />

the woods. While there, he formulated the tripartite strategy of bricha<br />

(exodus from Europe), hativa (uniting the survivors) and nakam<br />

(revenge). Kovner realized all three, including a fantastic plan to poison<br />

large numbers of Germans, which resulted in him being deported<br />

to Israel. He was an officer in the Givati Brigade and later became a<br />

member of kibbutz Ein Hahoresh, living until 1987. Dina Porat, the<br />

head of the Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of<br />

Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism at Tel<br />

Aviv University and translator Elizabeth Yuval, have<br />

rendered an engrossing portrait of a thoughtful, traumatized<br />

man of action whose life encapsulated the<br />

perpetuity of the <strong>Jewish</strong> people. This is a story that<br />

every Jew should know.<br />

Finalists:<br />

ROSENFELD’S LIVES: FAME, OBLIVION,<br />

AND THE FURIES OF WRITING<br />

Steven J. Zipperstein<br />

Yale University Press<br />

In Rosenfeld’s Lives: Fame, Oblivion, and<br />

the Furies of Writing, Steven J. Zipperstein<br />

makes an impassioned and convincing<br />

case for the importance of Isaac Rosenfeld,<br />

a brilliant but anguished and sadly<br />

forgotten 20th century writer of fiction,<br />

essays, and literary criticism. Adopting the<br />

unusual strategy of exploring why Rosenfeld,<br />

a lifelong friend—and rival—of Saul Bellow’s,<br />

never fully achieved his promise, Zipperstein sheds<br />

light on an entire generation of New York <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

intellectuals and why Rosenfeld alone among them<br />

fully embraced his <strong>Jewish</strong> identity in his writing.<br />

Rosenfeld’s Lives is a moving tribute to a writer who<br />

deserves to be honored alongside his peers.<br />

8 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE: MY<br />

FAMILY’S JOURNEY TO AMERICA<br />

Kati Marton<br />

Simon & Schuster<br />

Kati Marton’s unforgettable book is less<br />

a memoir of the post-war world of the<br />

1940’s and 1950’s, and more a candid,<br />

courageous, and unsparing joint biography<br />

of her brilliant and witty journalist parents,<br />

Endre and Ilona Marton—prominent and<br />

patriotic Hungarian Jews, who barely survived<br />

the Nazis, but maintained a penchant<br />

for dangerous risk-taking. For their brave and honest coverage of events<br />

in Stalinist Hungary, and for their close and sometimes even reckless<br />

relationships with many Americans in the diplomatic corps, the Martons<br />

were subject to twenty years of total surveillance by the Hungarian<br />

Secret Police (the AVO, which reported directly to the Soviet Secret<br />

Service) who were aided by a wide circle of informers—including family<br />

members recruited through intimidation. In 1955, the Martons<br />

were imprisoned and interminably interrogated on trumped-up<br />

charges of espionage. Miraculously released in 1956, apparently<br />

through intense diplomatic pressure from the West, the Martons<br />

rejoined eight-year-old Kati and her sister who had been living with<br />

paid care-takers, and went back to work, covering the abortive Hungarian<br />

revolution. Soon thereafter the family escaped to the U.S., where<br />

they continued to live under the watchful eyes and pressures of the<br />

AVO. Kati Marton has scoured the recently opened files of the AVO<br />

and has used her findings to tell a disturbing story of life under totalitarianism.<br />

Enemies of the State is comparable in its<br />

psychological intensity to Arthur Koestler’s novel<br />

Darkness at Noon, and in its philosophical sobriety to<br />

George Konrad’s memoir, A Guest in My Own Country:<br />

A Hungarian Life. She has written one of those<br />

very rare works which combines meticulous research,<br />

clear prose, and the authentic feel of a thriller.<br />

CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE<br />

Winner:<br />

THE OTHER HALF OF LIFE:<br />

A NOVEL BASED ON THE TRUE<br />

STORY OF THE MS ST. LOUIS<br />

Kim Ablon Whitney<br />

Knopf <strong>Book</strong>s for Young Readers<br />

In this captivating story based on the true<br />

voyage of the MS St. Louis, Kim Ablon<br />

Whitney takes young readers into a world<br />

fraught with danger, espionage, and above<br />

all, uncertainty about the future. It is 1939<br />

and fifteen-year-old Thomas has to leave his<br />

parents in Germany. His father, a Jew, has<br />

been deported and his mother, a Christian, can no longer keep him safe<br />

and their money is gone. Aboard ship, Thomas meets Priska, who is also<br />

fleeing Germany but with her family intact. Thomas joins Priska’s<br />

wealthy family for meals in first class and finds out “how the other half”<br />

lives. They have many adventures en route to Cuba struggling to figure<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Billy Bustamante


out whom they can trust. In addition to tangling with a Nazi officer and<br />

a spy, Thomas learns something of the <strong>Jewish</strong> heritage<br />

his parents had not shared with him. Through Priska’s<br />

family and the rabbi on board the ship, Thomas is<br />

exposed to faith and hope. Turned away in Cuba, the<br />

ship returns to Europe and a very uncertain future for<br />

the passengers. We find out what happened next in<br />

postscripts 10 years and 70 years later.<br />

Finalists:<br />

CURSING COLUMBUS<br />

Eve Tal<br />

Cinco Puntos Press<br />

59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

The year is 1908. This book continues<br />

the story of Raizel Altman, her Papa,<br />

and now her Mama, her brothers Lemmel<br />

and Shloyme, and baby Hannah, all of<br />

whom are challenged in an America whose<br />

streets were supposed to be paved with gold.<br />

Raizel hopes to be a teacher but this<br />

dream is endangered by their poverty and<br />

her mother’s lack of understanding of<br />

what an education can do to change their<br />

lives in a free society.<br />

Lemmel drops out of school and disappears; Papa tries to find and<br />

keep a job. Mama struggles to keep their <strong>Jewish</strong> traditions, as she<br />

cooks and cleans, not knowing English and not wishing to know it.<br />

Each character in the story has a compelling voice and a gripping story<br />

to tell. And when Raizel finds a fellow spirit in an<br />

attractive boy, their hopes for a better life in America<br />

and love face many barriers.<br />

This book provides a colorful picture of a piece of<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> history in America as well as the story of the<br />

hopes and dreams of Raizel, her family, and her community<br />

in that time and place.<br />

CLAY MAN: THE GOLEM OF PRAGUE<br />

Irene N. Watts; Kathryn E. Shoemaker, illus.<br />

Tundra <strong>Book</strong>s<br />

In the time of the Blood Lie, the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

citizens of the Prague Ghetto feared for<br />

their lives. As the Passover and Easter holidays<br />

of 1590 approached, the community,<br />

led by the great scholar Rabbi Judah Loew,<br />

searched for a way to protect themselves.<br />

Rabbi Judah and his son Jacob had the same<br />

dream of forming a “man not like other<br />

men” out of the red clay of the Vltava River.<br />

And thus Joseph the Golem is created.<br />

As Joseph patrols the Ghetto, the narrator,<br />

nine-year-old Jacob, becomes his constant companion, leading the<br />

reader through various scenarios demonstrating the Golem’s strength<br />

and vigilance. He is frustrated with life in the Ghetto and does not<br />

want to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a rabbi; he yearns<br />

to search for the world beyond the gates. Joseph becomes his silent<br />

confidant and friend.<br />

This 84-page retelling of an age-old legend brings to life the story of<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

the Maharal and the beauty of <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

mythology and folklore. The accompanying<br />

black and white charcoal illustrations<br />

convey the extraordinary powers<br />

of a protector and the roles he fills in a<br />

time of need.<br />

LOST<br />

Jacqueline Davies<br />

Marshall Cavendish<br />

Sixteen-year-old Essie has the nagging<br />

feeling that something is missing, but<br />

she can’t think about it now. She must concentrate<br />

on her sewing at the Triangle Shirtwaist<br />

Factory to help support her fatherless<br />

family, but the secretive new worker, Harriet<br />

Abbott, needs her help, and her friendship,<br />

too. Who is this mysterious young woman,<br />

so different from anyone Essie has known?<br />

In this powerful and richly populated story of immigrant life in the<br />

early 1900’s, we meet Mama, the embittered, struggling widow,<br />

brother Saulie, running wild on the streets of the Lower East Side, and<br />

Zelda, the lively little sister Essie has raised and indulged and loves so<br />

fiercely. Jimmy Eagan, the attractive law student next door, is Essie’s<br />

friend and confidant—and he proves his devotion<br />

when trouble comes.<br />

Essie tells the story in her voice—intelligent, strong,<br />

and life affirming. But something menacing is behind<br />

Essie and she won’t look back. This gripping story will<br />

hold the reader until its finish when we learn exactly<br />

what has been lost and what has been found.<br />

CONTEMPORARY JEWISH LIFE AND PRACTICE<br />

Winner:<br />

SAVING ISRAEL: HOW THE JEWISH<br />

PEOPLE CAN WIN A WAR THAT MAY<br />

NEVER END<br />

Daniel Gordis<br />

John Wiley & Sons<br />

In a tumultuous world in which the<br />

media and the press detour our experiential<br />

vision, we need an “awakening.”<br />

Saving Israel shows us an Israel that is not<br />

a “garden of roses” but demands a new<br />

interpretation. Saving Israel is an invitation<br />

to question and to answer.<br />

Once again Daniel Gordis, an American who chose to make<br />

Aliyah, allows us to look at Israel with new lenses.<br />

This book is a call of responsibility to all of us to tell<br />

the truth, the real story. This book will help Jews<br />

defend the right of this tiny country to be part of the<br />

global map. Challenge your mind, confront reality,<br />

prepare to test your soul, and journey through these<br />

pages and commit your might to Save Israel!<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 9<br />

Russell J.C. Kelly<br />

Provided by Kathryn E. Shoemaker<br />

Zion Ozeri


59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

Finalists:<br />

FAR FROM ZION: IN SEARCH OF A<br />

GLOBAL JEWISH COMMUNITY<br />

Charles London<br />

William Morrow<br />

Ayeka? Where are you? That is the<br />

question Charles London seeks to<br />

answer in his thoughtful and compelling<br />

book Far From Zion. By seeking out <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

communities in the farthest reaches of the<br />

Diaspora, culminating in a trip to Zion<br />

itself, London explores the ways <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

identity transcends geographic and political<br />

boundaries, while also examining his own <strong>Jewish</strong> identity as stirred<br />

by his experiences in these outposts of <strong>Jewish</strong> life. While it has become<br />

common to speak of the importance of <strong>Jewish</strong> journeys, London gives<br />

new meaning to the phrase by introducing us to<br />

places and people who powerfully remind us that the<br />

great experiment of <strong>Jewish</strong> existence continues in<br />

laboratories of life throughout the world. In responding<br />

to the question Ayeka? London answers with a<br />

resounding—Hineini! We are here and, as London<br />

points out, ‘here’ is everywhere.<br />

JEWCENTRICITY: WHY THE JEWS ARE<br />

PRAISED, BLAMED, AND USED TO<br />

EXPLAIN JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING<br />

Adam Garfinkle<br />

John Wiley & Sons<br />

In his well-written book, Jewcentricity:<br />

Why the Jews Are Praised, Blamed, and<br />

Used to Explain Just About Everything,<br />

Adam Garfinkle makes a novel, logically<br />

constructed argument about the world’s<br />

apparent obsession with all things <strong>Jewish</strong>.<br />

He begins by looking at the historical and<br />

cultural roots of anti-Semitism and philo-Semitism, from Hellinism to<br />

Napoleonic France to the American Civil War, and comes up with a<br />

simple matrix that can be used to identify and explain the four quadrants<br />

of interest in <strong>Jewish</strong> life. Through this matrix he is able to de-mystify<br />

the perennial question, Why the Jews? or, depending on the reader’s<br />

perspective, Why Us? His analysis uncovers both positive and negative<br />

exaggerations, and helps the reader to look more objectively at the reasons<br />

Jews seem to be blamed or adulated for everything from war, to<br />

scientific advancement, to global financial health. Garfinkle’s compelling<br />

style makes his book easy to read and absorb, even as he tackles<br />

ultimately disturbing realities. The tone is at times humorous, at times<br />

poetic, and always scholarly. He weaves in metaphors<br />

for the <strong>Jewish</strong> condition, from the burning bush that<br />

is continually aglow yet never consumed, to flotsam<br />

on the sea which is able to control neither the weather<br />

nor the tides. Jewcentricity is grounded in history,<br />

logic, and insight making it an important addition to<br />

the literature explicating <strong>Jewish</strong> life.<br />

10 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

FICTION<br />

JJ Greenberg Memorial Award<br />

Winner:<br />

GRATITUDE: A NOVEL<br />

Joseph Kertes<br />

Thomas Dunne <strong>Book</strong>s<br />

The experiences of Jews under Nazi<br />

rule have often been represented in<br />

spare, fragmentary narratives that reflect<br />

the utter incomprehensibility of the Third<br />

Reich’s brutal policies. In Gratitude, Hungarian-Canadian<br />

novelist Joseph Kertes<br />

approaches the catastrophe very differently,<br />

chronicling the ordeal of an extended<br />

family of Hungarian Jews between March<br />

1944 and Mach 1946 in vivid, classically realistic detail. Yet his novel<br />

expresses as clearly as the tersest testimony the horrors perpetrated in<br />

those years, and the courage of those who resisted and persevered.<br />

The Nazi invasion of Hungary shocks the prominent Beck family,<br />

stripping them of their wealth and professional positions as mayor,<br />

doctor, dentist, or lawyer. The war forces some of them into hiding,<br />

summons others to acts of generosity, spurs others to heroism. Kertes<br />

depicts with equal precision the bravery of Paul, who<br />

works alongside the Swedish humanitarian Raoul<br />

Wallenberg to save Jews, and the mounting despair<br />

of his sister Rozsi. Compelling in its drama and<br />

astonishing in its breadth and polish, Gratitude represents<br />

the darkest years of modern history responsibly<br />

and unforgettably.<br />

Finalists:<br />

THE LAST EMBER<br />

Daniel Levin<br />

Riverhead<br />

Jonathan Marcus, a young American<br />

lawyer and a former doctoral student in<br />

classics, has become a sought-after commodity<br />

among antiquities dealers. But when he is<br />

summoned to Rome to examine a client’s<br />

fragment of an ancient stone map, he stumbles<br />

across a startling secret: a hidden message<br />

carved inside the stone itself. The discovery<br />

propels him on a perilous journey<br />

from the labyrinth beneath the Colosseum to the biblical-era tunnels of<br />

Jerusalem in search of a hidden 2,000-year-old artifact sought by empires<br />

throughout the ages. As Marcus and a passionate UN preservationist, Dr.<br />

Emili Travia, dig more deeply into the past, they’re stunned to discover<br />

not only an ancient intelligence operation to protect the artifact, but also<br />

a ruthless modern plot to destroy all trace of it by a mysterious radical<br />

bent on erasing every remnant of <strong>Jewish</strong> and Christian<br />

presence from the Temple Mount. With a cutting-edge<br />

plot as intricately layered as the ancient sites it explores,<br />

The Last Ember is a gripping thriller spanning the highstakes<br />

worlds of archaeology, politics, and terrorism in<br />

its portrayal of the modern struggle to define—and<br />

redefine—history itself.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION<br />

Sara Houghteling<br />

Knopf<br />

Born to an art dealer and his pianist<br />

wife, Max Berenzon is forbidden to<br />

enter the family business for reasons he<br />

cannot understand. He reluctantly attends<br />

medical school, reserving his true passion<br />

for his father’s beautiful and brilliant<br />

gallery assistant, Rose Clément. When<br />

Paris falls to the Nazis, the Berenzons survive<br />

in hiding. They return in 1944 to find<br />

that their priceless collection has vanished: gone are the Matisses, the<br />

Picassos, and a singular Manet of mysterious importance. Madly driven<br />

to recover his father’s paintings, Max navigates a torn city of corrupt<br />

art dealers, black marketers, Résistants, and collaborators. His<br />

quest will reveal the tragic disappearance of his closest friend, the heroism<br />

of his lost love, and the truth behind a devastating family secret.<br />

Written with tense drama and a historian’s eye for detail,<br />

Houghteling’s novel draws on the real-life stories of France’s preeminent<br />

art-dealing familes and the forgotten biography of the only<br />

French woman to work as a double agent inside the<br />

Nazis’ looted art stronghold. Pictures at an Exhibition<br />

conjures the vanished collections, the lives of the<br />

artists and their dealers, the exquisite romance, and<br />

the shattering loss of a singular era. It is a work of<br />

astonishing ambition and beauty from an immensely<br />

gifted new novelist.<br />

POLYGLOT: STORIES<br />

OF THE WEST’S WET EDGE<br />

Wendy Marcus<br />

Beth Am Press<br />

The lovingly crafted stories in Polyglot<br />

chronicle lives between Washington<br />

state and Vancouver, British Columbia, the<br />

wet edge of North America. The stories,<br />

linked by the advice of a gay Gypsy columnist,<br />

reflect Wendy Marcus’<br />

years in the Northwest<br />

musical, newspaper,<br />

and <strong>Jewish</strong> communities. Her wry and poignant perspectives<br />

on the denizens of this drizzly region include<br />

sprinklings from ten different languages, a reality of<br />

the increasingly diverse Northwest.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Jonathan Sprague<br />

THE LEGEND OF COSMO<br />

AND THE ARCHANGEL<br />

Joseph Kaufman<br />

French Creek Press<br />

Ahigh school pact extends over decades<br />

in this epic novel of spiritual quest, selfdiscovery,<br />

and evolving friendships. As high<br />

school students in Pittsfield, Massachusetts,<br />

Cosmo was their small group’s “charm”<br />

while Nick was its “conscience.” In an LSDinduced<br />

haze at Woodstock, the friends<br />

pledge a covenant of loyalty. But when<br />

Cosmo goes AWOL from the Army and<br />

Nick betrays another member of their group, both Nick and Cosmo<br />

embark on odysseys to find themselves. In Nick’s case, it’s an attempt to<br />

resurrect his standing as the “Archangel,” the golden<br />

boy who would sacrifice himself for his friends.<br />

Cosmo’s quest pursues booze, drugs, revenge, fame,<br />

and, eventually, a different sort of spiritual enlightenment.<br />

Throughout their choices and wanderings, which<br />

stretch across continents, their youthful indiscretions<br />

and expectations haunt their abilities to move forward.<br />

HISTORY<br />

Gerrard and Ella Berman Memorial Award<br />

Winner:<br />

FAMILY PROPERTIES: RACE, REAL<br />

ESTATE, AND THE EXPLOITATION<br />

OF BLACK URBAN AMERICA<br />

Beryl Satter<br />

Metropolitan <strong>Book</strong>s (Henry Holt and Company)<br />

Beryl Satter has written a singular book<br />

in Family Properties. It is at once a<br />

memoir, a family history, and a social history,<br />

all united by the larger-than-life presence<br />

of the author’s father, Mark Satter. A<br />

crusader against housing discrimination in<br />

Chicago during the 1950’s and 1960’s,<br />

when that city was possibly the most segregated in America, Satter literally<br />

worked himself to death when Beryl was just six years old. Her<br />

quest as daughter to rediscover his life fuses in this book with her mission<br />

as a historian to chronicle the bigoted and exploitative practices<br />

of real estate agents in Chicago, who played on black aspiration and<br />

white fear to flip entire neighborhoods from stable places to slums<br />

within a matter of years. As a work of American <strong>Jewish</strong> history, Family<br />

Properties finds Jews prominently on both sides of<br />

the battles—as advocates of social justice and also as<br />

slumlords and real-estate sharks. Mark Satter, it turns<br />

out, himself owned several buildings in what became<br />

one of Chicago’s black ghettos. So this is a book not<br />

only on moral vision but supple thinking, one that<br />

stirs the conscience but resists easy answers.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 11<br />

Rachel Eliza Griffiths


59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

Finalists:<br />

JEWISH PROPERTY CLAIMS<br />

AGAINST ARAB COUNTRIES<br />

Michael R. Fischbach<br />

Columbia University Press<br />

Michael R. Fischbach’s book surveys<br />

the losses of <strong>Jewish</strong> personal and<br />

communal property across the Arab world.<br />

Beginning with an examination of the circumstances<br />

surrounding the departure of<br />

Jews from each Arab country in the wake<br />

of the establishment of the State of Israel<br />

in 1948, Fischbach demonstrates the<br />

divergent political processes that led to the demise of Arab Jewry and<br />

caused certain communities, such as Iraqi Jewry, to suffer massive<br />

property losses. Fischbach also explores how <strong>Jewish</strong> property claims<br />

were handled by the Israeli government. In contrast to its championing<br />

of the claims of Nazi victims and survivors, the Israeli government<br />

did not pursue compensation for individual Jews or communities<br />

with claims against specific Arab countries. Instead, it hoped to<br />

establish a global claim for <strong>Jewish</strong> property losses to counterbalance<br />

what Israel might be required to pay Palestinian refugees as compensation<br />

for their losses. Fischbach’s keen ability to conduct intensive<br />

research in hitherto unexplored archives and to write<br />

closely and carefully on such an explosive topic is<br />

remarkable. The committee saw his scholarship worthy<br />

of recognition in its thoroughness, persistence,<br />

and moral commitment to evaluating all the evidence<br />

available on this politically sensitive, yet critically<br />

important topic.<br />

MAJOR FARRAN’S HAT: THE UNTOLD<br />

STORY OF THE STRUGGLE TO<br />

ESTABLISH THE JEWISH STATE<br />

David Cesarani<br />

Da Capo Press<br />

David Cesarani’s Major Farran’s Hat:<br />

Murder, Scandal and Britain’s War<br />

Against <strong>Jewish</strong> Terrorism tells the story of<br />

the murder of Alexander Rubowitz and the<br />

cover-up that took place in Palestine in the<br />

final days of the British Mandate.<br />

Rubowitz was abducted in Jerusalem in<br />

1947 by a “special squad” of the Palestine police, led by Major Roy<br />

Farran, who took him to the woods, interrogated him, and murdered<br />

him. The backdrop to this compelling story is the tenacious campaign<br />

of British forces in Palestine against <strong>Jewish</strong> ‘terrorists.’ Using recently<br />

declassified British government records, David Cesarani conveys this<br />

episode, with all its curious twists and turns. While the author does<br />

not openly compare this botched interrogation to contemporary<br />

efforts to combat terrorists, he provocatively illustrates<br />

why 2009 provides “an opportune moment to<br />

revisit the events that took place in Jerusalem 60<br />

years ago,” because they provide a clear “warning of<br />

everything that can go wrong when young warriors<br />

directed by desperate and unscrupulous politicians<br />

wage war on terror.”<br />

12 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

WE LOOK LIKE THE ENEMY:<br />

THE HIDDEN STORY OF ISRAEL’S<br />

JEWS FROM ARAB LANDS<br />

Rachel Shabi<br />

Walker & Company<br />

Rachel Shabi explores one of the most<br />

significant fissures within Israeli<br />

society in We Look Like the Enemy. Part<br />

history, part reportage, her book chronicles<br />

the experience of Israel’s Mizrachi<br />

Jews, those who came from Arab or Muslim<br />

nations and who today comprise<br />

roughly half of the country’s <strong>Jewish</strong> population.<br />

Traditionally the lesser partner to Ashkenazi Jews,<br />

the Mizrachi population has struggled both for full<br />

inclusion is Israeli society and for the legitimacy of<br />

their Judeo-Arab culture. Herself born in Israel to<br />

Iraqi <strong>Jewish</strong> parents, Shabi writes with both passion<br />

and literary flair.<br />

HOLOCAUST<br />

Winner:<br />

THE UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST<br />

MEMORIAL MUSEUM ENCYCLOPEDIA<br />

OF CAMPS AND GHETTOS, 1933-1945,<br />

VOLUME 1<br />

Geoffrey P. Megargee, volume ed.<br />

Indiana University Press<br />

The United States Holocaust Memorial<br />

Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and<br />

Ghettos, 1933–1945, Volume 1, edited by<br />

Geoffrey P. Megargee is a work of devoted<br />

research, exhaustive study, and scholarly<br />

collaboration. The first of what is to be a seven-volume series on all<br />

the camps and ghettos of the Nazi period, the volume painstakingly<br />

details the early camps set up by the Nazis and police in 1933, as<br />

Hitler came to power, as well as the concentration camps and subcamps<br />

under the rule of the SS-Business Administration Main Office.<br />

The value of this volume is multifold: it lies in its narrative framing—<br />

a scholarly introduction helps the reader to contextualize the entries;<br />

its comprehensiveness—hundreds of main camps and sub-camps,<br />

large and small, are included, ensuring they will not<br />

be lost to history; and its accessibility—the volume<br />

will be of use to both students and scholars, readers<br />

new to the topic and readers steeped in Holocaust<br />

research. Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos is sure to<br />

assume an essential and unrivaled place in reference<br />

literature on the Holocaust.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Dafna Kaplan


Finalists:<br />

THE WARSAW GHETTO: A GUIDE TO<br />

THE PERISHED CITY<br />

Barbara Engelking and Jacek Leociak;<br />

Emma Harris, trans.<br />

Yale University Press<br />

The Warsaw Ghetto: A Guide to the Perished<br />

City by Barbara Engelking and<br />

Jacek Leociak, and translated by Emma<br />

Harris, is a dazzling, fascinating, and monumental<br />

work, and the most complete<br />

resource to date on the Ghetto, its inhabitants,<br />

and legendary uprising. Illustrated<br />

with eight full-color maps of the Ghetto in its various phases, the book<br />

is a feat of material research and psychological depth. All imaginable<br />

data (and more) are presented for the serious researcher and general<br />

reader, including a detailed chronology, demographic and topographical<br />

records, and chapters on every conceivable cultural, medical, educational,<br />

economic, religious, commercial and social activity. Adding<br />

vibrancy and multiplicity, the book is haunted by ordinary people<br />

whose experiences and observations—from diaries, journals, chronicles,<br />

letters, newspapers, and memoirs—bring to vivid life the<br />

resourcefulness of lives lived on the edge of poverty, hunger, and<br />

despair. Panoramic and lapidary, to date no book on the Warsaw<br />

Ghetto is more impressive and useful.<br />

THE THIRD REICH IN THE IVORY<br />

TOWER: COMPLICITY AND CON-<br />

FLICT ON AMERICAN CAMPUSES<br />

Stephen H. Norwood<br />

Cambridge University Press<br />

The Third Reich in the Ivory Tower:<br />

Complicity and Conflict on American<br />

Campuses by Stephen H. Norwood is an<br />

insightful and disturbing study of the<br />

eagerness with which America’s elite universities<br />

and colleges greeted and feted the<br />

representatives of the Nazi and Fascist governments<br />

in the 1930’s. It is well researched and organized, and gracefully<br />

written in a style accessible to scholars as well as the general public.<br />

It is a comprehensive examination of the response of major<br />

American universities and colleges to the ethical and professional challenges<br />

posed by the Nazi and Fascist regimes. These college administrations<br />

helped Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy improve their image in<br />

the United States at the very time they were persecuting Jews. Norwood<br />

brings this too little-known history to light.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN’S BOOKS<br />

Louis Posner Memorial Award<br />

Winner:<br />

JPS ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN’S BIBLE<br />

Ellen Frankel; Avi Katz, illus.<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Publication Society<br />

Acclaimed storyteller and <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

scholar Ellen Frankel has masterfully<br />

tailored 53 Bible stories that will both<br />

delight and educate today’s young readers.<br />

Using the 1985 JPS translation (NJPS) of<br />

the Hebrew Bible as her foundation,<br />

Frankel retains much of the Bible’s original<br />

wording and simple narrative style as<br />

she incorporates her own exceptional storytelling technique, free of<br />

personal interpretation or commentary.<br />

Included in the volume is an “Author’s Notebook,” in which Frankel<br />

shares with rabbis, parents, and educators the challenges she faced in<br />

translating and adapting these stories for children, such as how she deals<br />

with adult language in the original Bible text and themes inappropriate<br />

for most young readers.<br />

With his enticing, full-page color<br />

illustrations of each Bible story,<br />

award-winning artist Avi Katz ignites<br />

readers’ imaginations. His brush captures<br />

the vivid personalities and many<br />

dramatic moments in this extraordinary<br />

collection.<br />

Finalists:<br />

NACHSHON, WHO WAS AFRAID TO<br />

SWIM: A PASSOVER STORY<br />

Deborah Bodin Cohen; Jago, illus.<br />

Kar-Ben Publishing<br />

All children are afraid of something at<br />

one time or another. Some children<br />

confront those fears and move on, while<br />

others do not. Deborah Bodin Cohen takes an ancient story and artfully<br />

turns it into a modern-day midrash that teaches children about<br />

bravery and overcoming fear in a most captivating way. She tells the<br />

story of Nachson who, although afraid to swim, overcomes his fear in<br />

the face of mortal danger from Pharaoh’s armies. He walks into the<br />

water and, as we know, the rest is history. Although Cohen subtitles<br />

her book “a Passover story,” it is its universal message<br />

that is so compelling. It illustrates in both words and<br />

pictures a powerful theme: children can change how<br />

they feel and act and lead the way for others. Jago’s<br />

beautiful illustrations illuminate the tale in a way<br />

that connects the contemporary reader to ancient<br />

times and yet transcends time and place.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 13


59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

THE CHAMPION OF CHILDREN:<br />

THE STORY OF JANUSZ KORCZAK<br />

Tomek Bogacki<br />

Farrar, Straus and Giroux<br />

In 1912, a well-known doctor and writer<br />

named Janusz Korczak designed an<br />

extraordinary orphanage for <strong>Jewish</strong> children<br />

in Warsaw, Poland. Believing that<br />

children were capable of governing themselves,<br />

he encouraged the orphans to elect<br />

a parliament, run a court, and put out their own weekly newspaper.<br />

Even when Korczak was forced to move the orphanage into the Warsaw<br />

Ghetto after Hitler’s rise to power, and couldn’t afford to buy<br />

food and medicine for his charges, he never lost sight of his ideals.<br />

Fully committed to giving his children as much love as possible during<br />

a terrifying time, Korczak refused to abandon them.<br />

In his most beautiful and heartfelt book to date,<br />

with evocative acrylic illustrations and spare,<br />

poignant prose, Tomek Bogacki tells the story of a<br />

courageous man who, during one of the grimmest<br />

moments in world history, dedicated his life’s<br />

work—and ultimately his life itself—to children.<br />

JEWISH FAMILY LITERATURE<br />

In Memory of Dorothy Kripke<br />

Winner:<br />

CELEBRATING THE JEWISH YEAR: THE<br />

SPRING AND SUMMER HOLIDAYS:<br />

PASSOVER, THE OMER, SHAVUOT,<br />

TISHA B’AV<br />

Paul Steinberg; Janet Greenstein Potter, ed.<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Publication Society<br />

JPS’s new holiday series is now complete,<br />

with publication of The Spring<br />

and Summer Holidays volume<br />

As we move from season to season, Paul<br />

Steinberg shares with us a rich collection<br />

of readings from many of the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

greats—Maimonides, Rashi, Nehama Leibowitz, Irving Greenberg,<br />

Shlomo Carlebach, Marge Piercy, Elie Wiesel, Martin Buber, Abraham<br />

Joshua Heschel, Arthur Green, and others—and he guides us in<br />

discovering for ourselves the many treasures within each text. Helpful<br />

and informative as well as pleasurable reading, the book’s mixture of<br />

styles ranges from popular, reasoned, conceptual, to more scholarly.<br />

Some of the readings teach us about the history of each holiday, as<br />

well as its theological, ethical, agricultural, and seasonal importance<br />

and interpretation; others give us inspiration and much food for<br />

thought. These stories, essays, poems,<br />

anecdotes, and rituals help us discover<br />

how deeply <strong>Jewish</strong> traditions are rooted<br />

in nature’s yearly cycle, and how<br />

beautifully season and spirit are<br />

woven together throughout the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

year.<br />

14 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

Finalists:<br />

JPS ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN’S BIBLE<br />

Ellen Frankel; Avi Katz, illus.<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Publication Society<br />

Acclaimed storyteller and <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

scholar Ellen Frankel has masterfully<br />

tailored 53 Bible stories that will both<br />

delight and educate today’s young readers.<br />

Using the 1985 JPS translation (NJPS) of<br />

the Hebrew Bible as her foundation,<br />

Frankel retains much of the Bible’s original<br />

wording and simple narrative style as<br />

she incorporates her own exceptional storytelling technique, free of<br />

personal interpretation or commentary.<br />

Included in the volume is an “Author’s Notebook,” in which Frankel<br />

shares with rabbis, parents, and educators the challenges she faced in<br />

translating and adapting these stories for children, such as how she deals<br />

with adult language in the original Bible text and themes inappropriate<br />

for most young readers.<br />

With his enticing, full-page color<br />

illustrations of each Bible story,<br />

award-winning artist Avi Katz ignites<br />

readers’ imaginations. His brush captures<br />

the vivid personalities and many<br />

dramatic moments in this extraordinary<br />

collection.<br />

SACRED PARENTING: JEWISH WISDOM<br />

AND PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR<br />

YOUR FAMILY’S EARLY YEARS<br />

Elaine Rose Glickman<br />

URJ Press<br />

Parenting can be lonely, isolating, and<br />

confusing. Yet parenting is also holy<br />

work. In this comprehensive volume, a<br />

rabbi and mother of three shares the treasures<br />

of <strong>Jewish</strong> teaching and <strong>Jewish</strong> thought<br />

on parenting.<br />

Using the words of Genesis and Deuteronomy,<br />

the songs of the Psalmist, the instructions of Proverbs, and the wisdom<br />

of ancient and modern sages, Sacred Parenting guides readers to<br />

parent with spirituality, mindfulness, and partnership with God. Its<br />

methods are multifaceted, grounded in <strong>Jewish</strong> tradition, contemporary<br />

parenting best-practices, and real-world experience. Topics include bedtime,<br />

discipline, transmitting values, and much more.<br />

In addition to providing a spiritual outlook and<br />

practical guidance, Sacred Parenting invites readers to<br />

delve more deeply into <strong>Jewish</strong> living. The book contains<br />

a treasury of prayers for myriad occasions, an<br />

accessible explanation of <strong>Jewish</strong> holidays and milestones,<br />

and suggestions for meaningful, age-appropriate<br />

observance of <strong>Jewish</strong> occasions.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


JBW 28.1_JBW 28.1 1/29/10 12:26 PM Page 15<br />

MODERN JEWISH THOUGHT AND EXPERIENCE<br />

Dorot Foundation Award In Memory<br />

of Joy Ungerleider Mayerson<br />

Winner:<br />

COVENANT & CONVERSATION, A<br />

WEEKLY READING OF THE JEWISH<br />

BIBLE, GENESIS: THE BOOK OF<br />

BEGINNINGS<br />

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks<br />

Maggid <strong>Book</strong>s (Koren Publishers) with the OU<br />

Press<br />

Rabbi Sacks has contributed an important<br />

and enlightening commentary<br />

on the book of Genesis.<br />

In his introduction, he describes the<br />

parashat hashuvua as a “weekly encounter<br />

between the now and then, the moment<br />

and eternity, which frames <strong>Jewish</strong> consciousness and gives us the<br />

unique sense of living out a narrative, the biblical story, to which we<br />

ourselves are writing the latest chapter.” In Covenant and Conversation,<br />

Rabbi Sacks succeeds in continuing the conversation that has existed<br />

for thousands of years on the weekly portion by offering a clear and<br />

sophisticated commentary. His gift to his readers is his lucid explanations<br />

that make use of stories from the <strong>Jewish</strong> tradition, scholarly<br />

explanations, and his personal philosophies in a humane and kind<br />

tone that illustrates his intense love and knowledge of his topic and his<br />

deep respect for the reader. He educates by weaving<br />

definitions, his personal philosophy and moral<br />

insights, classic biblical commentaries, and contemporary<br />

philosophical references into his explanations<br />

of each weekly portion of Genesis. The result is a<br />

fresh look at the text and an original contribution to<br />

the ongoing conversation of our tradition.<br />

Finalists:<br />

NEHAMA LEIBOWITZ: TEACHER<br />

AND BIBLE SCHOLAR<br />

Yael Unterman<br />

Urim Publications<br />

Here is an extensive study of the life of<br />

a great Torah scholar, teacher, and<br />

commentator. Nehama, as she always<br />

requested to be addressed, rose to prominence<br />

in a male dominated sphere of<br />

scholarship and earned respect through her<br />

brilliance of mind, clarity of thought and<br />

inspired teaching methodologies. She was a modern Orthodox woman<br />

educated both in secular and <strong>Jewish</strong> studies, and her teaching reflected<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

this blend of influences.<br />

This book manages to bring together, in one volume, a scholarly<br />

discourse and a biographical profile of Nehama Leibowitz. Yael Unterman<br />

has produced a book that will enlighten, inspire, and educate the<br />

reader on many levels. The serious Torah student will find a wealth of<br />

relevant commentary and insights while the casual<br />

reader will delight in the accessible, articulate narrative<br />

style of this biographical work. Nehama was<br />

quoted as saying; “I’m not worth writing about—go<br />

and learn Torah instead.” Thank you, Yael Unterman,<br />

for writing about Nehama and giving us the<br />

opportunity to learn Torah at the same time.<br />

THE MURMURING DEEP:<br />

REFLECTIONS ON THE<br />

BIBLICAL UNCONSCIOUS<br />

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg<br />

Schocken <strong>Book</strong>s<br />

The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the<br />

TBiblical Biblical Unconscious by Avivah, Avivah<br />

Gottlieb<br />

Zornberg “explores the enigmas of<br />

communication as they are articulated in<br />

twelve biblical narratives, and refracted in<br />

midrashic and Hasidic readings of those<br />

narratives.” She hears the “subconscious”<br />

of the text “as Deep calls unto deep” (Ps. 42), adding to the rabbinic<br />

understanding of the human heart a psychoanalytic and poetic dimension.<br />

She probes the voice within, the place where the conscious and<br />

unconscious meet, and gives voice to those haunting emotions that<br />

have no specific name. She begins her study with the material that God<br />

uses to create the world, the tehom, the murmuring<br />

deep, which underlies everything, external and internal<br />

and ends with Ruth who shines with the possibilities<br />

of the future, of family, community, and the<br />

charged and fiery revelation at Sinai. Zornberg’s first<br />

book, Genesis: the Beginning of Desire, won the<br />

National <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> Award in 1995 for non-fiction.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 15<br />

Debbi Cooper


59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

THE KOREN SACKS SIDDUR:<br />

A HEBREW/ENGLISH PRAYERBOOK<br />

Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks<br />

Koren Publishers<br />

The Koren Siddur is a landmark<br />

achievement for Chief Rabbi Lord<br />

Jonathan Sacks, Eliyahu Koren, and the<br />

Orthodox Union.<br />

This new Orthodox, Ashkenazic rite<br />

prayerbook features:<br />

• Koren’s beautiful, clear fonts<br />

for prayers and Bible texts<br />

• innovative Hebrew-English pagination (with the book<br />

open, Hebrew appears on the left, English on the right,<br />

and both texts flow outward from the center)<br />

• passages of Hebrew and English text laid out in meaningful<br />

phrases<br />

• special symbols for grammatical vocalization (sh’va na,<br />

meteg, kamatz katan)<br />

• instructions for women’s Zimmun at Grace After<br />

Meals, Ceremony of Zeved HaBat (celebrating the birth<br />

of a daughter)<br />

• explanatory notes accompanying the text<br />

• a useful appendix of month-by-month practices and<br />

customs<br />

• a table of variant texts “endorsed by practice or noted<br />

halakhic authorities”<br />

• an English translation which is consistently faithful,<br />

original, engaging, and clear<br />

• Rabbi Sacks’ superb introductory essay, “Understanding<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Prayer”<br />

But this prayerbook is much more than the sum of its parts. It integrates<br />

perfectly the finest esthetic elements of book-craft with a rich national<br />

heritage and personal engagement in <strong>Jewish</strong> prayer.<br />

As Dr. Moshe Sokolow, one of the contributors to<br />

this project, said, “The siddur actually functions as a<br />

kind of liturgical time machine, transporting one<br />

from ordinary weekdays to Shabbat” and to other<br />

special days and occasions.<br />

What other book does that?<br />

POETRY<br />

Winner:<br />

THE BOOK OF SEVENTY<br />

Alicia Suskin Ostriker<br />

University of Pittsburgh Press<br />

Alicia Ostriker is one of the finest<br />

poets writing today in America.<br />

She is known for her commentary on<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> women writers and <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

women of the Bible as well as for her<br />

poetry. In one of her poems, “West 4th Street,” she calls herself a “fool for beauty”—but<br />

she is also a fool for wisdom.<br />

<strong>Book</strong> by book, she grows better and bet-<br />

16 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

ter; she has had to shed many skins to get here, but<br />

she is—finally—here. She has humour, scholarship,<br />

knowledge, and the courage of a woman at the<br />

height of her power looking lovingly and quizzically<br />

at the world.<br />

Finalists:<br />

EZEKIEL’S WHEELS<br />

Shirley Kaufman<br />

Copper Canyon Press<br />

Passionate and breathtakingly direct, Shirley Kaufman maps the<br />

territory of aging and blindness with clarity and courage:<br />

“Nobody’s story but my own/coming to an end.” There is no self-pity<br />

and nothing trivial in these stark, wise, beautiful lyrics. Kaufman’s<br />

questing spirit interrogates everything, tasting life with undiminished<br />

appetite. A poet who has been writing and publishing for decades,<br />

Kaufman wastes no time and no words. Lucid, truthful, pared down<br />

to powerful understatement, these are poems to read over and over.<br />

DOOR TO A NOISY<br />

ROOM<br />

Peter Waldor<br />

Alice James <strong>Book</strong>s<br />

The insurance industry now has poet<br />

Peter Waldor to add to its ranks along<br />

with Wallace Stevens. This first book is<br />

spare and yet bountiful and delicious, ending<br />

with “Warmth”:<br />

“The ones I love/<br />

strip shirts,...<br />

I lift the old<br />

clothes/... to feel the<br />

warmth/ still in<br />

them./<br />

Who will tell me/ to<br />

put them down?”<br />

STUPID HOPE:<br />

POEMS<br />

Jason Shinder<br />

Graywolf Press<br />

Stupid Hope is Jason Shinder’s last<br />

book, published after his untimely<br />

death in 2008, at the height of his lyric<br />

power. These poems from a life shortened<br />

by illness are startlingly open and emotionally<br />

daring. Unsparing<br />

with himself, facing<br />

the loneliness of his fears<br />

and failures with clarity and an undertone of wry wit,<br />

Shinder is fully alive and still willing to risk desire.<br />

The poignancy of “stupid hope”—for life, for love—<br />

is that these poems are filled with both.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

J.P. Ostriker<br />

Brad Fowler


SCHOLARSHIP<br />

Nahum M. Sarna Memorial Award<br />

Winner:<br />

SUBVERSIVE SEQUELS IN THE BIBLE:<br />

HOW BIBLICAL STORIES MINE AND<br />

UNDERMINE EACH OTHER<br />

Judy Klitsner<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Publication Society<br />

In weaving together traditional exegesis,<br />

modern scholarship, and her own original<br />

interpretations, Klitsner has created an<br />

enormously enjoyable and rewarding<br />

book. Predicated on the central theme that<br />

looking at later biblical narratives can<br />

inform and transform our understanding<br />

of earlier narratives, serving as sequels that undermine or subvert each<br />

other, Klitsner draws parallels utilizing her command of both ancient<br />

and modern exegesis and the subtle nuances of Biblical language. The<br />

result is a series of original understandings of familiar popular narratives<br />

that may forever transform the way in which the reader examines<br />

biblical texts. While much of the book is dedicated to a rereading of<br />

various women’s narratives in the Bible—from Eve and Sarah, and<br />

Rebecca and Rachel of Genesis to Deborah and Hannah—she also<br />

explores other themes as well. A senior faculty member<br />

at the Pardes Institute for <strong>Jewish</strong> Studies in<br />

Jerusalem who has taught courses in Bible and Biblical<br />

exegesis for nearly two decades, Klitsner has given<br />

the world of <strong>Jewish</strong> scholarship a small gem that will<br />

be treasured by both novice and experienced readers<br />

of the Bible.<br />

Finalists:<br />

MAIMONIDES, SPINOZA AND US:<br />

TOWARD AN INTELLECTUALLY<br />

VIBRANT JUDAISM<br />

Rabbi Marc D. Angel<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Lights Publishing<br />

e live in an age when it is “Wincreasingly difficult to walk in<br />

the path of Torah in a focused and balanced<br />

way. The intensity of fire on the<br />

right has created a religiosity characterized<br />

by extremism, obscurantism, authoritarianism.”<br />

On the left, “widespread secularism<br />

and agnosticism create a deep void.” This is the description Rabbi<br />

Marc Angel, PhD., gives to the current religious climate. In this scholarly<br />

yet accessible volume, the author seeks to develop a balanced,<br />

intellectually sound view of Judaism rooted in the trans-generational<br />

debate between Maimonides and Spinoza regarding the relationship<br />

between Judaism and Reason.<br />

Through a comparative exploration of a wide range of topics in<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> thought, Rabbi Angel guides the reader on a path toward a textually<br />

based philosophical understanding of Judaism that integrates<br />

well with the contemporary mindset. His approach will invigorate<br />

anyone seeking an intellectually sophisticated approach to <strong>Jewish</strong> texts<br />

and <strong>Jewish</strong> life. The book explores topics such as the role of reason in<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

religious faith, Divine Providence, the authoritativeness<br />

of Torah, and the role of Jews and Judaism in the<br />

world. At the conclusion of each topic, the discussion<br />

is brought back to the contemporary reader’s<br />

spiritual quest.<br />

THE INVENTION OF HEBREW<br />

Seth L. Sanders<br />

University of Illinois Press<br />

In The Invention of Hebrew, Seth L.<br />

Sanders presents a unique approach to<br />

the Bible. He views the text from the vantage<br />

point of linguistic anthropology and<br />

shows that Hebrew was more than just a<br />

language to transmit the Bible; it was<br />

specifically chosen to foster a political and<br />

cultural agenda. Sanders demonstrates that<br />

writing the Bible in the local language of<br />

Hebrew was elemental to producing a text that could and would speak<br />

directly to the local population. It was this choice of language that<br />

helped to form their political identity so that the<br />

choice of Hebrew as the language of transmission<br />

became a driving force in the creation the community<br />

or nation of Israel. This interesting and provocative<br />

text is a must read for anyone who is interested<br />

in the history of Biblical Israel and the ancient roots<br />

of the <strong>Jewish</strong> people.<br />

SEPHARDIC CULTURE<br />

Mimi S. Frank Award in Memory of Becky Levy<br />

Winner:<br />

WE LOOK LIKE THE ENEMY:<br />

THE HIDDEN STORY OF ISRAEL’S<br />

JEWS FROM ARAB LANDS<br />

Rachel Shabi<br />

Walker & Company<br />

We Look Like the Enemy, which sheds<br />

light on the troubled history of<br />

Sephardic immigrants to Israel and the<br />

humiliations many of them endured, is a<br />

haunting read that stirs the emotions.<br />

Rachel Shabi brings a journalist’s flair and<br />

a personal sense of outrage to her challenging<br />

expose on the situation of Mizrahi Jews in Israel, offering fascinating<br />

reporting into, for example, how newly-arrived Jews from North<br />

African countries were sent to live in distant towns<br />

that were lonely and forlorn, and only underscored<br />

their sense of alienation from mainstream Israeli society.<br />

We Look Like the Enemy can be painful to read—<br />

but it is a story that must be read every bit as careful-<br />

ly as the more traditional odes to the founding of the<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> State and the history of Zionism.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 17<br />

Dafna Kaplan


59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

VISUAL ARTS<br />

Winner:<br />

ACTION/ABSTRACTION: POLLOCK,<br />

DE KOONING, AND AMERICAN ART,<br />

1940-1976<br />

Norman L. Kleeblatt, ed.<br />

Yale University Press<br />

Published in association with The <strong>Jewish</strong> Museum<br />

Action/Abstraction: Pollock, de Kooning,<br />

and American Art, 1940–1976 is<br />

much more than a handsomely-designed,<br />

weighty catalogue that accompanied the<br />

glorious exhibition of Abstract Expressionist work held at The <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Museum in New York. It is an important contribution to the alreadyvast<br />

literature of the period that reframes the way we conceive of this<br />

historic and defining era of American art<br />

Using an inspired approach, the curator, Norman L. Kleeblatt,<br />

chose to focus on the two outsized and fiercely competitive critics,<br />

Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg, and the artists they championed.<br />

The scholarly essays within the catalogue uncover the reality<br />

of both critics’ significant connections with <strong>Jewish</strong> publications and<br />

debates about <strong>Jewish</strong> culture. This information has, until recently,<br />

been suppressed under the dominance of formalist theory in the case<br />

of Greenberg, and an emphasis on self-determination through the<br />

action of painting in the case of Rosenberg.<br />

The nine essays in the catalogue cover the topic from a variety of<br />

vantage points including solid biographical information about each of<br />

the critics, personal remembrances of the era by the distinguished art<br />

historian Irving Sandler, and specific historical documentation of both<br />

Greenberg’s and Rosenberg’s writings relating to contemporary <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

debates. In addition, a detailed cultural timeline integrates the creation<br />

of the art with contemporaneous events in American life and the<br />

literary world.<br />

Action/Abstraction is remarkable for adding a fresh<br />

dimension to this increasingly historic era. We can<br />

now consider the impact of post-war <strong>Jewish</strong> identity<br />

on the lives and work of several important artists,<br />

and on the two men who acted as their primary<br />

translators, articulating the meanings of the work for<br />

generations of observers.<br />

Finalists:<br />

CHAGALL AND THE ARTISTS OF THE<br />

RUSSIAN JEWISH THEATER<br />

Susan Tumarkin Goodman, with essays<br />

by Zvi Gitelman, Vladislav Ivanov,<br />

Jeffrey Veidlinger, and Benjamin Harshav<br />

Yale University Press<br />

Published in association with The <strong>Jewish</strong> Museum<br />

Chagall and the Artists of the Russian <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Theater is the skillfully-researched<br />

companion volume to an historic exhibition<br />

at The <strong>Jewish</strong> Museum in New York<br />

City. This captivating work documents the development of two theater<br />

companies, Habima and GOSET, and brings to light an astonishingly<br />

rich body of visual work they produced in the two decades following the<br />

18 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

Bolshevik revolution. As Goodman and her essayists vividly describe,<br />

the folkloric-themed Hebrew-language Habima and the contemporarythemed<br />

Yiddish-language GOSET were distinctive forces during this<br />

brief, once-flourishing cultural moment. Yet their designers—Marc<br />

Chagall, most famously, along with Natan Altman, Robert Falk, and<br />

others—shared a common devotion to vigorous experimentation as<br />

they promoted the vanguard Expressionist, Cubo-Futurist, and Constructivist<br />

idioms in their work for the stage and revolutionized the visual<br />

vocabulary of the theater. Tragically, the prolific years of the Russian<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> theater came to an end under the crushing repression of the later<br />

Stalinist regime. Chagall and the Artists of the Russian <strong>Jewish</strong> Theater merits<br />

special recognition for bringing the achievement and daring of these<br />

gifted artists to wider notice. The volume includes<br />

many fine examples, beautifully reproduced, of the<br />

visual record of this productive movement—Chagall’s<br />

renowned murals, along with rarely-exhibited costume<br />

and set designs by lesser-known lights, photographs,<br />

posters, and other theatrical ephemera of this<br />

fascinating time and place.<br />

PHOTOGRAPHING THE JEWISH<br />

NATION: PICTURES FROM S. AN-SKY’S<br />

ETHNOGRAPHIC EXPEDITIONS<br />

Eugene M. Avrutin, Valerii Dymshits,<br />

Alexander Lvov, Harriet Murav,<br />

Alla Sokolova, eds.<br />

Brandeis University Press<br />

This succinct volume, Photographing<br />

the <strong>Jewish</strong> Nation, is a collaboration<br />

between scholars at the University of Illinois<br />

and the European University at St. Petersburg in Russia. It showcases<br />

the photography of Solomon Iudovin, who brilliantly documented<br />

rural <strong>Jewish</strong> life in the Russian Pale from 1912–1914 during<br />

the ethnographic expeditions organized by S. An-Sky. An-Sky was an<br />

ethnologist who wanted to document, analyze, and preserve the long<br />

arc of Russian <strong>Jewish</strong> life at a critical moment of change in Russia at<br />

the beginning of the 20th century. These recently rediscovered, visually<br />

rich photographs capture a vanished world of <strong>Jewish</strong> life and are the<br />

most tangible legacy of their ambitious venture. The authors’ insightful<br />

essays analyze the compelling photographic images technically, aesthetically,<br />

and within the political context of that day. However, the<br />

well-researched book goes further than just gathering a memorable<br />

group of photographs. The text conjures up the gulf between the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

intellectuals, who on one hand embraced ideals of enlightenment<br />

and left behind the rigid framework of <strong>Jewish</strong> tradition; and on the<br />

other hand, intensely tried to capture the unifying “nation-defining”<br />

essence of <strong>Jewish</strong> folklore, <strong>Jewish</strong> images, <strong>Jewish</strong> architecture and <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

artifacts to pass along to the future. This book is a testament to An-<br />

Sky’s timely expedition to preserve the <strong>Jewish</strong> past through the modern<br />

medium of photography and the modern idea of the museum as a<br />

sanctuary for culture. Photographing the <strong>Jewish</strong> Nation highlights An-<br />

Sky’s struggle to come to terms with the duality of bringing ancient<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> traditions forward, while living a modern life—issues that<br />

assimilated Jews continue to wrestle with today.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


WOMEN’S STUDIES<br />

Barbara Dobkin Award<br />

Winner:<br />

MITZVAH GIRLS: BRINGING UP THE<br />

NEXT GENERATION OF HASIDIC<br />

JEWS IN BROOKLYN<br />

Ayala Fader<br />

Princeton University Press<br />

After decades of focus on demographic<br />

and sociological studies of Hasidic<br />

men, it is a pleasure to read this rich<br />

account of the world of Hasidic <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

girls in Brooklyn. Having acquired the<br />

requisite Yiddish and Hebrew language<br />

and ethnographic skills, anthropologist<br />

Ayala Fader was able to enter, observe, and analyze the hidden world<br />

of Bobover Hasidic girls. Her fascinating, well-written, and wellresearched<br />

study illuminates the transmission of a traditional <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

system of values, behaviors, language, and dress within a highly specific<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> community in a time when many in the <strong>Jewish</strong> world feel<br />

unsure about the most effective way to ensure <strong>Jewish</strong> continuity.<br />

Beginning with a linguistic analysis of the different forms of Yiddish,<br />

Yishivish and Yinglish taught differentially to boys and girls, Fader<br />

draws us into the world of their homes and their<br />

schools. We see how parents relate to each other and<br />

their children, how teachers relate to students and<br />

parents, and most of all, how Bobover girls are socialized<br />

by peers, teachers and parents to carry on their<br />

ultra-orthodox way of life while living in the midst of<br />

21st century New York.<br />

Finalists:<br />

LEVIRATE MARRIAGE AND THE<br />

FAMILY IN ANCIENT JUDAISM<br />

Dvora E. Weisberg<br />

Brandeis University Press<br />

According to Deuteronomy 25:5–10,<br />

a childless widow must marry her<br />

deceased husband’s brother or, in a deprecated<br />

outcome, be dismissed by him,<br />

which permits her to marry someone else.<br />

In her accessible and illuminating study of<br />

levirate message in rabbinic Judaism,<br />

Dvora E. Weisberg demonstrates how the<br />

rabbis of the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud reconfigured this biblical<br />

mandate, shifting their legal preference from levirate marriage to<br />

release of the sister-in-law through halitza. Unlike the extended patriarchal<br />

kinship group of biblical times, the ideal rabbinic family consisted<br />

of a male householder, his wife (or wives), and children. Recognizing<br />

the profound difficulties the levirate mandate<br />

could create within individual lives in compact family<br />

units, the rabbis affirmed the needs of the living<br />

over those of the deceased, while still maintaining the<br />

option of a brother-in-law/sister-in-law marriage.<br />

Weisberg shows us that through their reassessment of<br />

the biblical levirate, the rabbis insisted that families<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

are composed of individual members who are not interchangeable and<br />

who must be granted a degree of autonomy in the intimate relationships<br />

of their lives.<br />

STILL JEWISH: A HISTORY OF<br />

WOMEN AND INTERMARRIAGE<br />

IN AMERICA<br />

Keren R. McGinity<br />

New York University Press<br />

Historical studies of marriage between<br />

Jews and non-Jews in the United<br />

States are rare. Rarer still are those that<br />

focus on <strong>Jewish</strong> women who married non-<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> men. Based on letters, memoirs,<br />

biographies, and interviews, Keren<br />

McGinity’s groundbreaking book begins<br />

with the immigrant generation of the early<br />

twentieth century and carries the story up to the present. She discusses<br />

“exceptional” women such as Mary Antin Grabau and Rose Pastor<br />

Stokes, but also considers how “ordinary” <strong>Jewish</strong> women’s opportunities<br />

and choices have been shaped and expanded by a range of 20th century<br />

social transformations. What McGinity discovers—and she is<br />

backed up by other contemporary research—is that by the beginning<br />

of the 21st century intermarried <strong>Jewish</strong> women are far<br />

more likely to raise their children as Jews than intermarried<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> men. Her timely volume reminds us<br />

that <strong>Jewish</strong> identity and family life is still shaped by<br />

gender and that this must be taken into account as<br />

the American <strong>Jewish</strong> community strategizes its survival<br />

in the decades to come.<br />

MENEKET RIVKAH: A MANUAL<br />

OF WISDOM AND PIETY<br />

Original text by Rivkah bat Meir;<br />

Translated from the original Yiddish<br />

to German, with introduction and<br />

commentary by Frauke Von Rohden<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Publication Society<br />

The first-known Yiddish book to be<br />

written by a woman, Meneket Rivkah<br />

(Rivkah’s Nurse) reveals a great deal about<br />

16th century <strong>Jewish</strong> women’s lives and religious<br />

practices. It includes Rivkah bat Meir’s<br />

sermons, her interpretations of the Bible, and other religious instructions<br />

on various topics to guide women in their familial relationships.<br />

First published posthumously in Prague, in 1609, Meneket Rivkah<br />

pre-dates the work of Glueckel of Hamelin and makes a new contribution<br />

to the fields of Yiddish literature and <strong>Jewish</strong> women’s literature. Von<br />

Rohden’s critical introduction and commentary serve to place the work<br />

within biblical and rabbinical literature, and within<br />

other Yiddish ethical works of Rivkah bat Meir’s time.<br />

This is the first book to include the original Yiddish<br />

text in English translation, as well as the original Yiddish<br />

manuscript of Rivkah bat Meir’s unpublished<br />

Simhes Toyre Lid. The book also includes the original<br />

Yiddish text of Meneket Rivkah.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 19


59 TH NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS<br />

WRITING BASED ON ARCHIVAL MATERIAL<br />

The JDC-Herbert Katzki Award<br />

Winner:<br />

THE HOLOCAUST IN<br />

THE SOVIET UNION<br />

Yitzhak Arad; Ora Cummings, trans.<br />

University of Nebraska Press<br />

In this comprehensive new study, Yitzhak<br />

Arad has managed to take advantage of a<br />

rare window of opportunity: the opening<br />

of various Soviet archives during the early<br />

1900’s. Arad traveled to the Soviet Union<br />

(or, later Russia, Ukraine and Belarus) and<br />

explored extensive documentation never<br />

seen before by historians. Among the numerous Soviet archives cited in<br />

the book are the Communist Party archives, Soviet Military archives,<br />

the Soviet Partisans’ Movement archives, and the KGB archives.<br />

Those new documents supplemented previously-known data from<br />

Archives of the Third Reich, the Allies, and <strong>Jewish</strong> entities, thus enabling<br />

Dr. Arad to identify unique aspects of the Holocaust in the Soviet territories<br />

and to complete the tragic narrative in a full manner, striving to<br />

eliminate as many unknown “white stains” or blanks as possible.<br />

This massive historical work is organized in a chronological as well<br />

as geographical matrix. The book makes a significant contribution to<br />

the continuous effort of scholars to fathom the phenomenon know as<br />

“The Holocaust.”<br />

20 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

JEWISH BOOK<br />

COUNCIL<br />

CONGRATULATES<br />

THE 2009 NJBA<br />

WINNERS!<br />

For information on the 2010 National <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong><br />

Awards, please contact jbc@jewishbooks.org.<br />

To review past winners, please visit<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


JUDGING PANELISTS<br />

We wish to publicly acknowledge and thank<br />

the people who served on the Panels of Judges for<br />

the 2009 National <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> Awards program<br />

Robert Abrams<br />

Harlene Winnick Appelman<br />

Judith R. Baskin<br />

Liliane K. Baxter<br />

Toni Bickart<br />

Analia Bortz<br />

Seth Cohen<br />

Helene Kalson Cohen<br />

Margery Cohen<br />

Ruth Cole<br />

Bobbi Coller<br />

Rela Mintz Geffen<br />

Sarah Gold<br />

Billie Gold<br />

Moshe Halbertal<br />

Tully Harcsztark<br />

Adah Hirschfeld<br />

Sharon Keller<br />

Temma Kingsley<br />

Rebecca Kobrin<br />

Lucette Lagnado<br />

Josh Lambert<br />

Joan Larkin<br />

Fred Lazin<br />

Amy Rosenblatt Lui<br />

Adam Mendelsohn<br />

Naomi Miller<br />

Adam Mintz<br />

Jean Mishkin<br />

Karen Moss<br />

Carol Neuberger<br />

Alana Newhouse<br />

Rachel Norton<br />

Robert Pollack<br />

Barbara Reisner<br />

Robert Rifkind<br />

Jonathan D. Sarna<br />

Shuly Schwartz<br />

Amir Shaviv<br />

Rona Sheramy<br />

Bill Shulman<br />

Jessica Siegel<br />

Lisa Silverman<br />

Neal Sokol<br />

Gerry Sorin<br />

Gerald Stern<br />

Marc Straus<br />

Margie Vigneri<br />

Arnee R. Winshall<br />

Lois Zachary<br />

Rakefet Zalashik


Hear,<br />

22 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010 www.jewishbookcouncil.org


O Israel...<br />

In a perfect—perhaps beshert—collaboration, the<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Publication Society and the <strong>Jewish</strong> Braille<br />

Institute have published a complete audio<br />

Tanakh of the authoritative JPS 1985 translation.<br />

The year-long project not only brings this<br />

edition of the Tanakh to the blind and visually<br />

impaired but also makes it available on line, as an<br />

MP3 download, and on other audio devices, giving<br />

it total portability.<br />

Although primarily a publisher of books, JPS, like<br />

other publishers, has been expanding its formats to<br />

reach people through the internet and other electronic<br />

systems. But the Tanakh proved a problem.<br />

Because of its 2,000-page length and the sixty hours<br />

required to record it, the project was too costly to<br />

produce commercially. Then someone recalled discussions<br />

with JBI a few years ago, and the collaboration<br />

was born. JBI had state-of-the-art equipment<br />

and the necessary experience as well as a crew of professional<br />

volunteer readers. JPS listened to recordings<br />

of about twenty readers and then selected thirteen,<br />

among them a few guest readers like Tovah Feldshuh,<br />

Bruce Feiler, Theodore Bikel, and Rabbi Harold<br />

Kushner. Rabbi Kushner reads from Psalms, and in<br />

alternating voices Theodore Bikel and his friend Marciarose<br />

Sheftack, the former Philadelphia radio and<br />

television broadcaster, read the Song of Songs.<br />

For those used to hearing the weekly portion<br />

chanted in Hebrew or to reading it silently, a sampling<br />

of the audio Tanakh offered the opportunity<br />

to hear the text in a straightforward, almost conversational<br />

tone without the trappings of worship or<br />

study. The Tanakh once again speaks for itself. Having<br />

several readers prevents monotony and lends<br />

variety and an individual tone to the portions.<br />

An interesting aside is the readers’ experience.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

By Maron L. Waxman<br />

Both Jews and non-Jews participated in the reading,<br />

and they reported that it was a personally meaningful<br />

experience. An Orthodox Jew was surprised to<br />

learn the actual written text of the Tanakh and realized<br />

how much of what he knew was midrash, or<br />

interpretation. He also had to master contemporary<br />

Hebrew pronunciation, which is not always used in<br />

communities of East European background. Pronunciation<br />

was the biggest challenge for most of the<br />

readers, and JBI produced both an audio and written<br />

guide to Hebrew pronunciation to help them.<br />

For the readers the reward was becoming familiar<br />

with the Tanakh or, for the non-Jews, the Old Testament,<br />

many of whom were unfamiliar with it.<br />

In this audio version the Tanakh will be accessible<br />

to a broad audience in as many ways as possible. JPS<br />

is offering free podcasts of the weekly portion on its<br />

website, and soon the audio Tanakh will be available<br />

for purchase not only through the website but at<br />

Audible and the iTunes Store as well as an MP3<br />

download. And an additional feature at the JPS website<br />

will soon allow people to place an icon on their<br />

home pages so that one click there will automatically<br />

broadcast the weekly portion. Purchasers may buy<br />

the entire Tanakh, the Torah, the Five Megilloth, or<br />

the individual books of the Tanakh. JBI will distribute<br />

the audio Tanakh to any eligible client who asks<br />

for it.<br />

The project was funded by Aaron Feingold, Dr.<br />

Seymour and Jane Kessler, and Norman and Edith<br />

Weisfeld.<br />

Maron L. Waxman, retired editorial director, special projects,<br />

at the American Museum of Natural History, was also an<br />

editorial director at HarperCollins and <strong>Book</strong>-of-the-Month<br />

Club. She also leads editorial workshops.<br />

Featuring the<br />

voice talents of...<br />

Bruce<br />

Feiler<br />

Harold<br />

Kushner<br />

Marcia<br />

Rose<br />

Theodore<br />

Bikel<br />

Tovah<br />

Feldshuh


BOOK GROUP FORUM<br />

Editor’s Note: Please let us know which <strong>Jewish</strong>-interest books have worked out particularly well for your reading group.<br />

<strong>Book</strong> Club Recommendations<br />

Fiction<br />

GRATITUDE: A NOVEL<br />

Joseph Kertes<br />

Thomas Dunne <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009<br />

Winner, 2009 National <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> Award in Fiction<br />

1. What do you think is represented by the stampede of wild horses<br />

that Lili witnesses? Do horses recur in the novel? Do other animals<br />

play a significant role in the novel? For example, how does Smetana<br />

the cat help Istvan to survive?<br />

2. What is the role of music in this novel? How did the passages about<br />

music add to your reading experience? What is being implied by the<br />

music?<br />

3. Commandant Karoly Fekete mercifully saves Lili from Sergeant Erdo.<br />

In the concentration camp, a cruel guard spares Marta’s life and helps<br />

her escape. Why do you think people capable of such cruelty are<br />

also depicted as capable of compassion?<br />

4. Was it reasonable for Robert to ask Paul and his sister to go on work<br />

detail? Did he intend for Paul to depart? Why do you think Paul<br />

decided to leave at the end of the novel without telling his family<br />

where he was going? Where do you think he goes?<br />

5. Why is the novel called Gratitude?<br />

Q & A from Penguin Canada<br />

Non-Fiction<br />

SAVING ISRAEL: HOW THE<br />

JEWISH PEOPLE CAN WIN<br />

A WAR THAT MAY NEVER END<br />

Daniel Gordis<br />

John Wiley & Sons, 2009<br />

Winner, 2009 National <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> Award Winner in<br />

Contemporary <strong>Jewish</strong> Life and Practice<br />

1. Gordis titles his third chapter “The First War, All Over Again.” What<br />

do you think he means by that? Do you agree with his assessment of<br />

the continuing conflict?<br />

2. Gordis discusses Professor Sammy Smooha’s idea<br />

of an ethnic democracy, a system that “combines<br />

the extension of civil and political rights to permanent<br />

residents who wish to be citizens with<br />

the bestowal of a favored status on the majority<br />

group.” Do you think Israel is an ethnic democracy?<br />

Is Israel’s status as a <strong>Jewish</strong> state in opposition<br />

to its democracy? Can a religious state ever be<br />

truly democratic? (pg. 131)<br />

3. What do you see as Israel’s purpose? How does<br />

this purpose affect policy in Israel, both foreign<br />

and domestic? How can Israel better fulfill this<br />

purpose? (pg. 148)<br />

4. Gordis discusses his youthful <strong>Jewish</strong> education as<br />

such: “We were taught <strong>Jewish</strong> history and philosophy<br />

in a way that made passivity and Judaism<br />

sound like the most natural combination. ...In a<br />

strange way, it now seems to me, we were actually<br />

comfortable with the role of victim.” What do<br />

you think about this? How do you think <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

culture intersects with a sense of victimhood? Is<br />

this a good thing, a bad thing, or neither? (pg. 183)<br />

5. How does Gordis suggest Israel should be saved?<br />

Do you agree? What changes do you think would<br />

have to be made in Israeli and <strong>Jewish</strong> culture and<br />

politics to enable Gordis’ plan?<br />

24 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010 www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Zion Ozeri


A Conversation with David Sax<br />

By Laurie Gwen Shapiro<br />

Over the phone David Sax tells me it is almost a relief that I suggest a Lower East Side<br />

coffee bar to kibbitz. (Apparently most of his previous profilers think a deli meet is<br />

a novel idea.) David is already there when I arrive, a suspiciously belly-less young<br />

Canadian in his early 30’s.<br />

What authority<br />

could he have to write<br />

about the territory of<br />

aging hefty uncles?<br />

Nonetheless this<br />

svelte hipster boychik<br />

from Toronto has traveled<br />

the globe in order<br />

to understand the<br />

warp and the weft of<br />

this endangered food<br />

niche. Los Angeles, Cleveland, Chicago. He<br />

made it to other <strong>Jewish</strong> pockets of America<br />

where, when ordering white bread on your<br />

pastrami, no one clobbers you with a baseball<br />

bat. He even hopped across the pond to see<br />

The Beefeaters we rarely hear about in London,<br />

the Salt Beef eating kind, not the warders<br />

of her Majesty’s royal palace. And into Galiciana<br />

Poland to see what <strong>Jewish</strong> cooking was<br />

like in the new millennium. (Not so good.)<br />

I tried to introduce myself at his book<br />

launch in Ben’s Kosher Deli in the Diamond<br />

District, but tell him that I have never witnessed<br />

such joyous pandemonium at a book<br />

event. Needless to say, the Save the Deli launch<br />

was loud and fun and fully embraced its <strong>Jewish</strong>ness.<br />

Frankly, it felt more like a bar mitzvah<br />

than a book launch; it was impossible to talk<br />

to anyone over the gabble of hundreds of<br />

happy partygoers, which included Catskill<br />

legend Freddie Roman, and The <strong>Jewish</strong> Elvis,<br />

Jelvis. David modestly shrugs off the lines out<br />

the door, “Complimentary pastrami and<br />

cream soda will do it.”<br />

“Reviews have been phenomenal,” I remind<br />

him, and he grins.<br />

David’s humor runs dark in person and<br />

on the page, as evident in his book’s details,<br />

like his deep revulsion at watching his pastrami<br />

sandwich microwaved by a deli claiming<br />

to be authentic, and a customer choking on a<br />

big chunk of phenomenal gefilte fish who<br />

gets the Heimlich and then eats the projectile<br />

again because it was so good. He can be<br />

poignant too; I delighted in his often heartbreaking<br />

portraits of diehard deli men and<br />

their fantasias of making it big in Las Vegas.<br />

And then he shows the loathsomeness of the<br />

corporate “New York style” delis that have<br />

Christopher Farber<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

actually opened in the Casinos, even branches<br />

of famous American delis that muck up the<br />

failproof recipes. Mel Brooks also makes a<br />

Hollywood cameo in the book.<br />

What’s not to love here?<br />

Is he going to follow up with more foodie<br />

non-fiction, currently a hot slice of the book<br />

market? Or stick to <strong>Jewish</strong> topics? Or do a<br />

Carnegie combo of foodie and <strong>Jewish</strong>?<br />

“I know I don’t want to get typecast in deli.<br />

I’ve recently been posting radio stories on<br />

NPR.” Like what? He smiles, “Last one is called<br />

Man Enough to Love Eat Pray Love.” I laugh<br />

hard, mostly because my husband despised that<br />

book, which I got a big girlie kick out of. “I<br />

majored in economics and history and wrote<br />

serious journalism for several magazines, did<br />

journalism stints in South<br />

America, Argentina, and<br />

Brazil. A million subjects<br />

fascinate me. Actually, I’ve<br />

had this idea for a long<br />

time; while working on a<br />

term paper an idea fixed in<br />

my head to write this<br />

book.” Probably the only<br />

thing that doesn’t interest<br />

him is writing fiction. As<br />

our second coffee comes, I<br />

wish him a creative nonfiction<br />

career Rich Cohen<br />

or Mark Kurlansky would<br />

be proud of.<br />

David was born in<br />

1976 in Toronto, to parents<br />

who had left the<br />

Montreal <strong>Jewish</strong> community<br />

during the first threats of Québecois secession.<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> on both sides, his mother’s family<br />

emigrated to Canada in the early 1800’s, and<br />

his father, like many in the Montreal community,<br />

was the child of Romanian immigrants. I<br />

ask more about old school Canadian deli, and<br />

the Toronto food scene. Montreal is famous for<br />

its smoked meat, sort of a pastrami-meetscorned<br />

beef. “An artisanal deli restaurant called<br />

Mile End has opened up in Brooklyn’s<br />

Boerum Hill, where New Yorkers will get a<br />

taste of what <strong>Jewish</strong> Canadians crave, and even<br />

non-<strong>Jewish</strong> Canadians. And Caplansky’s in<br />

EMERGING VOICES<br />

Toronto is worth a visit. A new artisanal deli<br />

getting it right too.”<br />

But are artisanal delis in it for the long<br />

haul, or still in love with the newness? He<br />

shared my concern.<br />

He spoke forebodingly of the future for<br />

some of the old timers hanging on that he<br />

profiled, the dedicated ones for whom<br />

money, apparently, is incidental, but not to<br />

their heirs. But he concedes this artisanal deli<br />

movement, which includes Michael Anthony<br />

making his own pastrami at Gramercy Tavern,<br />

is a bright spot in the industry. “Can you<br />

imagine the dedication that goes into curing<br />

your own meat from scratch?”<br />

One of David’s most startling discoveries,<br />

after he carefully likens New York to the<br />

Jerusalem of Deli, is that the best city for deli<br />

is Los Angeles. Saying in print that Los Angeles<br />

has the best pastrami sandwich? Isn’t that<br />

an invitation to a war? “But it’s the truth,” he<br />

says, “they have many great delis there, supported<br />

by the Hollywood culture. And you<br />

have to taste the pastrami at Langer’s. A different<br />

stratosphere.”<br />

I press him as our hour ends, is there really<br />

a doomsday clock for my<br />

father’s favorite food?<br />

Can he vouchsafe pastrami’s<br />

existence for my<br />

young daughter’s generation<br />

when health and bottom-line<br />

concerns trump<br />

narrowminded pursuit of<br />

deli perfection?<br />

“As long as there are<br />

true fanatics I have hope.”<br />

Sounding more like my<br />

grandmother by the<br />

minute, I wish him<br />

nachas on his upcoming<br />

wedding, and think,<br />

maybe, just maybe I<br />

should swing by Katz’s<br />

for some takeout, to hell<br />

with the diet.<br />

To read more about David Sax, please visit<br />

www. Savethedeli.com<br />

Laurie Gwen Shapiro is the author of ALA Notable<br />

<strong>Book</strong> The Unexpected Salami and The Matzo Ball<br />

Heiress and other books for adults. She has also written<br />

two books for young adults, most recently for<br />

Random House. She is also a winner of an Independent<br />

Spirit Award for co-directing the IFC documentary<br />

“Keep the River on Your Right.” She is currently working<br />

on YA novel The O’Leary Bat Mitzvah, and producing<br />

a documentary about Iggy Pop. LaurieGwen-<br />

Shapiro.com<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 25


REVIEWS<br />

AMERICAN JEWISH STUDIES<br />

AN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: ADELINE MOSES LOEB<br />

AND HER EARLY AMERICAN JEWISH ANCESTORS<br />

John L. Loeb, Jr., Kathy L. Plotkin, Margaret Loeb Kempner, Judith E. Endelman; Eli N. Evans, intro.<br />

Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York, 2009. 350 pp. $49.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-9822032-0-0<br />

If ever a physical book resembled its topics, this remarkable biography does. Elegantly presented,<br />

its coverage of its subject’s life and genealogical provenance are a revelation. Physical<br />

presentation almost overtakes the text’s uniqueness—portraits, maps, and many—6th cousins—genealogical charts. Oversize, it captures a world of atypical Americana—Jews.<br />

Adeline Moses Loeb fit two descriptions: “fine woman,” family-centered, respectable, modest<br />

beginnings, strong personality; and “fine lady,” beautifully gowned, charitable, proud of her<br />

heritage, with some rags (sort of)-to-riches tales. She was affectionately and realistically recalled<br />

by her daughter, Margaret Loeb Kempner, in “Mother’s Life with Father,” unpublished and<br />

written some years ago. Grandson John L. Loeb, Jr., the force behind the book, gives due credit<br />

to his grandmother’s outstanding, permanent philanthropy, as well as the paternal Loeb lineup<br />

of financial successes.<br />

While Adeline Loeb has only 33 discrete pages devoted to her, her name and background<br />

appear throughout, ranging from <strong>Jewish</strong> sea-farers, arriving here in the 17th century, to post-<br />

Civil War sagas of the South, iconic merchants, successful financiers, and highest-level friends.<br />

With a smooth, unchallenging style, it details membership in and publication by the Sons of<br />

the Revolution in the State of New York, to a not-in-your-face presentation of upper<br />

South/lower South dissensions, notably, discussion of <strong>Jewish</strong> ownership of “property-in-man.”<br />

Intermarriage—heavy, if surnames are an indicator—is not mentioned. A most unusual book,<br />

full of scholarly threads worth following.<br />

Appendices, bibliography, family charts and maps, general index, guide to family trees,<br />

name index. ABS<br />

Howard Megdal<br />

Collins, 2009. 320 pp. $22.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-06-155843-6<br />

THE BASEBALL<br />

TALMUD: A DEFINI-<br />

TIVE POSITION-BY-<br />

POSITION RANKING<br />

OF BASEBALL’S<br />

CHOSEN PLAYERS<br />

The Baseball Talmud is a book for <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

baseball statistic geeks. That said, it<br />

should be added that the book, like the Talmud,<br />

is sprinkled with lively anecdotes and<br />

wry observations worthy of a stand-up comic.<br />

Howard Megdal, baseball writer for the<br />

New York Observer and several baseball publications,<br />

uses sophisticated sabermetrics and other<br />

research to identify and rank all 160 <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

major leaguers, less than 1 percent of 16,696<br />

players who have made it to the bigs. Megdal’s<br />

definition of <strong>Jewish</strong> is, to use his word, expansive,<br />

but his standards are exacting and based<br />

on such measures as Baseball Prospectus’<br />

WARP3 (wins above replacement player) and<br />

formulas that adjust for differences between<br />

baseball parks and eras.<br />

After selecting the greatest <strong>Jewish</strong> baseball<br />

player—Hank Greenberg or Sandy Koufax?—<br />

Megdal ranks the remaining top ten and fearlessly<br />

predicts the top ten years out. He then<br />

ranks all the <strong>Jewish</strong> players by position, noting<br />

a lack of good second basemen. And for the<br />

finale Megdal names the all-time <strong>Jewish</strong> team<br />

and classes it, adjusted for parks and eras,<br />

unbeatable.<br />

All in all The Baseball Talmud will make for<br />

endless arguments on off-season Shabbos afternoons.<br />

Although Megdal is serious about his<br />

stats, he has a light touch with language, and<br />

his asides and anecdotes provide a neat balance<br />

to his pursuit of statistical affirmation. Glossary,<br />

illustrations, index. MLW<br />

WE REMEMBER<br />

WITH REVERENCE<br />

AND LOVE: AMERICAN<br />

JEWS AND THE MYTH<br />

OF SILENCE AFTER<br />

THE HOLOCAUST,<br />

1945–1962<br />

Hasia R. Diner<br />

New York University Press, 2009. 527 pp. $29.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8147-1993-0<br />

In this well-researched and passionately<br />

argued book, Hasia Diner challenges the<br />

conventional view that postwar American<br />

Jewry showed little interest in the Holocaust<br />

until the 1960’s and, in fact, wanted to forget<br />

it rather than memorialize it. She maintains<br />

that nearly every historian, literary scholar, and<br />

cultural critic who has commented on American<br />

Jews in this period and their relationship<br />

to the Shoah, asserted with utter certainty that<br />

American Jews made little of the Holocaust,<br />

repressed it and did not make it an important<br />

part of their communal lives. Whether motivated<br />

by guilt, shame, fear, indifference, or the<br />

desire to assimilate, American Jews simply did<br />

not memorialize or focus on the Holocaust<br />

until the Eichmann trial in 1960–61 and<br />

Israel’s stunning victory in the Six Day War of<br />

1967 made it socially and culturally acceptable<br />

to do so. Coming out of World War II, American<br />

Jews were too busy with the emergence of<br />

the State of Israel, the threats of the Cold War,<br />

moving to the suburbs, financing a synagoguebuilding<br />

boom and carving out their place in<br />

society to have room in their public culture for<br />

the tragedy of European Jewry.<br />

Diner rejects this conventional view and<br />

claims that it is categorically false and based<br />

on thin evidence and gleaned from few<br />

sources. Uncovering a rich and varied trove of<br />

documentation—in literature, song, liturgy,<br />

public display, and many other forms, We<br />

Remember with Reverence and Love shows that<br />

American Jews were deeply engaged in<br />

memorializing the Holocaust in a multiplicity<br />

of ways and that it was a powerful element<br />

of <strong>Jewish</strong> life in postwar America. Whether in<br />

liturgy or pedagogy, in staged ceremonies or<br />

in the deliberations of <strong>Jewish</strong> organizations<br />

and in the activities of their youth groups, the<br />

tragedy of European Jewry was central to Jew-<br />

26 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010 www.jewishbookcouncil.org


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JBW 28.1_JBW 28.1 2/18/10 9:57 PM Page 28<br />

REVIEWS<br />

ish identity and activity. In this important<br />

book of scholarship and conviction, Diner<br />

attempts to revise our understanding of postwar<br />

American Jewry. She correctly challenges<br />

the conventional views on this topic, although<br />

her alternative narrative is also overdrawn to a<br />

degree, especially her assertions concerning<br />

what American Jews did and said concerning<br />

the “survivors,” the “refugees,” die geblibene<br />

(those left) in Yiddish, or the Displaced Persons,<br />

as they were variously referred to. Her<br />

claims here, challenged by solid research, raise<br />

doubts about the reliability of the overall thesis.<br />

I suspect the reality is somewhere between<br />

the denial and repression accepted by most<br />

and the active and productive engagement<br />

and advocacy suggested by Diner. A lively and<br />

controversial book, it is sure to spark debate<br />

and conversation for years to come. 2009<br />

National <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> Award Winner in<br />

American <strong>Jewish</strong> Studies. MND<br />

AUTOBIOGRAPHY<br />

AND MEMOIR<br />

Joel Chasnoff<br />

Free Press, 2010. 288 pp. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4165-4932-1<br />

28 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

Autobiography and Memoir<br />

THE 188 TH CRYBABY<br />

BRIGADE: A SKINNY<br />

JEWISH KID FROM<br />

CHICAGO FIGHTS<br />

HEZBOLLAH<br />

Part Stripes, part Camp Ramah, comedian<br />

Joel Chasnoff presents a new kind of coming-of-age<br />

story in his memoir and first book,<br />

The 188th Crybaby Brigade. Chasnoff had a typical<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> American adolescence; he grew up<br />

in Chicago, got an Ivy League education, and<br />

lived in Brooklyn in his early twenties. After a<br />

failed attempt at a career in stand-up comedy,<br />

he moves to Israel to fulfill his lifelong yearning<br />

to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Underneath<br />

his skinny frame, weak stomach, and lack<br />

of athleticism burns a long-running love of<br />

Eretz Yisrael. Chasnoff is assigned to the<br />

Armored Corps and trains as a tank gunner.<br />

But stop right there; this is not an all-out slapstick,<br />

silly-American-goes-to-Israel, missile<br />

hijinks tale. The author illuminates the relatively<br />

unknown side of the IDF and shows us from<br />

the inside how an army made up of teenagers<br />

and run by twenty-something officers actually<br />

functions. Along with Chasnoff, we bond with<br />

his platoon mates, who all call each other achi,<br />

“my brother.” Chasnoff’s comedic timing and<br />

honest heart shine throughout the narrative as<br />

we follow his journey from supposed zero to<br />

Israeli hero. Glossary of Israeli military slang,<br />

south Lebanon security recipes. JBH<br />

AARON’S JOURNEY:<br />

FROM SLAVE TO<br />

MASTER<br />

Howard Herskowitz<br />

Crown Publications, 2010. 230 pp. $19.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-9819821-2-0<br />

This is not an easy book to read. It is the<br />

memoir of the ordeal of Aaron Herskowitz,<br />

a young Czechoslovakian who was<br />

caught up in the deadly cauldron of Nazi<br />

occupied Europe, who somehow survived<br />

and with the help of his son, the author of<br />

this work, shares his harrowing experiences<br />

with the reader. As Aaron discloses in the<br />

beginning of the book: “I am...beloved son,<br />

father, brother, husband; a...patriotic son of<br />

Czechoslovakia, soldier, lover of God; slave<br />

The memoir is often raw and<br />

disturbing, true to the times and<br />

the personalities it depicts.<br />

laborer, hater of God, Russian partisan, persecutor,<br />

killer, survivor.” He shares his story<br />

honestly, without apology and with no effort<br />

to smooth over the jagged edges of the experience.<br />

The memoir is often raw and disturbing,<br />

true to the times and the personalities it<br />

depicts. Perhaps the most stunning aspect of<br />

the book is the “blood rage” it depicts, the<br />

retribution that Aaron and his colleagues<br />

took against Nazis and their collaborators.<br />

These scenes are brutal and disturbing and<br />

raise questions about standards of appropriate<br />

behavior under extreme circumstances. Aaron<br />

urges the reader to “...hear my testimony<br />

before rendering judgment, and ask yourself:<br />

what would you have done in my place?”<br />

The book is well-written and often gripping<br />

and provides a perspective rarely found<br />

in Holocaust memoirs. It is recommended for<br />

mature readers who have the perspective and<br />

background to engage the material and the<br />

ethical issues it raises. MND<br />

Steve Luxenberg<br />

Hyperion, 2009. 401 pp. $24.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4013-2247-2<br />

ANNIE’S GHOSTS:<br />

A JOURNEY INTO<br />

A FAMILY SECRET<br />

Career journalists who attempt to write about<br />

their own family histories sometimes find<br />

they can’t separate their professional selves from<br />

their personal journeys. But Steve Luxenberg, an<br />

editor at the Washington Post, does not have this<br />

problem. Instead, he demonstrates his abundant<br />

writing skills and reporting talents by unearthing<br />

a story that is gripping, haunting, and real while<br />

telling it with just the right amount of professional<br />

distance and personal depth. The tale bounces<br />

through time and around the globe, illuminating<br />

life in a mental hospital in Depression-era<br />

Detroit, touching down in the Holocaust, traversing<br />

the sacred space between fathers and children,<br />

moving seamlessly from sadness to joy.<br />

Luxenberg tells this family saga as if it were a<br />

detective story, revealing one layer at a time of the<br />

hidden world of an institutionalized aunt he was<br />

never told existed and the consequences of family<br />

secrets that, when revealed, imply lost worlds and<br />

private motives that have consequences down<br />

through the generations. Yet in his hands, the<br />

story comes to life, and this memoir displays the<br />

texture of social history as it sheds light on the<br />

power of love in <strong>Jewish</strong> families to overcome the<br />

secrets that drive us apart. Author’s note, family<br />

tree, index, notes. The paperback edition of this<br />

book will be published in May, 2010. LFB<br />

THE ARISTOCRAT:<br />

THE LIFE AND<br />

LEGACY OF HILLEL<br />

MENASHE SUTTON<br />

Abraham Sutton<br />

Abraham Sutton, 2008. 256 pp. $25.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-615-20572-4<br />

With this memoir, a tribute to the<br />

memory of his father, Abraham (Al)<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


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this is your opportunity to network with other authors and<br />

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your work into print.<br />

Sponsored by<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> <strong>Council</strong><br />

New location*:<br />

Center for <strong>Jewish</strong> History<br />

15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011<br />

*Formerly held at 92nd Street Y<br />

For more information, please email:<br />

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— Space is limited —


BOOK PROFILE<br />

CHILDREN IN FLIGHT<br />

By Marcia Weiss Posner<br />

The universe of memoirs grows larger daily as survivors face up to the shortened<br />

time they have left to tell their stories. The first two memoirs take place in<br />

France, the third, in Germany. All of the writers were children trying to escape the<br />

Nazis—two by hiding, and the third, in constant flight with his family.<br />

Leo Michel Abrami<br />

Outskirts Press, 2009. 216 pp. $18.95 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-1432734299 (pbk.)<br />

Fred Gross<br />

Mercer University Press, 2009. 220 pp. $ 29.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0881461435<br />

Helen Studley<br />

iUniverse, 2009. 120 pp. $12.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4401-4019-8<br />

EVADING THE NAZIS: THE STORY<br />

OF A HIDDEN CHILD IN NORMANDY<br />

ONE STEP AHEAD OF HITLER: A JEWISH<br />

CHILD’S JOURNEY THROUGH FRANCE<br />

THE WINTER’S JOURNEY<br />

OF MY YOUTH: A MEMOIR<br />

Evading the Nazis, written by a retired rabbi who was a hidden child, is more than<br />

a story of a <strong>Jewish</strong> child hidden by righteous French farmers; it is the story of a<br />

dynamic, brave woman whose charisma, moxie, and business sense enabled her to<br />

travel on public conveyances throughout Nazi occupied France, to ask a Nazi soldier<br />

for help in carrying her suitcase, and other audacities. She always had a joke to make<br />

a policeman laugh. Their family of three—the father had abandoned them before the<br />

second child was born—spent the war years with false papers in Paris, until Abrami’s<br />

mother realized that with more SS on the streets, her boys were more and more at<br />

risk. By this time she had built up a “practice” in the French countryside, supplying<br />

farmers with goods, while they supplied her with food for her family. Having some<br />

medical knowledge, she began to act as an unofficial nurse for some of the farmers’<br />

ailing family members. They were loyal to her, and were the best of guardians for her<br />

two boys, whom they treated like family. And if you can imagine, during the whole<br />

time, their daring mother lived in Paris among the Nazis and the corrupt French<br />

police. In her experience, most of the French gentiles were empathetic to the plight<br />

of their <strong>Jewish</strong> neighbors, but not the police , who were avid tormentors and collectors<br />

of innocent Jews. The latter part of the book is about the son’s experience in<br />

learning about Judaism, becoming a Hebrew teacher and a rabbi, and his changing<br />

views about the denomination of Judaism in which he felt most comfortable.<br />

Oddly enough, the most exciting and moving of the three, One Step Ahead of<br />

Hitler, is a flight not remembered by the author, who was only three when he experienced<br />

it. Because of his talent in interviewing members of his family, researching, and<br />

writing, it is an adventure you will not soon forget. Although Gross knew much about<br />

the Holocaust because of his family history, he didn’t know precisely what his immediate<br />

family, including himself, had experienced. Two decades ago, he tried to query<br />

his mother, asking her to tell him the story of the family’s flight from Belgium as the<br />

Nazis invaded. He learned a bit, but his stiff-necked mother was uncommunicative,<br />

and not until he began to query his older brothers did he learn about what had happened.<br />

Then, he too, began to remember some incidents. He remembered his cold,<br />

non-demonstrative mother pressing her body over his to protect him, as they tried<br />

to escape the strafing by German planes of the refugees streaming toward the coast.<br />

Most of the family’s flight took place in occupied France, where the French police<br />

helped the Nazis round up more than 75,000 Jews for deportation to the death<br />

camps. How was this canny family, interred in the Gurs camp, the way station to<br />

Auschwitz, able to free itself? It was through the cleverness and courage of father<br />

and son. Read how they ran from place to place, believing that they had found safety<br />

in the south of France, only to have the Nazis come there, as well. The brothers and<br />

father used their ingenuity, fortitude, courage, and the help of Righteous Christians<br />

along the way who risked their own lives on behalf of these desperate refugees as<br />

they made their way through France. What makes the book come alive are the many<br />

conversations, colorful descriptions, and narrative talent. It could be a novel, but is<br />

true. This is a tale worth telling, and here it is told particularly well.<br />

The Winter’s Journey is a lively memoir of a horrible experience. The abrupt transition<br />

from accomplished swimmer popular among her peers to an outlawed Jew forbidden<br />

to swim at the town pool, is quickly transitioned by a humorous alternative—a<br />

description of a swimming hole used by nudists, who cordially invite her to join them,<br />

even in a suit. To offset most of the offending actions, there are usually counterpoints<br />

of humor, and also the kindness of some people, especially the author’s boss in the<br />

slave labor camp where both she and her father worked. Through sheer moxie, Helen, a<br />

non-bookkeeper, served in that role to the civilian, German but non-Nazi Mr. Runge,<br />

who befriended her, taught her what to do, and warned her before round ups. The<br />

family of three, the father and his two daughters, were brave and resourceful and greatly<br />

aided by various people. Unlike most tales of a crowded hiding place, there are hilarious<br />

accounts of the various boarders. In fact, if Studley had married a Japanese boarder,<br />

he would have taken her to Switzerland, but she refused to leave her father and they<br />

could not get another visa. Studley was managing to pass as a gentile on the street<br />

until a gentile woman from the same camp, jealous of Runge’s attention to Studley,<br />

exposed her to the SS and she was jailed. What happened next, and how Studley saved<br />

herself among the jailed prostitutes is the best part of the book. Even in Auschwitz,<br />

although tattooed, at that late date, she did not have to cut her hair; and at liberation,<br />

the nurse who tended her during her bout with typhoid, could not believe she was a<br />

prostitute and soon made other arrangements for her. Can you imagine a Holocaust<br />

story that because of its lively portraits of the people with whom they shared various<br />

living places, is entertaining, as well as tragic? That is what Studley has accomplished.<br />

Sequences are not always clear, but it’s worth the effort to unravel them.<br />

Marcia Weiss Posner, Ph.D., is a librarian and program director at the Holocaust<br />

Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County.


Sutton presents a brief synopsis of the history<br />

of the <strong>Jewish</strong> community of Aleppo, Syria, up<br />

to and through its diasporas to Tel Aviv,<br />

Jerusalem, New York, New Orleans, and<br />

Deal, New Jersey. All this in a thin volume<br />

generously laced with photographs.<br />

Al Sutton lost his father when he was only<br />

eleven years old. He thought he knew him;<br />

but one day he discovered that there had been<br />

...interesting, fast moving, and sparkles<br />

with little glimpses of everyday life in a<br />

land (Aleppo) that was continuously<br />

inhabited by <strong>Jewish</strong> people.<br />

a eulogy by a renowned kabbalist. He eventually<br />

found the text; what he discovered in the<br />

process provides the foundation of The Aristocrat.<br />

The book is interesting, fast moving,<br />

and sparkles with little glimpses of everyday<br />

life in a land (Aleppo) that was continuously<br />

inhabited by <strong>Jewish</strong> people from Biblical<br />

times until the late 20 th century. There are<br />

also scenes of Israel during the War of Independence,<br />

and Syrian <strong>Jewish</strong> life in the United<br />

States. Author’s notes, bibliography. SS<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Autobiography and Memoir<br />

CURRICULUM VITAE<br />

Yoel Hoffmann; Peter Cole, trans.<br />

New Directions, 2009. 128 pp. $14.95 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8112-1832-0 (pbk.)<br />

To Yoel Hoffmann, assembling a life story<br />

is like trying to gather up an infinite<br />

number of pearls from a broken string and<br />

collecting “at most a hundred.” This unconventional<br />

autobiography evokes a life lived in<br />

Israel and Japan in exactly one hundred<br />

dreamlike vignettes, each one related to but<br />

disconnected from the next.<br />

Hoffmann’s memories are as much sensory<br />

impressions, free associations, and flights of<br />

imagination as they are “facts.” For him a traditional<br />

narrative would be artificial and<br />

REVIEWS<br />

untrue to the experience of living; he sees<br />

cause and effect as an illusion. “We run into<br />

each other like balls on a billiard table, and the<br />

only thing left is the sound of the knocking,”<br />

he reflects.<br />

Sound, color, the willful peculiarities of<br />

memory, and the surreal qualities of the<br />

imagination constantly fascinate the writer,<br />

much like cartoons. He remembers one<br />

where “the cat’s heart flew out of its body (it<br />

was attached by a spring) because of the love<br />

that the body has trouble containing.” That<br />

wonderful phrase, in Peter Cole’s lapidary<br />

translation, has the compression and humanity<br />

that are characteristic of Hoffmann’s<br />

account of a life. Death is also on his mind, as<br />

in a heart-stopping sequence of haiku he<br />

imagines in the minds of people about to be<br />

murdered at a Nazi death camp.<br />

This laconic book is astonishing in its control,<br />

formal invention, wide-ranging interests,<br />

and its power to provoke and to touch. BG<br />

A Hero for a New Decade...<br />

Hero On Three Continents<br />

The debut novel by Stephen Maitland-Lewis<br />

“A moving, complex well-crafted fictional biography...”–Kirkus Discoveries<br />

In Hero On Three Continents, Stephen Maitland-Lewis has chronicled a century with the protagonist,<br />

Henry Brown, born to a wealthy Anglo-<strong>Jewish</strong> family, participating in events both cataclysmic<br />

and personal, and interfacing with characters both famous and imaginary from the sexy jazz<br />

age of the 1920’s to the tense war torn atmosphere of the 1940’s to the international crisis<br />

of oil and terrorism in the 1960’s and 1970’s.<br />

Eventually, Brown is posted as a military attache in Berlin during the war, which is a difficult assignment for a <strong>Jewish</strong> man, who is<br />

confronted by racial intolerance and bigotry and a series of events which change his life forever. Hero On Three Continents is an<br />

epic tale, which will enthrall readers until the climatic ending.<br />

www.maitland-lewis.com<br />

Available at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Xlibris.com or by phone (888) 795-4274 ext. 7876<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4134-1428-8 (hc) ISBN: 978-1-4134-1429-5 (pbk)<br />

...evokes a life lived in Israel and Japan in<br />

exactly one hundred dreamlike vignettes,<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 31


REVIEWS<br />

Adolf Burger<br />

Frontline <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. 288 pp. $39.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1848325234<br />

32 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

Autobiography and Memoir<br />

THE DEVIL’S WORK-<br />

SHOP: A MEMOIR<br />

OF THE NAZI<br />

COUNTERFEITING<br />

OPERATION<br />

Although The Devil’s Workshop is described<br />

as a memoir of the Nazi counterfeiting<br />

operation based in the Sachsenhausen concentration<br />

camp between 1942–1945, Adolf Burger’s<br />

book is much more than that. Burger was<br />

arrested by the Nazis in Slovakia and subsequently<br />

sent to Auschwitz. He describes what<br />

life was like for Jews under the government of<br />

Monsignor Joseph Tiso, a Catholic priest, and<br />

his ersatz SS group, the Hlinka guards. He gives<br />

a vivid description of life in Auschwitz, where<br />

his 22 year old wife was sent to the gas chamber.<br />

He tells how <strong>Jewish</strong> “kommandos” were<br />

assigned to rob the dead of their dignity in<br />

Birkenau—shearing their hair, extracting gold<br />

fillings from their teeth, and so on. Berger also<br />

provides a harrowing picture of the Nazi treatment<br />

of the Gypsy camp at Birkenau—all in all<br />

a searingly graphic description of Auschwitz.<br />

He tells how <strong>Jewish</strong> “kommandos” were<br />

assigned to rob the dead of their dignity in<br />

Birkenau—shearing their hair, extracting<br />

gold fillings from their teeth, and so on.<br />

The second part of the memoir deals with<br />

the Nazis’ attempt to forge millions of British<br />

pounds sterling in order to weaken the British<br />

currency. Toward that end, the Reich Security<br />

Service organized a forgery workshop in the<br />

Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The Nazi<br />

creation of this economic weapon entailed the<br />

recruitment of <strong>Jewish</strong> prisoners from selected<br />

camps such as Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Ravenbruck,<br />

Mauthausen, and Theresienstadt, who<br />

were transferred to Sachsenhausen. The criteria<br />

for those selected was that they had some experience<br />

with the printing trade, and this was<br />

how Adolf Burger was saved from eventual<br />

death in Auschwitz (the memoir never explains<br />

why <strong>Jewish</strong> prisoners alone were chosen). All<br />

told, the project included 142 <strong>Jewish</strong> inmates<br />

who were forced to forge not only British<br />

paper money but also American bank note,<br />

worth billions, as well as bonds, stamps, and<br />

other documents. Accompanying his experiences<br />

in “Project Bernhard,” named after the<br />

SS supervisor of this criminal enterprise, Burger<br />

and the publisher have provided a large<br />

assortment of primary documents, rare photos<br />

of the main participants in the operation, and<br />

of prisoners incarcerated in the various concentration<br />

camps.<br />

If “Project Bernhard” sounds familiar, it is<br />

because the book served as the basis for the<br />

award-winning film 2007 film “The Counterfeiters.”<br />

This riveting book is essential for<br />

our understanding of a relatively unknown<br />

chapter of the Holocaust. JF<br />

DEVOTION:<br />

A MEMOIR<br />

Dani Shapiro<br />

HarperCollins Publishers, 2010. 256 pp. $24.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-162834-4<br />

Dani Shapiro lives with endless questions.<br />

Raised in an Orthodox <strong>Jewish</strong> family,<br />

she believes she has escaped that “stifling”<br />

world. Yet she finds that every time she<br />

touches something that reminds her of that<br />

world, she has the urge to cry and then experiences<br />

a disarming sense of peace. Instead of<br />

seeking further in that direction, she runs<br />

from those feelings, perceiving them to be<br />

nothing more than the comforting memories<br />

of childhood. Thus, her search continues.<br />

Neither AA meetings nor yoga and meditation<br />

yield much tranquility. Finally, a series of<br />

...her depiction of her walk<br />

through shame, guilt, pain, darkness,<br />

and light is beautifully told.<br />

losses and near losses lead Shapiro to realize<br />

that the journey is rewarding only if “...there<br />

is value in simply standing there—this too—<br />

whether the sun is shining, or the wind whipping<br />

all around.” Later she concludes that<br />

each of us is “full of longing, reaching out<br />

with our whole selves for something impossible<br />

to touch. Still, we are reaching, reaching.”<br />

While one may have wished for Shapiro to<br />

reveal a return to her roots, her depiction of<br />

her walk through shame, guilt, pain, darkness,<br />

and light is beautifully told. DS<br />

EATING ANIMALS<br />

Jonathan Safran Foer<br />

Little Brown, 2009. 352 pp. $25.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-316-06990-8<br />

Everything about factory farming is illuminated<br />

in Foer’s first major work of nonfiction,<br />

which attempts to help us make more<br />

informed choices about what we eat. Motivated<br />

by the question of what to teach his first<br />

son about food, Foer set out on a three year<br />

journey to learn where the meat on our plate<br />

comes from. His findings are startling.<br />

The author feeds us the gory details of the<br />

lives of factory-farmed animals. His first hand<br />

descriptions are vivid and striking in their<br />

gruesomeness. But this book is about much<br />

more than the gore that surrounds our meals.<br />

Foer explores the environmental impact of factory<br />

farming (“animal agriculture...is the number<br />

one cause of climate change”), he describes<br />

the way in which large-scale health threats are<br />

linked to factory farming (H1N1 aka swine<br />

flu), he probes into the waste, the humanitarian<br />

violations, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding<br />

the process by which many of us fill<br />

our dinner plates. He also debunks the myth of<br />

“free-range” and tells us exactly what is in our<br />

chicken...and it’s not just chicken.<br />

Foer is a fiction writer and portions of the<br />

book come to life the way his novels do. Beautiful<br />

passages describe the social and even ritualistic<br />

aspects of sharing meals (Passover seders).<br />

He begins the book with a powerful story of his<br />

grandmother turning down a piece of pork<br />

even while she was starving during the war. “If<br />

nothing matters, there’s nothing to save,” she<br />

told him. He ends the book with these very<br />

words, and the chapters in between tell us<br />

what, exactly, we are choosing when we choose<br />

to eat certain meats, and why it matters.<br />

Foer uses some of his trademark literary<br />

devices in this book—long lists (chapter 3,<br />

Words/Meaning), changes in narrative voice (he<br />

uses transcripts from his interviews with farmers<br />

without indicating who is speaking). These gimmicky<br />

devices make for a disjointed and sometimes<br />

tiresome reading experience, but they are<br />

well-worth the effort. Whatever is said of this<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


ook’s style, there is no question that it is a terribly<br />

important work—well-researched, heartfelt,<br />

and above all filled with facts that anyone<br />

who eats should know. Index, notes. AB<br />

GERTRUDA’S OATH<br />

Ram Oren; Barbara Harshav, trans.<br />

Doubleday, 2009. 320 pp. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-385-52718-7<br />

ncredible’ doesn’t even begin to describe<br />

‘Ithis nonfiction tale, which deals with the<br />

Holocaust and the founding of the State of<br />

Israel. In the opening chapter, we’re introduced<br />

to Michael Stolowitzky and his adoptive<br />

mother, Gertruda Babilinska, living in Israel in<br />

the 1950’s. The narrative then shifts back to<br />

$15.95<br />

paperback<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Autobiography and Memoir<br />

the 1930’s, where Gertruda, a Polish Catholic<br />

teacher, is hired as a nanny for Michael, a tiny<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> child of an extraordinarily rich family.<br />

As Germany invades Poland, unleashing events<br />

that remove him from the care of his parents<br />

and the safety of his home, Gertruda comes to<br />

be Michael’s lone protecter. It’s a role she will<br />

continue to play at great risk through Poland,<br />

Lithuania, and other nations.<br />

The book reads like a novel—it’s fastpaced,<br />

heavy on violent confrontations, and<br />

colored with an array of supporting characters,<br />

including a sympathetic SS officer, Karl<br />

Rink, who is the husband of a <strong>Jewish</strong> woman.<br />

One could complain about certain elements—the<br />

author’s knowledge of World<br />

War II history is a little weak (the Soviet<br />

Union, for instance, also invaded Poland in<br />

1939) and some of the sentences spoken by<br />

the very young sound contrived. Still, there’s<br />

no getting around what an astounding story<br />

this is. In the spirit of Gone With the Wind,<br />

this is a true tale of people caught up in the<br />

pulverizing sweep of history, as well as of survival<br />

under the most trying circumstances<br />

imaginable. DC<br />

REVIEWS<br />

THE GIRLS OF<br />

ROOM 28: FRIEND-<br />

SHIP, HOPE, AND<br />

SURVIVAL IN<br />

THERESIENSTADT<br />

Hanalore Brenner; John E. Woods and Shelley<br />

Frisch, trans.<br />

Schocken, 2009. 336 pp. $26.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8052-4244-7<br />

As librarian of the Holocaust Memorial<br />

and Tolerance Center in Glen Cove,<br />

NY, I have read every book about Theresiendstat<br />

in my library, but never have I been as<br />

moved, emotionally or intellectually, as by<br />

Hannelore Brenner’s book.<br />

We have in the U.S. our own second and<br />

third generation children of Survivors; Germany,<br />

too, has its counterpart, and Brenner is a<br />

great representative of it. Brenner, a print and<br />

broadcast journalist, was moved to produce a<br />

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Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 33


REVIEWS<br />

radio documentary on the history of the opera<br />

“Brundibar” when she was invited to join the<br />

survivors of Room 28’s annual reunion in<br />

Prague. She then embarked on a ten year journey,<br />

meeting, interviewing, befriending, and<br />

being accepted by the survivors. She spent years<br />

in research, weaving the stories of those adolescents<br />

around her central character, Helga Pollak,<br />

thus memorializing all the girls who did not survive.<br />

The girls formed a close group, influenced<br />

by the brilliant and caring counselors who guided<br />

them and introduced the concept of ma’agal<br />

(circle), a court system that encouraged the girls<br />

to be caring and considerate. Brenner observes<br />

that thanks to all the intellectuals and talented<br />

people gathered in one ghetto, and because they<br />

decided that these children would be educated<br />

and prepared for their “futures” by whoever had<br />

not been deported, the children became better<br />

educated than Christian children, whose education<br />

was perverted by Nazi dogma. With Brenner’s<br />

book, the reader becomes one with those<br />

girls, sharing their uncertainties but also, from<br />

time to time, their pleasures. MWP<br />

HERE, THERE<br />

ARE NO SARAH’S:<br />

A WOMAN’S<br />

COURAGEOUS<br />

FIGHT AGAINST<br />

THE NAZIS AND<br />

HER BITTERSWEET<br />

FULFILLMENT OF THE<br />

AMERICAN DREAM<br />

Sonia Shainwald Orbuch And Fred Rosenbaum<br />

RDR <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. 240 pp. $16.95 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-1571431301 (pbk.)<br />

The success of the film “Defiance,” the story<br />

of the Bielskis, who saved the lives of 1,200<br />

Jews in the forests of Belorussia, has ignited an<br />

interest about Jews who fought back. Critics have<br />

lamented the fact that the ranks of Jews who<br />

fought as partisans were few; they fear that the<br />

popularity of the film mitigates the real tragedy,<br />

that most Jews did not escape the murderous<br />

intentions of the Nazis to rid the world of Jews.<br />

Nevertheless, Jews did fight as partisans and<br />

the Bielskis were not the exception. This book is<br />

the story of Sonia Shainwald Orbuch, who<br />

escaped the roundup of Jews in Luboml, Poland,<br />

in the province of Volhynia, now part of<br />

Ukraine, between the two world wars. Alongside<br />

Luboml’s <strong>Jewish</strong> population were poor, uneducated<br />

Ukrainian peasants as well as a Polish<br />

minority. The town in the 1930’s had roughly<br />

7,000 people, about 4,000 of them Jews who<br />

worked mostly as artisans and merchants, and<br />

34 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

Autobiography and Memoir<br />

the center of <strong>Jewish</strong> life was Luboml’s Great Synagogue.<br />

All of that is gone today as the Nazis,<br />

with help from some in the local population,<br />

devastated the <strong>Jewish</strong> community.<br />

Sonia and her father survived because they<br />

were able to escape in time, thanks to the heroic<br />

efforts of a Ukrainian neighbor who guided<br />

them to the nearby forest region where they were<br />

able to join a Soviet partisan band. Not all partisan<br />

Otriads who fought the Nazis welcomed<br />

Jews who tried to join them. The Polish and<br />

Ukrainian partisan groups, for example, were,<br />

for the most part, anti-Semitic and hated Jews as<br />

mush as they did the Nazis. Once part of the<br />

Soviet band, Sonia, whose given name was<br />

Sarah, was told that “Here, there are no Sarah’s,<br />

you will be called Sonia.” The author recalls that<br />

“I couldn’t object and wasn’t even sure I wanted<br />

to. I already felt like a changed person, and the<br />

new Russian name fit my new life.”<br />

Of particular interest is Sonia’s description<br />

of what life was like for women in her partisan<br />

unit. There was much sexual harassment and<br />

even rape and, as she explains, “for that reason<br />

single females did tend to pick a defender, often<br />

a brawny laborer, the sort of person with whom<br />

they would likely not have had contact before<br />

the war. Not infrequently a refined middle class<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> girl would end up with an uneducated,<br />

hard drinking Slav.” She goes on to write that<br />

sex was commonplace, often followed by<br />

unwanted pregnancies and venereal disease.<br />

During the war, Sonia eventually lost three<br />

brothers, her mother , and two men she loved,<br />

but survived the war along with her father. She<br />

married a <strong>Jewish</strong> survivor, whom she frankly<br />

admits was not someone to whom she was readily<br />

attracted. Nevertheless, the marriage endured,<br />

and they found themselves in a displacement<br />

camp following the war, where they made<br />

money in the black market, and eventually emigrated<br />

to the U.S. This is a riveting book and a<br />

welcome addition to our understanding of how<br />

Jews who joined partisans band—at least those<br />

that welcomed Jews—survived the war. JF<br />

HOUND DOG: THE<br />

LEIBER AND STOLLER<br />

AUTOBIOGRAPHY<br />

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, with David Ritz<br />

Simon & Schuster, 2009. 322 pp. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4165-5938-2<br />

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were not only<br />

two of the most creative songwriters of the<br />

20th century, but also vital figures—along<br />

with fellow American Jews such as Benny<br />

Goodman, Jerry Wexler, and the Chess<br />

brothers—in the integration of American<br />

music and popular culture. Today, they are<br />

figures of nostalgia, perhaps known best as<br />

the songwriters whose music makes up the<br />

musical “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.” Back in the<br />

1950’s and early 1960’s, however, their writing<br />

not only catapulted Elvis Presley to<br />

worldwide fame, but also helped performers<br />

such as Joe Turner, Big Mama Thornton, The<br />

Coasters, and The Drifters make their mark<br />

with colorful and entertaining songs that<br />

crossed color lines, sometimes in rather daring<br />

fashion. “Kansas City,” “Stand by Me,”<br />

“Hound Dog,” and “Jailhouse Rock” are<br />

some of the most recognizable American<br />

songs ever.<br />

This dual autobiography essentially has<br />

Leiber and Stoller trading verses, alternating<br />

as they share the stories of their lives. This is<br />

an effective technique when they are telling<br />

the same story—as in their anecdotes about<br />

Presley and his over-the-top manager Colonel<br />

Parker—but a bit confusing when they are<br />

discussing different topics. Moreover, once<br />

they get past their heyday, the narrative goes<br />

a bit flat, becoming more on the order of<br />

standard celebrity fare. The book’s certainly<br />

not a bad one, but it will not have the place<br />

in my life that their best songs do. Appendices,<br />

index. DC<br />

I CHOOSE LIFE:<br />

TWO LINKED<br />

STORIES OF<br />

HOLOCAUST<br />

SURVIVAL AND<br />

REBIRTH<br />

Jerry L. Jennings and Sol and Goldie Finkelstein,<br />

with Joseph S. Finkelstein<br />

Xlibris, 2009. 142 pp. $29.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4415-0306-0<br />

With this book the reader gets three stories<br />

in one—two “befores” and one<br />

“after.” First, a Sol story, and then a Goldie<br />

story, but once married, their story is a single<br />

narrative. Both maintained unusual courage<br />

and conviction that they would survive.<br />

Goldie was very pretty and remarkably selfassured.<br />

When an SS guard gave her parents a<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


choice of which of their two daughters would<br />

be put on the train to a labor camp, Goldie<br />

made a “Sophie’s Choice” and volunteered to<br />

go while her sister remained behind with<br />

their parents. Ironically, Goldie, who was<br />

chosen to work in the camp office, survived;<br />

the rest of the family did not. Meanwhile, Sol<br />

and his brother and father were sent to Mauthausen.<br />

A daring young man, Sol maneuvered<br />

himself into a better position and<br />

became more able to withstand the fiendish<br />

practices of the Nazi guards. He later lost his<br />

father in a march. After the war ended, the<br />

couple met in Stuttgart and later emigrated to<br />

America—a new country, a new land, and a<br />

new place to test their strength, ingenuity,<br />

and marvelous attitude. Of course, HIAS<br />

helped, but placed them in a location and<br />

jobs in which they could not envision living<br />

in the future. Then, fortuitously, these<br />

sophisticated former Europeans found themselves<br />

in Vineland, New Jersey, where they<br />

became chicken farmers and the nucleus of a<br />

small <strong>Jewish</strong> community. This is a well-written<br />

account that makes use of wartime<br />

records that became available in 2007,<br />

enabling son Joseph Finkelstein to travel to<br />

Poland and, eventually, to learn the details of<br />

his grandfather’s, death in a hospital after liberation.<br />

He was also able to show his father an<br />

enlarged photo of a memorial in a cemetery<br />

with his grandfather’s name engraved on it.<br />

This is a lively, well written account with lots<br />

of photos that families want to accompany<br />

these memoirs, but it makes good reading for<br />

us, too. Primarily an adult book, its liveliness<br />

suits teen readers as well. MWP<br />

MY FATHER’S<br />

BONUS MARCH<br />

Adam Langer<br />

Spiegel & Grau, 2009. 229 pp. $26.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-385-52372-1<br />

Adam Langer has written a small, elegant<br />

book about his search for the interior<br />

life of his father. For most of the author’s life,<br />

his father had spoken of writing a book<br />

about a little-known historical event, the<br />

Bonus March. World War I veterans had<br />

been promised payment for their service dur-<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Autobiography and Memoir<br />

ing the war, which they would not receive for<br />

several years. But during the Great Depression,<br />

they marched on Washington demanding<br />

the money, fearing they would never live<br />

long enough to receive it. Mr. Langer uses<br />

this event and his search for his grandfather’s<br />

part in the Bonus March to research his family<br />

history and explore his relationship with<br />

his father.<br />

During the research process Langer realizes<br />

that his father was not always honest<br />

about his family history. He would sometimes<br />

embellish events or add facts. Why<br />

would his father do this? He was a respected<br />

doctor, highly intelligent and accomplished.<br />

This raises an interesting question—to what<br />

extent do we all construct our identities, and<br />

what part is truth and what part is myth. And<br />

is it the myth that really defines who we are?<br />

Langer leaves us with another question to<br />

ponder: how many of us really know our parents,<br />

their life’s dreams and disappointments,<br />

and how they find contentment and happiness?<br />

BA<br />

Sally Srok Friedes<br />

O <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. 212 pp. $19.95 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-1-84694-189-4 (pbk.)<br />

THE NEW JEW:<br />

AN UNEXPECTED<br />

CONVERSION<br />

When Sally, a Midwestern Catholic<br />

who hadn’t practiced her religion in<br />

years, met Michael, a <strong>Jewish</strong> New Yorker who<br />

hadn’t been inside a synagogue in decades,<br />

she didn’t expect that Judaism would become<br />

a part of her life in any significant way. Yet<br />

the first time she attended synagogue services<br />

with her new family, she found her heart<br />

filled with a deep spiritual longing.<br />

Ultimately, she found the connection and<br />

support she craved in converting to Judaism,<br />

something she never expected to do. This<br />

book is her warm, tender story, a tale told in<br />

the most personal terms. Unsentimental yet<br />

filled with small, endearing details such as<br />

how her <strong>Jewish</strong> mother-in-law helped her<br />

grow closer to her own mother, the story<br />

takes us on Sally’s ten-year journey from<br />

alienation to culture shock to inner searching<br />

and finally, happily, to Judaism.<br />

Memoir at its best reads like fiction, and<br />

this small book will find a comfortable home<br />

on the bookshelves of rabbis, converts and<br />

their families, those who are part of an interfaith<br />

marriage, and everyone who enjoys<br />

gaining that touch of wisdom only a good<br />

story can provide. LFB<br />

A SENSE OF PURPOSE:<br />

RECOLLECTIONS<br />

Suzy Eban<br />

Halban Publishers, 2008. 351 pp. $32.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1905-559114<br />

REVIEWS<br />

In this memoir Suzy Eban, wife of the great<br />

Israeli statesman Abba Eban, celebrates the<br />

exciting and challenging years just before and<br />

following the years of Israeli independence.<br />

She describes the difficult political realities of<br />

the time as the Middle East juggled the Suez<br />

Crisis and post-World War II <strong>Jewish</strong> immigrant<br />

conflicts. Groomed to play an important<br />

role in the struggle for Israeli independence,<br />

Abba and Suzy wend their diplomatic<br />

...beautifully written, intelligent, and<br />

comprehensive memoir...reward readers<br />

interested in a behind-the-scenes understanding<br />

of Israeli history and politics.<br />

way through their service to the United<br />

Nations and then as ambassadors for Israel to<br />

America.<br />

Eban discusses two pertinent items that<br />

get little attention elsewhere in current historical<br />

accounts. One is the role that wives of<br />

Israeli leaders played in helping their husbands<br />

in Israeli politics, such as Paula Ben<br />

Gurion and Vera Weizmann. Their diplomatic<br />

skills and astute sense of the necessities of<br />

the moment make for fascinating reading.<br />

The other item of specific note in this memoir<br />

is the author’s cogent understanding of<br />

how Israel has evolved from a nation sharing<br />

socialist and religious foundations into one<br />

that mixes those two elements with a rising<br />

modern, Western ideological way of understanding<br />

the nation and its relationship to the<br />

rest of the world.<br />

The Ebans, like all political families, made<br />

many sacrifices, including having to constant-<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 35


BOOK PROFILE<br />

FIGURES LIE, LIARS FIGURE<br />

By Noel N. Kriftcher<br />

These first books about the Bernard Madoff debacle begin to measure the<br />

magnitude and the human dimensions of Madoff's criminal enterprise.<br />

Andrew Kirtzman<br />

HarperCollins, 2009. 279 pp. $25.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-06-187076-7<br />

Sheryl Weinstein<br />

St. Martin’s Press, 2009. 224 pp. $23.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-312-61837-7<br />

Jerry Oppenheimer<br />

John Wiley & Sons, 2009. 256 pp. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-470-50498-7<br />

BETRAYAL: THE LIFE AND LIES<br />

OF BERNIE MADOFF<br />

MADOFF’S OTHER SECRET:<br />

LOVE, MONEY, BERNIE, AND ME<br />

MADOFF WITH THE MONEY<br />

ly move and uproot their children. However,<br />

Suzy Eban does not regret the choices she and<br />

her husband made. She cites the comments of<br />

peers and even opponents who realized after<br />

“Abba’s” death what a brilliant, talented man<br />

her husband was. This beautifully written,<br />

intelligent, and comprehensive memoir will<br />

reward readers interested in a behind-thescenes<br />

understanding of Israeli history and<br />

politics. DS<br />

36 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

SURVIVING<br />

Akira Ohiso and Ellie Ohiso<br />

Zinc Plate Press, 2008. 71 pp. $36.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-6152-4147-0<br />

Erin Arvedlund<br />

Portfolio, 2009. 310 pp. $25.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-59184-287-3<br />

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE:<br />

THE RISE AND FALL OF BERNIE MADOFF<br />

If only the walls on floors seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen of New York’s Lipstick<br />

Building, where Bernard Madoff had his offices, could talk! Then we might learn<br />

who abetted him in his Ponzi scheme and when these crimes began. These are the<br />

central questions in these first books about, in Jerry Oppenheimer’s assertion, “the<br />

most reviled thief who ever lived.”<br />

The disproportionate impact which l’affaire Madoff had on <strong>Jewish</strong> philanthropy<br />

and image continues to reverberate. Organizations such as Yeshiva University and<br />

Hadassah, and icons such as Elie Weisel, were caught up in this scandal. Thousands of<br />

ordinary investors who felt comfortable investing with someone they felt they could<br />

trust because someone with whom they shared meals and social evenings also trusted<br />

him were devastated. The reigning emotions for this community continue to be<br />

anger and financial ruin, loss of trust and embarrassment, which explains why these<br />

books may be of interest to <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World readers.<br />

Andrew Kirtzman examines Madoff’s life, from his teenage years to his arrest and<br />

sentencing. He focuses on the unremarkable life Madoff led, reflecting his assumption<br />

of opulence and excess through the words of some of his classmates, investors,<br />

and associates. The most compelling character he introduces to the reader is Harry<br />

Markopoulous, whose suspicions led him early on to tip off the Securities and<br />

Exchange Commission (SEC) to the likelihood that Madoff was a fraud and a crook,<br />

only to be “debriefed, thanked, and shown the door.” Kirtzman describes Madoff’s<br />

self-serving explanation, that he “was a good man who got into trouble late in his<br />

career and couldn’t get out of it,” but this was as fraudulent as the statements he<br />

issued to his investors. Kirtzman concludes that “the facts point to his launching his<br />

criminal operation when he was in his twenties,” fully fifty years earlier.<br />

The author’s talent as a reporter is evident in this excellent introduction to the<br />

human dimensions of the Madoff disaster. He reveals his revulsion for Madoff, particularly<br />

when he notes that the elderly clothing manufacturer Carl Shapiro treated him<br />

like a member of his own family: “Bernie preyed on that loyalty to help salvage his<br />

criminal enterprise” by soliciting additional funds even at the end, when he knew<br />

that there was virtually no chance that Shapiro would ever see his money again.<br />

Erin Arvedlund reaches a similar conclusion regarding the longevity of Madoff’s<br />

criminal enterprise in her book. She asks, “...was there a time when [his investment<br />

advisory business] wasn’t an outright fraud? Probably not.” This volume is more technical<br />

and sophisticated in its analysis of how the scheme functioned, how hedge<br />

This small but powerful book tells a story<br />

in deeply emotional terms, yet manages<br />

to follow a straightforward path that points<br />

directly at Judaic love, and by doing so not<br />

only reflects our own, but at the same time<br />

broadens and strengthens it. Akira wrote the<br />

words and his wife, Ellie, designed the pages,<br />

culminating in a book that is a pleasure to<br />

hold, read, look at, and absorb. Complete<br />

with a timeline that traces the roots of Akira’s<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


funds and the stock markets in general operate, and also how Madoff was able to<br />

gain the trust of his clients in so extraordinary a way. Regarding why so few potential<br />

investors applied due diligence before surrendering their money, she cites Len Fisher,<br />

author of Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life: “Some of his<br />

investors suspected that Madoff was cheating, but they continued to invest because<br />

they were benefiting from his cheating.” In other words, greed was the engine that<br />

propelled both Madoff and his investors, with disastrous results, although there were<br />

some potential investors who chose not to trust their money to Madoff.<br />

Arvedlund, an investigative reporter who wrote a now oft-quoted 2001 article<br />

about Madoff for Barron’s, shows how the SEC missed “twenty-eight red flags” that<br />

pointed to Madoff’s guilt when Markopolous first disclosed his belief “that Madoff<br />

Investment Securities LLC is the world’s largest Ponzi scheme.” She concludes that<br />

the SEC’s problem was its failure to employ “people who had been trained in finance<br />

or banking—those who knew how Wall Street ripped people off,” relying instead on<br />

lawyers, both those who were conscientious and those who were marking time until<br />

they could find better paying positions “as Wall Street attorneys.” Arvedlund reveals<br />

names and skillfully details just how widespread Madoff’s reach extended. This is a<br />

readable and interesting book.<br />

Jerry Oppenheimer’s treatment of Bernie Madoff is more colloquial. He attributes<br />

Bernie’s thievery dishonesty to his having learned his way “around the system—<br />

even when he was a young punk growing up in Queens.” Oppenheimer’s language is<br />

colorful, as when he recounts Madoff’s having been excused from his two-year Army<br />

Judaism back to his <strong>Jewish</strong> great-grandfather<br />

and down to his baby son, it takes the reader<br />

on a journey from the Russian pogroms of<br />

1911 to the birth of Boaz Jules Ohiso in New<br />

York City in 2006. Akira himself was born in<br />

1970, the child of interracial parents, his<br />

mother an Irish-Russian Jew, his father a<br />

Japanese immigrant. He converted to<br />

Judaism in 2003, a year before his marriage to<br />

a <strong>Jewish</strong> woman, finding himself at a spiritual<br />

crossroads that offered to both enhance and<br />

reinforce his beliefs, offering him the kind of<br />

Judaic nourishment he now lovingly passes<br />

on to his son. This book is the story of that<br />

journey. LFB<br />

BIOGRAPHY<br />

Seth Rogovoy<br />

Scribner, 2009. 336 pp. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4165-5915-3<br />

BOB DYLAN:<br />

PROPHET, MYSTIC,<br />

POET<br />

Even with all the books that have been<br />

written about Bob Dylan, it’s great to<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

have one that takes this approach. Seth<br />

Rogovoy’s gushing biographical work looks at<br />

the extraordinary singer-songwriter through a<br />

distinctly <strong>Jewish</strong> lens, placing him squarely in<br />

the prophetic tradition as he mines Dylan’s<br />

songs for references to <strong>Jewish</strong> texts. While<br />

acknowledging that Dylan’s songs also draw<br />

from concerns about politics, social issues,<br />

and identity, as well as his sometimes tortured<br />

love life, Rogovoy finds likely <strong>Jewish</strong> sources<br />

Even with all the books that have been<br />

written about Bob Dylan, it’s great to<br />

have one that takes this approach.<br />

for lyrics in many of his songs, even locating<br />

a possible source for the song title “Idiot<br />

Wind” in the Talmud. This is no easy task,<br />

particularly given that Dylan has, for decades,<br />

proved to be a most unreliable source of<br />

information about himself and his work.<br />

Rogovoy can’t help but deal with Dylan’s<br />

Christian period of the late 1970’s–early<br />

1980’s, but even here he manages to point<br />

out that Dylan always maintained a connection<br />

to the traditions of his birth. One can<br />

fault the author for some heavy-handed<br />

observations on politics, other musicians, and<br />

even on the definition of tikkun olam, but the<br />

depth of his research is marvelous and his<br />

expertise on Dylan’s music (both his landmark<br />

songs and many of his obscure ones) is<br />

superb. This is a worthwhile addition to the<br />

growing library on one of America’s most<br />

important cultural figures. Bibliography. DC<br />

BOOK PROFILE<br />

commitment because of “an ulcer—real, imagined or invented,” concluding with, “For<br />

Bernie, who would cheat thousands of investors out of billions and even cheat on his<br />

wife, it was no surprise that he would also successfully rob Uncle Sam out of two<br />

years of his life.” Oppenheimer covers familiar ground, and focuses attention on the<br />

people who knew and dealt with Madoff, but as entertaining as his language is,<br />

Oppenheimer offers no insights into Madoff’s motives or methods, beyond what is<br />

apparent from the nature of his crimes. This is strictly a quick-and-easy read.<br />

Sheryl Weinstein, former chief financial officer of Hadassah, has written a tell-all<br />

confessional that is neither salacious nor insightful. Had the two main characters been<br />

fictional creations, one would call them one-dimensional. We learn that Bernie was a<br />

middle-child who did not speak kindly of his older sister. He has facial tics and Weinstein<br />

believes that he suffers from Tourette’s syndrome or some other neurological malady.<br />

And he is not well-endowed, sexually. So what? For what reason, other than to earn back<br />

money which she had lost from her personal account, did she feel compelled to write<br />

this sophomoric book? Weinstein tells us she “had been married a long time and felt<br />

conflicted about being unfaithful.” And when she and Bernie ate in the restaurant at one<br />

of the hotels at which they had their trysts, “Bernie taught me about Dijonnaise sauce<br />

that night.” Really. I don’t think there will be a movie of this book anytime soon.<br />

Noel N. Kriftcher is a professor and administrator at Polytechnic Institute of New<br />

York University, having previously served as superintendent of New York City’s<br />

Brooklyn and Staten Island High Schools district.<br />

CONTEMPORARY JEWISH LIFE<br />

AND PRACTICE<br />

THE ART OF<br />

GIVING: WHERE<br />

THE SOUL MEETS<br />

A BUSINESS PLAN<br />

Charles Bronfman and Jeffrey Solomon;<br />

James Wolfensohn, fwd.<br />

Jossey-Bass, 2009. 276 pp. $29.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0470501467<br />

This excellent guide can help donors<br />

strategically plan and implement their<br />

philanthropic support to organizations<br />

involved in issues important to them. They<br />

begin with the donor and move on to viewing<br />

the recipient organization as a "partner." Following<br />

their discussion of the organization,<br />

they examine the meaning of the "gift." They<br />

end their presentation with an extensive list<br />

of resources for additional information and<br />

guidance.<br />

The authors combine ideas and concepts<br />

with personal stories that offer the richness of<br />

their dual perspectives as philanthropist<br />

(Charles Bronfman) and professional (Jeffrey<br />

Solomon). Their presentation is valuable not<br />

only for those seeking advice on contributing<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 37


BOOK PROFILE<br />

THE PSYCHO-RESILIENT JEWISH SOUL<br />

By Audrey Freshman<br />

There is a fine but important literary line between a memoir and a narcissistic<br />

rant. We inhabit the world of the author and are asked to embrace his or her<br />

battle against internal and external demons. The distinction is between the reader<br />

joining with the subject in search of larger truth or falling into a voyeuristic journey<br />

to nowhere. Three new books engage us at different levels in the struggles of <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

women coping with emotional abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder, and bipolar<br />

disorder.<br />

but also for not-for-profit professionals seeking<br />

contributions. SGD<br />

Harold S. Kushner<br />

Knopf, 2009. 173 pp. $23.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-307-26664-4<br />

HOUSE RULES: A MEMOIR<br />

Rachel Sontag<br />

Harper Perennial, 2008. 261 pp. $13.99 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-0-06-134123-6 (pbk.)<br />

In House Rules, Rachel Sontag is asked, “So, who’s the monster?” She replies, “My<br />

father,” I said. “He plays the leading monster.” In this fast-paced, well-written<br />

memoir, the nuance of Sontag’s emotional abuse as a child reared in an upper-middle-class<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> home by a physician father and social-worker mother is reenacted.<br />

Sontag astutely notes that the plight of the abused child derives from “occupying<br />

the center of someone’s universe,” in her case, her father’s. Her sister, in contrast, is<br />

the neglected child whose role it is to remain safely invisible. Both siblings are impris-<br />

CONQUERING<br />

FEAR: LIVING BOLDLY<br />

IN AN UNCERTAIN<br />

WORLD<br />

This book, by design, refers to a litany of<br />

fear-provoking events, from traffic fatalities<br />

to 9/11 to “a genetic time bomb hidden in<br />

our DNA,” to the end of humankind, and of<br />

course, growing old and our own death. Yes,<br />

there is plenty to fear in life, and in this thin<br />

volume, Kushner offers inspiration and practical<br />

advice gleaned from a variety of religious<br />

and secular sources.<br />

38 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

Each chapter tackles one or more sources<br />

of fear. In the chapter on “Job Loss and Loss<br />

of Love,” Kushner points out that having a job<br />

and having a relationship both make you feel<br />

valued. When either is lost, feelings of rejection<br />

follow. Though it’s natural to fear losing<br />

these things, it’s critical not to let fear interfere<br />

with your ability to cherish what you have. If<br />

your significant other leaves you, don’t let fear<br />

of rejection prevent you from looking for a<br />

new love. If you lose your job but have loved<br />

ones to support you emotionally, if not financially,<br />

revel in that. But, if you lose both—not<br />

an unheard of phenomenon given our battered<br />

economy and high divorce rate—conquering<br />

fear is somewhat harder.<br />

Around the same length as Rabbi Kushner’s<br />

most famous book, Why Bad Things Happen<br />

to Good People, Conquering Fear pivots<br />

around the same theological pillar—God<br />

doesn’t cause the things that we fear but can<br />

be a source of hope. It’s a quick and inspirational<br />

read that certainly puts fear into the<br />

right perspective. But it doesn’t seem destined<br />

to have the same impact as Why Bad<br />

Things Happen. RKL<br />

oned by an ineffectual mother who fails to protect. Sontag struggles to set herself<br />

free, only to learn that she has internalized some of the evil through identification<br />

with the aggressor. She enables the audience to palpably sense the subtle divide<br />

between “normal” parental negativity and emotional punishment. We are rewarded<br />

for our efforts through Sontag’s resilience. Sontag leaves the reader recognizing<br />

traces of her tale within their own life and those around them.<br />

Abby Sher<br />

Scribner, 2009. 320 pp. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4165-8945-7<br />

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN: MEMOIR<br />

OF A GIRL WHO COULDN’T STOP<br />

PRAYING (AMONG OTHER THINGS)<br />

Amen, Amen, Amen is a sad revelation written in a humorous style by improvisational<br />

comedienne Abby Sher. For Sher, the monsters that occupy her universe<br />

reside within and find destructive expression in obsession-compulsion, eating disorders,<br />

and substance abuse. Sher portrays the complex intersection between Judaism<br />

and obsessive ritualism. She realizes that “...making lists and repeating things were a<br />

large part of being <strong>Jewish</strong>, too.” However, this work does not lend psychological<br />

insight and instead the pages filled with Kaddish and other prayers become taxing<br />

recitations to be read alongside song lyrics, food lists, exercise protocols, and testaments<br />

to self-mutilation. We are left to ponder Sher’s predilection for shredding her<br />

dinner napkins along with her most primary personal and professional relationships.<br />

This book captures the intractability of chronic anxiety in the face of loss (both real<br />

DO ONE NICE THING:<br />

LITTLE THINGS<br />

YOU CAN DO TO<br />

MAKE THE WORLD<br />

A LOT NICER<br />

Debbie Tenzer<br />

Crown Publishers, 2009. 241 pp. $20.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-307-45380-8<br />

Stop worrying about corruption, war, ethnic<br />

hatred, crime, and climate change,<br />

counsels Debbie Tenzer. Her recommendation—do<br />

a nice thing, and do it once a week.<br />

That message has travelled so far and fast,<br />

she claims, that, thanks to her, people all over<br />

the world are performing acts of kindness on<br />

schedule.<br />

Tenzer has written a warm, proselytizing<br />

handbook that covers a whole range of things<br />

people can do who want to make a genuine<br />

but limited commitment of time and money.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


and imagined). This memoir could be a source of identification for those suffering from obsessive compulsive<br />

disorder and might also be suited for case study material in a psychology seminar.<br />

Her ideas are inexpensive and useful, like<br />

sending shaving equipment to homeless shelters;<br />

or sitting with a friend recovering from<br />

surgery so his wife can run an errand. A few<br />

short accounts of kind works given and<br />

received are enclosed. By the end, when the<br />

author calls “Join us!” readers may well be<br />

moved to follow.<br />

High school clubs, service groups, and<br />

religious organizations will find this a helpful<br />

tool for spreading good will. Addresses are<br />

added when necessary. JW<br />

DRIVEN TO<br />

DARKNESS: JEWISH<br />

ÉMIGRÉ DIRECTORS<br />

AND THE RISE<br />

OF FILM NOIR<br />

Vincent Brook<br />

Rutgers University Press, 2009. 285 pp. $26.95 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8135-4630-8 (pbk.)<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE: A MEMOIR<br />

BOOK PROFILE<br />

Nancy Bachrach<br />

Knopf, 2009. 234 pp. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-307-27090-0<br />

The Center of the Universe immediately captivates with a narrative that is comprised of mystery, drama, comedy,<br />

and tragedy and that elicits the full gamut of human response. It is the tale of Nancy Bachrach, whose<br />

mother’s bipolar disorder dominates her life. Bachrach, an advertising executive, is suddenly called back to the U.S.<br />

from Paris, where she is trying to cultivate a cultural taste for antiperspirant amongst the French. She returns to<br />

deal with a parental catastrophe that could have been written by Oliver Sachs. We are introduced to her mother<br />

as “...Norma Desmond, descending the staircase in Sunset Boulevard, eyes wide and frozen, getting ready for her<br />

close-up. She is Salome, stripping the veil off the face of the cosmos. She is my mother, Lola Hornstein. And she is<br />

crazy.” Lola’s story can fill a page and fortunately, Bachrach “began taking notes for a story about my mother the<br />

minute I could write.” Bachrach masters the literary style of the memoir with inspiring prose. This book will transcend<br />

a popular audience seeking an absorbing tale of madness in a <strong>Jewish</strong> home in Providence, Rhode Island, to<br />

those who will be educationally entertained by the folly of the neuropsychiatric universe.<br />

Audrey Freshman, PhD , LCSW, CASAC, is a psychotherapist with a private practice located in Rockville Centre,<br />

NY. Dr. Freshman is the associate director of an outpatient substance abuse agency and the assistant editor<br />

of the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions.<br />

Vincent Brook argues that the development<br />

of film noir was fundamentally<br />

determined by a relatively small group of <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

