Jewish novelist says his ‘main task’ has been depicting ‘what happened in World War II and the Holocaust’ By Benjamin Kerstein The Pulitzer Prize-winning Jewish author Herman Wouk has published his latest and what he indicated was likely his last book at the age of 102. Interviewed by “ CBS Sunday Morning” on Sunday, Wouk […]
At 102, legendary author Herman Wouk has a new book out Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish HistoryFast Girl: a Life Spent Running From Madness by Suzy Favor Hamilton; HarperCollins (c) 2015. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — This book was recommended to me with the assurance that the story it contained was interesting and even enlightening. I’m not quite sure about that. I don’t happen to find copious detail about the
Bipolar disorder led to life as prostitute Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonMichael Bond, the author of the Paddington series of books, has died at the age of 91, following a short illness. He turned his hand to writing in the 1950s after a spur-of-the-moment teddy bear purchase for his wife one Christmas Eve. They named it Paddington, as the couple lived near the London station of
Paddington author Michael Bond dies Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Obituaries & memorialsBEIJING — Chinese authorities released detained dissident and Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo on medical parole after he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, his lawyer said Monday. Liu, 61, is receiving treatment at a hospital in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, according to his lawyer Mo Shaoping. The Norway-based Nobel committee awarded Liu, a
China’s jailed Nobel laureate is granted parole after terminal cancer diagnosis Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, InternationalBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — One doesn’t normally think of translating and editing as a dangerous profession, but my experience of working in this field for the last fifty years has had a deleterious effect on me, leaving me seriously incapacitated. Reading literature of any kind, and especially if it has been translated
The personal peril of being a translator Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Since the reviews of the above film were positive on the whole, we decided to make a supreme effort to see it, squeezing it in between two evenings of other cultural activities. The subject was particularly interesting for me because it was set in London during the Second
Film Review: Their Finest Hour Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, InternationalGetting Emily Robbins on the phone is not an easy task. The writer and anthropology scholar is currently living in Jordan, researching her second book. Her first book, “A Word for Love,” is set in Syria. She was inspired to write it after living in the country for multiple years in the early 2000s. Robbins’
Covenant & Conversation, Numbers: The Wilderness Years, A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Maggid Books and The Orthodox Union, Jerusalem, © 2017, ISBN 978-1-68025-294-1, p. 171, plus glossary, $14.95 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – World-renown rabbi and scholar Rabbi Jonathan Sacks begins with the assertion that the Book of
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionOn Writing by Stephen King; Scribner, Simon and Schuster, 2000 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Not being a fan of the horror/fantasy genre of novels, I must confess at the outset that I have not read any of Stephen King’s other books. I do know, however, that he is a very successful and prolific author in
Stephen King more profound as author than coach Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonNearly 40 years after Bob Dylan stunned the music world with the release of his overtly Christian album, “Slow Train Coming,” followed quickly with the unambiguously gospel “Saved,” people still don’t know what to make of America’s most enigmatic troubadour. The conventional wisdom is that Dylan took an intense dive into evangelical Christianity for a
The debate about Bob Dylan’s faith is over Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
Freud: An Intellectual Biography by Joel Whitebook; Cambridge University Press (c) 2017; 496 pages. By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D. SAN DIEGO — When Don Harrison asked if I’d review a new book about Schlomo Sigismund Freud, known to most as Sigmund Freud, I gladly accepted the opportunity. Why? I’m not sure. Not that I’d spend
Freud biography heavy reading, yet interesting Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Michael Mantell, Science, Medicine, & Education
Unusual Bible Interpretations: Jonah and Amos, by Rabbi Israel Drazin; Gefen Publishing House, 2016; ISBN-10: 9652298859; ISBN-13: 978-9652298850 By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — I would like to begin this book review with a conversation I had with the publisher of San Diego Jewish World, Don Harrison. He asked me whether there was
Was the whale created by Jonah’s subconscious mind? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Ken Stone Times of San Diego LA JOLLA, California — Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eric Lichtblau, author of an exposé of the Nazi era’s shameful American aftermath, is worried what a future historian might say about today’s War on Terror. With James Risen, Eric Lichtblau won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for revealing
Future historians may rue aspects of U.S. war on terror Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Ken Stone, Science, Medicine, & Education, USAThe Jewish Calendar: History and Inner Workings by Dr. Fred Reiss; (c) 2017; ISBN 9781544-72382. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The study of the Jewish calendar is not one of the easiest topics to research. It is an area that most rabbis have at best a general knowledge of the history.
How does the Jewish calendar work? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi