Books, Poetry & Short Stories

With spy Sarah Aaronsohn’s suicide, Israeli history was rewritten, claims author

In 1915, the Aaronsohn siblings founded an espionage group in their village of Zichron Yaakov to help the Brits defeat the Turks. Outside of Israel, why was their tale whitewashed from history? By JP O’ Malley On December 11, 1917, the British imperial governor, General Sir Edmund Allenby, entered Jerusalem, placing the city under military […]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle East

Gabriel Garcia Marquez had Fidel Castro read his books to catch errors before publication

There are a lot of great opening lines in literature. But this one by the late Gabriel Garcia-Marquez is among the best: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” That’s the way he starts the book

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International

How Jimmy Stewart’s war service affected ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

As we stare headlong into the approaching holiday season, the 1946 James Stewart classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” is set to make its annual television appearance Saturday on NBC. It was the first movie Stewart made when he returned home after serving as a pilot in World War II, an experience that left him adrift

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USA

Wole Soyinka, Nobel Prize-winning author, throws away green card over Trump win

Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka said Thursday that he fulfilled his promise to throw away his United States green card and relocate if Donald Trump won the presidency. “I’ve done it,” the Nigerian author told news channel eNCA on the sidelines of an education conference at the University of Johannesburg, Reuters reported. “When I was

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, USA

Award-winning THE MENSCH ON A BENCH Welcomes HANNAH THE HANUKKAH HERO And ASK BUBBE To The Family

The newly expanded 2016 product line celebrates strong female role models with history and humor CINCINNATI, Dec. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — The pop culture icon, THE MENSCH ON A BENCH has not only expanded his Mishpacha, but also continues to solidify his presence as a meaningful holiday presence for Jewish and interfaith families. Neal Hoffman,

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Spies in Palestine: Love, Betrayal and the Heroic Life of Sarah Aaronsohn’

SPIES IN PALESTINE: LOVE, BETRAYAL AND THE HEROIC LIFE OF SARAH AARONSOHN By James Srodes Counterpoint, $24, 203 pages By Joseph C. Goulden In more than half a century of reading intelligence literature, seldom have I encountered an operative with the raw courage of Sarah Aaronsohn. Whatever spy tradecraft the woman knew was self-taught. She

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle East

Handwritten Anne Frank Poem Auctioned for $148,000

A poem handwritten by one of the Holocaust’s most famous victims, diarist Anne Frank, sold for 140,000 euros (roughly $148,000) on Wednesday at a Dutch auction house. The sum, which doesn’t include the auctioneer’s commission, greatly exceeded the expected sale price of 30,000 to 50,000 euros. Thijs Blankevoort, director of the Bubb Kuyper auction house

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History

Colson Whitehead Wins National Book Award in Fiction

Colson Whitehead won the National Book Award in fiction on Wednesday for his bestselling novel and Oprah Book Club pick The Underground Railroad. His fellow winners that evening were Ibram X. Kendi in nonfiction for Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America; Daniel Borzutzky in poetry for The Performance of

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, USA

Trump supporters try to undermine Megyn Kelly’s book with an onslaught of negative reviews on Amazon

Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump are using online retailer Amazon to attack Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly through harsh reviews of her new book. More than 100 negative one-star reviews appeared on the Amazon page selling Kelly’s memoir “Settle For More,” within hours of its Tuesday release. Many of the comments came through a link

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, USA

Did the Bard crib from another book on King Lear?

  1606, Shakespeare and the Year of Lear by James Shapiro published by Faber and Faber, 2015. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — When I picked this book up at Luton airport, as I was about to board a plane, I thought I was going to read a historical novel. I couldn’t have been more

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Uncovered letters shed light on Jewish Austrian writer Stefan Zweig

The Jewish Austrian author Stefan Zweig corresponded with an aspiring writer for years before the Nazis rose to power in Germany. These previously unknown letters have now emerged decades after his death. Tel Aviv (dpa) – The letters from one of the most important writers of the 1920s and 1930s had sat in a bank

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Middle East

The Mighty Hillary Strikes Out

(With apologies to Ernest Lawrence Thayer) By Laurie Baron The outlook was optimistic for Clinton-Kane just yesterday. The polls showed leads of three points, but narrowing each day. When Comey concluded that she was not to blame. The voters who despised her had nothing to defame. The Donald was campaigning, appealing to white males. Spouting

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Lawrence Baron, Sports & Competitions, USA

Book celebrates 28 of San Diego’s remarkable women

Remarkable Women of San Diego: Pioneers, Visionaries and Innovators by Hannah S. Cohen and Gloria G. Harris; History Press © 2016; ISBN 9781467-118262; 144 pages including index and bibliography, $21.90. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –Divided into four time periods that begin in 1850, 1900, 1950 and 2000, this collection of biographical sketches honors

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, USA