émigré directors who brought to Hollywood<br />

not only an intimate working knowledge<br />

of German expressionism but also a<br />

distinctly <strong>Jewish</strong> outlook that shaped the<br />

basic traits of the genre.<br />

While Brook provides valuable insights<br />

into the careers of such fascinating directors<br />

as Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder (and his older<br />

brother, the largely neglected W. Lee Wilder),<br />

Robert Siodmak, and Otto Preminger, this<br />

academic study raises more questions than it<br />

answers and ultimately feels too strained to be<br />

supportable.<br />

In his eagerness to prove what he dubs<br />

“the <strong>Jewish</strong> émigré noir thesis,” Brook identifies<br />

a number of markers of “<strong>Jewish</strong>ness” that<br />

will strike many readers as preposterous,<br />

offensive, or both. That a fascination with the<br />

femme fatale is an inherently <strong>Jewish</strong> trait, for<br />

example, will come as news to readers familiar<br />

with Homer’s Circe, Shakespeare’s Cleopatra,<br />

and Margaret Mitchell’s Scarlett O’Hara.<br />

And maintaining that multiple flashback as a<br />

narrative technique derives from the<br />

hermeneutic method of the Talmud verges on<br />

the absurd. Virtually anything, of course, may<br />

be argued, but that does not guarantee that<br />

the argument will be convincing or even<br />

plausible. BB<br />

EVERYTHING IS<br />

GOD: THE RADICAL<br />

PATH OF NONDUAL<br />

JUDAISM<br />

Jay Michaelson<br />

Trumpeter <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. 276 pp. $18.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-59030-671-0<br />

REVIEWS<br />

It seems to be a core belief among many<br />

Jews—and people from other monothestic<br />

faiths, as well—that God is an entity entirely<br />

separate from ourselves. This type of dualistic<br />

thinking holds that we are souls down here<br />

watched over by a Supreme Being who resides<br />

somewhere up there.<br />

In this compelling book, one that jolts us<br />

from such an ego-centered illusion of separateness,<br />

Jay Michaelson takes us on a fascinating<br />

magical mystery tour to a different place of<br />

knowing, one where there are not seven<br />

degrees of separation between us and God.<br />

Instead, God is presented as a spiritual<br />

energy that is part and parcel of all of us—a<br />

holy light which surrounds, illuminates, and<br />

imbues everything, from the molecules of the<br />

page you are now reading to every synapse in<br />

our brains.<br />

Michaelson, an innovative writer and<br />

teacher of spirituality, Kabbalah, and meditation<br />

as well as a columnist for the Huffington<br />

Post, the Forward, Tikkun, and other publications,<br />

tackles the enormous task of convincing<br />

his readers of this truth. He does so convincingly,<br />

presenting lofty Kabbalistic ideas<br />

and complex theological texts to support his<br />

position in a down-to-earth manner.<br />

In the course of doing so, the author presents<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong>, Buddhist, postmodern, and even<br />

pop cultural sources to demonstrate that such<br />

a nondualistic view of God is not a new radical<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> view of the Creator but, rather, one<br />

which for centuries has been a closely-held<br />

secret among the <strong>Jewish</strong> mystics known as<br />

Kabbalists.<br />

Continued from Page 42<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 39


COOKBOOKS<br />

Tal Ronnen<br />

William Morrow, 2009. 240 pp. $29.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-06-1874338<br />

THE CONSCIOUS COOK:<br />

DELICIOUS MEATLESS<br />

RECIPES THAT WILL<br />

CHANGE THE WAY<br />

YOU EAT<br />

Stylish, innovative, and totally vegan, Tal Ronnen’s<br />

creative dishes have all the fresh flavor<br />

and satisfaction of contemporary cuisine. In<br />

developing his vegan recipes, Ronnen, a trained<br />

chef and restaurant consultant, demands the<br />

same variety and nutritional value that he<br />

enjoyed when he ate a meat-based diet.<br />

Ronnen, who designed Oprah Winfrey’s<br />

vegan regimen, can tempt any appetite with<br />

dishes like Artichoke and Oyster Mushroom Rockefeller,<br />

Peppercorn-encrusted Portobello Fillets with<br />

Yellow Tomato Béarnaise and Mashed Potatoes, and<br />

Mediterranean Chickpea Wrap. To supplement his<br />

own recipes, Ronnen has invited four guest chefs to<br />

prepare original dishes from their restaurants. For<br />

Ronnen and his fellow chefs, much of the pleasure<br />

of food is in the preparation, and Ronnen encourages<br />

readers to cook with friends, a good social and<br />

culinary suggestion as many of his recipes take some<br />

time and effort.<br />

Ronnen admits to being a bit of a crusader for animal-free food, and<br />

HEARTY LENTIL SOUP<br />

This rustic winter soup was a real favorite of my<br />

mother’s when she was a little girl. I’m not sure that<br />

she was aware that lentils are naturally low in fat, high<br />

in fiber, and rich in protein—she just loved the taste!<br />

I like to make this with red lentils, as they give the<br />

soup a wonderful color, but green lentils can be used<br />

instead, if desired.<br />

PAREVE: contains no meat or dairy products/can be<br />

made in advance/can be frozen up to 1 month<br />

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes<br />

COOKING TIME: 45 minutes<br />

SERVES: 6 to 8<br />

2 tablespoons vegetable oil<br />

2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped coarsely<br />

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped coarsely<br />

2 celery stalks, chopped finely<br />

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped coarsely<br />

7 cups hot vegetable stock<br />

PINE NUT GARDEIN<br />

This dish uses Gardein “chicken,” a great tasting<br />

and high-protein product that is a great transitional<br />

option for people new to vegetarian cuisine. You can<br />

find it in the frozen and fresh sections of your local<br />

grocery store. Kale cuts the richness of the sauce and<br />

the “meat” just enough.<br />

For the chicken:<br />

1 cup pine nuts, toasted<br />

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour<br />

5 large basil leaves, cut into chiffonade<br />

4 Gardein breasts, thawed<br />

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper<br />

4 tablespoons canola oil<br />

For the lobster mushroom beurre blanc:<br />

Sea salt<br />

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil<br />

2 shallots, minced<br />

1 1⁄2 cups dried red lentils, rinsed<br />

Two 14 ounce cans tomatoes chopped with juice<br />

Salt and freshly ground black pepper<br />

6 to 8 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, for garnish<br />

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over<br />

medium-low heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and<br />

potato, and sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.<br />

2. Add the vegetable stock, lentils, and tomatoes.<br />

Salt and pepper to taste.<br />

3. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to<br />

a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 40 minutes.<br />

Adjust seasonings, if necessary.<br />

4. Transfer to large, individual soup bowls. Garnish<br />

the bowls with parsley sprigs and serve hot.<br />

From The <strong>Jewish</strong> Mama’s Kitchen by Denise Phillips.<br />

Copyright © 2009 Octopus Publishing Group Ltd.<br />

Reprinted by permission of Octopus <strong>Book</strong>s USA<br />

1 pound lobster mushrooms, cut into brunoise<br />

1/2 cup dry white wine<br />

1/2 cup regular Cashew Cream<br />

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes<br />

8 tablespoons Earth Balance, cut into<br />

tablespoon-sized pieces<br />

Juice of 1 lemon<br />

1 tablespoon minced fresh chives<br />

Freshly ground black pepper<br />

ABOUT GARDEIN: Gardein, the protein in this<br />

recipe, looks and tastes like chicken but contains no<br />

animal or dairy ingredients. It has a savory taste and<br />

authentic texture and is made from a blend of vegetables<br />

and grains—soy, wheat, ancient grains, peas,<br />

beets, and carrots, among others.<br />

From The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes<br />

that will Change the Way You Eat, Tal Ronnen, published<br />

by William Morrow<br />

The Conscious Cook presents the ethical and health arguments<br />

for veganism. However, the array of beautifully<br />

presented and constructed dishes in this lavishly illustrated<br />

book is the best argument for trying Ronnen’s cusine.<br />

He also includes much helpful information on equipment<br />

and ingredients, from greens to vegan products.<br />

An added value for the kosher cook is the flexibility of<br />

totally animal-free recipes that can supplement any<br />

meal. Full color throughout, seasonal menus, index. MLW<br />

THE JEWISH<br />

MAMA’S KITCHEN<br />

Denise Phillips<br />

Octopus Publishing Group, 2009. 160 pp. $12.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-84601-341-6<br />

Iwould have liked to serve the beautiful photograph<br />

of Denise Phillips’s Mother-in-<br />

Law’s Boiled Gefilte fish as a tempting Erev<br />

Shabbat appetizer, but whereas photos won’t<br />

do, the actual preparation will, in a distinct<br />

way. The charming photographs are of a family<br />

in the kitchen busily preparing all the<br />

goodies. The recipes are excellent examples of<br />

home prepared victuals and I know the aroma<br />

and presentation will draw you to the table.<br />

There are “handwritten” hints scattered<br />

throughout to encourage you.


JEWISH SLOW<br />

COOKER RECIPES<br />

Laura Frankel<br />

John Wiley & Sons, 2009. 244 pp. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-470-26089-0<br />

Laura Frankel, the executive chef of<br />

Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant in the (<strong>Jewish</strong>)<br />

Spertus Museum in Chicago, calls her<br />

slow cooker her “Shabbat miracle machine.”<br />

The busy person will make the cooker a<br />

close friend at any time of day or night,<br />

Shabbat or not.<br />

Unique and delectable dishes along with<br />

inspiring menus energize one to read the<br />

book and start “slow cooking.” The Sabbath<br />

Cholent with Kishke is a mouth-watering<br />

dish in the Eastern European tradition; equally<br />

tempting is the Moroccan equivalent, Dafina<br />

with Moroccan Rice Dumpling. The home<br />

chef is guided with a sure hand in preparing<br />

scrumptious desserts such as the unusual and<br />

world-spanning Chocolate-Ancho Chile Pudding<br />

Cake with Sparkling Sabayon, or sauces<br />

such as the tangy Latin-inspired Mole<br />

Poblano. Yes, the kosher cook should go ahead<br />

and buy a few long lasting slow cookers or<br />

inserts. It will be well worth the expense.<br />

Through the years, I have prepared dishes<br />

overnight in my oven, which I call “cooking<br />

while you sleep.” Now I want to try Laura<br />

Frankel’s Vegetarian Chili, Chicken with Rice,<br />

Senegalese Peanut Soup, Mashed Sweet Potatoes,<br />

Simple Grits, and Lamb Tagine among<br />

other fascinating offerings.<br />

GARLICKY POT ROAST<br />

Laura Frankel holds your hand in the more complicated recipes<br />

Makes 6 to 8 servings<br />

Something magical seems to happen when this<br />

dish cooks for a long time—the meat becomes fragrant<br />

and the garlic becomes caramelized and sweet.<br />

The “gravy” that results is so delicious that I often<br />

find one of my kids hanging around the kitchen with<br />

bread in hand to sop it up. The addition of the gingersnaps<br />

to the dish might seem odd, but they add a<br />

lot of flavor and help thicken the gravy.<br />

The roast can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator<br />

for 3 days, or frozen for 1 month. To reheat the<br />

pot roast, place the meat and gravy in a saucepan.<br />

Add enough chicken stock to moisten the meat, usually<br />

only about 1⁄4 cup. Cover and cook on low heat<br />

until heated through.<br />

Alongside the mouth-watering Potato Salad with Lemon Mayonnaise<br />

recipe, we read, “Mama says: To save curdled mayonnaise, gradually<br />

add one egg yolk while whisking the mayonnaise constantly.”<br />

The fare reflects the traditions of<br />

Eastern European, Sephardic, and the<br />

cuisine of Israel as well as modern <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

cooking everywhere.<br />

For Purim, “Fritlach” are also featured,<br />

which Ms. Phillips explains “is<br />

the generic Yiddish word for anything<br />

fried...Resembling half moons, these<br />

fragile golden bubbles are meant to represent<br />

Haman’s ears (Hamans Ohren).”<br />

The Hamantaschen with Apple are a<br />

delectable twist on the popular pastry.<br />

For the Marinade<br />

3 tablespoons chopped garlic (about 4 large cloves)<br />

1⁄4 cup light brown sugar<br />

1⁄4 cup olive oil, plus extra for browning the roast<br />

1⁄2 cup balsamic vinegar<br />

2 tablespoons tomato paste<br />

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper<br />

One 3- to 5-pound chuck roast, fat trimmed<br />

Olive oil<br />

For the Sauce<br />

2 large Spanish onions, chopped<br />

6 garlic cloves, chopped<br />

1 cup dark beer such as Guinness or Aventinus<br />

1 whole head of Roasted Garlic<br />

2 cups chicken stock<br />

1 cup crumbled gingersnaps (about 15 small cookies;<br />

store-bought are fine)<br />

1⁄4 cup tomato paste<br />

Suggested accompaniments<br />

grits, mashed potatoes<br />

COOKBOOKS<br />

1. Marinate the Roast: In a bowl large enough<br />

to hold the roast, stir together the chopped garlic,<br />

brown sugar, olive oil, vinegar, tomato paste, and<br />

1 tablespoon each salt and pepper. Add the roast<br />

and turn it to coat on all sides. Cover the bowl and<br />

marinate for at least 3 hours, or overnight in the<br />

refrigerator.<br />

2. Place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Lightly<br />

coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Remove<br />

the roast from the marinade and pat dry. Discard the<br />

marinade. Lightly season the roast with salt and pepper.<br />

Brown the meat on all sides, about 7 minutes per<br />

side. Set aside the roast but do not clean the pan.<br />

3. Preheat a 6 1⁄2-quart slow cooker to High.<br />

4. Make the Sauce: Add the onions to the sauté<br />

pan and cook until brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the<br />

chopped garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, until<br />

the garlic is very fragrant and has softened slightly; do<br />

not let the garlic brown. Add the beer. Scrape up the<br />

browned bits with a wooden spoon or spatula. Transfer<br />

the mixture to the slow cooker insert.<br />

5. Place the roast and any collected juices in the<br />

insert. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skin and<br />

into the insert. Add the stock, gingersnaps, and tomato<br />

paste. Stir together. Cover and cook the roast on High<br />

for 7 to 8 hours, until it can be pierced easily with a fork.<br />

6. Remove the roast from the cooker and keep<br />

warm. Strain the sauce before serving. Cut the roast<br />

into large chunks and serve hot with your choice of<br />

accompaniment. Pass the sauce.<br />

From <strong>Jewish</strong> Slow Cooker, Laura Frankel,<br />

published by Wiley.<br />

and guides you with her knowledge and experience. The <strong>Jewish</strong> Slow<br />

Cooker will bring out the dormant 5-star chef in you. DGL<br />

This reviewer was pleased to see the instructions for Goulash<br />

with caraway seeds as part of the plan. What could be better than<br />

these pieces of chuck steak, redolent of paprika, served on a plate of<br />

noodles, or rice, or potatoes, or just<br />

by itself?<br />

Ms. Phillips runs her own cooking<br />

school in London, has written regular<br />

columns for <strong>Jewish</strong> newspapers in<br />

New York and Toronto, and has hosted<br />

a radio show.<br />

Be ready to celebrate with Denise<br />

Phillips and thus in many ways with<br />

her Booba and family, whose voices<br />

are lovingly recreated in this book.<br />

Index, glossary. DGL<br />

Photography by © Joff Lee from The <strong>Jewish</strong> Mama’s Kitchen


COOKBOOKS<br />

Marcy Goldman<br />

Whitecap <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. 403 pp. $26.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-77050-003-7<br />

A TREASURY OF JEWISH HOLIDAY BAKING:<br />

THE 10 TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION<br />

We all have friends whom we see often and others with whom<br />

we have not been in contact for weeks, months, or years—but<br />

the relationship is still vibrant and can be rekindled at any moment.<br />

That is precisely the feeling I have each time I pick up Marcy Gold-<br />

Continued from Page 39<br />

And while many traditional Jews, baby<br />

boomers or older, might balk at such a shakeup<br />

in their thinking, the author’s language of<br />

oneness is certain to resonate with a younger<br />

generation of spiritual seekers who are more<br />

open to a contemporary <strong>Jewish</strong> culture that<br />

includes writers like Michaelson, independent<br />

prayer communities, Buddhist Jews, and<br />

a growing number of non-denominational<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> performers such as Matisyahu and the<br />

Balkan Beat Box who are creating new forms<br />

of music.<br />

Everything Is God is a mystical Pandora’s<br />

box. Open the book and out pops a genie<br />

who may very well transform a reader’s cos-<br />

a call to open our eyes to a new<br />

way of thinking about God; it is also<br />

filled with practical information about<br />

how this non-dualistic way of approaching<br />

God can improve our everyday<br />

lives and even better the world.<br />

mic view. But the book is more than simply a<br />

call to open our eyes to a new way of thinking<br />

about God; it is also filled with practical<br />

information about how this non-dualistic<br />

way of approaching God can improve our<br />

everyday lives and even better the world.<br />

Religion, suggests the author, is not about<br />

belief, but love. Meditation is not about special<br />

states of mind, but learning to accept<br />

everything in life—including suffering, pain,<br />

and injustice—as God. It is also, Michaelson<br />

argues, about involving oneself in social<br />

action and social justice, which is impossible<br />

to ignore if we truly understand that Everything<br />

(and, thus, everybody) is God.<br />

42 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

Everything Is God is both a scholarly work<br />

(Michaelson is completing his Ph.D. at<br />

Hebrew University)—and, at the same time,<br />

an easy-to-understand approach to the subject<br />

of non-dual Judaism. LS<br />

GETTING TO<br />

THE HEART OF<br />

INTERFAITH: THE<br />

EYE-OPENING,<br />

HOPE-FILLED<br />

FRIENDSHIP OF A<br />

PASTOR, A RABBI<br />

AND A SHEIKH<br />

Pastor Don Mackenzie, Rabbi Ted Falcon,<br />

and Sheikh Jamal Rahman<br />

Skylight Paths Publishing, 2009. 183 pp. $16.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-59473-263-8<br />

These three authors reflect the hopes of so<br />

many people throughout the world.<br />

When will we learn to respect and even transcend<br />

our religious differences in a way that<br />

ends war and division? How can we mature in<br />

our faith through exposure to other religions<br />

without losing or demeaning our own? These<br />

authors courageously address those who are<br />

indifferent or even opposed to such intercommunication.<br />

Each spiritual leader shares his<br />

personal story of learning tolerance through<br />

meeting and understanding similarities, and<br />

discusses what he wants others to know about<br />

his faith that will yield a sharing spirit. No<br />

topic is off-limits, particularly the ones that<br />

normally add to dissension rather than unity.<br />

The book concludes with discussion questions<br />

that are designed to produce meaningful<br />

learning, sharing, appreciation of all<br />

man’s books. This friend is always true, sound, and almost a family<br />

member. She never fails me. Her breads, her cakes, her photos, her<br />

hints, her encouragement, her cookies, her tartlets, and her guiding<br />

spirit are all there. This time, in the 10 th Anniversary Edition, she has<br />

added a new bonus chapter to her baking wonders, reflecting her<br />

“savory cooking.”<br />

Each year, our family prepares her famous “My Trademark, Most<br />

Requested, Absolutely Magnificent Caramel Matzoh Crunch” which<br />

she and we call “sublime.” Another popular seder dessert is the “Mock<br />

Chestnut Torte” which, needless to say, contains no chestnuts.<br />

Go ahead, try the challahs, the varied hamantaschens, the coffee<br />

cakes, the cholent, and anything in the tome and you will hear only<br />

“oohs and ahs” from your admiring tasters.<br />

Goldman, who has been nominated for a Julia Child Cookbook<br />

Award, is a professional pastry chef and the creator of BetterBaking.com.<br />

Index; source guide for equipment, tools, and ingredients; metric conversion<br />

chart. DGL<br />

faiths, and deepening of one’s own faith as<br />

well. DS<br />

JEWS, GOD, AND<br />

VIDEOTAPE:<br />

RELIGION AND<br />

MEDIA IN AMERICA<br />

Jeffrey Shandler<br />

New York University Press, 2009. 352 pp. $23.00 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 9780814740682 (pbk.)<br />

A mid-20th century TV, complete with<br />

rabbit ear antennae, sits swathed in an<br />

ethereal green light. The only image filling<br />

its rounded screen is a closeup of a sheet of<br />

matzoh. This installation by artist Melissa<br />

Shiff adorns the cover of Jeffrey Shandler’s<br />

Jews, God, and Videotape, and suggests that<br />

the subject matter will be scholarly, deconstructive,<br />

and focused on the medium as<br />

much as the message. Thankfully, for the<br />

general reader, this is not the case. Instead,<br />

Shandler delivers a series of interesting<br />

essays on varied areas of American <strong>Jewish</strong> life<br />

sharing only some connection with modern<br />

media.<br />

Shandler sheds light on forgotten trends<br />

such as cantorial music in the early 20 th century,<br />

as well as <strong>Jewish</strong> themes on mainstream<br />

American radio in the 50’s, the phenomenon<br />

of bar mitzvah videos, and the use of media<br />

and the Internet by the Chabad movement.<br />

His writing is clear, well-researched, and<br />

thoughtful. Illustrations. JHB<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


JUDAISM: A WAY<br />

OF BEING<br />

David Gelernter<br />

Yale University Press, 2009. 248 pp. $26.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-300-15192-3<br />

Despite the fact that Judaism has survived<br />

three thousand years—“the senior<br />

nation of the Western world”—today American<br />

Jews are fast disappearing. David Gelernter<br />

believes the reason is that most Jews see a<br />

fractured Judaism—a set of rituals, a history, a<br />

culture—and fail to grasp the grand scheme<br />

and underlying ideas of Judaism. In this brief<br />

but intellectually packed book, Gelernter<br />

attempts to present Judaism as a total structure,<br />

to begin a Torat ha-lev, the Torah of the<br />

mind and heart that can lead to understanding<br />

the pressing questions of human existence.<br />

A professor of computer science at Yale,<br />

Gelernter is also an artist, novelist, and contributing<br />

editor to the Weekly Standard. He<br />

brings to this deeply felt book the full impact<br />

of his understanding of literature, science, art,<br />

philosophy, and Christianity as well as his<br />

broad knowledge of Judaism.<br />

To view Judaism from different angles,<br />

Gelernter identifies four theme-images to<br />

explain some of the issues that contemporary<br />

Jews may find distant or archaic. The theme<br />

of “separation” addresses the intricacies of<br />

halakha. “The veil” explains how to experience<br />

an indescribable and abstract God. “Perfect<br />

asymmetry” describes the relationship of<br />

men and women, family and sexuality, and<br />

“inward pilgrimage” wrestles with the problem<br />

of evil and a just and merciful God.<br />

Through these themes, which Gelernter<br />

paints in vivid and poetic language, he presents<br />

a multilayered picture of Judaism. Image<br />

is laid on image—the veil is the tallit that<br />

allows the wearer to feel God and is also the<br />

curtain behind which the transcendent dwells,<br />

as God dwelled in the Temple’s Holy of<br />

Holies; it is the wedding veil; it is the reverse<br />

side of the mezuzah scroll on which Shaddai is<br />

inscribed. And so with Gelernter’s three other<br />

images; they embrace, enfold, and unravel layers<br />

of biblical, literary, and midrashic reference,<br />

each layer offering another view and<br />

entry into Judaism. Inner pilgrimage, the final<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Contemporary <strong>Jewish</strong> Life and Practice<br />

image, is a moving and intellectually exalted<br />

vision of each individual’s struggle to the<br />

place, deep within your mind, where you will<br />

meet yourself and your God.<br />

Challenging, often exhilarating, richly<br />

learned, intensely personal, and tough-minded,<br />

Judaism offers a passionate picture of<br />

Judaism. This said, the Judaism that Gelernter<br />

describes is not one that all Jews will recognize.<br />

For him normative Judaism is Orthodox<br />

Judaism. This definition throws up<br />

stumbling blocks for many practicing non-<br />

Orthodox Jews in United States. With the<br />

statement “‘female rabbi’ and <strong>Jewish</strong> law are<br />

mutually exclusive,” he disenfranchises large<br />

numbers of Jews; references to the Lord and<br />

man, rather than human being, undercut his<br />

assertion of the asymmetric but equal role of<br />

women in Judaism. Concepts of community<br />

and social justice, vital to many Jews, have no<br />

mention in Gelernter’s Judaism.<br />

In Gelernter’s desire to address both Jews<br />

and non-Jews, Judaism requires no knowledge<br />

of Hebrew or Judaism. MLW<br />

THERE SHALL<br />

BE NO NEEDY:<br />

PURSUING SOCIAL<br />

JUSTICE THROUGH<br />

JEWISH LAW AND<br />

TRADITION<br />

Rabbi Jill Jacobs<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Lights Publishing, 2009. 257 pp. $ 21.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-58023-394-1<br />

The author provides a wonderful perspective<br />

on the roots of social justice in<br />

Judaism and focuses on the implications for<br />

us in the way we live our lives in modern society.<br />

Beginning with a comprehensive<br />

overview of traditional <strong>Jewish</strong> text, she provides<br />

the foundation for understanding our<br />

obligation to make the world a better place.<br />

In subsequent chapters Rabbi Jacobs focuses<br />

on specific subject areas that impact all of us<br />

in our daily lives, including such issues as<br />

poverty, employer-employee relations, housing<br />

and the homeless, health care, environment,<br />

and rehabilitation. In the final chapter<br />

she brings everything together by suggesting<br />

how the <strong>Jewish</strong> community can play an<br />

important role by participating in public life<br />

in the United States.<br />

Rabbi Jacobs’ writing is clear and concise<br />

and she presents the text in a way that enables<br />

one not only to learn with her but to want to<br />

know more of what she is discussing. This is<br />

a particularly inspiring book that may lead<br />

readers to become active in their local communities<br />

and even become involved in broader<br />

movements to improve American society.<br />

Glossary, index, list of recommended books<br />

for further reading. SGD<br />

Norman Podhoretz<br />

Doubleday, 2009. 337 pp. $27.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-385-52919-8<br />

REVIEWS<br />

WHY ARE JEWS<br />

LIBERALS?<br />

Norman Podhoretz, the venerable neoconservative<br />

pundit who served as editor<br />

of Commentary magazine for 35 years,<br />

explores in his latest book the question of<br />

why Jews continue to be overwhelmingly<br />

associated with liberal ideas and organizations,<br />

despite the fact that, in his view, such<br />

associations are not in their best interests. The<br />

first half of the book is devoted to a historical<br />

review, beginning with the birth of Christianity,<br />

unambiguously illustrating how anti-<br />

Semitism had been historically linked with<br />

right-wing politics in the West, resulting in<br />

explores...question of why Jews continue<br />

to be...associated with liberal ideas and<br />

organizations, despite the fact that...such<br />

associations are not in their best interests.<br />

Jews continually gravitating to liberal groups<br />

and social movements. However, Podhoretz<br />

argues that in light of the radicalization of the<br />

left in the United States over the course of the<br />

last 40 years, accompanied by the right’s<br />

adopting positions that appear to be more in<br />

line with <strong>Jewish</strong> concerns, including Israel’s<br />

security and stable family values, it is difficult<br />

to understand why the majority of Jews have<br />

not more profoundly shifted their political<br />

allegiances. The question of the intrinsic<br />

nature of <strong>Jewish</strong> political perspectives appears<br />

to be more powerfully posed than the answers<br />

that the author tentatively offers, and to<br />

which only the last 30 pages of the book are<br />

devoted. This is a topic that deserves continued<br />

research and reflection. JB<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 43


REVIEWS<br />

44 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

Education and <strong>Jewish</strong> Identity<br />

WHY THE DREYFUS<br />

AFFAIR MATTERS<br />

Louis Begley<br />

Yale University Press, 2009. 204 pp. $24.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-300-12532-0<br />

History remembers Captain Alfred Dreyfus<br />

as a victim of French anti-Semitism<br />

who was convicted of espionage he did not<br />

commit, and exonerated thanks to the passionate<br />

support of the novelist Emile Zola.<br />

Louis Begley insists that the lessons of the<br />

Dreyfus Affair, beyond the particulars of the<br />

historical episode, extend to abuses of power<br />

and anti-<strong>Jewish</strong> behavior at large today.<br />

In the spare language of his novels, Begley<br />

builds a devastating case against the conspirators<br />

who knowingly perverted the justice system<br />

as they made Dreyfus a scapegoat. Then<br />

he goes on to draw a straight line from the<br />

anti-Semitism of the Catholic Church and<br />

the French military in the 1890’s down to the<br />

present.<br />

The French Jews, he writes, nonetheless<br />

had a “tendency to minimize the importance<br />

of anti-Semitism, remain passive, and avoid<br />

speaking out against outrageous behavior.<br />

insists that the lessons of the Dreyfus<br />

Affair...extend to abuses of power and<br />

anti-<strong>Jewish</strong> behavior at large today.<br />

...Emancipated Jews had fallen in love with<br />

the good news that they could be like other<br />

people, [but] ‘other people’ did not want<br />

Jews to be like them. They wanted Jews out<br />

of the way.”<br />

Begley, writing in 2008, was struck by the<br />

parallels between the standard operating procedures<br />

for the Guantánamo prison camp and<br />

the instructions for the administration of<br />

Devil’s Island, where Dreyfus suffered solitary<br />

confinement under horrible conditions for<br />

some four years. He asks whether each succeeding<br />

generation will have its own Zolas,<br />

“ready to defend human rights...against abuse<br />

wrapped in claims of expediency and reasons<br />

of state.” Begley’s riveting details and unremitting<br />

passion make this book a worthy successor<br />

to J’accuse. Cast of characters, chronology,<br />

index, notes. BG<br />

EDUCATION AND JEWISH<br />

IDENTITY<br />

LEARNING AND<br />

COMMUNITY: JEWISH<br />

SUPPLEMENTARY<br />

SCHOOLS IN THE<br />

TWENTY-FIRST<br />

CENTURY<br />

Jack Wertheimer, ed.<br />

Brandeis University Press, 2009. 380 pp. $35.00 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-1-58465-770-5 (pbk.)<br />

There aren’t enough good stories about<br />

after-school programs, and this new<br />

volume edited by Jack Wertheimer of the<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Theological Seminary establishes<br />

high achievement marks for everyone with<br />

an investment in an after-school program of<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> studies, from educators to parents<br />

and students. Wertheimer and his coauthors<br />

have identified ten communitybased<br />

and synagogue-based schools that<br />

demonstrate moral and academic excellence.<br />

These successful schools welcome many different<br />

kinds of learners and their educational<br />

leaders guide their teachers thoughtfully,<br />

ultimately motivating students to learn<br />

Hebrew, pray with authentic fervor, act as<br />

moral role models, and discover their history.<br />

The schools represent geographical and<br />

ideological diversity; some tend to emphasize<br />

academic learning and mastery while<br />

others tend to emphasize experiential learning,<br />

moral action, personal discovery, community<br />

service, and family celebrations.<br />

What is the recipe for success? Match the<br />

professional staff to the mission and vision<br />

of the school; build seven-day parent and<br />

community support beyond drop-off and<br />

pick-up in the carpool line; don’t be afraid<br />

to accept that the school cannot meet every-<br />

This book is a must-read<br />

for after-school program<br />

educators, parents, and<br />

board members.<br />

one’s needs; and sustain student interest by<br />

establishing measurable goals that students<br />

can achieve at every level; identify milestones<br />

of success and promote a sense of<br />

responsibility for students’ own learning.<br />

This book is a must-read for after-school<br />

program educators, parents, and board<br />

members. The wealth of ideas can transform<br />

any program. Index, notes. JKL<br />

SOWING THE SEEDS<br />

OF CHARACTER: THE<br />

MORAL EDUCATION<br />

OF ADOLESCENTS<br />

IN PUBLIC AND<br />

PRIVATE SCHOOLS<br />

Judd Kruger Levingston<br />

Praeger Press, 2009. 172 pp. $44.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-313-35191-4<br />

The crisis in character and citizenship is<br />

acute in contemporary America. There<br />

are veritable cottage industries (Character<br />

Counts, Mentschlichkeit Matters to name just<br />

two) of educational interventions to further<br />

character development. Rabbi Judd Kruger<br />

Levingston’s Sowing the Seeds of Character<br />

stands out as an exceptional contribution to<br />

this growing body of literature both in the<br />

depth and breadth of its concerns.<br />

Whether <strong>Jewish</strong>, Christian, Islamic, or<br />

Chinese, educational institutions for adolescents<br />

are capable of having a deep moral<br />

impact on the lives of students. They do so<br />

through the dialogues they engender, the questions<br />

they ask, and the role models they provide.<br />

Further, their moral character is seen as<br />

much in the school’s halls and playground as<br />

in its classrooms. Levingston chronicles the<br />

successes and challenges of these schools in<br />

thoughtful and empathetic ways. He wants us<br />

to understand the profound impact of school<br />

on the moral life of the child even apart from<br />

the obvious influences of family and the internal<br />

psychological forces of moral development.<br />

Listening to the young adults in these<br />

schools discuss moral dilemmas, the author<br />

detects three master orientations in the voices<br />

of the students. He labels these orientations<br />

authentic and assured, bridging and binding,<br />

and constructing and considering. It is unclear<br />

in the end whether Levingston believes that<br />

all three orientations can live in some measure<br />

within each individual.<br />

Clearly, Sowing the Seeds of Character is a<br />

particularly timely scholarly contribution in<br />

an era that is likely to measure school success<br />

by test scores. The only critique I might offer<br />

pertains to the title itself. It certainly can be<br />

argued that by adolescence one is actually<br />

“reaping the seeds of character” sown at a<br />

much earlier age. JS<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


TOOLBOX FOR<br />

TEACHERS AND<br />

MENTORS: MOVING<br />

MADRICHIM TO<br />

MENTOR TEACHERS<br />

AND BEYOND<br />

Richard D. Solomon and Elaine C. Solomon<br />

Wheatmark, 2009. 338 pp. $33.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1604942682<br />

Teaching is often seen as an easy job; just<br />

walk into any classroom and start teaching<br />

the children, who are eager to learn. If only<br />

it were so simple! Unfortunately, throughout<br />

North America and especially in the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

community, there are many who think these<br />

statements are true.<br />

This is why Toolbox for Teachers and Mentors<br />

is such an important book for educational<br />

leaders in the <strong>Jewish</strong> community. Beginning<br />

with the assumption that becoming a successful<br />

teacher is the result of years of training<br />

under the close supervision of mentors and<br />

guides, the Solomons outline a series of strategies<br />

for recruiting and developing teachers<br />

from novice high school madrichim to master<br />

teachers ready to mentor the next generation.<br />

By incorporating the best thinking from<br />

the fields of education and psychology, this<br />

book lays out an in-depth approach for<br />

preparing our brightest young people to be<br />

outstanding teachers in the future. PAF<br />

FICTION<br />

36 ARGUMENTS<br />

FOR THE EXISTENCE<br />

OF GOD: A WORK<br />

OF FICTION<br />

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein<br />

Pantheon <strong>Book</strong>s, 2010. 416 pp. $27.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0307378187<br />

When Rebecca Goldstein won a<br />

MacArthur “Genius” Award in 1996,<br />

the foundation wrote, “In her (Goldstein’s)<br />

fiction her characters confront problems of<br />

faith: religious faith and faith in an ability to<br />

comprehend the mysteries of the physical<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

world.” The MacArthur Foundation went on<br />

to say that “Goldstein’s writings emerge as<br />

brilliant arguments for the belief that fiction in<br />

our time may be the best vehicle for involving<br />

readers in questions of morality and existence.”<br />

While those geniuses at MacArthur couldn’t<br />

have anticipated that Google would<br />

replace fiction as readers’ preferred vehicle to<br />

address questions of morality and existence,<br />

their praise for Goldstein and her work was as<br />

clairvoyant as it was accurate. Her characters<br />

absolutely deal with religious faith, faith in<br />

self, faith in love, and faith in no less than<br />

humankind.<br />

In her latest novel, 36 Arguments for the<br />

Existence of God, psychology professor Cass<br />

Seltzer has just been launched from academic<br />

obscurity to fame with a new book, “The<br />

Varieties of Religious Illusion.” Seltzer, who<br />

teaches at a small liberal-arts college in<br />

Boston, is less jarred by fame—being a guest<br />

on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” or speaking<br />

to a sold-out crowd at the 92nd St Y—than<br />

with understanding game theory, which is the<br />

academic specialty of his girlfriend and fellow<br />

pysch professor at Frankfurter University.<br />

Another asset...is the author’s strong<br />

knowledge of philosophy and religion...<br />

When we meet the protagonist, he is<br />

deliberating over a job offer from Harvard<br />

and thinking of how to tell his competitive<br />

yet sensitive girlfriend, Lucinda Mandelbaum,<br />

about the offer. She is away lecturing.<br />

Without warning, Seltzer’s past begins to<br />

catch up with him as eccentric characters<br />

enter the story to escort him down memory<br />

lane. Through encounters with a zesty<br />

anthropologist ex-girlfriend now on a quest<br />

for immortality and middle of the night<br />

email exchanges with an old colleague,<br />

Seltzer’s major influencers are revealed to the<br />

reader; the list involves Seltzer’s mom, a Hassidic<br />

rabbi, a zany philosopher, and a prodigious<br />

six-year-old.<br />

One of the strongest features of the book<br />

is the 50 page appendix in the back, which<br />

outlines each of the 36 arguments for the<br />

existence of G-d. These arguments are quite<br />

rational and very well thought out. Another<br />

asset of the novel is the author’s strong<br />

knowledge of philosophy and religion, both<br />

of which she breaks down for readers into<br />

understandable terms.<br />

The last novel that forced me to think<br />

about abstract concepts and forage through a<br />

dense appendix, all the while laughing with<br />

the characters, was David Foster Wallace’s<br />

Fiction<br />

Infinite Jest. While this book can be difficult<br />

to get through at times, with its hefty and<br />

complicated content, like Infinite Jest it is an<br />

immensely rewarding read. MT<br />

Paula Phelan<br />

ZAPmedia, 2009. 242 pp. $14.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-9778192-1-8<br />

1939: INTO THE DARK<br />

This book is a fascinating fictional<br />

account of the cultural and political<br />

events of the year 1939, told in 12 chapters,<br />

month by month. The rise of Hitler is followed<br />

closely in reports by a fictional war correspondent<br />

while entertainment news is<br />

tracked by another reporter. We learn about<br />

the public and behind-the-scenes details of<br />

the 1939 World’s Fair. The story progresses<br />

through the lives of a cast of characters in<br />

New York and Hollywood, including a director,<br />

actors, musicians, dancers, poets, an<br />

architect, and a patron of the arts who is also<br />

an arms merchant. Everyone is affected by the<br />

impending war, but some ignore it while others<br />

wish to take action. The family of one<br />

character is unable to get out of Europe and<br />

there is a pall of doom over the future. An<br />

innovative novel for teens and adults. MBA<br />

Anne Rice<br />

Knopf, 2009. 288 pp. $25.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4000-4353-8<br />

REVIEWS<br />

ANGEL TIME:<br />

A NOVEL<br />

Only a masterful storyteller could pull off<br />

this engaging metaphysical adventure<br />

novel, and Rice is certainly among the most<br />

prolific and skillful writers of our time.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 45


BOOK PROFILE<br />

JEWISH SOUTH AFRICA IN FICTION<br />

Two novels set 50 years apart explore discomforting nuances of class, power, and<br />

money for Jews in South Africa.<br />

IN A PALE BLUE LIGHT<br />

Lily Poritz Miller<br />

Sumach Press, 2009. 240 pp. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-8945-4983-7<br />

Lily Poritz Miller is a South African born playwright who co-edited a book of letters<br />

that were written by family and friends in Lithuania and abroad in the first<br />

part of the 20th century. A Thousand Threads, published in 2005, gave her a keen<br />

insight into the turmoil experienced by Lithuanian emigrants, and likely led her to the<br />

subject matter of her first novel, In A Pale Blue Light.<br />

The book tells of a family of Lithuanian immigrants to Cape Town, South Africa in<br />

the early 1900’s, drawing on Miller’s own childhood memories of the city. The story is<br />

about the hardships encountered by Sara, a recent widow, and her five children as<br />

they try to settle in a new country where apartheid is rife and the white people<br />

around them are either anti-Semitic Boers or new <strong>Jewish</strong> immigrants like themselves.<br />

Unlike themselves, though, many of the Jews around them are happy with segregated<br />

South Africa. Moreover, they’re social climbers and prone to interfere in and gossip<br />

about the misfortunes of others.<br />

It’s potentially great fodder for a story, but unfortunately Miller’s characters are<br />

insufficiently developed and don’t spring to life. Part of the problem is the words<br />

that come out of their mouths. They don’t feel a natural fit with the characters and<br />

their respective ages—primarily the teenager Lieba, whose thoughts are reflected in<br />

a discourse that’s totally out of line with her age.<br />

This makes A Pale Blue Light a difficult read, though for anyone who lived in<br />

Author of nearly 30 novels (perhaps most<br />

famously Interview with the Vampire), Rice<br />

consistently serves up dazzling, elegant prose<br />

and thrilling plots. Dwelling on issues of<br />

faithfulness, altruism, and devotion, the novel<br />

is told predominantly from the first-person<br />

perspective of 28-year-old Toby O’Dare, a<br />

cruel and desperate hitman. Known to his<br />

mysterious boss as “Lucky the Fox,” Toby, a<br />

lapsed Catholic, soon finds himself traveling<br />

through time to 13 th century England.<br />

Malchiah, an angel who has always watched<br />

out for Toby, gives him a chance to turn his<br />

life of crime around. Malchiah reminds Toby<br />

that he had once enjoyed a budding career as<br />

a talented musician, until tragic events dashed<br />

Toby’s hopes for going to a college conservatory,<br />

or for anything resembling a normal life.<br />

Malchiah offers Toby a chance to atone for<br />

46 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

his crimes by moving to an alternate world,<br />

where Meir and Fluria, a <strong>Jewish</strong> couple, have<br />

been wrongfully accused of ritually killing<br />

their daughter. While the country approaches<br />

mass violence against the Jews, Rice expertly<br />

interweaves a portrait of <strong>Jewish</strong> life in medieval<br />

England with Toby’s attempts to help. The<br />

novel is particularly brilliant in the many chapters<br />

narrated by Fluria, who tells a timeless tale<br />

of romantic love against the backdrop of societal<br />

unrest. Both Fluria’s life story and Toby’s<br />

actions as he moves metaphysically through<br />

“angel time” have profound reverberations for<br />

Toby’s 21 st century life, which stands in limbo<br />

while his saga unfolds. Throughout, Rice is<br />

wholly unafraid to illustrate life’s suffering,<br />

while also illuminating those moments when<br />

the human spirit triumphs over oppression,<br />

hatred, and despair. PS<br />

South Africa, and particularly those readers of Lithuanian stock, it offers some interesting<br />

insights into the challenges experienced by their recent ancestors. LK<br />

THE SERVANT’S QUARTERS<br />

Lynn Freed<br />

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. 216 pp. $24.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-15-101288-6<br />

The law of unintended consequences comes to mind when reading The Servant’s<br />

Quarters, for in this novel readers encounter a group of characters who are continually<br />

met with situations in which actions have unanticipated effects.<br />

In the main, the novel is the coming of age story of Cressida, an impetuous, but<br />

clever and inquisitive nine-year-old <strong>Jewish</strong> girl growing up in the 1950’s in South Africa.<br />

She is eager to learn and experience life, but is riddled with social insecurities caused,<br />

in part, by a self-absorbed, supercilious mother and a comatose father. Despite her<br />

dysfunctional family environment, Cressida’s actions indicate her desire to become a<br />

responsible, reliable, and productive member of society. Yet, she cannot negotiate this<br />

space because, by her own admission, she “forgets to consider the consequences of<br />

anything” and ultimately decides that “considering the consequences of something<br />

before you actually [do] it...doom[s] [one] to failure right from the start.”<br />

The invisible hand of unintended consequences is also evident when readers<br />

learn that both Cressida and her sister, Miranda, are haunted by nightmares about the<br />

Holocaust that “come alive for someone who hadn’t been born until it was over.” In<br />

Miranda’s case, these thoughts translate into debilitating nightmares; in Cressida’s<br />

case, the nightmares fuel her need to know her personal history.<br />

The Servants’ Quarters is a multilayered novel in which Freed not only tells a<br />

love story, but also addresses social class, economic necessities, perceptions of normalcy,<br />

and subservience. Still, the psychological and philosophical undertones are<br />

what make this novel intriguing. MDE<br />

THE BIG KAHN<br />

Neil Kleid and Nicolas Cinquegrani<br />

ComicsLit, 2009. 176 pp. $13.95 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-1-56163-561-0 (pbk.)<br />

Like ripples on a pond after a stone is<br />

thrown, the consequences of a lie continue<br />

to spread until everyone is affected. In the case<br />

of Rabbi David Kahn, his 40 year masquerade<br />

as a Jew has detrimental effects on his wife, three<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


children, and the congregation he led up until<br />

the time of his death. A stranger claiming to be<br />

Kahn’s brother shows up at his funeral, and he<br />

reveals that the rabbi was his brother, Donnie<br />

Dobbs. They were con men, and while swindling<br />

people at a bar mitzvah, Donnie met and<br />

fell in love with Rachel Friedberg. He changed<br />

his name, taught himself everything he could to<br />

live as a Jew, and never revealed his true identity<br />

to his wife and children. As each family member<br />

comes to terms with grief and anger, they are<br />

forced to examine their lives and the choices<br />

they have made and will continue to make in<br />

light of this devastating event. Kleid, author of<br />

Brownsville, tells an original and engaging story.<br />

Readers are given an inside look at an observant<br />

family’s life; a helpful glossary translates Hebrew<br />

and Yiddish terms that are used throughout the<br />

book. Cinquegrani’s art complements the text<br />

with action and nuanced emotion. WW<br />

THE BRISS<br />

Michael Tregebov<br />

New Star <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. 233 pp. $19.00<br />

ISBN: 978-155420043-6<br />

The Briss opens with Teddy Ostrove, a<br />

twenty-something Jew from Winnipeg<br />

calling his parents from Ramallah to tell them<br />

that he’s volunteered as a human shield for the<br />

Palestinian cause, and that he has fallen in love<br />

with, impregnated, and proposed to a Palestinian<br />

woman he met on his Birthright-Israel-like<br />

trip. Such a fantastically volatile opening ought<br />

to have launched a book where outrageous<br />

humor only augments some degree of emotional<br />

and political substance, but The Briss is<br />

so ludicrously lopsided against Israel and takes<br />

such a uniformly scathing attitude toward its<br />

very vulgar one-dimensional <strong>Jewish</strong> characters,<br />

that it is hard to empathize with any of them<br />

despite their respective distress, or to derive<br />

any insight into the situation, whatever side of<br />

the political divide you’re on. It may well make<br />

you laugh uncomfortably though.<br />

Teddy’s parents are crass, inept social<br />

climbers whose greatest concern is what the<br />

superficial and super-cruel suburban Jews they<br />

aspire to hobnob with will think of them, and<br />

Teddy’s divorced sister has a reputation for sleep-<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

ing around with married men. The Ostroves’<br />

feeble and ignorant pro-Israel platitudes easily<br />

get bested by Teddy’s only comparatively articulate<br />

new-found pro-Palestinian radicalism.<br />

Teddy’s latent liberalism was triggered on the<br />

trip by his having met “ugly Israelis” (American<br />

settlers) and a charismatic alpha-male sabra soldier<br />

angry about “the occupation” who schooled<br />

him in the ostensible facts about the iniquities<br />

the Palestinians suffer, and of course, by falling<br />

for his Palestinian princess at first sight. Teddy’s<br />

parents had pushed him to go to Israel and<br />

change his life, because they were humiliated<br />

first by his dropping out of medical school to<br />

become a nurse, and then by his having an affair<br />

with a lesbian rabbi’s wife.<br />

Tregebov’s strong dialogue flows fast and<br />

funny, and the book reads more like a play<br />

than a novel, but the effect is glib and nasty<br />

from the start. The book, though strident and<br />

completely unbalanced, falls short of being<br />

propaganda, because skewering the ignorance<br />

of diaspora Jews almost seems more important<br />

to the author (who lives in Barcelona)<br />

than bashing Israel or boosting the Palestinian<br />

cause. Mrs. Ostrove tells Teddy repeatedly,<br />

“You’re taking my neshome (soul) out,” and<br />

that’s exactly how reading this book felt. EA<br />

CITY OF GOD: A<br />

NOVEL OF PASSION<br />

AND WONDER IN<br />

OLD NEW YORK<br />

Beverly Swerling<br />

Simon & Schuster, 2009. 522 pp. $15.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4165-4922-2<br />

This is a fascinating fictional account of life<br />

in New York City from 1834 to 1857, the<br />

years leading up to the Civil War. We learn<br />

about medicine, real estate, the shipping business,<br />

opium trade, and the Chinese immigrant<br />

community through the stories of two notable<br />

and intertwined New York families. The<br />

author wrote about previous generations of the<br />

Turner and the Devrey families in Shadowbrook,<br />

City of Dreams, and City of Glory, but<br />

you needn’t have read those books to enjoy<br />

this one. A <strong>Jewish</strong> family plays a significant<br />

role in this tale as well. There is an abundance<br />

of interesting detail about the notorious Bellevue<br />

Hospital, Protestant/Catholic relations,<br />

and the discovery of germs and anesthesia. The<br />

Fiction<br />

author weaves together history, romance, and<br />

culture into a book that is hard to put down.<br />

There is an extensive family tree for clarification.<br />

A map would have been helpful. MBA<br />

Barbara Cherne<br />

Fithian Press, 2009. 96 pp. $12.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-56474-848-5<br />

REVIEWS<br />

DEVORA IN EXILE:<br />

STORIES<br />

In composing this slim volume of four<br />

linked stories, Cherne was inspired by the<br />

memories of a friend who, as a child, had fled<br />

with her family from Russia during that country’s<br />

revolution in 1917. When the book<br />

opens, the stories’ protagonist, Devora Marcus,<br />

is an elderly widow living in southern<br />

California. The first story, “The Conversion,”<br />

in which Devora falls briefly under a guru’s<br />

spell before reclaiming her <strong>Jewish</strong> identity, is<br />

perhaps the book’s strongest, although some<br />

readers may find the intensity of Devora’s<br />

bond to the young man who comes to her<br />

home to teach her Hebrew as depicted in “A<br />

Holocaust in My Breakfast Room” to be the<br />

most emotionally powerful and poignant<br />

aspect of the work. Occasionally repetitive (as<br />

with the disturbing material concerning the<br />

rape of Devora’s elder sister back in Russia),<br />

Devora in Exile nonetheless draws us in and<br />

allows us to get to know a sympathetic character<br />

and, with the exception of the brief second<br />

piece, offers full and compelling stories. ED<br />

EXILES<br />

Elliot Krieger<br />

Soho Press, 2009. 344 pp. $24.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-56947-589-8<br />

The time is 1970 and America is<br />

embroiled in the Vietnam War. Students<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 47


REVIEWS<br />

Fiction<br />

are protesting, campuses are in revolt, and<br />

student Lenny Spiegel becomes involved with<br />

a draft resistance movement, ARMS. This<br />

novel traces Lenny’s journey from America to<br />

Sweden to join a group of draft resisters and<br />

pose as the leader of the group, Aaronson,<br />

while the real Aaronson makes a mysterious<br />

trip to Germany. Lenny’s physical resemblance<br />

to Aaronson, and his willingness to<br />

become involved in the resistance movement,<br />

...Lenny’s long awaited revelation<br />

of the truth is eye opening.<br />

is a political mystery with a touch of Kafka.<br />

His motivation is to do a good deed in the<br />

anti-war movement, but his grasp of political<br />

reality is näive. Lenny is spiritually and emotional<br />

adrift and the allure of being part of a<br />

larger movement appeals to him at a time of<br />

emotional vulnerability. The ending has a<br />

surprise twist and Lenny’s long awaited revelation<br />

of the truth is eye opening.<br />

The characters are well developed but the<br />

plot drags in spots. Overall an interesting<br />

story of the height of the student anti-war<br />

movement and the community life in Sweden<br />

where they fled to avoid the military draft. BA<br />

GONE TO THE DOGS:<br />

A NOVEL<br />

Mary Guterson<br />

St. Martin’s Griffin, 2009. 278 pp. $13.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-312-54179-8<br />

Breaking up with boyfriend Brian leads 30something<br />

Rena to examine her life. And<br />

did I mention, to steal his new girlfriend’s dog?<br />

In order to extricate herself from the past, and<br />

to return the dog to its owner, she relies on<br />

help from friends and family. These include<br />

divorced parents who dine together weekly,<br />

former drug-dealing sister turned religious,<br />

well-grounded friend Lisa, and platonic new<br />

flame, Chaim (Chuck). Through the characters,<br />

Guterson explores when relationships<br />

begin, how they end, and which ones endure.<br />

“Odd souls need each other, whether they<br />

want each other or not,” Rena muses.<br />

Examining relationships in this book<br />

extends to self-regard. Having given up on<br />

48 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

becoming a speechwriter, Rena admits, “I’m a<br />

waitress in a steakhouse with no future career<br />

prospects. I have a pushy mother. I have one<br />

failed relationship under my belt. I have no<br />

confidence in myself. I’m a criminal. You do<br />

the math.” Yet throughout Gone to the Dogs, she<br />

becomes the heroine of her narrative. Bridget<br />

Jones Crossing Delancey best describes Rena.<br />

Family interactions also humorously expose the<br />

mores of modern <strong>Jewish</strong> life. Readers who have<br />

been there, if you know what I mean, will smile<br />

while recognizing themselves in the novel. NL<br />

GOOD FOR THE JEWS<br />

Debra Spark<br />

University of Michigan Press, 2009. 264 pp. $24.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-472-1171-6<br />

This is the story of a small group of characters<br />

in Madison, Wisconsin whose lives are<br />

intertwined through work, family, and romantic<br />

associations. The main characters are loosely<br />

based on biblical figures from the Story of<br />

Esther. “Ellen” is “Esther,” an orphan who lost<br />

her parents and is fostered by her cousin<br />

“Mose”/“Mordechai”. “Alex” is the superintendent<br />

for schools and is the stand-in for King<br />

“Ahasuerus.” He was formerly married to<br />

“Valerie” (“Vashti”), director of Madison’s Center<br />

for Artistic Exchange, but becomes involved<br />

with Ellen, who works in daycare. “Hyman,”<br />

the new school principal is “Haman” and an<br />

anti-Semite who plots the removal of Mose,<br />

American History teacher at the progressive<br />

school for at-risk children.<br />

This fast paced, contemporary tale demonstrates<br />

how each character’s early history<br />

informs who they are, how they view the<br />

world, and how they respond and interact<br />

with others. And though Spark vividly reveals<br />

the deleterious and devastating effects that<br />

interpersonal relations can create, in delineating<br />

each person’s past she almost seems apologetic<br />

for individual shortcomings. As she concludes:<br />

“So, what of it?... Ellen didn’t know,<br />

though at moments she imagined herself and<br />

the others as hapless actors, unwittingly cast in<br />

some biblical story, where being right meant<br />

being rewarded and being rewarded meant<br />

demolishing your enemy.” KJH<br />

Rafael Yglesias<br />

Scribner, 2009. 369 pp. $26.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4391-0230-5<br />

A HAPPY MARRIAGE<br />

This heartbreaking, joyous autobiographical<br />

novel oscillates between love and loss. It<br />

begins on the night the narrator meets his wife<br />

of 30 years; in the next chapter we see her in her<br />

final illness. As successive chapters go back and<br />

forth in time, we come to know them and their<br />

marriage intimately. And not just them. His<br />

alter ego’s <strong>Jewish</strong> mother and Latin father, and<br />

his <strong>Jewish</strong> in-laws from Long Island, are memorable<br />

personalities too. Yglesias limns detailed<br />

portraits of even minor characters, like a doorman,<br />

hospice physician or couples therapist.<br />

Yglesias, like the late John Updike, has the<br />

uncanny ability to describe the moment-tomoment<br />

feelings of his characters in precise<br />

and graceful language, often with astute similes.<br />

The in-laws “reacted to feelings as if they<br />

were brand-new purchases that didn’t fit the<br />

room for which they were bought.” After<br />

charming his future wife’s college friends, the<br />

protagonist “felt as if he had been welcomed<br />

into a friendly foreign land.”<br />

A reader becomes the confidante of a talented,<br />

passionate, touchingly insecure man<br />

who is delighted by and profoundly devoted<br />

to a singular woman. The story of their life<br />

together leaves an indelible impression of<br />

them and their love. BG<br />

Hesh Kestin<br />

Dzanc <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. 370 pp. $16.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0976717782<br />

THE IRON WILL OF<br />

SHOESHINE CATS<br />

Twenty-two year old orphaned student<br />

Russell Newhouse is introduced to<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


Shushan “Shoeshine” Cats, a self educated<br />

gangster in New York City. Shoeshine quickly<br />

takes Russell under his wing and throws him<br />

into the comical underbelly of the New York<br />

crime scene. Set against the backdrop of the<br />

Kennedy assassination and the Civil Rights<br />

movement, Kestin’s poignant and witty epic<br />

novel is superbly written. Kestin has the right<br />

ear for dialogue. When the FBI shows up to<br />

ask Shushan why he went on a recent trip to<br />

Dallas and his known association with a local<br />

gangster named Jack Ruby, “The man was crying<br />

on the phone. I went down, held his hand.<br />

I think he was having what they call a breakdown.<br />

He was a wreck, His business wasn’t<br />

doing too well. There was trouble with one of<br />

the strippers he was dating. She walked out on<br />

him. Men get to a certain age, things don’t<br />

work out, they can get... desperate.”<br />

Packed with numerous literary references<br />

that will test your reading IQ, Kestin has created<br />

a terrific out of this world novel where<br />

nothing and nobody is as they seem. GK<br />

IS IT GOOD FOR<br />

THE JEWS?: MORE<br />

STORIES FROM<br />

THE OLD COUNTRY<br />

AND THE NEW<br />

Adam Biro; Catherine Tihanyi, trans.<br />

University of Chicago Press, 2009. 152 pp. $20.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-226-05217-5<br />

Adam Biro first attracted attention in the<br />

United States with his ninth book, One<br />

Must Also Be Hungarian, which evoked the<br />

lost world of pre-war Hungarian Jews<br />

through stories about members of his own<br />

family. In contrast, his latest book is a collection<br />

of jokes whose humor depends on<br />

stereotypes of European Jews, much like his<br />

Two Jews on a Train of 2001.<br />

Many of these tales are well-traveled: the<br />

Jew who reads an anti-Semitic newspaper,<br />

Jews who compete with one another to be the<br />

most humble, the ticketless synagogue visitor<br />

on Yom Kippur who is warned not to be<br />

caught praying. Others deal with enduring<br />

themes like Jews who are shrewd in business,<br />

parents manipulating their children through<br />

guilt, fund-raisers for the United <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Appeal, and complaining <strong>Jewish</strong> women.<br />

Typically, the telling of a joke is stretched over<br />

five pages, embellished with many imagined<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

details and authorial asides.<br />

The translation’s many stilted or mistaken<br />

word choices (often substituting French usage<br />

for English: “Carpates” for “Carpathians,”<br />

“the Saint” for “the Holy One”) are distracting.<br />

In the end, though, how much you enjoy<br />

these stories will probably depend on how<br />

much you like the author’s prolix, self-referential<br />

way of recounting them. BG<br />

LOVE IS LIKE<br />

PARK AVENUE<br />

Alvin Levin; James Reidel, ed.<br />

New Directions, 2009. 196 pp. $13.95(pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-08112-1799-6 (pbk.)<br />

With a cover photo that evokes<br />

O’Hara/Fitzgerald, Park Avenue in<br />

the title, and an abandoned car, a puzzled<br />

book buyer might think that Alvin Levin,<br />

Jew, was doing his own take on the rich.<br />

Wrong. This book deals with the angst-ridden,<br />

Bronx-trapped, Yiddish-inflected,<br />

always-poor of the 1920–30’s. It is not one<br />

story, but several—from fragments to novella.<br />

Prefaced by John Ashbery, and edited by<br />

biographer James Reidel, who wrote the<br />

introduction and drew Levin’s work together,<br />

Reidel dealt with published material as well as<br />

boxed manuscripts found after Levin’s death.<br />

Levin, 1914–1981, was also an attorney and<br />

publisher of utilitarian pamphlets. Burdened<br />

by lifelong lameness (polio) which brought<br />

together his frustration and talent, it<br />

swamped the possibility of lifelong creativity.<br />

Characters exist with<br />

choking intensity, longing<br />

for comforts and choices<br />

Characters exist with choking intensity,<br />

longing for comforts and choices—“Park<br />

Avenue”—lacking in lives of the unemployed<br />

and underemployed in the Bronx. Most<br />

remarkable is his depiction of the anguish<br />

among young women, jobless, poor, dependent<br />

on family, or bereft. Levin’s gritty language<br />

and tone make Reidel invoke Saroyan,<br />

Miller, and Dos Passos.<br />

At age 30 or so, Levin stopped writing,<br />

Fiction<br />

REVIEWS<br />

although his slender works had appeared in<br />

New Directions anthologies and The New<br />

Yorker. He corresponded with their editors,<br />

James Laughlin IV and William Maxwell.<br />

Each praised, but urged that he write short<br />

stories, not “prose.” That did not happen.<br />

The triggers ending his productivity are<br />

unknown; certainly an injurious traffic accident<br />

must be factored in. Our loss, as well as<br />

Levin’s. In 2010, Levin’s writing is worth<br />

revisiting. Illustration, notes. ABS<br />

LUCINELLA<br />

Lore Segal<br />

Melville House, 2009. 154 pp. $13.00 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-1-933633-79-4 (pbk.)<br />

If the estate and grounds adjoining those of<br />

Jane Austen’s family home had become a<br />

Yaddo community—with selected artists<br />

given two weeks to two months to create—<br />

Austen, who sporadically struggled with<br />

deciding titles for her books, might have<br />

opted to immortalize the new neighbors with<br />

a work titled Pride and Prejudice, and additionally,<br />

Sensibility—but Sense? Hardly. Not<br />

as Lore Segal saw Yaddo. While mining the<br />

same intellectual/personal territory, she did,<br />

however, fancifully title her novella Lucinella,<br />

a name that could have bobbed up in the 18th century. In this analogy, New York parallels<br />

London, as do Segal’s surnames, names like<br />

Winterneet and Betterwheatlings, another<br />

delicious conceit of earlier (British) times,<br />

Segal produced this work in 1976, polishing<br />

and segmenting her pastoral, bourgeois tale,<br />

including incarnations of Zeus and Hera.<br />

Lucinella, a Yaddo resident, alternately targets<br />

and embraces her cohorts: “this girl, who says<br />

what she actually means, tends to mumble<br />

her words inside her mouth, so as to keep the<br />

option of eating them.” Yaddo-ites come with<br />

emotional and creative baggage, and some<br />

flaunt pedigree—having been publicly recognized<br />

financially, preferably recently. No burdensome<br />

pre-Victorian families here; at<br />

Yaddo most enjoy openly legal or, lacking<br />

that, spontaneous cohabitation.<br />

For those who remember the 60’s–70’s<br />

with grinning affection, the new Melville<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 49


REVIEWS<br />

Fiction<br />

House’s edition of Lucinella is a boon, especially<br />

in its close-to-Kindle size, albeit with<br />

grayish, rather than black, print. For those<br />

with wry memories, it changes nothing, but<br />

adds fresh admiration for Segal’s facile ability<br />

with malicious language. ABS<br />

THE MURDERER’S<br />

DAUGHTERS:<br />

A NOVEL<br />

Randy Susan Meyers<br />

St. Martin’s Press, 2010. 320 pp. $24.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-312-57698-1<br />

Think of two little girls witnessing the<br />

murder of their mother by their father.<br />

Think of one small child subsequently<br />

stabbed by the same father and sent all alone<br />

to the hospital. It is painful to envision, and<br />

yet, we are not naïve, and know such violence<br />

exists. Now imagine how the crime, the loss,<br />

and the knowledge of their imprisoned father<br />

waiting for them to visit affects the girls in<br />

every step of their development and every<br />

moment of their adult lives.<br />

...the sisters are bound to each other by<br />

a promise that is wearing to the core.<br />

With excellent craft Randy Susan Meyers<br />

gets us inside the heads of sisters Lulu and<br />

Merry. We are with them at the horrific event,<br />

as they are rejected by family members and<br />

sent to a Dickensian orphanage, then into a<br />

safe but difficult foster home, and on into<br />

adulthood, one as a doctor and one a parole<br />

officer. Choosing to hide their past from just<br />

about everyone, the sisters are bound to each<br />

other by a promise that is wearing to the core.<br />

Not a day passes without wrestling the tug of<br />

family loyalty vs. the wish for oblivion. We<br />

share the ironies of their saving and giving life,<br />

finding and holding onto love, and above all<br />

else the question of forgiveness.<br />

Perhaps readers will find the story unusual<br />

or more disturbing as the family was <strong>Jewish</strong>.<br />

However, the sad reality of this compelling<br />

tale is the sisters coping alone, without any<br />

community/religious support we might have<br />

anticipated. The author acknowledges the<br />

extraordinary benefit of such support as she<br />

reflects on her own life. PGM<br />

50 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

David Del Bourgo<br />

Mystere Press, 2009. 284 pp. $14.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-442-11987-1<br />

PRAGUE SPRING:<br />

A SIMON WOLFE<br />

MYSTERY<br />

This fast-paced detective story is distinctive<br />

in that it weaves two events in 1968—<br />

Berkeley’s student protests and the Czech<br />

uprising against the Soviet Union, for which<br />

the book is named, and mixes in flashbacks by<br />

the central character to his time as a prisoner in<br />

Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Inspector<br />

Simon Wolfe works for the San Francisco<br />

Police Department, and is a Holocaust survivor<br />

who was a member of the Mossad’s<br />

“Nokim,” a group that killed Nazis. When a<br />

congressman’s son is murdered, Wolfe’s<br />

attempts to solve the crime are inhibited by the<br />

police and the congressman as he is blackmailed<br />

about his past. He is further compromised<br />

by his feelings for the murder victim’s<br />

psychiatrist, who is a child of Holocaust survivors<br />

herself. Wolfe is a sympathetic character,<br />

though he is a loner with unshakable opinions.<br />

Wolfe’s insistence on following through with<br />

this case leads the reader to explore the ideas of<br />

political corruption, revenge, justice, and survival.<br />

MBA<br />

Anna Winger<br />

Riverhead, 2008. 320 pp. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1594489976<br />

THIS MUST BE<br />

THE PLACE: A NOVEL<br />

To begin to understand contemporary<br />

Germany as it relates to Jews, one must<br />

read This Must Be the Place.<br />

In June the city of Frankfurt invited my<br />

father and several other “Former Frankfurters”<br />

to return for two weeks to the city of<br />

their birth. All of them had survived the<br />

Holocaust one way or another and we<br />

assumed the town wanted to show them how<br />

Frankfurt has changed since the 1930’s. The<br />

city has done this annually since 1980; my<br />

grandmother was among those invited that<br />

first year.<br />

My brother and I joined my father on this<br />

trip and one evening we were invited to dinner<br />

with the other members of the “second<br />

generation” who had accompanied their parents<br />

to Frankfurt. I thought it was meant as<br />

an ice-breaker; after all, we would be spending<br />

a lot of time together on a tour bus. But<br />

over dinner it became clear that we’d all experienced<br />

similar feelings of otherness during<br />

our childhood, feelings many of us had never<br />

given voice to, and passionate conversation<br />

went on into the night.<br />

To begin to understand contemporary<br />

Germany as it relates to Jews, one<br />

must read This Must Be the Place.<br />

I realized that the city of Frankfurt organizes<br />

these elaborate trips (the best hotel, opera,<br />

theater, dinner, museum tours) as much for<br />

their own children and the descendents of survivors<br />

as for the Former Frankfurters themselves.<br />

They want young Germans to meet<br />

survivors face to face to hear their stories<br />

because their own parents or grandparents are<br />

not talking. We heard them worry that the<br />

psychology of this has affected the culture.<br />

Another day my father was invited to<br />

speak at a local high school about his experience<br />

as a Jew growing up in Nazi Germany.<br />

When the organizers learned that my brother<br />

and I would be there as well they changed the<br />

date of the lecture to accommodate us. I was<br />

surprised to learn it was because they felt sure<br />

the students would have questions for us as<br />

well. Sure enough, the students were equally<br />

curious about our feelings as “second generation”<br />

survivors, a term I’d never applied to<br />

myself. What was it like growing up knowing<br />

what our father had gone through? Did we<br />

hate Germans? How did it feel being in Germany<br />

now? My brother answered them with<br />

the words our father had told us as children,<br />

“To hate Germany and Germans would be to<br />

hate him, because he was German, to deny<br />

this would be to grant victory to Hitler.”<br />

It was serendipitous then to read This<br />

Must Be the Place upon my return home,<br />

which embeds themes of identity and guilt<br />

for post-war born Germans and Americans,<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> and not, into a subtly rendered story.<br />

Walter Baum is a lonely has-been actor, a<br />

German Johnny Drama without the<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


entourage. He pursues Hope, an aptly named<br />

American woman living in his building, but<br />

first he must deal with his past. In daring and<br />

unflinching portrayals, Winger puts us face to<br />

face with the innocents who inherited the<br />

legacy of the Holocaust. SLS<br />

YOM KIPPUR<br />

IN AMSTERDAM:<br />

STORIES<br />

Maxim D. Shrayer<br />

Syracuse University Press, 2009. 141 pp. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0815609186<br />

In Yom Kippur in Amsterdam, Maxim Shrayer<br />

explores the complex and often difficult<br />

adjustments of Russian-<strong>Jewish</strong> immigrants to<br />

American life. Shrayer himself was born in<br />

Moscow in 1967 and spent nine years as a<br />

refusenik before emigrating to the United<br />

States in 1987.<br />

In the title story, Russian-born Jake Glaz<br />

flees his home in Baltimore after a painful<br />

break-up with a Catholic girlfriend who is<br />

unable to convert to Judaism. After a restorative<br />

week on the Riviera, he finds himself in<br />

the seedy, red-light alleyways of Amsterdam<br />

just hours before the eve of Yom Kippur.<br />

In “Sonatchka,” two old friends reunite in<br />

suburban Connecticut and reminisce about<br />

their early lives in Moscow. As the day wanes,<br />

painful truths emerge about their current circumstance.<br />

“The Afterlove,” set entirely in Russia, is a<br />

bittersweet coming-of-age tale. Set first at a<br />

glittering dinner party of the Moscow intelligentsia<br />

in the early 1980’s, it travels back in<br />

he finds himself in the seedy, red-light<br />

alleyways of Amsterdam just hours<br />

before the eve of Yom Kippur.<br />

time to 1945. Young Pavel Lidin and Fyodor<br />

Shtock are selected to spend a summer at an<br />

experimental government-run post-World<br />

War II summer camp. Throughout, the writing<br />

is soulful, evocative, and deeply detailed.<br />

Maxim Shrayer, chairman of the department<br />

of Slavic and Eastern Languages at<br />

Boston College, has published a memoir,<br />

Waiting for America, and several books on<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong>-Russian literature. JuF<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

HISTORY<br />

DANCING IN THE<br />

DARK: A CULTURAL<br />

HISTORY OF THE<br />

GREAT DEPRESSION<br />

Morris Dickstein<br />

W.W. Norton & Company, 2009. 576 pp. $29.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-393-07225-9<br />

In this magisterial study of American culture<br />

in the 1930’s, Morris Dickstein examines<br />

a vast range of material, from serious fiction<br />

and poetry to potboilers, popular songs,<br />

gangster films, and Busby Berkeley musicals.<br />

He selects his case studies with assured care<br />

and analyzes them deftly and astutely. What<br />

emerges is a convincing mosaic of an era<br />

devoted to the cult of liveliness, a metaphor<br />

for life itself.<br />

As his title suggests, Dickstein sees the<br />

popular culture of the era not so much as a<br />

form of escapism or wish-fulfilment, but as<br />

an assertion of the importance of motion in<br />

an age when so much was shutting down. In<br />

the cross-country trek of the Joads in The<br />

Grapes of Wrath, the upward social mobility of<br />

Rico in Little Caesar and his partners in celluloid<br />

crime, the fascinating rhythms of George<br />

Gershwin, the furious pace of screwball comedy,<br />

and the nimble tread of the feet of Fred<br />

Astaire, we see a nation raging, in its uniquely<br />

graceful way, against the dying of the light. BB<br />

SCREENING<br />

A LYNCHING:<br />

THE LEO FRANK<br />

CASE ON FILM<br />

AND TELEVISION<br />

Matthew H. Bernstein<br />

University of Georgia Press, 2009. 348 pp. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8203-3239-0<br />

Bernstein examines how the Leo Frank<br />

case was treated in four different screen<br />

productions: the 1936 film Murder in Harlem<br />

by the African-American auteur Oscar<br />

Micheaux; the 1937 Warner Brothers feature<br />

They Won’t Forget; a 1964 episode of the TV<br />

History<br />

REVIEWS<br />

series Profiles in Courage; and the 1988 NBC<br />

miniseries The Murder of Mary Phagan.<br />

While Bernstein’s discussions of the four<br />

productions are valuable and interesting, as a<br />

whole the study falls short, mostly because of<br />

the limited and disparate nature of the material<br />

Bernstein treats. Micheaux’s work took<br />

the basic facts of the Frank case as a framework<br />

on which to hang a wholly fictional<br />

story that examined social issues largely unrelated<br />

to those in the actual Frank case. They<br />

Won’t Forget was a powerful but similarly fictionalized<br />

Hollywood treatment of the case<br />

that also soft-pedaled significant issues (for<br />

example, in neither of these films was the<br />

Frank character depicted as <strong>Jewish</strong>). The Profiles<br />

in Courage episode focused almost exclusively<br />

on the Georgia governor whose commutation<br />

of Frank’s death sentence<br />

precipitated his lynching. Only The Murder of<br />

Mary Phagan aimed at a comprehensive treatment<br />

of the case.<br />

A study of how the Frank case has been<br />

treated by journalists, historians, and purveyors<br />

of popular culture would be a fascinating<br />

piece of social and cultural history, but choosing<br />

to examine any phenomenon through a<br />

window as narrow as this necessarily limits<br />

how much light may be shed on it. BB<br />

THE TEN LOST TRIBES:<br />

A WORLD HISTORY<br />

Zvi Ben-Dor Benite<br />

Oxford University Press, 2009. 226 pp. $29.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-19-530733-7<br />

Ever since Assyria conquered the northern<br />

kingdom of Israel some 2700 years ago,<br />

the destiny of the exiled Ten Tribes has captivated<br />

the imagination of Jews and non-Jews.<br />

Think of the excitement when researcher<br />

Tudor Parfitt recently found a genetic link<br />

between the <strong>Jewish</strong> priestly class of Kohanim<br />

and the Lemba tribe of southern Africa, or<br />

the controversy when the Chief Rabbinate of<br />

Israel in 2005 recognized an ethnic group living<br />

in East Asia as “descendants of Jews” from<br />

the Biblical half-tribe of Menasseh.<br />

The archeological record confirms the<br />

Biblical account in 2 Kings that the Israelites<br />

were deported to distant lands in the Assyrian<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 51


BOOK PROFILE<br />

IN THE GRASP OF THE SHOAH: TALES OF TRAVAIL<br />

AND ITS AFTERMATH<br />

By Marcia Weiss Posner<br />

Titles are listed in alphabetical order, but reviewed according to their place<br />

in history<br />

ICON OF LOSS: THE HAUNTING CHILD<br />

OF SAMUEL BAK<br />

Danna Nolan Fewell and Gary A. Phillips<br />

Pucker Art Publications, 2009. 83 pp. $50.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-879985-21-6<br />

NITZOTZ: THE SPARKOF RESISTANCE<br />

IN KOVNO GHETTO AND DACHAU-<br />

KAUFERING CONCENTRATION CAMP<br />

Laura Weinrib, ed. and intro; Estee Weinrib, trans.<br />

Syracuse University Press, 2009. 232 pp. $34.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8156-3233-7<br />

Efraim Zuroff<br />

Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. 238 pp. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-230-61730-8<br />

OPERATION LAST CHANCE:<br />

ONE MAN’S QUEST TO BRING<br />

NAZI CRIMINALS TO JUSTICE<br />

REMEMBER US: MY JOURNEY FROM THE<br />

SHTETL THROUGH THE HOLOCAUST<br />

Martin Small and Vic Shayne<br />

Skyhorse Publishing, 2009. 328 pp. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-60239-723-1<br />

REMEMBERING SURVIVAL:<br />

INSIDE A NAZI SLAVE LABOR CAMP<br />

Christopher R. Browning<br />

W.W. Norton & Company, 2009. 320 pp. $27.95<br />

ISBN: 978-393-07019-4<br />

Nitzotz—Just two months after the liquidation of the Kovno ghetto, a Dachau-<br />

Kaufering issue of Nitzotz appeared. Its editors were Abraham Melamed and<br />

Shlomo Frenkel Shafir. The first two issues were written by Frenkel from the BBC<br />

nightly, German broadcasts while he was in Kaufering 1 and II. These secret publications<br />

were a result of the underground meetings of the IBZ (Irgun Brith Zion) begun<br />

secretly in the Kovno Ghetto and continued in the Kaufering camps, where they were<br />

an inspiration to other Zionists in the camps. They are Hebrew language publications,<br />

a language forbidden by their occupiers, but continued in secret. The five issues of<br />

Nitzotz circulated in Dachau-Kefering that appear in this volume are a small sample<br />

of the 42 that were produced during that period. Begun in opposition to the Soviet<br />

occupation, it continued under the Nazis. Unfortunately, the bulk of IBZ archives<br />

have been lost to history. Extensive bibliography, notes, photography.<br />

Remember Us—Vic Shayne has told Martin Small’s story with clarity, sincerity,<br />

and balance—beginning with the closeness of his loving family, the traditions of the<br />

shtetl, and wisdom of one’s elders—and ending abruptly and brutally with the mad<br />

incursion of the Nazis and the shocking transformation of local anti-Semites and<br />

even neighbors, some of whom buried Small’s family alive. How could it happen? It<br />

was as if they had become bewitched and transformed into pure evil. From work<br />

camps to the partisans of the Nowogrodek forests; from Mauthausen to life as a displaced<br />

person in Italy; from fighting in Israel to ultimately coming to America, this is a<br />

must read account, with its twists and surprises, but primarily because of the ethics<br />

and mantra of a remarkable man. An outstanding memoir, with a startling ending.<br />

Afterword, epilogue, family photos, notes.<br />

Remembering Survival—Upon reading survivors’ accounts of life in ghettos,<br />

slave-labor camps, and even killing camps, one wonders how any survived. Depending<br />

on the religiosity of the testifier, they attribute either it to a miracle, to God’s intervention,<br />

to luck, to a particular person who helped them to survive, or other survival<br />

strategies. Drawing on the testimony of survivors of the Stratachowice slave labor<br />

camps in Poland, Browning describes many of these strategies. In the end, Browning<br />

agrees that those who survived often had the ties of family and neighbors to sustain<br />

and help them; those who did not usually perished. Browning also discusses the fact<br />

that despite the incriminating eyewitness testimony of survivors, many of the perpetrators<br />

are acquitted. As if to reiterate that fact, the lawyer for Nazi war criminal John<br />

Demjanjuk asserted that his Ukrainian client (an accessory to the murder of 29,700<br />

Jews at the Sobibor death camp in Poland in 1943) should not be held accountable for<br />

following the orders of higher-ups in Germany, many of whom escaped punishment.<br />

Illustrations, notes, photos.<br />

Icon of Loss—To many, the paintings of Samuel Bak represent the Holocaust. Not<br />

only are they beautifully painted in an Old Master style, but their images of Holocaust<br />

devastation and tragedy are moving and unforgettable. Many of us are familiar<br />

with the photograph of a young boy in the Warsaw Ghetto, arms raised in surrender—his<br />

innocence violated by a German SS pointing a gun at him. Although this particular<br />

child happened to survive, Bak uses his image in a series of paintings to represent<br />

all the children of the Shoah, most of whom perished. Cynthia Ozick’s<br />

comments on Bak’s paintings of the boy in variations of the theme and settings, but


always with his hands up, are so apt that I usurp them here in a partial quotation:<br />

“...Never, never, never was pity so twinned with outrage, or visionary image-making<br />

so united with unforgiving historical fact...In Bak’s work there is absolute knowledge; I<br />

think he must understand that his eye and his hand are anointed.” List of Bak<br />

exhibits, galleries, museums and films.<br />

Operation Last Chance—Simon Wiesenthal is gone, but Efraim Zuroff carries on<br />

his work, described here truthfully but with a novelist’s ability to employ drama,<br />

characterizations, and description so that this account communicates the frustration<br />

and occasional triumphs of tracking down Nazi murderers, many of whom now live in<br />

empire, but the facts end there. NYU professor<br />

Zvi Ben-Dor Benite traces the unfolding<br />

of the rest of the story in legend. Post-Biblical<br />

Apocrypha, especially 2 Esdras, envisioned<br />

the Ten Tribes hidden behind mountains and<br />

a miraculous river and living proud, strong,<br />

free, and independent lives. That enviable<br />

state contrasted with the all too visible dispersion<br />

and desperation of the Jews of the Southern<br />

Kingdom after the destruction of the two<br />

Temples, and gave them hope and comfort.<br />

Where exactly were these pure, distant,<br />

hidden Jews? They were always imagined to be<br />

at the edge of the known world. As conquerors<br />

and explorers extended the boundaries<br />

of what was known, the lost tribes receded<br />

to those far horizons. Travelers in the<br />

Middle Ages, some credulous (like Benjamin<br />

of Tudela) and some deceiving (like David<br />

Reuveni), brought back stories of the tribes<br />

that suggested they were scattered from India<br />

to Ethiopia. After the European encounter<br />

with the New World, there were legends about<br />

hidden Jews in the jungles of South America,<br />

as well as speculation that native North Americans<br />

were descendants of the lost tribes.<br />

...weaves the religious, legendary,<br />

and scientific history of this idea<br />

into a colorful and enchanting story.<br />

Sometimes a purported connection to the<br />

Tribes supported claims of privilege, as with<br />

British theories of Ten Tribes ancestry. More<br />

often, though, the belief in the persistence of<br />

the Ten Tribes resembles the Shiite faith in<br />

the occluded Twelfth Imam or the Czech<br />

national story of the Hussite warriors hidden<br />

in Mt. Blánik. Just as the Hussites are said to<br />

stand ready to aid the Czech people in their<br />

time of need, and the Twelfth Imam is to<br />

emerge to bring salvation as Mahdi, the Ten<br />

Tribes were imagined to have a large army<br />

ready to defend the Jews. They offered the<br />

consolations of strength in the face of loss,<br />

eventual triumph following defeat, succor<br />

amid distress. Zvi Ben-Dor Benite weaves the<br />

religious, legendary, and scientific history of<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

this idea into a colorful and enchanting story,<br />

told in scholarly detail with a deft personal<br />

touch. Bibliography, index, notes. BG<br />

URANIUM WARS:<br />

THE SCIENTIFIC<br />

RIVALRY THAT<br />

CREATED THE<br />

NUCLEAR AGE<br />

Amir D. Aczel<br />

Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. 256 pp. $27.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-230-61374-4<br />

Despite the intimidating title, Uranium<br />

Wars is, above all, a story about people.<br />

The author introduces us to the key players in<br />

the discovery of uranium and the history of<br />

nuclear arms, bringing us into the lives and<br />

struggles of the scientists, with brief interludes<br />

to explain some of the science (in<br />

remarkably easy and accessible language). He<br />

shows us Marie Curie (among many others)<br />

as a student searching for a Ph.D. thesis and<br />

graduating with what was the start of Nobelwinning<br />

research. He details the rivalry<br />

between Curie’s daughter, Nobel Laureate<br />

Irene Joliot-Curie, and Lise Meitner, two<br />

women racing to explain how a nucleus splits<br />

at a time when very few women dominated<br />

any scientific discipline.<br />

The relationships among the scientists<br />

bring history to life and the sections about<br />

the role of the Nazis in the arms race are gripping.<br />

Aczel ends with a look at the U.S.’s own<br />

questionable decision to drop the bomb—the<br />

final product of the scientists’ research—onto<br />

Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some of the most<br />

memorable chapters show Aczel, and the rest<br />

of the world, struggling to understand what<br />

the scientists knew and didn’t know about<br />

the intended use of their efforts, and what<br />

their feelings were when it happened.<br />

Endnotes, illustrations, insert, references. AB<br />

BOOK PROFILE<br />

comfort and luxury. It reads like fiction, but unlike fiction, it is sadly truthful and<br />

describes frustrating failures, mostly due to lack of cooperation by the governments<br />

in question, as well as successes. Just by targeting them, flushing them out from their<br />

covers, Zuroff achieves a certain level of victory, even if they are not ultimately<br />

imprisoned. Zuroff may not carry a spear or a shield, but he is a true warrior searching<br />

for justice and retribution.<br />

Marcia Weiss Posner, Ph.D., is a librarian and program director at the Holocaust<br />

Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County<br />

HOLOCAUST STUDIES<br />

ARNOLD DAGHANI’S<br />

MEMORIES OF<br />

MIKHAILOWKA: THE<br />

ILLUSTRATED DIARY<br />

OF A SLAVE LABOUR<br />

CAMP SURVIVOR<br />

Deborah Schultz and Edward Timms, eds.<br />

Vallentine Mitchell, 2009. 243 pp. $32.50 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-0853036395 (pbk.)<br />

The history of the publication of Daghani’s<br />

diary is almost as depressing as the diary<br />

itself which, after a brief introduction, is the first<br />

part of this fascinating study. Entitled “The<br />

Grave is in the Cherry Orchard” the history<br />

describes in terse yet poetic detail life in the slave<br />

labor camp of Mikhailowka during 1942 and<br />

1943, where the Romanian artist and his wife,<br />

Anisoara, whom he calls Nanino, are sent from<br />

their home in Czernowitz to build a strategic<br />

road for the Germans. During that year, besides<br />

the unbearable hardships they endured, Daghani,<br />

who had brought his paints and brushes with<br />

him (at the suggestion of the arresting officer),<br />

records both in English shorthand and, visually,<br />

in genre-like paintings, cruelty, occasional kindnesses,<br />

as well as portraits and interior scenes<br />

commissioned by his captors. Making their<br />

escape in 1943, the Daghanis carried the works<br />

above their heads as they waded across the Bug<br />

river and managed to get to a ghetto in Transnistria<br />

where they survived until the end of the war.<br />

The saga of the publication of this dual testament<br />

then begins. Though written in English, it was<br />

first published in Romanian in 1947. The<br />

Daghanis were then living in Bucharest. It was<br />

not until 1961 that the journal Adam: International<br />

Review published it in England in its original<br />

English. (The year before, it had been turned<br />

down by a literary agent whose comment was<br />

“good, but too few atrocities!”) Daghani’s paintings<br />

and writings would be concerned through-<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 53


BOOK PROFILE<br />

“CURB” COUPLE MEMOIRS<br />

By Jaclyn Trop<br />

Show your enthusiasm for the real Jeff and Susie's soul-baring memoirs on living<br />

the comedic life.<br />

Susie Essman<br />

Simon & Schuster, 2009. 256 pp. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1439150177<br />

Jeff Garlin<br />

Simon & Schuster, 2010. 256 pp. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1439150108<br />

WHAT WOULD SUSIE SAY?: BULLSH*T<br />

WISDOM ABOUT LOVE, LIFE AND COMEDY<br />

MY FOOTPRINT: CARRYING THE WEIGHT<br />

OF THE WORLD<br />

out his life with the fate of his fellow prisoners,<br />

most of whom were brutally murdered in<br />

Mikhailowka, and with the aftermath of the war.<br />

He testified and his works were inserted as evidence<br />

in trials that took place in the decades following.<br />

Rather bizarrely, he established contact<br />

with several of his captors, excerpts of whose letters<br />

to Daghani and depositions for a war crime<br />

investigation prompted by the publication in<br />

1960 of a German translation of his diary are<br />

included. Essays dealing with the Daghanis’ lives<br />

after the war, “mapping” his testimony with others<br />

of the same time and place, plus the color<br />

illustrations of his work make this much more<br />

than a diary/memoir of the Holocaust. “Roll-<br />

Call: Memorial List of those who Perished in<br />

Mikhailowka” is particularly chilling. The editors,<br />

Schultz and Timms, write in non-academic<br />

style so the text is readable and absorbing. The<br />

ultimate home of Daghani’s works is the University<br />

of Sussex, which is committed to the collection<br />

as an important historical and artistic record,<br />

and to promoting its continued availability for<br />

scholarly research. Some of Daghani’s paintings<br />

54 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

are in Yad Vashem and at YIVO in New York<br />

City. Sadly, although offered, neither Yad Vashem<br />

nor the Israel Museum would accept his complete<br />

works. Bibliography, illustrations, index. EN<br />

THE DEATH<br />

OF THE SHTETL<br />

Yehuda Bauer<br />

Yale University Press, 2010. 207 pp. $35.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-300-15209-8<br />

For many Jews and non-Jews alike, Israeli historian<br />

Yehuda Bauer, Professor Emeritus of<br />

Holocaust Studies at the Hebrew University of<br />

Jerusalem, is considered the world’s foremost<br />

expert on the Shoah. In his latest book, The<br />

One of HBO’s most colorful couples bare their souls—and the love, fear, and<br />

drama underlying a life in comedy—in a pair of first-person accounts. Jeff Garlin<br />

and Susie Essman of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” starring the semi-real exploits<br />

of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, may seem one-sided and self-obsessed, but their<br />

real-life musings are deep.<br />

Jeff Garlin, the irascible roly-poly who plays Larry David’s manager and cohort<br />

Jeff Greene, embarks upon his own journey to lose weight while going green. Neither<br />

serious nor lighthearted (no pun intended), this daily journal outlines his struggles in<br />

earnest as he searches for the strength to overcome overeating.<br />

Whether helping himself to food reserved for a strangers’ wedding, visiting Krispy<br />

Kreme, or decrying the Jamba Juice-toting woman who attended an Overeaters<br />

Anonymous meeting, Garlin maintains a sense of humor about his food addiction.<br />

Meanwhile, he takes the bus, greens his house, and argues with his wife over replacing<br />

their windows.<br />

The real treat is the behind-the-scenes gander Garlin, who also serves as co-producer,<br />

shares of the Curb set, including a bit involving Jerry Seinfeld and a chocolate<br />

milkshake.<br />

Susie Essman has penned an autobiographical glimpse into the life of a stand up<br />

comedienne—replete with hopelessness and despair before catching her big break<br />

as the acerbic wife of Jeff Greene on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Life lessons accrued<br />

along the way touch upon relationships, gay men as the new soccer moms, and the<br />

travails of menopause.<br />

Especially useful is the stirring eight-page letter Essman writes to her four<br />

stepchildren: “Frequently when our hearts are broken, obsession takes over, but<br />

obsession is never about what we think it’s about.” Essman’s words and hard-won<br />

success inspire as only someone once plagued by severe self-doubt can.<br />

Though it is easy—and a delight—to imagine the story delivered in the shrill<br />

staccato Essman uses to call Jeff a fat **** or order Larry to get the **** out of<br />

her house, her message is heartfelt. There are few punch lines, but wisdom<br />

abounds.<br />

Jaclyn Trop is a business reporter for The Detroit News and a graduate of Columbia<br />

University’s Graduate School of Journalism.<br />

Death of the Shtetl, Bauer provides a penetrating<br />

analysis of the destruction, between September<br />

1939 and March 1943, of thousands of small<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> towns and villages that composed the<br />

eastern part of the prewar Polish Republic. These<br />

shtetlach, which comprised the “center of traditional<br />

prewar Jwish existence” were home to over<br />

1.3 million Jews. Drawing heavily on survivor<br />

testimonies collected after the war at Yad<br />

Vashem, important survivor memoirs, and the<br />

latest Israeli, German, British, and American<br />

scholarship Bauer concludes that the two percent<br />

of Jews (26,000) from the Kresy (northeastern<br />

Poland, Volhynia, and East Galicia) who survived<br />

the war owed much to simply pure<br />

“chance and luck.”<br />

The Death of the Shtetl tells the story of nine<br />

representative shtetlach and surveys dozens of<br />

other similar communities. At the same time,<br />

Bauer focuses on major questions that have preoccupied<br />

historians for the past 65 years: the role<br />

played by the Judenrate in the destruction of 1.3<br />

million Jews, the efforts of a few hundred young<br />

Zionists (left and right) to organize resistance<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


groups, the attitudes and actions of Soviet partisans<br />

who eventually liberated the survivors, and<br />

finally the role played by the non-<strong>Jewish</strong> neighbors<br />

(i.e., the Poles, Ukrainians, and Belorussians)<br />

in the murder of one-fifth of all the victims<br />

of the Holocaust. CJR<br />

Reinhard R. Dorries<br />

Enigma <strong>Book</strong>, 2009. 330 pp. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-929631-77-3<br />

HITLER’S INTELLI-<br />

GENCE CHIEF: WALTER<br />

SHELLENBERG: THE<br />

MAN WHO KEPT<br />

GERMANY’S SECRETS<br />

This is a thoroughly researched, scholarly<br />

text. Its audience is the serious student<br />

or researcher; the casual student of Holocaust<br />

history would find this book overwhelming,<br />

albeit informative. But, one can always learn.<br />

Hitler’s Intelligence Chief gives the reader an<br />

opportunity to examine the workings of the Nazi<br />

government machine and the political “games”<br />

played in the name of “getting ahead in the Nazi<br />

party.” If little else, it reinforces the atmosphere of<br />

distrust in all ranks of the Nazi party, and explores<br />

some of the unexpected alliances and activities of<br />

those in power, e.g., Shellenbergs’ collaboration<br />

with Count Bernadotte to save Jews in the waning<br />

months of the war.<br />

This is a good book, but not what we<br />

would call a good read. It benefits from careful<br />

reading and rereading, as well as a discussion<br />

partner. Abbreviations, appendices, bibliography,<br />

editors comment, glossary, index,<br />

introduction, preface. NDK<br />

HUMOR<br />

I DRINKFOR<br />

A REASON<br />

David Cross<br />

Grand Central Publishing, 2009. 236 pp. $23.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-446-57948-3<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Fans of David Cross’ stand-up comedy<br />

won’t be disappointed by his new book, I<br />

Drink for a Reason. Much of the book is written<br />

in the persona that Cross assumes onstage: personal,<br />

ranting, profane, political, often antagonistic<br />

and hyperbolic, and enlivened with an<br />

engaging and imaginative silliness. The book<br />

comprises dozens of short chapters, most<br />

roughly five pages long. Some of them read like<br />

stand-up routines set on the page; others are<br />

elaborations on material that has earned Cross<br />

his reputation as a fearless polemicist. Many are<br />

essentially concerned with language, marking<br />

Cross as a potential heir to George Carlin, the<br />

language-obsessed and consistently hilarious<br />

lapsed Catholic comedian.<br />

Cross explains that he was raised <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

and now considers himself an atheist. He fits<br />

into that category of atheist Jews whose <strong>Jewish</strong>ness<br />

informs their outlook without touching<br />

their ethics or spirituality. The basic<br />

polemic posture Cross strikes—the sardonic<br />

critic attacking established assumptions and<br />

popular misconceptions with sarcastic and<br />

impassioned commentary—sounds recognizably<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong>. Organized religion is among<br />

Cross’ favorite targets and, since he would<br />

identify himself as (at most) culturally <strong>Jewish</strong>,<br />

organized Judaism and its adherents come<br />

under the hammer frequently in I Drink for a<br />

Reason. Cross’ self-criticism, which he points<br />

out is not self-loathing, is representative of the<br />

opinionated secular modernity that Judaism’s<br />

tradition of argument has helped create. This<br />

may be the ultimate <strong>Jewish</strong> joke: After everything<br />

we’ve done to shape this free and modern<br />

world, this is the thanks we get? JDE<br />

ISRAEL STUDIES<br />

ISRAEL VS. UTOPIA<br />

Joel Schalit<br />

Akashic <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. 253 pp. $15.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-933354-87-3<br />

Israel vs. Utopia is a left-wing Israeli-American<br />

Jew’s attempt to parse out some subtle<br />

distinctions about the Israeli-Arab conflict.<br />

Schalit, who openly aspires to depth of analy-<br />

Israel Studies<br />

REVIEWS<br />

sis, believes that too much dialogue on the<br />

subject in the diaspora, both from the right<br />

and left, deals with a fantasy Israel, rather<br />

than the one Israeli Jews and Arabs, and<br />

Palestinians deal with daily.<br />

Schalit, a former editor of Tikkun magazine,<br />

feels that Israel’s ties to the U.S. have<br />

been very much to Israel’s detriment and<br />

longs for Europe’s embrace. While he regrets<br />

that France and England parted ways with<br />

Israel as punishment for the Six Day War, he<br />

thinks of their having done so as “enlightened.”<br />

The Israelis act like “colonial subjects<br />

of America” in his view. Despite the withdrawal<br />

from Gaza, which one would think he<br />

would have approved, he believes that there<br />

was a “lack of meaningful progress” during<br />

the Bush years.<br />

In perhaps his most provocative chapter,<br />

he writes extensively on the rise of the word<br />

“apartheid” in left-wing circles to describe the<br />

situation in Israel, which he deplores as an<br />

inaccurate and obfuscating use of the word. It<br />

slowly becomes clear, however, that Schalit<br />

believes that word actually obscures the ‘fact’<br />

that Israel has “devised a strategy for maintaining<br />

power over the Palestinians that’s<br />

more insidious than the South African<br />

model...” and “in some instances transcending,<br />

in terms of its cruelty... ‘apartheid.’” So<br />

much for subtlety. For someone intent on<br />

using accurate language, Schalit frequently<br />

falls back on inaccurate and hyperbolic<br />

metaphors for a complex and unique reality,<br />

such as describing Israel as an “extremely brutal<br />

Colonial occupation.”<br />

His most telling (and damning) sentence<br />

comes toward the end of the book, however.<br />

“I am not sentimental about its (Israel’s) political<br />

existence the way I am, for example, about<br />

its cuisine.” The book is not without the occasional<br />

intriguing insight, but it is not a coherent<br />

whole. It is more a meandering pastiche of<br />

political analysis and a subjective expression of<br />

Schalit’s contradictory feelings about Israel’s<br />

situation, derived from his status as a “progressive”<br />

Israeli-American. His anguish is palpably<br />

sincere, and he himself is troubled by<br />

what he perceives as genuine anti-Semitism on<br />

the left, but his own bias is simply not subtle:<br />

America and Israel are invariably in the<br />

wrong, and not once does he suggest that the<br />

Arab nations or the Palestinians themselves<br />

may be even in small part responsible for the<br />

Palestinians’ plight. Just about every time<br />

Schalit says something somewhat interesting<br />

and not typically left-wing, he doubles back to<br />

reveal that, in fact, he really is to the left of<br />

most, and tiresomely so. EA<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 55


REVIEWS<br />

Israel Studies<br />

JERUSALEM: CITY<br />

OF LONGING<br />

Simon Goldhill<br />

Belknap Press of Harvard University, 2008. 356 pp. $27.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-674-02866-1<br />

Jerusalem holds a special place in the hearts<br />

of Christians and Muslims as well as Jews.<br />

Simon Goldhill, a professor of Greek at Cambridge,<br />

offers an interesting guide to the city<br />

using buildings to recount a history that often<br />

has many versions. Beginning with a walk<br />

along the wall of the Old City, Goldhill takes<br />

readers to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, a<br />

destination for Christians, noting that a Muslim<br />

family holds the keys to the building. He<br />

then visits the kotel and Haram al-<br />

Sharif/Dome of the Rock, explaining the significance<br />

of each site. He also visits other<br />

shrines in the city and comments on the many,<br />

often disputed, archaeological discoveries and<br />

the contributions of the Romans, the British,<br />

and the Americans to Jerusalem’s history.<br />

Goldhill depicts a beloved city that has survived<br />

and transcended violence and controversy<br />

to become the home of a diverse population.<br />

He explains how faith brought so many layers<br />

of different civilizations to this place and provides<br />

a guide for the thinking visitor. BMB<br />

LONE SOLDIERS:<br />

ISRAEL’S DEFENDERS<br />

FROM AROUND<br />

THE WORLD<br />

HerbKeinon<br />

Devora Publishing, 2009. 160 pp. $27.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-934440-60-5<br />

Lone Soldiers: Israel’s Defenders From<br />

Around the World explores the phenomenon<br />

of non-Israelis who come to Israel for the<br />

express purpose of enlisting in the Israel<br />

Defense Forces (IDF). The book profiles 14<br />

such soldiers as well as Tzvika Levy, the<br />

retired IDF officer who looks after these<br />

“lone soldiers.” Lone soldiers is the term used<br />

to describe soldiers who have no family or<br />

56 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

friends in Israel to support them during their<br />

IDF service. The lack of any kind of local<br />

support system makes the military experience<br />

that much more difficult.<br />

The book is geared more to a younger<br />

audience, which is unsurprising given that its<br />

focus is on the lives of soldiers who are themselves<br />

teenagers. The motivation of these soldiers<br />

and the unique challenges faced by foreign<br />

citizens joining what is essentially a<br />

foreign army occupies most of the book. The<br />

motivation ranged from a teenage desire for<br />

adventure to repaying an unstated ancestral<br />

The book is geared more to a younger<br />

audience, which is unsurprising given<br />

that its focus is on the lives of soldiers<br />

who are themselves teenagers.<br />

debt. Some of the volunteers were grandchildren<br />

of Holocaust survivors and although no<br />

one in their families suggested that these<br />

teens enlist in the IDF, the teens felt compelled<br />

to do something to balance their ancestors’<br />

helplessness in the face of the Holocaust.<br />

All four grandparents of one of the Lone Soldiers,<br />

Ariel Lindenfeld, suffered through the<br />

Holocaust. Two were in concentration camps<br />

and two spent the war in hiding. He stated,<br />

“The Holocaust is one of the biggest things<br />

for me, thinking about what would have been<br />

had the army, the state, been around then.<br />

How impossible it would have been for all<br />

that to happen. And now that we can defend<br />

ourselves, I want to be a part of doing that.”<br />

There are certain minor historical errors.<br />

For example, the author described the height<br />

of the second intifada as occurring in 2004.<br />

The height was in 2002. But for any non-<br />

Israeli teenager interested in learning what it<br />

would be like to join the IDF, the book is<br />

worthwhile. GE<br />

David Cesarani<br />

Da Capo Press, 2009. 320 pp. $26.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-306-81845-5<br />

MAJOR FARRAN’S<br />

HAT: THE UNTOLD<br />

STORY OF THE<br />

STRUGGLE TO<br />

ESTABLISH THE<br />

JEWISH STATE<br />

Aplaque on Ussishkin Street in Jerusalem,<br />

a short walk from where I live, marks<br />

the spot where a sixteen-year-old boy named<br />

Alexander Rubowitz was abducted by British<br />

police and murdered on May 6, 1947. He<br />

had been distributing news posters for the<br />

underground group LEHI, also known as the<br />

Stern Gang.<br />

At that time the British colonial administration<br />

was battling terrorist acts by LEHI as<br />

well as the Irgun Zvai Leumi, two dissident<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> military groups separate from the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Agency’s official Hagana army. The War<br />

Office appointed a war hero named Roy Farran<br />

to head a counterterrorist group to smash<br />

the <strong>Jewish</strong> guerilla units. He confessed to<br />

murdering the <strong>Jewish</strong> boy, but his written<br />

confession was judged inadmissible at his<br />

court-martial and he was acquitted.<br />

British historian David Cesarani, whose<br />

Becoming Eichmann won a National <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

<strong>Book</strong> Award, recounts this scandal of coverup,<br />

conspiracy, and diplomacy in the context<br />

of the last years of the British Mandate in<br />

Palestine. Major Farran’s Hat is a history of<br />

those years that closely scrutinizes the personalities<br />

of the leadership and the decisions they<br />

made as Britain’s hold on its empire was<br />

becoming increasingly tenuous and desperate.<br />

It is also a gripping, suspenseful account<br />

of a government’s intentional perversion of<br />

justice. Treating the Rubowitz case as a<br />

microcosm of the struggle for a <strong>Jewish</strong> state<br />

sheds new light on these world-historical<br />

events as well as on the case itself. Index,<br />

notes, sources. BG<br />

START-UP NATION:<br />

THE STORY OF<br />

ISRAEL’S ECONOMIC<br />

MIRACLE<br />

Dan Senor and Saul Singer<br />

Twelve, 2009. 304 pp. $26.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-446-54146-6<br />

Israel, a country the size of New Jersey and<br />

surrounded on all sides by hostile nations,<br />

has more companies listed on the NASDAQ<br />

stock exchange than the next five foreign<br />

countries combined. In this book, Dan Senor<br />

and Saul Singer, two Middle East experts,<br />

explain how Israel’s unique history and challenges<br />

have created such a favorable environment<br />

for high tech entrepreneurs.<br />

In short, the authors credit a combination<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


of five characteristics: Israel’s strategic isolation,<br />

the centrality of its military, its close<br />

connections with and support from its diaspora,<br />

and its pioneering origins. With references<br />

to history and by means of personal<br />

anecdotes, Senor and Singer introduce the<br />

reader to many of the people who have<br />

helped make household names of companies<br />

such as Intel, Cisco, Google, and many others<br />

equally important but less familiar as well as<br />

to visionaries such as David Ben-Gurion and<br />

President Shimon Peres who created a nation<br />

that values and encourages innovation.<br />

A <strong>Council</strong> on Foreign Relations <strong>Book</strong>,<br />

Start-Up Nation is highly readable and opens<br />

the reader’s eyes to Israel’s uniqueness and<br />

explains how it differs from other countries<br />

also known for their high-tech industries such<br />

as China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.<br />

Bibliography, index, notes. PLR<br />

MODERN JEWISH THOUGHT<br />

AND EXPERIENCE<br />

A HEART AFIRE:<br />

STORIES AND<br />

TEACHING OF<br />

THE EARLY<br />

HASIDIC MASTERS<br />

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Netanel Miles-<br />

Yepez; Arthur Green, fwd.<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Publication Society, 2009. 384 pp. $45.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8276-0884-9<br />

Speaking in one voice as “I,” Reb Zalman<br />

and his student Miles-Yepez comment on<br />

different voices in Hasidism, from the mystical<br />

rabbis who preceded the Ba’al Shem Tov,<br />

Yisra’el ben Eliezer, founder of Hasidism, to<br />

the teachers and disseminators of the 18th and<br />

19th centuries who followed him. The authors<br />

seek to reconnect readers with the contemplative<br />

practice of Hasidic tradition. They offer<br />

new interpretations of the teachings of Rashi,<br />

Yitzhak Luria, the Ba’al Shem Tov, Mikeleh<br />

of Zlotchov, Pinchas of Koretz, Ya’akov Yosef<br />

of Polonoyye, the Maggid of Mezritch, Rabbi<br />

Reb Melekh, and the writings about them.<br />

Schachter-Shalomi and Miles-Yepez question<br />

the zeal of disciples whom they feel lost touch<br />

with spirituality by repeating words without<br />

understanding or by manipulating stories so<br />

that text prevented words of prayer from fill-<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Modern <strong>Jewish</strong> Thought and Experience<br />

ing with light and rising up to heaven. In this<br />

mission to keep open the divine connection<br />

between God and people and to widen the<br />

circle of men and women Hasidism might<br />

inspire, the authors also discuss Adel Ashkenazi,<br />

the Ba’al Shem’s daughter, as a healer<br />

and herbalist, and forge connections to Buddhism<br />

and Sufism.<br />

Fluid and passionate, A Heart Afire draws<br />

on the authors’ personal knowledge and the<br />

sources themselves to promote spiritual<br />

reflection and to provide new relevance for<br />

readers both inside and outside of Hasidic<br />

practice. Appendix, bibliography, glossary,<br />

notes. SE<br />

THE SEDER NIGHT:<br />

AN EXALTED<br />

EVENING: THE<br />

PASSOVER<br />

HAGGADAH WITH<br />

A COMMENTARY<br />

BASED ON THE<br />

TEACHINGS OF<br />

RABBI JOSEPH<br />

B. SOLOVEITCHIK<br />

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik; Rabbi Menachem<br />

Genack, ed.<br />

KTAV, 2009. 203 pp. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-60280-118-9<br />

The Bible tells us to recount the story of<br />

the Exodus annually. The Rabbis have<br />

taught that he who expands upon the story of<br />

the Exodus is most praiseworthy. This<br />

explains why there are more commentaries on<br />

the text of the Passover Haggadah than on<br />

any other <strong>Jewish</strong> text. Rabbi Joseph B.<br />

Soloveitchik, possibly the greatest rabbinic<br />

sage and thinker of the 20th century, did not<br />

write such a commentary. However, throughout<br />

his half century of teaching Talmud, writing<br />

essays and novellae, delivering lectures,<br />

and speaking at various forums in English<br />

and in Yiddish, he elaborated on many<br />

themes related to the Exodus, to Passover, to<br />

the Haggadah, and to cognate subjects.<br />

Rabbi Menachem Genack, a devoted and<br />

talented disciple, has gathered and arranged<br />

...this commentary is<br />

thematic and examines topics<br />

a bit more in depth.<br />

many of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s teachings from<br />

disparate sources into a commentary on the<br />

Haggadah. Unlike some commentaries which<br />

offer pithy observations or brief comments on<br />

the text, this commentary is thematic and<br />

examines topics a bit more in depth.<br />

Rabbi Soloveichik (“The Rav”) felt strongly<br />

that the recitation of the Haggadah should<br />

be an exercise in Torah study and his comments<br />

are informed by that philosophy. Simple<br />

acts such as eating the various seder foodstuffs<br />

are analyzed and elevated through the<br />

prism of Tamudic and rabbinic debate regarding<br />

the nature of the mitzvah, its sources, and<br />

its status. In one essay, the Rav analyzes the<br />

obligation of women to drink the four cups<br />

since they are normally exempt from time<br />

bound commandments, and elsewhere he<br />

comments on the custom to recite “Next year<br />

in Jerusalem” at the conclusion of the seder<br />

and the connection this has to a similar custom<br />

at the end of the Yom Kippur service.<br />

For those not privileged to have studied<br />

with the Rav, or not able to delve into his<br />

philosophical and rabbinic writings, this<br />

anthology of comments on the Haggadah is a<br />

wonderful introduction to the teachings of<br />

Rabbi Soloveitchik. WG<br />

Ira Bedzow<br />

Urim Publications, 2009. 192 pp. $19.95<br />

ISBN: 978-965-524-029-0<br />

REVIEWS<br />

HALAKHIC MAN,<br />

AUTHENTIC JEW:<br />

MODERN EXPRES-<br />

SIONS OF ORTHODOX<br />

THOUGHT FROM<br />

RABBI JOSEPH<br />

B. SOLOVEITCHIK<br />

AND RABBI ELIEZER<br />

BERKOVITS<br />

It is a daunting task to summarize the teachings<br />

of these two 20th century <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

thinkers in a slim volume. Still more challenging<br />

is selecting which pieces of their massive<br />

output to present. Even more quixotic is<br />

the attempt to challenge some of their positions.<br />

Most of the scholarship produced<br />

about Rabbi Soloveitchik has been to elucidate<br />

his teachings and make them understandable<br />

to a wider audience. Rabbi<br />

Berkovits’ writings have not yet found many<br />

interpreters.<br />

The author understands the technical,<br />

philosophical language of these two writers<br />

but may be out of his depth when he tries to<br />

differ with them. Presenting sophisticated<br />

ideas by avatars of modern Orthodoxy is an<br />

important exercise. One must ask, however,<br />

to whom is this book directed? If it is meant<br />

to be read by scholars it falls short of the<br />

mark. If it is meant for laymen, then the pres-<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 57


REVIEWS<br />

Poetry<br />

entation of the topics is inappropriate.<br />

Rabbi Soloveitchik and Berkovits sought<br />

to create a legion of Modern Orthodox Jews<br />

who are involved in full Orthodox observance,<br />

ongoing rabbinic text studies, a college<br />

education, a job in the secular or <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

world, and engagement in serious philosophic<br />

and theological studies.<br />

The absolute primacy of halakha in Rabbi<br />

Soloveitchik’s writings and the place of ethics<br />

in Rabbi Berkovits’ philosophy are crucial to<br />

understanding their respective outlooks. Theory<br />

must drive practice. The topics selected<br />

such as the study of Torah, performance of<br />

commandments, individual versus community,<br />

exile, the chosenness of the <strong>Jewish</strong> people,<br />

and the role of the Land of Israel are important<br />

and need to be clarified in layman’s<br />

terms. Using the language of philosophers<br />

only appeals to other philosophers.<br />

The Holocaust played an important role<br />

in Rabbi Berkovits’ writings and its omission<br />

in this discussion is unfortunate. Rabbi<br />

Soloveitchik’s writings require great effort to<br />

master. Not since Maimonides have we seen a<br />

master of the entire rabbinic corpus express<br />

himself in the idiom of the great philosophers.<br />

It is therefore important to disseminate<br />

and make accessible the writings of great <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

thinkers who worked to bridge the chasm<br />

which some think exists between modernity<br />

and traditional Judaism.<br />

Rabbi Soloveitchik showed the eternal verity<br />

of Judaism while Rabbi Berkovits favored a<br />

more developmental approach. In either case<br />

the synthesis is shown to work. WG<br />

POETRY<br />

Yakov Azriel<br />

Time Being Press, 2009. 118 pp. $15.95<br />

ISBN: 978-156809128-0<br />

BEADS FOR THE<br />

MESSIAH’S BRIDE:<br />

POEMS ON LEVITICUS<br />

Poetry about religion often implies a<br />

dichotomy between an ideal way of living<br />

inspired by the Divine and human evil. The<br />

split may become even more obvious when<br />

considering the <strong>Book</strong> of Leviticus, which<br />

58 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

details numerous religious prohibitions and<br />

the severe consequences of disobeying any of<br />

these laws. Yakov Azriel writes beyond the dry,<br />

relentlessly harsh quality of Leviticus and<br />

brings the heart to this topic in this collection.<br />

Consider the title poem, in which the author<br />

hopes that his meditations may expand<br />

beyond their surface appearance, “May songs<br />

I write be brought as beads—/ Beads for the<br />

Messiah’s wife...Perhaps she’ll take the beads I<br />

string/To wear when she celebrates.” Linking<br />

one’s humanity with a plea for prayer and<br />

deep worship is central to Azriel’s vision and<br />

quest in which, “...And there are the truly<br />

righteous...Their soul becomes a mirror they<br />

hold up/To God, reflecting His face,/To God,<br />

the soul of the world.” The beautiful sonnets<br />

and free verse of Beads are a wonderful starting<br />

point for Torah study, repentance, and true<br />

worship. DS<br />

IN MY BUSTAN:<br />

POEMS<br />

Michal Mahbgerefteh<br />

Poetica Publishing Company, 2009. 77 pp. $13.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-61539-247-6<br />

ustan” can be translated as life, gar-<br />

“Bden, or orchard. Many of Michal<br />

Mahbgerefteh’s poems are reflections on Israel<br />

beyond surface appearances, as in “Peaceful<br />

Thoughts to My Sleep,” “...I want to walk in<br />

your bustan to the scent/of the sweet lemon<br />

tree...My heart aches for/your laughter and<br />

spices, but tonight the/cold silvery skies<br />

brought a peaceful thought/to my sleep; your<br />

presence is a beacon/to my wondering<br />

thoughts stirring formless/beginnings full of<br />

strength and vigor.” The reader also perceives<br />

the anguish the author felt on watching her<br />

mother die from cancer and on considering<br />

the agony of terrorism and war that Israel continues<br />

to experience; but infusing these starker<br />

realities is a sensitive, hopeful vitality, as in<br />

“Psalm for Peace,” which repeats the refrain,<br />

“If I could only make the/dark fall in love with<br />

the light.” The last section returns to the defining<br />

identity of this very talented poet, “Yuk-<br />

Hay-Vav-Hay,” “...When your name/rests<br />

upon my lips/sweetness enriches/the edge of<br />

my soul/letter by letter.” DS<br />

SHADOW ARCHITECT<br />

Emily Warn<br />

Copper Canyon Press, 2008. 139 pp. $15.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-55659-277-5<br />

Poetry heightens the reader’s appreciation<br />

of material and spiritual experience,<br />

especially if that poetry adds an extraordinary<br />

perception about the power of letters which<br />

combine to form literal and figurative words.<br />

Emily Warn’s collection specifically addresses<br />

the Hebrew alphabet, each letter addressed in<br />

three poems intentionally focused on form,<br />

name, and number, followed by three short<br />

but apt quotations from notable authors.<br />

These are further divided into linear stories, a<br />

series of trials, and the insights of a “realized<br />

adept,” one who has plumbed the depths of<br />

exploration in this world encompassing the<br />

scale from traditional Gematria studies all the<br />

way to the contemporary meditative sensory<br />

images. While these poems can be experienced<br />

with the general appreciation one gives<br />

to literal or abstract art, familiarity and even<br />

scholarly study of the Hebrew alphabet can<br />

only enhance the realm one enters when reading,<br />

for example, “The Soul’s Chisel” (mem):<br />

“A wide brown river swirls through boulders./Downstream<br />

bubbles pop in calmer<br />

pools...You hide in a cleft of rock/to watch<br />

God pass by...” The rocks and water are one,<br />

each absorbing life from the other; so it is<br />

with faith touched by the letters of God. DS<br />

STEERAGE<br />

Bert Stern<br />

Ibbetson Street Press, 2009. 88 pp. $15.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-9795313-8-5<br />

Like children of the Holocaust, those<br />

whose parents suffered from pogroms or<br />

who were forced from their homeland<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


ecause of religious persecution carry the<br />

scars forever. The cost of such escape never<br />

seems to leave Bert Stern, one example of an<br />

adult son who knows, as he states so directly<br />

in “Lotty is Born,” “...let them tell me if they<br />

can/if I am recompense for what they<br />

endured.” The remaining five parts of this<br />

notable collection might be described as an<br />

appreciation for the beauty and fragility of<br />

life thereafter. In the title poem, Stern notes<br />

the full effect of such survival, “...he said what<br />

he hoped,/as if God gave us life/as we want it.<br />

But order is like houses children weave from<br />

grasses, twigs/and leaves.” Nature as it<br />

appears in upstate Buffalo, New York is a<br />

repeated mirror image of deep beauty and<br />

death, with the latter being existentially, not<br />

morbidly, depicted. One other outstanding<br />

poem is “Midrash: Abraham” in which after<br />

his son remains after the great sacrifice<br />

“...broken there, complete and alone,/bent by<br />

perfection.” Steerage is a celebration of new<br />

life forever renewed by the past. DS<br />

THESE MOUNTAINS:<br />

SELECTED POEMS<br />

OF RIVKA MIRIAM<br />

Rivka Miriam; Linda Stern Zisquit, trans.<br />

Toby Press, 2009. 260 pp. $14.95 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-159-264-249-6 (pbk.)<br />

These Mountains: Selected Poems of Rivka<br />

Miriam, translated and with an introduction<br />

by Linda Stern Zisquit, is the first<br />

time that a book-length translation of the<br />

poet’s work appears in English. As such, this<br />

new book makes an important contribution<br />

to contemporary Hebrew poetry available in<br />

English. Readers should be especially grateful<br />

that the publisher, Toby Press, continues to<br />

publish volumes of translated poetry that<br />

contain both the original Hebrew and the<br />

English side-by-side. This dual-language presentation<br />

adds depth even for those with only<br />

minimal Hebrew skills.<br />

Rivka Miriam, born in Israel in 1952, is a<br />

child of Holocaust survivors who became a<br />

published poet at the age of fourteen. Her<br />

earliest poems were inspired by what she had<br />

learned about the Holocaust and her family’s<br />

experience. She is similarly influenced by<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> texts and religious and theological<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

ideas, some of which seeps into and infuses<br />

the poetry.<br />

Rivka Miriam’s poems are deceptively<br />

simple at times. The language is straightforward,<br />

yet worlds are contained within it.<br />

Some lines come directly from Biblical or<br />

liturgical texts, while others could be everyday<br />

speech.<br />

Biblical characters are featured in many<br />

poems, as in “The Stripes in Joseph’s Coat”<br />

which employs an economy of language to<br />

paint a rich history of Joseph’s whole ancestry.<br />

“The Song to Jacob who Moved the<br />

Stone from the Mouth of the Well” is a powerful,<br />

moving interpretation of the relationship<br />

between Jacob and Leah, told from<br />

Leah’s perspective, which contains the lines,<br />

“Flocks of sheep hummed beneath our blankets,/tent-flies<br />

were pulled to the wind,” and<br />

ends with the lines, “And he didn’t know I<br />

was Leah/And flocks of sons broke through<br />

my womb to his hands.” This poem functions<br />

as modern midrash, which gives Leah a voice<br />

and adds a perspective missing from the Biblical<br />

text. God, too, appears frequently in the<br />

poems, an intimate presence with whom the<br />

poet is in relationship, as in “Still,” in which<br />

God knocks on the window and enters the<br />

room.<br />

Many of the poems use maternal imagery<br />

such as breasts and nursing, as in “I Nurse a<br />

Very Old Woman,” or “Oh My Mother.”<br />

Sometimes these images are comforting and<br />

nurturing, but they can also be quite disturbing,<br />

as in the images of children suckling ash<br />

and leaves in “Never Will I Be Like the Mother<br />

in the Picture” or fire asking to be nursed<br />

in “The Fire, Blushing from Fear.”<br />

The land of Israel is also a common theme<br />

in Miriam’s poetry. She writes of a mystical<br />

connection to the land, markedly different<br />

from so many of her Israeli peers who<br />

respond with irony when exploring a connection<br />

to the land. Hers is an unironic relationship,<br />

one that is deeply physical and sensual.<br />

The land in her poetry is a living being, a<br />

friend and sometimes a lover. In “These<br />

Mountains” the mountains sit in armchairs<br />

and eat cake like comfortable visitors while in<br />

“Lest it Be Revealed” in which “Only when<br />

my land is asleep/spread out before me/I<br />

whisper whisper her name/and she moans.”<br />

There are references in this poetry to the<br />

pain and trauma of the Holocaust that Miriam’s<br />

family experienced. The two related<br />

poems “Chaya’s Unborn Child” and “And<br />

Shalom, Chaya’s Husband” speak of violence<br />

and loss with poignancy while avoiding any<br />

hint of sentimentality. These poems are dis-<br />

Visual Arts<br />

quieting, disturbing. There is a sense that the<br />

poet cannot help but bring forth what her<br />

legacy has bequeathed her, and that she is<br />

continually trying, over and over, to make<br />

sense of her family history of European suffering<br />

and the struggle of modern Israel.<br />

Linda Zisquit has done a masterful job in<br />

these translations. She manages to convey<br />

both the directness and the richness of the<br />

Hebrew, while making the poems read as if<br />

they were always meant to be read in English.<br />

I can only hope that Miriam and Zisquit will<br />

continue to collaborate for years to come, and<br />

bring forth many more such volumes of<br />

achingly beautiful poetry. Interview with<br />

Rivka Miriam, notes, translator’s note. HEP<br />

VISUAL ARTS<br />

REVIEWS<br />

THE BOOK<br />

OF GENESIS<br />

Robert Crumb; Robert Alter, trans.<br />

W.W. Norton & Company, 2009. 214 pp. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-393-06102-4<br />

Finally! An adult version of one of the<br />

world’s most widespread and debated<br />

books gets inked. Esteemed artist and illustrator<br />

Robert Crumb greets this project with<br />

open arms; a graphical adaptation of all 50<br />

chapters of Genesis. Crumb is known for his<br />

distinctive drawing style, critical and satirical<br />

views of mainstream America, and involvement<br />

in the underground comic scene, often<br />

depicting content forbidden in conventional<br />

publications. Some feel Crumb is a wonderfully<br />

unlikely candidate to breathe new life into<br />

the founding narrative of privilege and authority<br />

in the Judeo-Christian world. To his<br />

defense, Crumb’s goals were not to be comedic<br />

or ironic but rather to interpret this sacred text<br />

completely through his own style of illustration.<br />

As he states in the introduction, “there<br />

was no monkeying around with the text.”<br />

Crumb has done a fantastic job of delivering<br />

all 50 chapters without deviation or<br />

abomination. To maintain authenticity, the<br />

entire book is drawn with ink and remains in<br />

black and white. Crumb refrains from delving<br />

into the typical grotesque and pornographic<br />

illustrations for which he is known, a challenge<br />

which he met with grace—despite his<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 59


REVIEWS<br />

Visual Arts<br />

daring and explicit past. There is indeed some<br />

fine artwork here; G-d’s endless white beard<br />

and flowing mane depict a sense of enlightenment<br />

and mightiness, his re-construction of<br />

Noah and his arc is masterful, and Abram’s<br />

haunted sleep when the Lord tells him his seed<br />

will be scattered for 400 years is powerfully<br />

delivered with perplexing dread.<br />

Reference the back of the book for<br />

Crumb’s personal comments and observations<br />

on each chapter. EF<br />

PHOTOGRAPHING<br />

THE JEWISH<br />

NATION, PICTURES<br />

FROM S. AN-SKY’S<br />

ETHNOGRAPHIC<br />

EXPEDITIONS<br />

Eugene M. Avrutin, Valerii Dymshits, Alexander<br />

Lvov, Harriet Murav, Alla Sokolova, eds.<br />

Brandeis University Press/UPNE, 2009. 212 pp. $39.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-58465-792-7<br />

Shlyome-Zanvl Rappoport, known by his<br />

pen-name S. An-Sky (1863–1920), was<br />

not only “the father of <strong>Jewish</strong> anthropology<br />

and folklore,” but also the uncle of <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

visual ethnography.<br />

He took his nephew, Solomon Borisovich<br />

Iudovin (1892–1954), then a young man of<br />

20, with him on his ethnographic expedition to<br />

Volynia, Podolia, and Kiev provinces as the<br />

expedition photographer. Iudovin took over<br />

2000 photographs, most of which An-Sky<br />

deposited, together with the rest of the material<br />

he collected during the three research seasons in<br />

1912–1914, in the museum of the <strong>Jewish</strong> Historical-Ethnographic<br />

Society (JHES) in St.<br />

Petersburg. However, apparently, Iudovin gave<br />

a portion of the photographs, for safe keeping,<br />

to the painter Natan Isaevich Al’tman<br />

(1889–1970). Upon his death, the theater<br />

designer Alexander Pasternak moved to his studio<br />

and there he found a trove of 350 photographs.<br />

He showed them to Alina Orlov who<br />

conducted research for a biography of Al’tman,<br />

and she, in turn, consulted with Viktor Kel’ner<br />

and Valerii Dymshits, both from Petersburg<br />

Judaica, a research center affiliated with the<br />

European University at St. Petersburg. They<br />

realized their provenence and value, acquired<br />

them for the institution and included them in<br />

a five volume collection Fotoarkhiv ekspeditsii<br />

An-skogo (St. Petersburg, 2005–2007). The 169<br />

photographs in the present volume are taken<br />

from this collection, and they are accompanied<br />

by six informative and interpretive essays by<br />

60 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

members of the Petersburg Judaica. The photographs<br />

are of utmost importance. They include<br />

portraits, some as mug-shots for anthropological<br />

documentation, craftsmen staged at their<br />

works, teachers and children in traditional<br />

schools and views of shtetl homes and squares.<br />

An-Sky set out on his expedition to discover<br />

and recover the <strong>Jewish</strong> folk culture and traditions<br />

in order to make them available for modern<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> artists as building blocks for the creation<br />

of modern national <strong>Jewish</strong> culture. 170<br />

photographs. BBA<br />

REINVENTING RITUAL:<br />

CONTEMPORARY ART<br />

AND DESIGN FOR<br />

JEWISH LIFE<br />

Daniel Belasco; Contributors: Arnold M. Eisen,<br />

Julie Lasky, Tamar Rubin, Danya Ruttenberg<br />

Yale University Press/The <strong>Jewish</strong> Museum, 2009.<br />

149 pp. $39.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-300-14682-0<br />

To judge this book by its illustrated cover<br />

and contents page is a challenge: witty or<br />

provocative? The <strong>Jewish</strong> Museum exhibition<br />

organizers probably aimed for ambivalence<br />

and they succeeded, in display and in this catalog,<br />

which accompanies an exhibition traveling<br />

from New York to San Francisco’s Contemporary<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Museum. This book is in<br />

the tradition of “Too <strong>Jewish</strong>?”—an earlier,<br />

controversial exhibition at the Museum.<br />

Interpretation of <strong>Jewish</strong> ritual objects, espe-<br />

AHMA, 2008 (Shalom Bat Chairs); acrylic on wood<br />

cially those focused on home-based ritual, is<br />

risky when done by practitioners of outrageous<br />

art, be they <strong>Jewish</strong> or non-<strong>Jewish</strong>, female or<br />

male. The curators/writers/artists don’t deny<br />

themselves lofty references—among others,<br />

Abraham Joshua Heschel’s comment that Gd’s<br />

revelation of the Torah is always ongoing.<br />

So empowered, artists conceive of limitless<br />

Bible portions rolled into gel capsules, perhaps<br />

to be ingested, on a regular basis. An austerely<br />

designed yad (pointer) incorporates a compass,<br />

verifying East; another includes a magnifying<br />

glass, reassuring impeccable Torah reading.<br />

Combining a kitchen apron and a tallit may be<br />

another matter for reader/viewer.<br />

Certainly some objects are refreshing, others<br />

vexing to consider, nevertheless the book<br />

is tied to a serious, nearly ponderous level by<br />

its topic, ritual—always ongoing. Acknowledgements,<br />

bibliography, contributors, exhibition<br />

checklist, index, notes. ABS<br />

TOBI KAHN:<br />

SACRED SPACES FOR<br />

THE 21ST CENTURY<br />

Ena Giurescu Heller, ed.<br />

GILES in association with The Museum of Biblical<br />

Art, 2009. 110 pp. $39.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-904832-64-5<br />

The book published to accompany the exhibition<br />

of the same name at the Museum of<br />

Biblical Art in New York City is comprised of<br />

short essays exploring themes of sacredness in<br />

abstract images and objects created by the artist<br />

Copyright: 2009 by Tobi Kahn.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


Tobi Kahn for ritual and meditative space.<br />

The exhibition, which was at MOBIA<br />

until January 2010, included Kahn’s reinterpretation<br />

of traditional ritual objects plus an<br />

ensemble of abstract art panels lining the glass<br />

walls of a congregation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin<br />

which “exalt the ritual function of the<br />

space,” according to Ena Heller, an expert on<br />

art and religion. Other contributors include a<br />

professor of religion, a museum curator, and<br />

Daniel Sperber, professor of Talmud at Bar-<br />

Ilan whose essay, “Sanctity in Space,” addresses<br />

Kahn’s obsession with sanctity in space and<br />

gives a concise explanation of Kahn’s success<br />

in creating an “ethereality of the dimension of<br />

holiness,” always seeking “for representation<br />

of the spiritual in the material.” Kahn’s<br />

memorial for victims of the 1995 Oklahoma<br />

bombing and the meditative space created for<br />

the Health Care Chaplaincy in New York<br />

City are also illustrative of this quest. Nessa<br />

Rapoport’s poems (“songs”) introduce and<br />

accompany a section of exquisite photographs<br />

of works in the exhibition. This book gives<br />

the exhibition the permanence it deserves. EN<br />

WOMEN’S STUDIES<br />

MITZVAH GIRLS:<br />

BRINGING UP THE<br />

NEXT GENERATION<br />

OF HASIDIC JEWS<br />

IN BROOKLYN<br />

Ayala Fader<br />

Princeton University Press, 2009. 280 pp. $22.95 (pbk.)<br />

ISBN: 978-0-691-13917-3 (pbk.)<br />

This fascinating work by a modern liberal<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> anthropologist explores daily life in<br />

the closed Hassidic community of Boro Park,<br />

Brooklyn. Dr. Ayala Fader, associate professor<br />

of anthropology at Fordham University, focuses<br />

on young Hassidic women, for it is they who<br />

will “bear and rear the next generation.”<br />

Submit a writing sample to jbc@jewishbooks.org<br />

Please include your name, address, phone<br />

number, e-mail address and areas of interest.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

She surveyed an array of generally unfamiliar<br />

subject matter, including the values of<br />

Hasidic femininity; the intricacies of Hasidic<br />

linguistics (e.g., two variation of Yiddish, one<br />

that girls speak to friends to fit in and another<br />

that they speak to older folks); the hierarchies<br />

of pious modesty; defiance of Hasidic young<br />

women; and how the standards of women’s<br />

modesty are established by male religious<br />

leadership.<br />

The work maintains a scholarly character<br />

and possesses the intellectual nature of a scientific<br />

exploration, while remaining a pleasurable<br />

casual read. This is because throughout<br />

the volume, the author elaborated upon her<br />

interactions and her warm personal experiences<br />

with members of the community she<br />

was investigating. 2009 National <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong><br />

Award Winner in Women’s Studies. ShA<br />

STILL JEWISH:<br />

A HISTORY OF<br />

WOMEN AND<br />

INTERMARRIAGE<br />

IN AMERICA<br />

Keren R. McGinity<br />

New York University Press, 2009. 307 pp. $39.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8147-5730-7<br />

Once upon a time, women who married<br />

“out” were considered lost to the <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

faith; it was assumed they would follow their<br />

husbands into the Christian world, letting go<br />

of the <strong>Jewish</strong> culture and heritage they had<br />

been raised to honor, respect, and carry with<br />

them into the next generation. McGinity, a<br />

research fellow at the University of Michigan,<br />

set out to examine these assumptions and see<br />

whether they held up under the close scrutiny<br />

of a historian. The result is a very readable<br />

book, one which takes an academic topic and<br />

treats it with care and presence and manages,<br />

in a lively way, to unravel the tightly woven<br />

tapestry of women and interfaith marriage and<br />

expose the facts and feelings at its core.<br />

Women’s Studies<br />

REVIEWS<br />

Through detailed research, McGinity<br />

demonstrates, for example, that women who<br />

intermarried in the last half of the 20 th century<br />

were more likely than their counterparts in<br />

the earlier years to raise <strong>Jewish</strong> children. She<br />

documents how their <strong>Jewish</strong> identity followed<br />

them into their mixed marriage and<br />

provides a sharply defined historical perspective<br />

on the relationships that drove them and<br />

sustained them. The book is rich in history,<br />

and for those who desire more, the extensive<br />

notes at the back provide much additional<br />

information that supports and elucidates the<br />

text. Appendix, notes, selected index. LFB<br />

WOMEN AND<br />

JUDAISM<br />

Rabbi Malka Drucker, ed.<br />

Praeger, 2009. 300 pp. $65.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0275991548<br />

ight now I am the oldest and you are<br />

“Rthe youngest Bat Mitzvah” [sic], said<br />

Judith Kaplan Eisenstein to Rabbi Malka<br />

Drucker’s daughter on the Shabbat of her bat<br />

mitzvah. Drucker reflects on the significance of<br />

that poignant moment in the introduction to<br />

her book, Women and Judaism, many years after<br />

that occasion: “A single moment held seventy<br />

years of history as a gracious and wise woman<br />

blessed a bright-eyed and promising daughter of<br />

Israel.” The book is a collection of essays that<br />

address topics that are both diverse and broad:<br />

from the historical to the liturgical; from Biblical<br />

women to ‘women of the Holocaust’; from<br />

renewing ancient traditions to creating new ritual.<br />

Its strength, therefore, is also its weakness: the<br />

book tries to be too many things at once, bouncing<br />

from topic to topic, never truly finding its<br />

center. It is an ambitious book, a brave attempt<br />

to cover so many aspects of what it means (and<br />

has meant) to be a <strong>Jewish</strong> woman. JP<br />

Would you like to be a reviewer for <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World?<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 61


CHILDREN’S REVIEWS<br />

The Aleph-Bais Trip on the Aleph-Bais Ship<br />

Chanl Altein; Baruch Becker, illus.; D.L. Rosenfeld, ed.<br />

HaChai Publishing, 2009. 30 pp. $10.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1929628254<br />

Ahoy there Mateys! Gather ‘round and join the Aleph-Bais as they board their ship, ready to<br />

set sail. One by one the Hebrew letters make their way to the Aleph-Bais ship. Some hop<br />

by pogo stick, others fly in by airplane or hot air balloon, but come they do until they are all on<br />

board their old-time schooner. Well, almost everyone is there. It seems sof is missing. The letters<br />

set sail to find their lost companion. Once tucked safely aboard, the Aleph-Bet are ready to go.<br />

This is an adorable first look at the Aleph-Bet, according to the Ashkenazi pronunciation. The<br />

letters present themselves in Aleph-Bais order in the first half of the book, and then appear randomly<br />

in the latter half. They are cheerful card-shaped characters with smiley faces and sailor<br />

hats. The book pages are sturdy and plastic coated, perfect for little hands. For ages 2–5. MB<br />

An Adventure in<br />

Latkaland<br />

Karen Fisman; Thomas McAteer, illus.<br />

JoRa <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. 64 pp. $13.50<br />

ISBN: 978-09812650-0-1<br />

It is refreshing to find an illustrated chapter<br />

book with a Hanukah theme. In 10 short<br />

chapters, Fisman creates the imaginative<br />

world of Latkaland. With the arrival of a<br />

magic dreidl and the utterance of “Nes Gadol<br />

Hayah Sham”, young Sarah and Jacob are<br />

transported to a fantasy land inhabited by<br />

“Oily” and other strange looking latka makers.<br />

Once in Latkaland, Sarah and Jacob join<br />

forces with these “Lunchkins” to foil the<br />

Hanukah goblins. The Hanukah goblins are<br />

boiling all the potatoes that are used for latkes<br />

and destroying the Lunchkins’ ability to fry<br />

them to make the traditional pancakes. The<br />

children encourage the Lunchkins to “be like<br />

the Maccabees who were fearless and believed<br />

in themselves.” Their battles and their triumphs<br />

are wonderful reading for young children,<br />

with just enough suspense to keep them<br />

interested. The story is accompanied by colorful<br />

watercolor illustrations and maps that<br />

enhance the story. Additionally, the end of<br />

the book contains two recipes—one for latkes<br />

and one for a jujube dreidl. This book is perfect<br />

for an emerging chapter book reader or<br />

for a parent to read to a child as a fanciful<br />

bedtime story. For ages 5–8. MLK<br />

Clever Rachel<br />

Debby Waldman; Cindy Revell, illus.<br />

Orca <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. 32 pp. $19.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-55469-081-7<br />

Riddles are the heart of this enjoyable<br />

retelling of a <strong>Jewish</strong> folktale. Young Rachel<br />

has been raised on riddles and is as clever as any<br />

boy, though her mother would prefer that she<br />

focus on learning to make kugel and setting a<br />

proper Shabbat table. Jacob, the baker’s son,<br />

doubts her ability to solve riddles as well as he<br />

does, so Rachel decides to teach him a lesson by<br />

stepping back when a distraught young woman<br />

named Miriam comes pleading for help. If<br />

Miriam doesn’t solve three riddles, her beloved<br />

will be forced to marry someone else. Jacob<br />

struggles with the riddles until he becomes flustered<br />

and finally turns to Rachel for the answers,<br />

remembering that true wisdom comes from<br />

working together. Although minimally sprinkled<br />

with old world phrasing, the text reads<br />

more like a picture book than a folktale. Appeal-<br />

ing full-page illustrations in golden hues depict<br />

traditionally garbed villagers with expressive<br />

faces that bring the story to life. But the true<br />

appeal of this book is the riddles, including a full<br />

page of them at the end just for fun. Read with<br />

Raisel’s Riddle by Erica Silverman and entries<br />

from While Standing on One Foot by Nina Jaffe<br />

for a great introduction to <strong>Jewish</strong> riddle and<br />

puzzle stories. For ages 7–9. TM<br />

Daniel’s Diary:<br />

How God Saved<br />

Me From the Lions<br />

Allia Zobel Nolan; Linda Clearwater, illus.<br />

Harvest House Publishers, 2009. 32 pp. $15.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-7369-2544-0<br />

Here’s a fresh bible story for the just graduating<br />

from picture books crowd. Age<br />

appropriate hip language and the cult of<br />

celebrity deliver the scoop in a first hand, personalized<br />

tell-all. Daniel’s diary speaks directly<br />

about more than his escapade in the lions’ den,<br />

the dramatic incident on which picture books<br />

focus. Young readers learn the royal politics of<br />

Babylonian exile as written in the first half of<br />

the <strong>Book</strong> of Daniel, although, make sure to<br />

note that this version is based on a Christian<br />

bible. This story accurately agrees with the<br />

Tanakh, but the order of some events are<br />

changed to make vignettes clear about location,<br />

characters and motives. Daniel’s diary<br />

explains his experience in administrative terms.<br />

He rises to power through honesty and dream<br />

interpretation. He discloses his friends’—<br />

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—escape<br />

from the fiery furnace. He works for three<br />

Kings, with co-workers, then promoted, above<br />

them. Envious cohorts devise a decree to get<br />

rid of Daniel whose crime is praying to God,<br />

not men. The tolerant King Darius, who<br />

accepts Daniel’s kosher habits, does not want<br />

to do this, but must obey his own laws. God’s<br />

angel saves Daniel and the happy king writes a<br />

new law. The breezy text adds annoying nicknames<br />

and names characters unnamed in the<br />

Hebrew Bible. The layout is enticing: the font,<br />

youthful; the illustrations, cute bordering on<br />

cartoon, but they deliver the message. Readers<br />

will chew over concepts of God, prayer and<br />

loyalty after reading this funny book where<br />

wild beasts and hateful men do not chew up<br />

our Daniel! For ages 8–10. EGC<br />

62 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010 www.jewishbookcouncil.org


Monika Schroder<br />

Front Street, 2009. 163 pp. $17.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-59078-701-4<br />

The Dog in the<br />

Wood<br />

The Dog in the Wood is a fictional story<br />

focusing on the Soviet occupation of<br />

East Germany beginning in 1945. It was<br />

inspired by the life of the author’s father and<br />

by her 1989 visit to the village of his birth.<br />

She reminds us that not all victims of the<br />

German war machine were Jews, and certainly<br />

in the aftermath of the war, many German<br />

children endured great hardship. This book<br />

tells the heartbreaking story of nine-year-old<br />

Fritz, a boy who lives with his mother, sister<br />

and grandparents on a rural German farm.<br />

Fritz’s life is thrown into chaos when the<br />

Soviets arrive. His grandfather is a staunch<br />

Nazi supporter who commits suicide in the<br />

barn when he realizes the Germans have lost<br />

the war. Russian soldiers move into the family’s<br />

home, steal the cows, and eventually dispossess<br />

the family of their farm. The narrative<br />

relays the many disappointments Fritz<br />

endures as he leaves the home and garden he<br />

loves and moves in with relatives. Just when<br />

She reminds us that not all<br />

victims of the German<br />

war machine were Jews.<br />

he thinks life can get no worse, the Soviets<br />

accuse his mother of breaking the law and<br />

they march her away at gunpoint. An<br />

author’s note informs the reader that there<br />

were ten “special camps” run by the Soviets<br />

(some of the same ones used to imprison<br />

Jews) where many innocent Germans suffered<br />

and died. The unrelenting narrative of sad<br />

events may make the book more appropriate<br />

for older teens, as only the rare Russian soldier<br />

shows any kindness to the family. The<br />

reader does come away enlightened about the<br />

aftermath of the war and how difficult it was<br />

for ordinary Germans to simply survive. This<br />

riveting debut novel could serve as an additional<br />

read for those already familiar with<br />

Holocaust themed literature who would like<br />

to learn more about its aftermath. For ages 12<br />

and up. LK<br />

CHILDREN’S REVIEWS<br />

Fox Walked Alone<br />

Barbara Reid<br />

Albert Whitman & Company, 2009. 30 pp. $16.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8075-2548-7<br />

Fox wakes one morning feeling that “there<br />

was something in the air.” He notices pairs<br />

of animals marching by in a hurry and joins<br />

the procession without quite knowing why.<br />

After a long journey, including a night when<br />

“tooth and claw and fur and feather...lay<br />

down to sleep together” and a detour to free<br />

a pair of caged doves in an abandoned city,<br />

fox finds a she-fox waiting for him and they<br />

enter Noah’s Ark together. The rhyming text<br />

is serviceable, although there are few awkward<br />

moments as in the forced rhyming of<br />

“thought” and “not” and the sudden shifts<br />

from couplets to monorhyme. The internal<br />

logic is a little shaky as well: it’s odd that all<br />

the other animals, including the female fox,<br />

know what is going on while the fox does not.<br />

Noah’s appearance at the end of the story is a<br />

surprise to the fox, and the significance of the<br />

ark is not explained in the text. Reid has supplied<br />

a springboard from which the religious<br />

content can be supplied by readers who bring<br />

their own background knowledge with them.<br />

This book is best used as a supplement to<br />

more Torah-traditional retellings, rather than<br />

as an introduction to the Noah story. Despite<br />

the weaknesses of the text, Barbara Reid’s signature<br />

plasticine art elevates this book to a<br />

“must have” level. The bright colors, the variations<br />

in texture, the intricate detail, the<br />

changes in perspective, and the touches of<br />

silent humor all make this a book to pore over<br />

again and again. For ages 4–8. HE<br />

Hoppy Hanukkah!<br />

Linda Glaser; Daniel Howarth, illus.<br />

Albert Whitman and Company, 2009. 24 pp. $15.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8075-3378-9.<br />

Two small bunnies, Simon and Violet, do<br />

not remember previous Hanukkahs, but<br />

are old enough this year to help their parents<br />

place candles in the menorah. They are excited<br />

to hear about the customs of Hanukkah from<br />

their parents, and enjoy both smelling and<br />

eating grandma’s latkes. Grandpa successfully<br />

teaches them to play dreidel, and also is<br />

depicted wearing a blue kippa while lighting<br />

the hanukkiah. There is enough introductory<br />

information for a young reader with little or<br />

no <strong>Jewish</strong> background, while the book is also<br />

satisfying for the reader who knows what holiday<br />

customs to expect. This is a holiday story<br />

filled with sweetness and family love, written<br />

for pre-schoolers. Illustrations are charming<br />

and colorful and are totally appropriate to the<br />

juvenile text. For ages 2–5. SF<br />

Simone Elkeles<br />

Flux, 2009. 264 pp. $9.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0738718798<br />

How to Ruin<br />

Your Boyfriend’s<br />

Reputation<br />

i, my name is Amy Barak-Nelson. My<br />

“Hmom is a Nelson and my dad is a<br />

Barak and just in case you were wondering,<br />

I’m aware I have two last names. If you don’t<br />

know me, I’m a seventeen year old American<br />

teenager with red, white, and blue blood running<br />

through my veins. You’re probably wondering<br />

why right now I’m on a bus in Israel<br />

on my way to an Israeli boot camp.”<br />

In Simone Elkeles’ third book of her<br />

“How To” series, How to Ruin Your Boyfriend’s<br />

Reputation, you don’t have to wonder long.<br />

Amy Barak-Nelson—drama queen—holds<br />

nothing back. This Chicago princess has<br />

signed up for one week of Israeli boot camp<br />

in order to see her boyfriend, Avi, who is stationed<br />

there. Accompanied by her friends,<br />

Amy deals with the heat, her hair, the language,<br />

and the unexpected discovery that her<br />

boyfriend has kissed another girl behind her<br />

back. The Israeli boot camp experience provides<br />

challenges for the Americans, but no<br />

real danger. Although the tone of the narrative<br />

is always fun and light-hearted, this book<br />

offers themes that include friendship, loyalty,<br />

forgiveness, as well as pride in Israel. Some<br />

readers might find Amy shallow or superficial,<br />

but all will find her fun loving, and when<br />

it counts, able to pull it together. Chick lit<br />

readers will love this series. The humorous<br />

tone and content is suitable for readers 12<br />

and up. SA<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 63


The Champion<br />

of Children:<br />

The Story of<br />

Janusz Korczak<br />

Tomek Bogacki<br />

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009. 40 pp. $17.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0374341367<br />

In death as in life, the story of Dr. Janusz<br />

Korczak, the <strong>Jewish</strong>-Polish physician and<br />

Warsaw orphanage director continues to captivate<br />

people around the world. When I was<br />

in Poland recently, it was clear that Korczak,<br />

the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit, had<br />

become the hero Jew of the nation. His story<br />

of love and devotion for all children was<br />

widely known and widely honored, as it<br />

should be. In this beautiful picture book,<br />

Tomek Bogacki puts a human touch on Korczak’s<br />

life through the use of sensitive text<br />

and evocative acrylic paintings. From early<br />

childhood, Korczak dreamt of a society in<br />

which children would be treated with dignity<br />

and respect. As an adult, his pedagogical writings<br />

and children’s books built his reputation.<br />

In his orphanage, children were allowed to<br />

govern themselves democratically, in effect<br />

creating a caring family environment. Even<br />

when the Nazis forced the removal of the<br />

orphanage into the enclosed walls of the War-<br />

I Am God’s<br />

Paintbrush<br />

Sandy Eisenberg Sasso; Annette Compton, illus.<br />

SkyLights Path Publishing, 2009. 24 pp. $7.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1594732652<br />

Rabbi Sasso has complemented her earlier<br />

book, God’s Paintbrush, with this new toddler<br />

board book that could help a child establish<br />

the relationship between God and man, in<br />

the first person. I Am God’s Paintbrush introduces<br />

the concept that God is within all of us<br />

and that we are conduits for God’s colors and<br />

paintbrush here on earth. The book is presented<br />

as serving as an inter-faith, multicultural,<br />

non-denominational and non-sectarian format.<br />

Sasso begins by introducing the colors in the<br />

world and then switches to music, song and<br />

64 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

saw Ghetto, Korczak tried, with great hardship,<br />

to maintain that level of living. He<br />

declined offers to save himself and boarded<br />

the train to Treblinka with his children.<br />

“Though he couldn’t save his orphans from<br />

the horror of the Holocaust, his insistence<br />

that children have the right to be loved, educated,<br />

and protected has continued to inspire<br />

people all over the world.” For ages 8–12. NHF<br />

Even Higher! A Rosh<br />

Hashanah Story<br />

I.L. Peretz; Eric A. Kimmel, adapter; Jill Weber, illus.<br />

Holiday House, 2009. 24 pp. $16.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8234-2020-9<br />

In the original Yiddish short story by I.L.<br />

Peretz, the rabbi of Nemirov disappears on<br />

the days preceding the holy days of Rosh<br />

Hashanah. The Ukrainian villagers believe he<br />

has gone to speak to God on their behalf. A<br />

doubting Litvak, sceptical as men from Lithuania<br />

have a reputation for being, questions the<br />

truth of their belief. Kimmel opens his picture<br />

book adaptation with the core question,<br />

“Where did the rabbi go?” The Litvak determines<br />

to find out. Playful, gouache illustrations,<br />

chock full of cats, chickens, mice, and a<br />

nibbling goat, follow the human rabbi and spying<br />

Litvak as the Litvak hides under the rabbi’s<br />

bed and sneaks behind when the rabbi, dis-<br />

dance. The change feels unexpected and out of<br />

sync with the overall tone and title of the book,<br />

making it especially difficult to initiate these<br />

hard to grasp concepts with young toddlers. A<br />

more consistent approach would have been to<br />

address only the developing metaphor of color,<br />

painting and paintbrush to God throughout<br />

the book rather than additionally embarking<br />

on song and dance. Sasso does return to color<br />

...introduces the concept that<br />

God is within all of us and that<br />

we are conduits for God’s colors<br />

and paintbrush here on earth.<br />

in the closing two pages. The illustrations by<br />

Annette Compton are reminiscent of the<br />

Woodstock era and are bright and abstracted<br />

watercolors that have a sense of childlikeness.<br />

The inside cover provides a statement to adults<br />

on exploring spirituality with children and further<br />

resource titles are also given. In all, the<br />

guised as a peasant, chops wood in the forest<br />

and then lights the fire for a sick woman in the<br />

poorest section of the village. An endnote tells<br />

that the next scene was inspired by Kimmel’s<br />

own grandmother at age 95 - The rabbi sings a<br />

Ukrainian drinking song and pulls the old<br />

woman up to dance - before returning to the<br />

traditional tale. Afterwards, the Litvak, now a<br />

disciple, asserts that the rabbi of Nemirov has<br />

gone even higher than heaven. Aside from a<br />

curious three pages which slow the story down<br />

to over-explain how the Litvak is a doubter, this<br />

is the most child-friendly version of Peretz’s<br />

classic story now in print. Light, upbeat art<br />

with figures like paper doll cut-outs and clear<br />

black font help connect this accessible tale of<br />

truly unselfish giving for readers ages 6–9. SF<br />

Tropical Secrets:<br />

Holocaust<br />

Refugees in Cuba<br />

Margarita Engle<br />

Henry Holt and Company, 2009. 199 pp. $16.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0805089363<br />

Very little has been written about the Holocaust<br />

refugees who, denied entry to the<br />

United States and other countries, found<br />

book attempts to cover a variety of needs: philosophy,<br />

religion, inter-faith, multiculturalism;<br />

however is not entirely successful in doing so.<br />

For ages 1-3. CM<br />

Noah’s Notebook:<br />

How God Saved<br />

Me, My Family, and<br />

the Animals From<br />

the Flood<br />

Allia Zobel Nolan; Linda Clearwater, illus.<br />

Harvest House Publishers, 2009. 32 pp. $14.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-7369-2508-2<br />

There are many books about Noah’s ark,<br />

and quite a few from the perspective of<br />

different animals, but the imagined journal<br />

Noah kept gives a new point of view. Noah<br />

describes his conversations with God, build-<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


efuge in Cuba. This book uses poetry to<br />

tell the story of one such escapee from Nazi<br />

Germany who lands in Cuba with nothing<br />

but his woollen coat and winter clothes. A<br />

beautiful young girl helps him to acclimate<br />

to the island life style, but she has her own<br />

reasons to want to escape. Daniel shares his<br />

fear of the horrors he left behind and his<br />

reluctance to embrace the island life<br />

through a series of poems in his voice.<br />

Paloma tells her story in poetry also as she<br />

tries to help Daniel and the other refugees<br />

despite the fact that her father is “El<br />

Gordo,” the man who is keeping the other<br />

refugee ships from landing and who is<br />

threatening to send the refugees already in<br />

Cuba back to Germany. David, an old man<br />

who came to Cuba from Russia, and who<br />

is <strong>Jewish</strong> like Daniel, helps the two children<br />

as they learn to share their feelings<br />

and overcome their fears.<br />

The poems are haunting in their<br />

imagery and honesty. Each character<br />

speaks with a distinctive voice. Although<br />

the story has some action, it is mostly a<br />

novel of character. The reader gets to<br />

know each character and watch as Daniel<br />

and Paloma change and grow. This book<br />

is highly recommended for middle school<br />

and high school students who want a different<br />

Holocaust story. A historical note at<br />

the end of the book puts the actual historical<br />

events in a context that will help<br />

young readers relate to the events in the<br />

story. For ages 12 and up. SD<br />

ing the ark, loading food for the animals, and<br />

how the other people made fun of him.<br />

Entries Six, Seven and Eight detail the rain<br />

and flood and life on the ark. Entry Nine, the<br />

final one, is about life after Noah and the animals<br />

leave the ark. There is a short glossary<br />

and some interesting facts at the end of the<br />

text. There are several clues that this book is<br />

written from a Christian perspective. In the<br />

glossary, “Hebrew” is defined as “the name<br />

given to God’s chosen people who were also<br />

called Israelites.” Neither moniker was used<br />

until much later in time. Noah was not <strong>Jewish</strong>.<br />

In a picture where Noah and his family<br />

are praying, the people are kneeling and have<br />

their hands together. The book emphasizes<br />

God’s love for Noah as opposed to his disappointment<br />

with what was wrong with the<br />

world. While the colorful illustrations are<br />

cute and full of energy, the humor and puns<br />

(“What does Noah know-ah?”) of the text, as<br />

well as the wordiness, are for an older audi-<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

ence than the illustrations. This book is an<br />

optional choice at best, for ages 5–8. KSP<br />

Surviving the Angel<br />

of Death<br />

Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Buccieri<br />

Tanglewood Publishing, 2009. 141 pp. $14.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-933718-28-6<br />

Eva and Miriam Mozes were just 10 years old<br />

when their family was sent to Auschwitz.<br />

When their parents and older sisters were sent<br />

to the gas chambers, their lives were spared and<br />

because they were twins, they became subjects<br />

of Dr. Josef Mengele’s experiments. In Surviving<br />

the Angel of Death, Eva recounts the harrowing<br />

ordeals she and Miriam faced. She provides<br />

plenty of detail, though there are gaps she cannot<br />

fill in—for example, she was deliberately<br />

infected with a disease Mengele expected to be<br />

fatal so that he could kill Miriam when Eva<br />

died and compare the healthy body to the diseased<br />

one. She survived, though she still does<br />

not know what illness he gave her. Even after<br />

the camp was liberated, Eva and Miriam did<br />

not have an easy time. They eventually went to<br />

Israel, and then to America. Eva describes her<br />

difficult early years in Indiana and the anti-<br />

Semitism she faced. In 1984, Eva and Miriam<br />

founded a support group for people who had<br />

been victims of Mengele’s sadistic experiments,<br />

and in 1995 Eva opened a Holocaust museum<br />

their parents and older sisters were<br />

sent to the gas chambers, their lives<br />

were spared and because they<br />

were twins, they became subjects<br />

of Dr. Josef Mengele’s experiments.<br />

in Terre Haute, Indiana. (She is also known as<br />

the subject of a recent controversial documentary<br />

entitled “Forgiving Dr. Mengele” which<br />

highlights her ideas about justice, revenge and<br />

the possibility of healing through forgiveness.)<br />

Kor and Buccieri include maps to help readers<br />

place the events and photos to help make the<br />

people seem more real. Though painful to read,<br />

Surviving the Angel of Death provides an<br />

informative first-hand account of the harrowing<br />

experiences of one set of twins at<br />

Auschwitz. For ages 14 and up. MLB<br />

CHILDREN’S REVIEWS<br />

The Waiting Wall<br />

Leah Braunstein Levy; Avi Katz, illus.<br />

Hachai Publishing, 2009. 30 pp. $12.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-929628-49-0<br />

The Waiting Wall presents young children<br />

with the history and the importance of<br />

the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The book is<br />

written from an Orthodox perspective as evidenced<br />

by the word choices of “Kosel<br />

HaMaarovi,” “Beis Ha Mikdosh,” and<br />

“Moshiach.” It describes people swaying in<br />

prayer, placing letters to G-d in the cracks of<br />

the wall, crying and watching the ceaseless<br />

movement and energy that surrounds the<br />

wall. “The Kosel reaches arms across the shining<br />

empty space, holding it quiet and still,”<br />

Levy writes. The gentle words and appealing<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 65


2010 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS<br />

April Halprin Wayland and Stephane Jorisch, author and illustrator of New Year at<br />

the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story, Robin Friedman, author of The Importance of<br />

Wings, and Margarita Engle, author of Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba,<br />

are the 2010 winners of the prestigious Sydney Taylor <strong>Book</strong> Award.<br />

The Sydney Taylor <strong>Book</strong> Award honors new books for children and teens that exemplify<br />

the highest literary standards while<br />

authentically portraying the <strong>Jewish</strong> experience.<br />

The award memorializes Sydney<br />

Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind<br />

Family series. The winners will receive<br />

their awards at the Association of <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Libraries convention in Seattle this July.<br />

Six Sydney Taylor Honor <strong>Book</strong>s were<br />

named for 2009. For Younger Readers,<br />

Honor <strong>Book</strong>s are: Nachshon Who Was<br />

Afraid to Swim by Deborah Bodin<br />

Cohen with illustrations by Jago (Kar-<br />

Ben), Benjamin and the Silver Goblet by<br />

Jacqueline Jules with illustrations by Natascia Ugliano (Kar-Ben), Yankee at the Seder<br />

by Elka Weber with illustrations by Adam Gustavson (Tricycle Press) and You Never<br />

Heard of Sandy Koufax? by Jonah Winter with illustrations and an amazing lenticular<br />

cover by Andre Carrilho (Schwartz & Wade <strong>Book</strong>s, an imprint of Random House). Two<br />

illustrations communicate its meaning to<br />

children, to give them a sense that it is their<br />

wall, too, and to let them know that they can<br />

find spirituality there as well. “It’s easy to feel<br />

close to Hashem here,” she writes. Levy concludes<br />

the book with her hope that the Messiah<br />

will come soon. “Maybe today someone<br />

will say that one tefillah that will finally bring<br />

peace and happiness to the world,” she writes.<br />

“Maybe you will be the one.” If teaching your<br />

children about the Messiah and the Western<br />

Wall is important to you, this is a good introductory<br />

read for young children. It is a book<br />

written with a warm, gentle love of Judaism<br />

and a fervent belief in the coming of the Messiah.<br />

For ages 4–7. LK<br />

When I First Held<br />

You: A Lullaby<br />

from Israel<br />

Mirik Snir; Eleyor Snir, illus.<br />

Kar-Ben Publishing, 2009. 32 pp. $9.95<br />

ISBN 978-0-7613-5098-9<br />

With captivating illustrations by the<br />

author’s daughter, this “lullaby” from<br />

Israel serves as a quiet and calming end to the<br />

day for the very youngest children. Animals<br />

with their young are beautifully depicted within<br />

a peaceful world into which babies arrive<br />

with purpose. There are only two or three<br />

66 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

words per page (a’ la Goodnight Moon), used<br />

mostly as a cue for children to enjoy the bright,<br />

folk art style illustrations. The last pages contain<br />

a place for your child’s name and photo<br />

and a tender quote by Rabbi Nachman of<br />

Breslov—“The day you were born is the day<br />

God decided that the world could not exist<br />

without you.” This is the only clue that the<br />

book may be targeted for a <strong>Jewish</strong> audience. It<br />

certainly would make a nice gift and keepsake<br />

for any family with a new baby, regardless of<br />

religious background. However, the fact that it<br />

is paperback limits the gift/photo album<br />

appeal. For ages birth–3 years.<br />

Zvuvi’s Israel<br />

Tami Lehman-Wilzig; Ksenia Topaz, illus.<br />

Kar-Ben Publishing, 2009. 32 pp. $16.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8225-8759-0<br />

Join Zvuvi, the fly, and his cousin Zahava<br />

as they buzz all around Israel. Beginning in<br />

Jerusalem, they zoom to dozens of interesting<br />

sites. With a smattering of facts about each<br />

location, accentuated by a few words in<br />

Hebrew and lots of excitement, the two flies<br />

show readers things that make Israel so special.<br />

Join them for lunch as Zvuvi nibbles “on a<br />

works in translation were named Honor <strong>Book</strong>s for Older Readers: Anne Frank: Her<br />

Life in Worlds and Pictures by Menno Metselaar and Ruud van der Rol (translated by<br />

Arnold J. Pomerans) (Roaring Brook Press/Flash Point, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s<br />

Publishing Group) and A Faraway Island by Annika Thor (translated by Linda<br />

Schenck) (Delacorte <strong>Book</strong>s for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House). Lost, a<br />

historical novel by Jacqueline Davies<br />

(Marshall Cavendish) and Naomi’s Song,<br />

a biblical fiction by Selma Kritzer Silverberg<br />

(JPS) were named Honor <strong>Book</strong>s in<br />

the Teen Reader Category.<br />

The JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible<br />

by Ellen Frankel with illustrations by Avi<br />

Katz (JPS) was named a Notable <strong>Book</strong><br />

for All Ages.<br />

In addition to the medal-winners,<br />

the Award Committee designated twenty-two<br />

Notable <strong>Book</strong>s of <strong>Jewish</strong> Content<br />

for 2010: eight in the Younger<br />

Readers Category, eight in the Older Readers Category, and six for Teens. Notable<br />

titles, and more information about the Sydney Taylor <strong>Book</strong> Award, may be found<br />

online at www.SydneyTaylor<strong>Book</strong>Award.org. A blog about the awards can be found at<br />

www.sydneytaylorbookaward.blogspot.com.<br />

falafel ball that has fallen to the ground at<br />

Machaneh Yehudah...” Then find him as he<br />

hides in Soreq Cave and learn about stalactites<br />

and stalagmites along the way. The adventurous<br />

Zvuvi is almost swatted by a cook in Abu<br />

Ghosh, then barely escapes the jaws of an alligator<br />

in Hamat Gader. From lunch at Lake<br />

Kinneret to scuba diving in Eilat, the two flies<br />

cover the entire country. A map of Israel is<br />

included to help readers locate their many<br />

stopping points. Zvuvi’s Israel is both entertaining<br />

and informative; an excellent introduction<br />

to the many wonderful cities and attractions<br />

Israel has to offer. For ages 6–10. MB<br />

YOUR AUDIENCE IS<br />

HERE. REACH THOUSANDS<br />

OF DEDICATED<br />

JEWISH READERS.<br />

ADVERTISE YOUR<br />

PROGRAM, EVENT OR BOOK<br />

IN JEWISH BOOK WORLD.<br />

EMAIL<br />

jbc@jewishbooks.org<br />

FOR RATE SCHEDULE.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


A CHAT WITH ZACHARYSHAPIRO<br />

By Barbara Bietz<br />

I am thrilled to welcome Zachary<br />

Shapiro to the blog. His first children’s<br />

book, We’re All in the Same<br />

Boat (Putnam), is a delightful<br />

retelling of the story of Noah’s Ark,<br />

beautifully illustrated by Jack E.<br />

Davis. Zach has inspired people of all<br />

ages through original story-telling,<br />

music and heartfelt humor. As the<br />

Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City,<br />

California, Zach finds many ways to<br />

bring new life to old legends. He wrote We’re All in the Same Boat to teach<br />

children and adults how we can motivate and support each other in the face<br />

of tough circumstances. A native of Massachusetts, Zach Shapiro lives in<br />

Southern California with his partner and their dog, “Daisy,” who has barked<br />

her share of complaints on a rainy day!<br />

What was the inspiration for writing<br />

We’re All in the Same Boat?<br />

A few years ago, my sister-in-law, Leora Krygier, published her novel, First the<br />

Raven. At one of her readings, she described how the raven was the first bird to<br />

fly free from Noah’s Ark. And in relating the drama of the book, she used the<br />

phrase, “We’re all in the same boat.” At the moment, something stirred in me.<br />

Noah had always been a favorite story, and I loved making it come to life with<br />

children. And so, I began to think about the tired, restless creatures on Noah’s Ark,<br />

from the ants to the zebras. I went home that night and wrote the first draft of<br />

my manuscript.<br />

Can you share a bit about your writer’s journey?<br />

In my work, I tell stories all the time. But writing stories was a new animal<br />

(pun intended). I had always dreamed of writing a children’s picture book, but I<br />

really had no idea about the process. So I went out and bought The Everything<br />

Guide to Writing Children’s <strong>Book</strong>s. I read it cover to cover. In the back is an index<br />

of publishers, and I researched each of them on line. I made lists of which publishers<br />

would be appropriate for my book. And I considered whether the book should<br />

specifically target the <strong>Jewish</strong> market or not. And so, I carefully selected a handful<br />

of publishers, prepared cover letters, and send out my manuscript.<br />

And I waited. And waited. And waited. And I was rejected. Many times. But all<br />

it takes is one. And when I got a response from Putnam, I leapt for joy!<br />

The illustrations in We’re All in the Same<br />

Boat are delightful. What was your response<br />

when you first saw them?<br />

When Putnam first told me that it usually takes 2-3 years for the book to hit the<br />

shelves, I nearly plotzed. It seems liked forever. But they insisted that we find the<br />

right illustrator. When I learned that they had selected Jack E. Davis, I was thrilled. A<br />

full year went by before I saw Jack’s first sketches. And though I adore Jack’s art, I<br />

didn’t know what to expect. I was a little scared. But my nervous anticipation transformed<br />

into delight. I could never have begun to imagine such amazing illustrations,<br />

and I am in awe that an artist can convey words like, “Vexed” and “Impatient.”<br />

CHILDREN’S REVIEWS<br />

How has your congregation reacted<br />

to your book?<br />

To launch the book, I worked with Temple Akiba to host a premier reading<br />

along with a “blessing of the animals.” We encouraged members and guests to<br />

brings their pets to synagogue after Sunday School. Our front courtyard was filled<br />

with dogs, cats, bunnies, frogs, and even a snake! After the reading, I offered a<br />

special blessing for the joy that our furry friends bring to our lives each day. Later<br />

in the year, our Nursery School embarked on a Noah’s Ark project that received an<br />

award from the Bureau of <strong>Jewish</strong> Education. Young and old alike have been so<br />

enthusiastic about We’re All in the Same Boat. We have sold over 200 copies<br />

through our gift store alone.<br />

What are some fun facts about you?<br />

I grew up in Boston and have lived in the Los Angeles areas since my ordination<br />

from the Hebrew Union College—<strong>Jewish</strong> Institute of Religion in 1997. I was<br />

the Associate Rabbi at University Synagogue in Brentwood for eight years before<br />

becoming the Senior Rabbi at Temple Akiba. My goal in life is to help bring goodness<br />

into the world, one act of purposeful kindness at a time. I am big aviation<br />

fan, and I have a vast library of books about commercial aviation and airports. I<br />

love to bike ride and I enjoy good theatre. My partner, Ron Galperin, and I have a<br />

poodle named Daisy. Who knows... someday you may be reading a book about her<br />

as well!<br />

Thanks so much for sharing your journey with us! To learn more, visit<br />

Zachary Shapiro’s web site: www.allinthesameboat.com<br />

Barbara Bietz is a freelance writer and children’s book reviewer. She is currently<br />

a member of the Sydney Taylor <strong>Book</strong> Award Committee. Barbara is the author<br />

of the middle grade book, Like a Maccabee. She has a blog dedicated to <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

books for children at www.BarbaraB<strong>Book</strong>Blog.Blogspot.com.


CHILDRENS’ BOOK PROFILE<br />

DUTCH GRAPHIC NOVELS IN TRANSLATION<br />

FIND A TEEN AUDIENCE<br />

By Hillary Zana<br />

These graphic novels were originally published in conjunction with the Anne<br />

Frank house in Amsterdam. Both are historical fiction about World War II. A<br />

Family Secret, written in cooperation with the Resistance Museum of Friesland, gives<br />

an overview of the Netherlands during the war, through the story of Helena, a Dutch<br />

girl, and her good friend Esther. The Search, which was written in cooperation with<br />

the <strong>Jewish</strong> Historical Museum of Amsterdam, tells the same story, but centers specifically<br />

on the experiences of Jews deported from the Netherlands to Auschwitz.<br />

A Family Secret<br />

Eric Heuvel; Lorraine T. Miller, trans.<br />

Farrar, Straus Giroux, 2009. 64 pp. $18.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-374-32271-7<br />

The Search<br />

Eric Heuvel, Ruud van der Rol, and Lies Schippers;<br />

Lorraine T. Miller, trans.<br />

Farrar, Straus Giroux, 2009. 64 pp. $9.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-374-46455-4<br />

AFamily Secret gives a very detailed overview of the<br />

war, from the Dutch point of view. The information<br />

could be overwhelming to a young reader without much<br />

background knowledge. For example, many children<br />

might not understand the discussion of the Japanese<br />

occupation of the Dutch colony in Indonesia. Characters<br />

in the book represent the spectrum of morality—from<br />

innocent victims and heroic resistance fighters, to passive<br />

bystanders, collaborators, or evil Nazis. Because of<br />

the graphic novel format, there isn’t much elaboration<br />

as to the nuances of each character’s choices. The violence<br />

is kept low key in the illustrations; guns are aimed,<br />

but there is no blood or dead bodies. This too, however,<br />

might mislead young readers, as the worst violence<br />

depicted is a Japanese guard whipping a Dutch woman.<br />

The Search features the same characters, but concentrates<br />

on the Holocaust, as it affected Dutch Jews. As<br />

its focus is narrower, it is would be easier for American<br />

children to understand. One character is hidden during<br />

the war by Dutch farmers; the second survives<br />

Auschwitz. While the illustrations are not graphic, the narration is fairly specific as to<br />

the horrors the characters experience. The illustrations are in a realistic style, very<br />

similar to the drawings in the Tintin comics. This gives the books an old-fashioned<br />

look, appropriate to the subject matter. The graphic novel medium will lure reluctant<br />

readers or students who enjoy this format. Unfortunately, the cartoon format may<br />

attract readers who are too young for the subject matter. The Search could be an<br />

introduction to the Holocaust for middle school students, while A Family Secret<br />

would be best for someone with some background knowledge of World War II. The<br />

books should also appeal to readers interested in Anne Frank’s life. For ages 11–14.<br />

Hillary Zana has a BA and teaching credential from Princeton University. She was a<br />

day school librarian for many years and has written many Hebrew textbooks available<br />

through Behrman House Publishers. She currently teaches English and history in<br />

the Los Angeles public school system and is a National Board Certified teacher.<br />

© Eric Heuvel


Please note that all book descriptions have been<br />

taken from information provided by the publisher.<br />

AMERICAN JEWISH STUDIES<br />

AMERICAN SKETCHES: GREAT LEADERS,<br />

CREATIVE THINKERS, AND HEROES OF<br />

A HURRICANE<br />

Walter Isaacson<br />

Simon & Schuster, 2009. $25.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4391-8064-8<br />

Thirty-seven individual pieces, selected<br />

from among the articles, op-ed pieces, book<br />

<strong>reviews</strong>, and commentaries that Isaacson has<br />

written, encompass such subjects as Henry<br />

Kissinger, Albert Einstein, and Woody Allen.<br />

BECOMING AMERICAN JEWS:<br />

TEMPLE ISRAEL OF BOSTON<br />

Meaghan Dwyer-Ryan, Susan L. Porter,<br />

and Lisa Fagin Davis<br />

Brandeis University Press, 2009. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-58465-790-3<br />

From its beginning in 1854 as a traditional<br />

German shul to its current status as the<br />

largest Reform synagogue in New England,<br />

Temple Israel has been an important force in<br />

Boston and American <strong>Jewish</strong> life. Based on<br />

hundreds of archival documents, demographic<br />

data, and oral histories, and illustrated with<br />

more than 200 images, bringing to life a community<br />

of over 150 years.<br />

CHARITABLE CHOICES: PHILANTHROPIC<br />

DECISIONS OF DONORS IN THE<br />

AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY<br />

Arnold Dashefsky and Bernard Lazerwitz<br />

Lexington <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. $65.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-7391-0987-8<br />

Examining the incentives and barriers to<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

charitable behavior, this book discusses the<br />

motivations for charitable giving.<br />

THE MAKING OF A REFORM JEWISH<br />

CANTOR: MUSICAL AUTHORITY,<br />

CULTURAL INVESTMENT<br />

Judah M. Cohen<br />

Indiana University Press, 2009. $39.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-253-35365-8<br />

Provides an unprecedented look into the<br />

meaning of attaining musical authority<br />

among American Reform Jews at the turn of<br />

the 21 st century.<br />

RED BLACKAND JEW: NEW FRONTIERS<br />

IN HEBREW LITERATURE<br />

Stephen Katz<br />

University of Texas Press, 2009. $60.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-292-71926-2<br />

Between 1890 and 1924, more than two<br />

million <strong>Jewish</strong> immigrants landed on America’s<br />

shores. The story of their integration into<br />

American society, as they traversed the difficult<br />

path between assimilation and retention<br />

of a unique cultural identity, is recorded in<br />

many works by American Hebrew writers.<br />

This book charts the ways in which the<br />

Native American and African American creative<br />

cultures served as a model for works produced<br />

within the <strong>Jewish</strong> community.<br />

BIOGRAPHY, AUTOBIOGRAPHY<br />

& MEMOIR<br />

GABY BRIMMER: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY<br />

IN THREE VOICES<br />

Gaby Brimmer and Elena Poniatowska<br />

Brandeis University Press, 2009. $26.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-58465-758-3<br />

Born with cerebral palsy, Brimmer was a<br />

BOOKS OF NOTE<br />

writer, poet, and one of Mexico’s first disability<br />

rights activist. An account of a woman who witnessed<br />

and participated in a tumultuous period<br />

in Mexico’s cultural and political history.<br />

LEV SHTERNBERG: ANTHROPOLOGIST,<br />

RUSSIAN SOCIALIST, JEWISH ACTIVIST<br />

Sergei Kan<br />

University of Nebraska Press, 2009. $ 65.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8032-1603-7<br />

Biography of Lev Shternberg (1861–1927)<br />

illuminating the development of professional<br />

anthropology in late imperial and early Soviet<br />

Russia. Shternberg was a political exile during<br />

the late tsarist period and was one of the<br />

anthropologists who played a major role in<br />

influencing the professionalization of anthropology<br />

in the Soviet Union.<br />

MAIMONIDES IN HIS WORLD: PORTRAIT<br />

OF A MEDITERRANEAN THINKER<br />

Sarah Stroumsa<br />

Princeton University Press, 2009. $39.50<br />

ISBN: 978-0-691-13763-6<br />

This book challenges prevailing views of<br />

Maimonides by revealing him to have wholeheartedly<br />

lived, breathed, and espoused the rich<br />

Mediterranean culture of his time.<br />

WHAT I THOUGHT I KNEW<br />

Alice Eve Cohen<br />

Viking, 2009. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-670-02095-9<br />

At age forty-four, Alice starts experiencing<br />

mysterious symptoms. After years of hormone<br />

replacement therapy and months of Xrays<br />

she is diagnosed with an abdominal<br />

tumor. One CAT scan later reveals that she is<br />

in fact six months pregnant.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 69


BOOKS OF NOTE<br />

ONLY IN NEW YORK: AN EXPLORATION<br />

OF THE WORLD’S MOST FASCINATING,<br />

FRUSTRATING, AND IRREPRESSIBLE CITY<br />

Sam Roberts<br />

St. Martin’s Press, 2009. $23.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-312-38777-6<br />

For years, Sam Roberts has been covering<br />

what makes New York City tick in his popular<br />

New York Times podcasts. He considers the<br />

puzzling questions about this city that most<br />

would never have thought to ask.<br />

WALTER BENJAMIN AND BERTOLT<br />

BRECHT: THE STORY OF A FRIENDSHIP<br />

Erdmut Wizisla, Christine Shuttleworth, trans.<br />

Yale University Press, 2009. $45.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-300-13695-1<br />

The story of the friendship between Benjamin,<br />

the acclaimed critic and literary theorist,<br />

and Brecht, one of the 20 th century’s<br />

most influential theater artists, during the<br />

crucial interwar years in Berlin.<br />

CONTEMPORARY JEWISH LIFE<br />

BE A MENSCH: WHY GOOD CHARACTER<br />

IS THE KEY TO A LIFE OF HAPPINESS,<br />

HEALTH, WEALTH, AND LOVE<br />

Moshe Kaplan<br />

Gefen Publishing House, 2009. $12.95<br />

ISBN: 978-965-229-433-3<br />

Kaplan addresses a central problem of our<br />

times: what is good character, and why<br />

should we care about it? This is an anthology<br />

of people telling us that the most important<br />

achievement in life is character development.<br />

BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL VOLUNTEER<br />

CULTURE: FINDING MEANING IN<br />

SERVICE IN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY<br />

Rabbi Charles Simon<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Lights Publishing, 2009. $16.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-58023408-5<br />

Cultivating successful volunteers in the<br />

21 st century is increasingly more challenging.<br />

Simon draws on over thirty years of experience<br />

to provide you with the resources you<br />

need to build and retain a thriving volunteer<br />

culture for your organization.<br />

DEAREST GEORG: LOVE, LITERATURE,<br />

AND POWER IN DARK TIMES. THE<br />

LETTERS OF ELIAS, VEZA, AND<br />

GEORGES CANETTI, 1933-1948<br />

Karen Lauer, Kristian Wachinger, eds.<br />

David Dollenmayer, trans.<br />

Other Press, 2010. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-59051-297-5<br />

In 1934, Veza Taubner and Elias Canetti<br />

were married in Vienna. Meanwhile, an<br />

intense intellectual love affair develops<br />

between Veza and Georges, a young doctor<br />

suffering from tuberculosis and Elias’ brother.<br />

A window into the private life of Nobel Laureate<br />

Elias Canetti, through letters discovered<br />

by chance in a Paris basement.<br />

A FORMULA FOR PROPER LIVING:<br />

PRACTICAL LESSONS FROM LIFE<br />

AND TORAH<br />

Abraham J. Twerski<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Lights Publishing, 2009. $19.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-58023-402-3<br />

Twerski draws from his experience as a<br />

psychiatrist and spiritual counselor to give us<br />

lessons for life that we can put to daily use in<br />

dealing with ourselves and others. Combination<br />

of anecdotes, personal musings, and<br />

insights and wisdom from various sources<br />

ranging from Freud to the Talmud.<br />

IN SEARCH OF MILKAND HONEY:<br />

THE THEATER OF “SOVIET JEWISH<br />

STATEHOOD” (1934–49)<br />

Ber Boris Kotlerman<br />

Slavica, 2009. $29.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0893573478<br />

In the mid-1930’s, when the Soviet regime<br />

established Birobidzhan as the “Soviet <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

state” with Yiddish as its official language, the<br />

local Yiddish theater assumed new prominence.<br />

This book focuses on the theater’s role<br />

as the standard bearer and guiding spirit for<br />

this controversial exercise in nation building.<br />

THE JEWISH PHENOMENON: SEVEN<br />

KEYS TO THE ENDURING WEALTH<br />

OF A PEOPLE<br />

Steven Silbiger<br />

M. Evans, 2009. $22.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-59077-154-9<br />

Why have Jews risen to the top of the<br />

business and professional world in numbers<br />

staggeringly out of proportion to their percentage<br />

of the American population? This<br />

book sets forth seven principles that form the<br />

bedrock of <strong>Jewish</strong> financial success.<br />

JEWISH SAGES OF TODAY: PROFILES<br />

OF EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE<br />

Aryeh Rubin<br />

Targum Shlishi, 2009. $16.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-934440-96-4<br />

Who are our <strong>Jewish</strong> Heroes? Who inspires<br />

us, makes us think, gives us hope? Here are the<br />

profiles of twenty-seven accomplished individuals<br />

dedicated to improving our world.<br />

70 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010 www.jewishbookcouncil.org


THE LIFE WORTH LIVING:<br />

FAITH IN ACTION<br />

Byron L. Sherwin<br />

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2009. $18.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8028-6293-8<br />

Sherwin lays out the path to abundant,<br />

fulfilled living—by cultivating religious<br />

virtues such as love, wisdom, gratitude, and<br />

humility. It demonstrates how living in partnership<br />

with God can provide us with the<br />

means to craft our lives into works of art.<br />

RELIGIOUS COMPULSIONS AND<br />

FEARS: A GUIDE TO TREATMENT<br />

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski<br />

Feldheim Publishers, 2009. $29.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-59826-358-9<br />

The accumulated experience of a psychologist<br />

and rabbi who has treated OCD and related<br />

disorders for decades in Jerusalem. The<br />

combination of immersion in Torah values and<br />

knowledge of cognitive-behavioral therapy<br />

makes it uniquely accessible for sufferers, family<br />

members, rabbis, teachers, and therapists.<br />

THE SEVEN QUESTIONS YOU’RE<br />

ASKED IN HEAVEN: REVIEWING AND<br />

RENEWING YOUR LIFE ON EARTH<br />

Ron Wolfson<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Lights Publishing, 2009. $16.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-58023-407-8<br />

Supported by wisdom from the <strong>Jewish</strong> tradition,<br />

life’s experiences, and personal anecdotes,<br />

Wolfson writes about the transformative<br />

seven questions you’ll be asked in heaven<br />

and explores the values that are at the heart of<br />

a life that matters.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

WHENCE MY HELP COME: CAREGIVING<br />

IN THE JEWISH TRADITION<br />

Yisrael Kestenbaum<br />

Mazo Publishers, 2009. $18.95<br />

ISBN: 978-965-7344-60-6<br />

This book gives those who provide spiritual<br />

care, both rabbis and others motivated to<br />

serve as instruments of healing, the conceptual<br />

models and practical tools to do the holy<br />

work of chesed, loving-kindness. Makes a passionate<br />

argument for the <strong>Jewish</strong> view on pastoral<br />

care that is derived form <strong>Jewish</strong> Scriptures,<br />

experience and custom.<br />

FICTION<br />

GOD’S WATER<br />

Berel Arrow<br />

Xlibris, 2009. $19.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4415-1778-4<br />

Jacob was shot by an S.S officer in World<br />

War II. He wakes up and realizes he is in heaven.<br />

An angel named Judith leads him on a journey<br />

through his life. She gives him the decision<br />

to be alive again and make the most of it.<br />

THE JERICHO SCROLLS<br />

Rafael Ruppin<br />

Mazo Publishers, 2009. $27.95<br />

ISBN: 978-965-7344-56-9<br />

The historical recollections of Guria Julius<br />

Antigonos, The Jericho Scrolls, were recently<br />

discovered by an antique dealer in Jericho,<br />

buried in a chest sealed with tar from the<br />

Dead Sea. The diary includes stories that even<br />

Josephus Flavius could not tell about the Jews.<br />

BOOKS OF NOTE<br />

POLYGLOT: STORIES OF THE WEST’S<br />

WET EDGE<br />

Wendy Marcus<br />

Beth Am Press, 2009. $12.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-615268-04-0<br />

Chronicles lives between Washington state<br />

and Vancouver, British Columbia—the wet<br />

edge of North America. The stories reflect<br />

Marcus’ years in the Northwest’s musical,<br />

newspaper, and <strong>Jewish</strong> communities.<br />

SMASHER: A SILICON VALLEY THRILLER<br />

Keith Raffel<br />

Midnight Ink, 2009. $16.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-7387-1874-3<br />

The richest, most ruthless executive in Silicon<br />

Valley is gunning for control of Ian<br />

Michaels’ rising tech company. When his<br />

wife is mysteriously run down during their<br />

morning jog, Ian suspects foul play and sets<br />

out to expose the attacker.<br />

THE SPELLMANS STRIKE AGAIN<br />

Lisa Lutz<br />

Simon & Schuster, 2009. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4165-9340-9<br />

The final installment in the series featuring<br />

the intrepid private investigator Izzy<br />

Spellman and her lovable—if somewhat paranoid—family.<br />

HISTORY<br />

THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE IN THE<br />

MIDDLE EAST, 1919–1945<br />

Phillip J. Baram<br />

KTAV Publishing, 2009. $49.50<br />

ISBN: 978-1-60280-122-6<br />

Using the declassified files of State<br />

Department correspondence and its wartime<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 71


BOOKS OF NOTE<br />

plans for the postwar period, in addition to<br />

manuscript collections and interviews, Baram<br />

reveals the internal structure and behind-thescenes<br />

nuances, the subtleties and texture, of<br />

Departmental decision-making.<br />

THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN HEBREW<br />

CREATIVITY IN BABYLON, 1735–1950<br />

Lev Hakak<br />

Purdue University Press, 2009. $39.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-57753-514-6<br />

Begins with a brief history about the Jews<br />

in Babylon (Iraq), their Hebrew creativity, and<br />

the fact that this creativity was excluded from<br />

the history of Modern Hebrew literature<br />

because it was unknown to the scholars. Presents<br />

the secular Hebrew poetry written at that<br />

time, the folktales, journalistic articles, epistles,<br />

research of Hebrew literature, and much more.<br />

GERMANS INTO JEWS: REMAKING<br />

THE JEWISH SOCIAL BODY IN THE<br />

WEIMAR REPUBLIC<br />

Sharon Gillerman<br />

Stanford University Press, 2009. $50.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8047-5711-9<br />

Turns to an often overlooked and misunderstood<br />

period of German and <strong>Jewish</strong> History—the<br />

years between the world wars. Gillerman<br />

demonstrates that Weimar Jews sought<br />

to rejuvenate and reconfigure their community,<br />

as a means to strengthen the German<br />

nation and create an autonomous <strong>Jewish</strong> entity<br />

within Germany.<br />

JUDAISM OF THE SECOND TEMPLE<br />

PERIOD: VOL. 2: THE JEWISH SAGES<br />

AND THEIR LITERATURE<br />

David Flusser<br />

Wm. B. Eerdmans Co., 2009. $42.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8028-2458-5<br />

72 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

This second volume of essays is devoted to<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> sages, their Wisdom literature, and the<br />

impact that they have made on both contemporary<br />

Judaism and early Christianity.<br />

WERE THE JEWS A MEDITERRANEAN<br />

SOCIETY? RECIPROCITY AND<br />

SOLIDARITY IN ANCIENT JUDAISM<br />

Seth Schwartz<br />

Princeton University Press, 2009. $29.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-691-14054-4<br />

How well integrated were Jews in the<br />

Mediterranean society controlled by ancient<br />

Rome? This book argues that <strong>Jewish</strong> social relations<br />

in antiquity were animated by a core tension<br />

between biblical solidarity and exchangebased<br />

social values such as patronage, vassalage,<br />

formal friendship, and debt slavery.<br />

HOLOCAUST STUDIES<br />

AFTER REPRESENTATION?<br />

THE HOLOCAUST, LITERATURE,<br />

AND CULTURE<br />

R. Clifton Spargo and Robert M. Ehrenreich, eds.<br />

Rutgers University Press, 2009. $49.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8135-4589-9<br />

Explores one of the major issues in Holocaust<br />

studies—the intersection of memory<br />

and ethics in artistic expression, particularly<br />

within literature.<br />

THE BUGS ARE BURNING: THE ROLE<br />

OF EASTERN EUROPEANS IN THE<br />

EXPLOITATION, SUBJUGATION AND<br />

MURDER OF THEIR JEWISH NEIGHBORS<br />

DURING THE HOLOCAUST<br />

Sheldon Hersh and Rober Wolf<br />

Devora Publishing, 2009. $21.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-934440-39-1<br />

An enormous contingent of self-serving<br />

Eastern European accomplices participated in<br />

the extermination of Jews and helped assure<br />

Germany’s goal of a “final solution.” Without<br />

them, Hitler’s forces would unlikely have been<br />

as successful in their homicidal campaign.<br />

JEWISH RESPONSES TO PERSECUTION<br />

1933–1946 VOLUME I, 1933–1938<br />

Jurgen Matthaus and Mark Roseman<br />

Altamira Press, 2009. $39.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-7591-1908-6<br />

Offers a new perspective on Holocaust<br />

history by presenting documentation that<br />

describes the manifestations and meanings of<br />

Nazi Germany’s “final solution” from the<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> perspective. This volume takes us from<br />

Hitler’s rise to power through the to the aftermath<br />

of Kristallnacht.<br />

LIVING WITNESSES: FACES OF THE<br />

HOLOCAUST<br />

Sabrina Must, Monni Must<br />

Naturally Photography by Monni, 2009. $54.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-615-30813-5<br />

Monni and Sabrina Must, mother and<br />

daughter, teamed up to create this book. A<br />

book of portraits and experiences of Detroitarea<br />

Holocaust survivors, it captures the survivors’<br />

personalities and honors who they<br />

were before the war, vividly depicting their<br />

experiences during the war, and honoring<br />

who they became afterward.<br />

SOME MEASURE OF JUSTICE: THE<br />

HOLOCAUST ERA RESTITUTION<br />

CAMPAIGN OF THE 1990’S<br />

Michael R. Marrus<br />

University of Wisconsin Press, 2009. $29.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-299-23404-1<br />

During the 1990’s—triggered by lawsuits<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


in the United States against Swiss banks, German<br />

corporations, insurance companies, and<br />

owners of valuable works of art—claimants<br />

and their lawyers sought to rectify terrible<br />

wrongs committed more than a half century<br />

earlier. This book explores this wave of justice-seeking<br />

for the Holocaust.<br />

ISRAEL STUDIES<br />

CIRCLES OF EXCLUSION: THE POLITICS<br />

OF HEALTH CARE IN ISRAEL<br />

Dani Filc<br />

Cornell University Press, 2009. $ 35.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8014-4795-2<br />

In its early years, Israel’s dominant ideology<br />

led to public provision of health care for all<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> citizens. However, the system has shifted<br />

in recent decades, becoming increasingly<br />

privatized and market-based. In a familiar paradox,<br />

the wealthy, the young, and the healthy<br />

have relatively easy access to health care, and<br />

the poor, the old, and the very sick confront<br />

increasing obstacles to medical treatment.<br />

EMBODYING CULTURE: PREGNANCY<br />

IN JAPAN AND ISRAEL<br />

Tsipy Ivry<br />

Rutgers University Press, 2009. $28.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8135-4636-0<br />

An ethnographically grounded exploration<br />

of pregnancy in two different cultures—Japan<br />

and Israel—both of which medicalize pregnancy.<br />

Ivry focuses on “low risk” or “normal”<br />

pregnancies, using cultural comparison to<br />

explore the complex relations among ethnic<br />

ideas about procreation, local reproductive<br />

politics, medical models of pregnancy care,<br />

and local modes of maternal agency.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

PSYCHIATRIC AND BEHAVIORAL<br />

DISORDERS IN ISRAEL: FROM<br />

EPIDEMIOLOGY TO MENTAL<br />

HEALTH ACTION<br />

Itzhak Levav, ed.<br />

Gefen Publishing, 2009. $40.00<br />

ISBN: 978-965-229-468-5<br />

This is a book that reflects the flourishing<br />

of psychiatric epidemiology in Israel over the<br />

past decade. It encompasses the many facets<br />

of psychiatric epidemiology within the multicultural<br />

mosaic of Israeli society.<br />

MODERN JEWISH THOUGHT<br />

AND EXPERIENCE<br />

AND YOU SHALL SURELY HEAL<br />

Jonathan Wiesen<br />

KTAV Publishing, 2009. $35.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-60280-126-4<br />

The first medical halakha publication<br />

produced by <strong>Jewish</strong> medical students from a<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> medical school. The culmination of<br />

an intensive program, this publications<br />

works to further the knowledge and understanding<br />

of the increasingly complex world<br />

of medical halakha.<br />

DANCING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF EVE:<br />

RETRIEVING THE HEALING GIFT OF<br />

THE SACRED FEMININE FOR THE<br />

HUMAN FAMILY THROUGH MYTH<br />

AND MYSTICISM<br />

Heather Mendel<br />

O-<strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. $24.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-84694-246-4<br />

An odyssey of transformation that moves<br />

to a feminine beat. Through mysticism and<br />

mythology, this book offers an original perspective<br />

to women of diverse spiritual and<br />

BOOKS OF NOTE<br />

religious communities, seeking authenticity<br />

of the feminine experience.<br />

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS ON SEXUALITY:<br />

ATTITUDES TOWARDS SEXUALITY<br />

IN SECTARIAN AND RELATED<br />

LITERATURE AT QUMRAN<br />

William Loader<br />

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2009. $44.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8028-6391-1<br />

Loader investigates the Dead Sea Scrolls,<br />

mining every potentially relevant document<br />

aside form the biblical writings for understanding<br />

ancient attitudes towards sexuality.<br />

DELIVERY FROM DARKNESS:<br />

A JEWISH GUIDE TO PREVENTION<br />

AND TREATMENT OF POSTPARTUM<br />

DEPRESSION<br />

Baruch Finkelstein, Michal Finkelstein,<br />

and Doreen Winter<br />

Feldheim Publishing, 2009. $19.99<br />

ISBN: 978-1-59826-258-2<br />

The first book looking at postpartum<br />

depression from a <strong>Jewish</strong> perspective. This<br />

book was written with <strong>Jewish</strong> women in<br />

mind, offering the latest clinical information<br />

while taking into account the unique lifestyle<br />

of the <strong>Jewish</strong> woman.<br />

ONE GOD, MANY PATHS: FINDING<br />

MEANING AND INSPIRATION IN<br />

JEWISH TEACHINGS<br />

Amy Hirshberg Lederman<br />

Wheatmark, 2008. $18.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-58736-736-6<br />

Celebrates the joy and wisdom that the<br />

teachings of Judaism can bring to everyday life.<br />

The stories provide new insights into love,<br />

family, work, relationships, tradition and God.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 73


BOOKS OF NOTE<br />

RELIGION OR ETHNICITY? JEWISH<br />

IDENTITIES IN EVOLUTION<br />

Zvi Gitelman, ed.<br />

Rutgers University Press, 2009. $29.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8135-4451-9<br />

Examines Judaism from the Greco-<br />

Roman age, through medieval times, modern<br />

Western and Eastern Europe, to today. <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

identity has been defined as an ethnicity, a<br />

nation, a culture, and even a race, but what<br />

does it really mean to be <strong>Jewish</strong>?<br />

REVEALED TEXTS, HIDDEN MEANINGS:<br />

FINDING THE RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE<br />

IN TANAKH<br />

Hayyim J. Angel<br />

KTAV Publishing, 2009. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-60280-128-8<br />

In this second collection of his essays on<br />

Tanakh, Angel continues to present his learning<br />

methodology and in-depth text studies to<br />

a wider readership.<br />

SHABBAT THE RIGHT WAY: RESOLVING<br />

HALACHIC DILEMMAS<br />

Rabbi J. Simcha Cohen<br />

Urim Publications, 2009. $19.95<br />

ISBN: 978-965-524-021-4<br />

74 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

Provides both the answers to questions on<br />

Shabbat observance and a look at the process<br />

by which the answers are derived. Cohen also<br />

analyzes contemporary, controversial, Shabbat<br />

issues.<br />

SCHOLARSHIP<br />

BEYOND THE QUMRAN COMMUNITY:<br />

THE SECTARIAN MOVEMENT OF THE<br />

DEAD SEA SCROLLS<br />

John J. Collins<br />

Wm. B. Eerdmans Co., 2009. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8028-2887-3<br />

With the full publication of the Dead Sea<br />

Scrolls, fresh analysis of the evidence presented<br />

can be—and indeed, should be—made.<br />

Beyond the Qumran Community does just that,<br />

reaching a surprising conclusion: the sect<br />

described in the Dead Sea Scrolls developed<br />

later than has usually been supposed and was<br />

never confined to the site of Qumran.<br />

ENOCH AND THE MOSAIC TORAH:<br />

THE EVIDENCE OF JUBILEES<br />

Gabriele Boccaccini & Giovanni Ibba, eds.<br />

Wm. B. Eerdmans Co., 2009. $55.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8028-6409-3<br />

The early Enoch literature does not refer<br />

to the Mosaic Torah or emphasize the distinctively<br />

Mosaic laws designed for Israel. But the<br />

book of Jubilees gives room to both Mosaic<br />

and Enochic traditions within the Sinaitic<br />

revelatory framework. Readers will find a<br />

lively debate among the most distinguished<br />

international specialists, striving for a better<br />

understanding of this document.<br />

SEPHARDIC STUDIES<br />

MAQAM AND LITURGY: RITUAL,<br />

MUSIC, AND AESTHETICS OF SYRIAN<br />

JEWS IN BROOKLYN<br />

Mark L. Kligman<br />

Wayne State University Press, 2009. $34.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8143-3216-0<br />

Syrian Jews in Brooklyn, NY, number<br />

more than 40,000 and constitute the largest<br />

single group of immigrant Jews from Syria in<br />

the world. Kligman investigates the multidimensional<br />

interaction of music and text in<br />

Sabbath prayers of the Syrian Jews to trace<br />

how Arab and <strong>Jewish</strong> traditions have merged<br />

in this culture.<br />

Would you like to be a reviewer for <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World?<br />

Submit a writing sample to<br />

jbc@jewishbooks.org<br />

Please include your name, address, phone<br />

number, e-mail address and areas of interest.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


THE BOOK<br />

OF PSALMS:<br />

A TRANSLATION<br />

WITH<br />

COMMENTARY<br />

Robert Alter<br />

W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. $19.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-393-33704-4<br />

GENESIS:<br />

THE BEGINNING<br />

OF DESIRE<br />

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Publication Society, 2009. $25.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8276-0915-0<br />

HE IS...I SAY:<br />

HOW I LEARNED TO<br />

STOP WORRYING<br />

AND LOVE NEIL<br />

DIAMOND<br />

David Wild<br />

Da Capo Press, 2009. $14.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-306-81835-6<br />

HUNTING<br />

EICHMANN<br />

Neal Bascomb<br />

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. $15.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-547-24802-8<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

JEWISH AMERICAN<br />

FOOD CULTURE<br />

Jonathan Deutsch and<br />

Rachel D. Saks<br />

University of Nebraska Press,<br />

2009. $17.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0-8032-2675-3<br />

THE JEWISH<br />

BRIGADE: AN<br />

ARMY WITH TWO<br />

MASTERS 1944–45<br />

Morris Beckman<br />

Spellmount Limited, 2008. $29.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1-862274-23-5<br />

KLEZMER AMERICA:<br />

JEWISHNESS,<br />

ETHNICITY,<br />

MODERNITY<br />

Jonathan Freedman<br />

Columbia University Press,<br />

2009. $22.50<br />

ISBN: 978-0-231-14279-3<br />

NOW IN PAPERBACK<br />

MY FATHER’S<br />

PARADISE:<br />

A SON’S<br />

SEARCH FOR<br />

HIS FAMILY’S PAST<br />

Ariel Sabar<br />

Algonquin <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. $14.95<br />

ISBN: 978-1565129337<br />

PARTNERSHIP:<br />

THE MAKING OF<br />

GOLDMAN SACHS<br />

Charles D. Ellis<br />

Penguin <strong>Book</strong>s, 2009. $20.00<br />

ISBN: 978-0141035246<br />

THE RETURN<br />

OF DEPRESSION<br />

ECONOMICS<br />

AND THE CRISIS<br />

OF 2008<br />

Paul Krugman<br />

W. W. Norton & Company,<br />

2009. $16.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0393337808<br />

For book club resources, please visit www.jewishbookcouncil.org.<br />

Be sure to check back often, as new resources are added monthly!<br />

RHYMING LIFE<br />

AND DEATH<br />

Amos Oz; Nicholas de Lange, trans.<br />

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,<br />

2009. $13.95<br />

ISBN: 978-0547-33684-4<br />

SASHENKA<br />

Simon Montefiore<br />

Simon & Schuster, 2008. $15.00<br />

ISBN: 978-1-4165-9555-7<br />

SOTAH<br />

Naomi Ragen<br />

St. Martin’s Griffin, 2009. $14.99<br />

ISBN: 978-0-312-57024-8<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 75


CONTRIBUTORS<br />

MIRIAM BRADMAN ABRAHAMS (MBA) lives in<br />

Woodmere, NY. She is the mother of three,<br />

an avid reader, Hadassah Nassau Region One<br />

<strong>Book</strong> Coordinator, Hadassah Hewlett Herald<br />

editor and webmaster, and book fair chair.<br />

ERIC ACKLAND (EA) is a freelance writer, and<br />

edits the Ideas and Innovation section for Presentense<br />

Magazine.<br />

SHELOMO ALFASSA (ShA) is a writer and historian<br />

who researches the Jews of Iberia and the<br />

Ottoman Empire. He is based at the Center<br />

for <strong>Jewish</strong> History in New York City where he<br />

oversees Special Projects for the American<br />

Sephardi Federation. He has written several<br />

books including, A Window Into Old<br />

Jerusalem and The Sephardic Anousim. He can<br />

be reached at: shelomo@alfassa.com.<br />

BARBARA ANDREWS (BA) holds a Masters in<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Studies from the University of Chicago<br />

and has taught <strong>Jewish</strong> adult education classes.<br />

SARAH ARONSON (SA) holds an MFA in Writing<br />

for Children and Young Adults from Vermont<br />

College. She is a full time writer and<br />

has recently published her first novel, Head<br />

Case (Roaring Brook) for young adult. Sara<br />

blogs every Thursday for the Lilith blog.<br />

BATSHEVA BEN-AMOS (BBA) has two Ph.D.s,<br />

one in sociology from the U. of Pennsylvania,<br />

the other in clinical psychology from Hahnemann<br />

University/Hospital. In 2007, she<br />

received a fellowship for The Summer Institute<br />

on the Holocaust and <strong>Jewish</strong> Civilization<br />

at Northwestern University.<br />

MARCIA BERNEGER (MB) is a wife, mother of<br />

two teenage sons, second grade teacher, and<br />

in her spare time (lol) a writer of stories and<br />

articles for children’s magazines. Her goal is<br />

that one day she will have her own book<br />

reviewed in <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World.<br />

BARBARA M. BIBEL (BMB) is a librarian at the Oakland<br />

Public Library in Oakland, CA; and at<br />

Congregation Netivot Shalom, Berkeley, CA.<br />

JACK BIELER (JB) is currently Rabbi of Kemp<br />

Mill Synagogue in Silver Spring, MD. He has<br />

been associated with <strong>Jewish</strong> day school education<br />

for over thirty years. Rabbi Bieler served<br />

as a mentor for the Bar Ilan University Lookstein<br />

Center Principals’ Seminar and he has<br />

published and lectured extensively on the<br />

philosophy of Modern Orthodox education.<br />

BARBARA BIETZ (BB) is a freelance writer and<br />

children’s book reviewer. She is currently a<br />

member of the Sydney Taylor <strong>Book</strong> Award<br />

Committee. Barbara is the author of the middle<br />

grade book, Like a Maccabee. She has a<br />

blog dedicated to <strong>Jewish</strong> books for children at<br />

www.BarbaraB<strong>Book</strong>Blog.Blogspot.com.<br />

MARCIE LAVINE BLOCH (MLB) earned her MLS<br />

from the University of Maryland, a BA from<br />

the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in<br />

English literature from Fordham University.<br />

She has worked in synagogue and day school<br />

libraries and is currently finishing her term on<br />

the Sydney Taylor <strong>Book</strong> Award Committee.<br />

JEFF BOGURSKY (JHB) reads a lot, writes a little<br />

and talks quite a bit. He is a media executive<br />

and expert in interactive multimedia.<br />

BILL BRENNAN (BB) is an independent scholar<br />

and entertainer based in Las Vegas.<br />

ADA BRUNSTEIN (AB) is a freelance writer and<br />

an acquisitions editor for MIT Press. She has<br />

an MA in Linguistics from NYU and an MS<br />

in Science Writing from MIT. Her writing<br />

has appeared in The New York Times, New Scientist,<br />

Discover, and The Vocabula Review.<br />

LINDA F. BURGHARDT (LFB) is a New York-based<br />

journalist and author who has contributed<br />

commentary, breaking news and features to<br />

major newspapers across the U.S., in addition<br />

to having three non-fiction books published.<br />

She writes frequently on <strong>Jewish</strong> topics.<br />

DAVID COHEN (DC) is a professional copy editor<br />

from Cherry Hill, NJ, and the husband of<br />

Deborah Bodin Cohen, a 2006 National <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

<strong>Book</strong> Award winner.<br />

ELLEN G. COLE (EGC), the librarian of the Levine<br />

Library of Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles, a past<br />

judge of the Sydney Taylor <strong>Book</strong> Awards, and a<br />

past chairperson of that committee. She is a coauthor<br />

of the AJL guide, Excellence in <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Children’s Literature, and the recipient of two<br />

major awards for contribution to Judaism<br />

Librarianship, the Fanny Goldstein Merit<br />

Award from the Association of <strong>Jewish</strong> Libraries,<br />

and the Dorothy Schroeder Award from the<br />

Association of <strong>Jewish</strong> Libraries of Southern<br />

California. She is on the board of AJLSC.<br />

MICHAEL DOBKOWSKI (MND) is a professor of<br />

religious studies at Hobart and William Smith<br />

Colleges. He is co-editor of Genocide and the<br />

Modern Age and On the Edge of Scarcity (Syra-<br />

cuse University Press); author of The Tarnished<br />

Dream: The Basis of American Anti-Semitism;<br />

and co-editor of The Nuclear Predicament.<br />

STEPHEN G. DONSHIK (SGD), D.S.W., is a lecturer<br />

at the Hebrew University’s Community<br />

Leadership and Philanthropy Program. He<br />

writes on the non-profit sector and has a consulting<br />

firm focused on strengthening nonprofits<br />

and their leadership for tomorrow.<br />

ERIKA DREIFUS (ED), who most recently<br />

reviewed Norah Labiner’s German for Travelers<br />

for <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World, has reviewed books<br />

for Fiction Writers Review, The Forward,<br />

J<strong>Book</strong>s.com, Kenyon Review Online, The<br />

Missouri Review, and The Writer, among others.<br />

She lives and writes in New York City.<br />

SUSAN DUBIN (SD) was the first librarian honored<br />

with a Milken Family Foundation <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Educator Award. She is the owner/director<br />

of Off-the-Shelf Library Services and<br />

Library Instructional Consultant at Valley<br />

Beth Shalom Day School in Encino, CA.<br />

JOSHUA DANIEL EDWIN (JDE) was born into a<br />

family of incurably compulsive readers in Baltimore,<br />

MD. He now lives in Brooklyn,<br />

where he writes poems and <strong>reviews</strong> and reads<br />

anything he can lay his hands on.<br />

GIL EHRENKRANZ (GE) is a lawyer in the District<br />

of Columbia specializing in telecommunications<br />

law and international transactions.<br />

He has been previously published in MID-<br />

STREAM Magazine including an article concerning<br />

Israeli military options regarding<br />

Iran’s nuclear weapons program.<br />

SHARON ELSWIT, (SE) is the author of The <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Story Finder, head librarian at Claremont<br />

Preparatory School in New York City, and an<br />

adjunct professor with the Palmer School of<br />

Library and Information Science.<br />

MALVINA D. ENGELBERG (MDE), an independent<br />

scholar, has taught composition and literature<br />

at the university level for the past fifteen<br />

years. She is a Ph.D. candidate at the University<br />

of Miami.<br />

HEIDI ESTRIN (HE) is librarian for the Feldman<br />

Children’s Library at Congregation B’nai Israel<br />

in Boca Raton, FL. She is a past chair of the Sydney<br />

Taylor <strong>Book</strong> Award Committee and hosts<br />

The <strong>Book</strong> of Life podcast, a monthly audio program<br />

about <strong>Jewish</strong> books, music, film, and web,<br />

online at www.bookoflifepodcast.com.<br />

76 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010 www.jewishbookcouncil.org


SHELLY FEIT (SF) has an M.L.S. and a Sixth-year<br />

Specialist’s Certificate in Information Science.<br />

She is the library director and media specialist<br />

at the Moriah School in Englewood, NJ.<br />

JUDITH FELSENFELD’S (JuF) stories have appeared<br />

most recently in The Southwest Review, The<br />

Chicago Review, The Blue Mesa Review and on<br />

NPR’s ‘Selected Shorts.’ She is completing a<br />

collection of stories.<br />

NORMAN H. FINKELSTEIN (NHF), a retired public<br />

school librarian, is a long-term instructor at<br />

Boston’s Hebrew College. He is the author of<br />

fifteen nonfiction books and the recipient of<br />

the Golden Kite Honor Award for Nonfiction<br />

and two National <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> Awards. His<br />

most recent book is the JPS Guide to American<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> History (<strong>Jewish</strong> Publication Society).<br />

JACK FISCHEL (JF) is professor emeritus of history<br />

at Millersville University, Millersville, PA<br />

PAUL A. FLEXNER (PAF), is an adjunct professor<br />

of education at Georgia State University. He<br />

serves on the Board of the <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong><br />

<strong>Council</strong> and is co-editor of the recently published<br />

What We NOW Know about <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Education: Perspectives on Research for Practice<br />

(Torah Aura, 2008).<br />

ELLIOT FOX (EF) received a BA from American<br />

University in Washington, DC. He is the<br />

Director of Marketing & Promotions at<br />

JDub Records.<br />

AUDREY FRESHMAN (AF), Ph.D., LCSW,<br />

CASAC, is a psychotherapist with a private<br />

practice located in Rockville Centre, NY. Dr.<br />

Freshman is the associate director of an outpatient<br />

substance abuse agency and the assistant<br />

editor of the Journal of Social Work Practice<br />

in the Addictions.<br />

BOB GOLDFARB (BG) is president of the Center<br />

for <strong>Jewish</strong> Culture and Creativity and vicepresident<br />

of Zeek: A <strong>Jewish</strong> Journal of Thought<br />

and Culture. He lives in Jerusalem.<br />

WALLACE GREENE (WG), received rabbinic ordination<br />

and holds a Ph.D. in <strong>Jewish</strong> history<br />

and Rabbinics.<br />

KAREN SUGAR HAUSER (KSH) received a B.A. in<br />

art history from Stanford. She has worked at<br />

various museums and at Sotheby’s and currently<br />

does communal volunteer work.<br />

JESSICA B. HORWITZ (JBH) lives in Minneapolis,<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

MN and works in book publishing.<br />

MARGE KAPLAN (MLK) is a retired English as a<br />

Second Language teacher. She is a consultant<br />

for the children’s literature group for the<br />

Roseville, MN school system and is a storyteller<br />

of <strong>Jewish</strong> tales.<br />

GARY KATZ (GK) received an MA in English<br />

from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He<br />

is the library administrator for the Kripke<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Federation Library in Omaha, Nebraska,<br />

one of the largest Judaica libraries in the<br />

United States.<br />

LAUREN KRAMER (LK) is a Vancouver-based journalist,<br />

wife and mother with a lifelong passion<br />

for literature. Born in Cape Town, South Africa<br />

she has won awards for her writing and reported<br />

from many corners of the world. Read more<br />

of her work at www.laurenkramer.net.<br />

NAOMI KRAMER (NDK) is a retired reading consultant<br />

teacher who developed curriculum for<br />

using literature to educate children and adults<br />

in the history of the Holocaust. She is a docent<br />

and educator at the Nassau County Holocaust<br />

Memorial and Tolerance Education Center.<br />

NOEL KRIFTCHER (NNK) is a professor and<br />

administrator at Polytechnic University, having<br />

previously served as Superintendent of<br />

New York City’s Brooklyn & Staten Island<br />

High Schools district.<br />

DANIÈLE GORLIN LASSNER (DGL) (wife, mother<br />

and grandmother) recently retired after 35<br />

years at Ramaz where she served as Dean of<br />

Admissions, Foreign Language Department<br />

Chair, and teacher of French and Spanish.<br />

She owns more than 1,000 cookbooks. She is<br />

presently translating a book from the<br />

Hebrew. She has translated several children’s<br />

books from French into English. Whatever<br />

the language, food is a “constant.”<br />

JUDD KRUGER LEVINGSTON (JKL) is a rabbi and<br />

he serves as a teacher and as the Director of<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Studies at Barrack Hebrew Academy<br />

(formerly Akiba Hebrew Academy) in Bryn<br />

Mawr, Pennsylvania. Also an adjunct professor<br />

in the Temple University Department of Religion,<br />

he is the author of Sowing the Seeds of<br />

Character: The Moral Education of Adolescents<br />

in Public and Private Schools (Praeger, 2009).<br />

ROBIN K. LEVINSON (RKL) is an award-winning<br />

journalist and author of a dozen books,<br />

including the Gali Girls series of <strong>Jewish</strong> his-<br />

CONTRIBUTORS<br />

torical fiction for children. She currently<br />

works as an assessment specialist for a global<br />

educational testing organization. She lives in<br />

Hamilton, NJ.<br />

NICOLE LEVY (NL) has completed graduate<br />

work in Judaic studies. She writes about <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

art, culture, history and literature from<br />

her home in Swampscott, Massachusetts.<br />

CHRISTINE MAASDAM (CM) holds a Masters in<br />

Humanities, certifications in Museum Studies<br />

and Cultural Property Protection. She is<br />

currently completing her M.L.I.S. Her interests<br />

are philosophy and the impact of art and<br />

technology on culture.<br />

TERI MARKSON (TM) has been working with<br />

children in public and school libraries for over<br />

18 years. She has also been a book reviewer for<br />

many years, and is still delighted when a children’s<br />

book makes her laugh, cry, or both. She<br />

is currently a children’s librarian at the Fairfax<br />

Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library,<br />

where children and books go together like a<br />

cat in a hat.<br />

PENNY METSCH (PGM), MLS, formerly a school<br />

librarian on Long Island and in New York<br />

City, now focuses on early literacy programs<br />

in Hoboken, NJ.<br />

ESTHER NUSSBAUM (EN), the head librarian of<br />

Ramaz Upper School for 30 years, is now<br />

education and special projects coordinator of<br />

the Halachic Organ Donor Society. A past<br />

editor of <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World, she continues to<br />

review for this and other publications.<br />

JULIE PELC (JP) is a rabbi and a co-editor of the<br />

anthology Joining the Sisterhood: Young <strong>Jewish</strong><br />

Women Write Their Lives (State University of<br />

New York Press, 2003). She is the assistant<br />

director of the Kalsman Institute on Judaism<br />

and Health at HUC in Los Angeles and also<br />

teaches undergraduate courses in the Literature<br />

and Communications Department at the<br />

American <strong>Jewish</strong> University.<br />

HARA E. PERSON (HEP) was ordained by<br />

Hebrew Union College-<strong>Jewish</strong> Institute of<br />

Religion. She is a writer and editor.<br />

KATHE PINCHUCK, (KSP), MLIS, is the librarian<br />

of Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck,<br />

New Jersey. She is currently the chair of the<br />

Sydney Taylor <strong>Book</strong> Award Committee of the<br />

Association of <strong>Jewish</strong> Libraries.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 77


JBW 28.1_JBW 28.1 1/29/10 12:27 PM Page 78<br />

CONTRIBUTORS<br />

MARCIA WEISS POSNER (MWP), Ph.D., is a librarian<br />

and program director at the Holocaust<br />

Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau<br />

County.<br />

CARL J. RHEINS (CJR) is Executive Director Emeritus<br />

of the YIVO Institute for <strong>Jewish</strong> Research.<br />

He received his Ph.D. in Modern European<br />

History from the State University of New York<br />

at Stony Brook and has taught courses on the<br />

Holocaust at several major universities.<br />

PETER L. ROTHHOLZ (PLR) headed his own Manhattan-based<br />

public relations agency and<br />

taught at the Business and Liberal Arts (BALA)<br />

program at Queens College. He lives in East<br />

Hampton, NY and Santa Barbara, CA and is a<br />

frequent contributor to <strong>Jewish</strong> publications.<br />

PHIL SANDICK (Phs) S)<br />

s) is is a graduate of the Univer- Univer- University<br />

of Pennsylvania and the MFA creative<br />

writing program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.<br />

He has taught English and<br />

Writing at Philadelphia University and Harcum<br />

College. Originally from Fresh Meadows,<br />

NY, Phil currently lives in Irvine, CA.<br />

JEFFREY SCHEIN (JS) is Professor and Director<br />

of <strong>Jewish</strong> education at the Siegal College in<br />

Cleveland. He is the author of numerous articles<br />

and books in <strong>Jewish</strong> education. His doctoral<br />

dissertation was in the area of moral<br />

education, the same topic as in the book<br />

reviewed in this issue.<br />

DEBORAH SCHOENEMAN (DS), is a former English<br />

teacher/Writing Across the Curriculum<br />

78 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World Spring 5770/2010<br />

Center Coordinator at North Shore Hebrew<br />

Academy High School and coeditor of Modern<br />

American Literature: A Library of Literary<br />

Criticism, Vol. VI, published in 1997.<br />

SYDELLE SHAMAH (SS) has been leading book<br />

club discussions for many years, and is a published<br />

science fiction writer. She was president<br />

of the Ruth Hyman <strong>Jewish</strong> Community<br />

Center of Monmouth County, NJ.<br />

LAURIE GWEN SHAPIRO (LGS) is the author of<br />

ALA Notable <strong>Book</strong> The Unexpected Salami<br />

and The Matzo Ball Heiress and other books<br />

for adults. She has also written two books for<br />

young adults, most recently for Random<br />

House. She is also a winner of an Independent<br />

Spirit Award for co-directing the IFC documentary<br />

“Keep the River on Your Right.” She<br />

is currently working on YA novel The O’Leary<br />

Bat Mitzvah, and producing a documentary<br />

about Iggy Pop. LaurieGwenShapiro.com<br />

ARLENE B. SOIFER (ABS) earned degrees in English,<br />

and has had many years of experience as<br />

a freelance writer, editor, and public relations<br />

professional.<br />

SARA LEOPOLD SPINNELL (SLS) is a co-founder<br />

of Travelujah.com, a website that promotes<br />

Christian travel to Israel. She lives in New<br />

York City with her husband and two children<br />

LESLEY SUSSMAN (LS) is the author of more than<br />

20 non-fiction books—including two on Kabbalah.<br />

He is an award-winning journalist and<br />

publicist who lives and works in New York City.<br />

MARGARET TEICH (MT) is a freelance environmental<br />

writer and eco-consultant living in<br />

New York City. Check out her blog, Gspotting.net.<br />

JACLYN TROP (JT) is a business reporter for The<br />

Detroit News and a graduate of Columbia<br />

University’s Graduate School of Journalism.<br />

JANE WALLERSTEIN (JW) worked in public relations<br />

for many years. She is the author of<br />

Voices from the Paterson Silk Mills and coauthor<br />

of a national criminal justice study of<br />

parole for Rutgers University.<br />

WENDY WASMAN (WW) has been a professional<br />

librarian since 1988. She is the former assistant<br />

librarian at The Temple-Tifereth Israel in<br />

Beachwood, Ohio, and is currently the librarian<br />

at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History<br />

MARON L. WAXMAN (MLW), retired editorial<br />

director, special projects, at the American<br />

Museum of Natural History, was also an editorial<br />

director at HarperCollins and <strong>Book</strong>-ofthe-Month<br />

Club. She also leads editorial<br />

workshops<br />

HILLARY ZANA (HZ) has a BA and teaching credential<br />

from Princeton University. She was a<br />

day school librarian for many years and has<br />

written many Hebrew textbooks available<br />

through Behrman House Publishers. She currently<br />

teaches English and history in the Los<br />

Angeles public school system and is a National<br />

Board Certified teacher.<br />

YOUR AUDIENCE IS HERE. REACH THOUSANDS<br />

OF DEDICATED JEWISH READERS.<br />

ADVERTISE YOUR PROGRAM,<br />

EVENT OR BOOK<br />

IN JEWISH BOOK WORLD.<br />

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FOR RATE SCHEDULE.<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org


An index of all titles included in the XXXXXX issue of <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World<br />

BR = <strong>Book</strong> Review<br />

CBR = Children’s <strong>Book</strong> Review<br />

BN = <strong>Book</strong>s of Note<br />

Title, Author, BR, CBR or BN<br />

1939, Phelan, BR 45<br />

188 th Crybaby Brigade, Chasnoff, BR 28<br />

36 Arguments for the Existence<br />

of God, Goldstein, BR 45<br />

Aaron’s Journey, Herskowitz, BR 28<br />

Adventure in Latkaland, Fisman, CBR 62<br />

After Representation?, Spargo, BN 72<br />

Aleph-Bais Trip on the Aleph-Bais Ship,<br />

Altein, CBR 62<br />

Amen, Amen, Amen, Sher, BR 38<br />

American Experience, Loeb, BR 26<br />

American Sketches, Isaacson, BN 69<br />

And You Shall Surely Heal, Wiesen, BN 73<br />

Angel Time, Rice, BR 45<br />

Annie’s Ghosts, Luxenberg, BR 28<br />

Aristocrat, Sutton, BR 28<br />

Arnold Daghani’s Memories of<br />

Mikhailowka, Schultz, BR 53<br />

Art of Giving, Bronfman, BR 37<br />

Baseball Talmud, Megdal, BR 26<br />

Be a Mensch, Kaplan, BN 70<br />

Beads for the Messiah’s Bride,<br />

Azriel, BR 58<br />

Becoming American Jews,<br />

Dwyer-Ryan, BN 69<br />

Betrayal, Kirtzman, BR 36<br />

Beyond the Qumran Community,<br />

Collins, BN 74<br />

Big Kahn, Kleid, BR 46<br />

Bob Dylan, Rogovoy, BR 37<br />

<strong>Book</strong> of Genesis, Crumb, BR 59<br />

Briss, Tregebov, BR 47<br />

Bugs are Burning, Hersh, BN 72<br />

Building a Successful Volunteer<br />

Culture, Simon, BN 70<br />

Center Of The Universe, Bachrach, BR 39<br />

Champion of Children, Bogacki, CBR 64<br />

Charitable Choices, Dashefsky, BN 69<br />

Circles of Exclusion, Filc, BN 73<br />

City of God, Swerling, BR 47<br />

Clever Rachel, Waldman, CBR 62<br />

Conquering Fear, Kushner, BR 38<br />

Conscious Cook, Ronnen, BR 40<br />

Curriculum Vitae, Hoffmann, BR 31<br />

Dancing in the Dark, Dickstein, BR 51<br />

Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve,<br />

Mendel, BN 73<br />

Daniel’s Diary, Nolan, CBR 62<br />

Dead Sea Scrolls on Sexuality,<br />

Loader, BN 73<br />

www.jewishbookcouncil.org<br />

Dearest Georg, Lauer, BN 70<br />

Death of the Shtetl, Bauer, BR 54<br />

Delivery from Darkness,<br />

Finkelstein, BN 73<br />

Department of State in the<br />

Middle East, Baram, BN 71<br />

Devil’s Workshop, Burger, BR 32<br />

Devora In Exile, Cherne, BR 47<br />

Devotion, Shapiro, BR 32<br />

Do One Nice Thing, Tenzer, BR 38<br />

Dog in the Wood, Schroder, CBR 63<br />

Driven to Darkness, Brook, BR 39<br />

Eating Animals, Foer, BR 32<br />

Embodying Culture, Ivry, BN 73<br />

Emergence of Modern Hebrew<br />

Creativity in Babylon, Hakak, BN 72<br />

Enoch and the Mosaic Torah,<br />

Boccaccini, BN 74<br />

Evading The Nazis, Abrami, BR 30<br />

Even Higher!, Peretz, CBR 64<br />

Everything Is God, Michaelson, BR 39<br />

Exiles, Krieger, BR 47<br />

Family Secret, Heuvel, CBR 68<br />

Formula for Proper Living, Twerski, BN 70<br />

Fox Walked Alone, Reid, CBR 63<br />

Gaby Brimmer, Brimmer, BN 69<br />

Germans into Jews, Gillerman, BN 72<br />

Gertruda’s Oath, Oren, BR 33<br />

Getting to the Heart of Interfaith,<br />

Mackenzie, BR 42<br />

Girls Of Room 28, Brenner, BR 33<br />

God’s Water, Arrow, BN 71<br />

Gone To the Dogs, Guterson, BR 48<br />

Good For The Jews, Spark, BR 48<br />

Halaklhic Man, Bedzow, BR 57<br />

Happy Marriage, Yglesias, BR 48<br />

Heart Afire, Schachter-Shalomi, BR 57<br />

Here, There Are No Sarah’s,<br />

Orbuch, BR 34<br />

Hitler’s Intelligence Chief, Dorries, BR 55<br />

Hoppy Hanukkah!, Glaser, CBR 63<br />

Hound Dog, Leiber, BR 34<br />

House Rules, Sontag, BR 38<br />

How to Ruin Your Boyfriend’s<br />

Reputation, Elkeles, CBR 63<br />

I Am God’s Paintbrush, Sasso, CBR 64<br />

I Drink for a Reason, Cross, BR 55<br />

I Choose Life, Jennings, BR 34<br />

Icon Of Loss, Weinrib, BR 52<br />

In a Pale Blue Light, Miller, BR 46<br />

In My Bustan, Mahbgerefteh, BR 58<br />

In Search of Milk and Honey,<br />

Kotlerman, BN 70<br />

Iron Will of Shoeshine Cats, Kestin, BR 48<br />

Is It Good For The Jews?, Biro, BR 49<br />

Israel vs. Utopia, Schalit, BR 55<br />

Jericho Scrolls, Ruppin, BN 71<br />

Jerusalem, Goldhill, BR 56<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Mama’s Kitchen, Phillips, BR 40<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Phenomenon, Silbiger, BN 70<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Responses to Persecution<br />

1933–1946 Volume I, Matthaus, BN 72<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Sages of Today, Rubin, BN 70<br />

<strong>Jewish</strong> Slow Cooker Recipes,<br />

Frankel, BR 41<br />

Jews, God, and Videotape,<br />

Shandler, BR 42<br />

Judaism, Gelernter, BR 43<br />

Judaism of the Second Temple<br />

Period, Flusser, BN 72<br />

Learning and Community,<br />

Wertheimer, BR 44<br />

Lev Shternberg, Kan, BN 69<br />

Life Worth Living, Sherwin, BN 71<br />

Living Witnesses, Must, BN 72<br />

Lone Soldiers, Keinon, BR 56<br />

Love Is Like Park Avenue, Levin, BR 49<br />

Lucinella, Segal, BR 49<br />

Madoff With The Money,<br />

Oppenheimer, BR 36<br />

Madoff’s Other Secret, Weinstein, BR 36<br />

Maimonides in His World, Stroumsa, BN 69<br />

Major Farran’s Hat, Cesarani, BR 56<br />

Making of a Reform <strong>Jewish</strong> Cantor,<br />

Cohen, BN 69<br />

Maqam and Liturgy, Kligman, BN 74<br />

Mitzvah Girls, Fader, BR 61<br />

Murderer’s Daughters, Meyers, BR 50<br />

My Father’s Bonus March, Langer, BR 35<br />

My Footprint, Garlin, BR 54<br />

New Jew, Friedes, BR 35<br />

Nitzotz, Zuoff, BR 52<br />

Noah’s Notebook, Nolan, CBR 64<br />

One God, Many Paths, Lederman, BN 73<br />

One Step Ahead Of Hitler, Gross, BR 30<br />

Only in New York, Roberts, BN 70<br />

Operation Last Chance, Zuroff, BR 52<br />

Photographing the <strong>Jewish</strong> Nation,<br />

Avrutin, BR 60<br />

Polyglot, Marcus, BN 71<br />

Prague Spring, Bourgo, BR 50<br />

Psychiatric and Behavioral Disorders<br />

in Israel, Levav, BN 73<br />

Red Black and Jew, Katz, BN 69<br />

Reinventing Ritual, Belasco, BR 60<br />

Religion or Ethnicity?, Gitelman, BN 74<br />

Religious Compulsions and Fears,<br />

Twerski, BN 71<br />

Remember Us, Small, BR 52<br />

Remembering Survival, Browning, BR 52<br />

INDEX<br />

Title, Author, BR, CBR or BN Title, Author, BR, CBR or BN Title, Author, BR, CBR or BN<br />

Revealed Texts, Hidden Meanings,<br />

Angel, BN 74<br />

Screening a Lynching, Bernstein, BR 51<br />

Search, Heuvel, CBR 68<br />

Seder Night, Soloveitchik, BR 57<br />

Sense of Purpose, Eban, BR 35<br />

Servant’s Quarters, Freed, BR 46<br />

Seven Questions You’re Asked<br />

in Heaven, Wolfson, BN 71<br />

Shabbat the Right Way, Cohen, BN 74<br />

Shadow Architect, Warn, BR 58<br />

Smasher, Raffel, BN 71<br />

Some Measure of Justice, Marrus, BN 72<br />

Sowing the Seeds of Character,<br />

Levingston, BR 44<br />

Spellmans Strike Again, Lutz, BN 71<br />

Start-Up Nation, Senor, BR 56<br />

Steerage, Stern, BR 58<br />

Still <strong>Jewish</strong>, McGinity, BR 61<br />

Surviving, Ohiso, BR 36<br />

Surviving the Angel of Death,<br />

Kor, CBR 65<br />

Ten Lost Tribes, Benite, BR 51<br />

There Shall Be No Needy, Jacobs, BR 43<br />

These Mountains, Miriam, BR 59<br />

This Must Be the Place, Winger, BR 50<br />

Tobi Kahn, Heller, BR 60<br />

Too Good To Be True, Arvedlund, BR 36<br />

Toolbox for Teachers and Mentors,<br />

Solomon, BR 45<br />

Treasury of <strong>Jewish</strong> Holiday Baking,<br />

Goldman, BR 42<br />

Tropical Secrets, Engle, CBR 64<br />

Uranium Wars, Aczel, BR 53<br />

Waiting Wall, Levy, CBR 65<br />

Walter Benjamin and Bertolt Brecht,<br />

Wizisla, BN 70<br />

We Remember with Reverence<br />

and Love, Diner, BR 26<br />

Were the Jews a Mediterranean<br />

Society?, Schwartz, BN 72<br />

What I Thought I Knew, Cohen, BN 69<br />

What Would Susie Say?, Essman, BR 54<br />

When I First Held You, Snir, CBR 66<br />

Whence My Help Come,<br />

Kestenbaum, BN 71<br />

Why Are Jews Liberals?, Podhoretz, BR 43<br />

Why The Dreyfus Affair Matters,<br />

Begley, BR 44<br />

Winter’s Journey Of My Youth,<br />

Studley, BR 30<br />

Women And Judaism, Drucker, BR 61<br />

Yom Kippur in Amsterdam,<br />

Shrayer, BR 51<br />

Zvuvi’s Israel, Lehman-Wilzig, CBR 66<br />

Would you like to be a reviewer for <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World?<br />

Submit a writing sample to<br />

jbc@jewishbooks.org<br />

Please include your name, address, phone<br />

number, e-mail address and areas of interest.<br />

Spring 5770/2010 <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Book</strong> World 79


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