The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah; St. Martin’s Press, 2015 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I picked this book up in the local bookshop thinking it would make good holiday reading. It did, but it’s not exactly the sort of light reading one takes along to read on the beach. The tale it tells of France under German […]
World War II from a French girl’s perspective Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonAfter the Survivors perish, who will tell their stories? By Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan–Some time in the near future, the last known Holocaust survivor will pass away, and there will be no more people to tell the first-hand story of what happened in those dark days in Europe. When I asked two people recently
Never Again: Holocaust news for November 7, 2015 Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, USA
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Sportswriter Ron Kaplan of Montclair, New Jersey, maintains a popular blog on Jews and sports so it was not surprising that he was approached by fans of the international Maccabiahs to write a book on the world’s greatest gathering of Jewish athletes. He was surprised, however, by the
Book details the greatest gatherings of Jewish athletes Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Sports & CompetitionsJudaism Alive: Using the Torah to Unlock Your Life’s Potential by Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn, Gefen Publishing House, New York; ISBN 978-965-229-652-8 ©2015, $18.00, p. 154, including an Appendix By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Judaism Alive, written by Shlomo Einhorn, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, is a self-help book guided by the personal qualities of three
A rabbi’s advice for achieving true success Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion8l Days Below Zero: the Incredible Survival Story of a World War II Pilot in Alaska’s Frozen Wilderness, by Brian Murphy, Da Capo Press, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Lewis and Sonia Crane immigrated from Tsarist Russia to the United States in 1913, leaving behind the terrors of the vicious pogroms and restrictions
From the Jewish library: ’81 Days Below Zero’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories
The Heatstroke Line by Edward L. Rubin; Sunbury Press © 2015; ISBN 978-1-62006-626-3; 233 pages; $14.95 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Our correspondent in Taiwan, Dan Bloom, who is a cli-fi enthusiast, has already written about this book, but when a copy came my way, I thought I’d check it out as well.
Novelist predicts war, chaos in wake of climate change Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, The World We Share
ENCINITAS, California (Press Release) –Cartoonist Bruce Eric Kaplan, also known as BEK, will discuss his memoir I Was A Child at 4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 8, at Temple Solel, 3575 Manchester Avenue, as part of the San Diego Jewish Book Fair sponsored by the Center for Jewish Culture. Kaplan’s single-panel cartoons, which often appear in
Cartoonist Kaplan at Temple Solel Nov. 8 Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, San Diego Calendar
The Golem of Paris by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman, G.P. Putnam Sons © 2015, ISBN 978-0-399-17173-4; 497 pages. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –The Kellermans have teamed up on a multi-generational novel that combines old fashioned gumshoe detective work with the supernatural and the bad old days of the Soviet empire. The result,
Kellermans’ novel not worth time it takes to read Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison
Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein by Amanda Peet and Andrea Troyer, illustrated by Christine Davenier, Doubleday, © 2015, 32 pages of text; ISBN 978-0-553-51061-4; $17.99/ By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – It’s coming b-a-a-a-ck. The December dilemma. That’s when American Jewish kids want to be like the other kids and celebrate Christmas. In this
Children’s story prepares them for December dilemma Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, USA
CHULA VISTA, California (SDJW) – Sonni Cooper, an author who wrote Star Trek novels, will be the guest speaker at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Temple Beth Shalom, 208 Madrona Street. Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel said that Cooper, the author of the Star Trek novel Black Star in which Spock is accused of
Author to explore Jewish connections to Star Trek Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, San Diego CalendarBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Jews and food, Jews and social movements, Jews and humor: they all go together like egg whites and egg yolks. Meet Robert Barsky, who grew up in a Jewish family in Canada and teaches now in the French and Italian departments at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Also holding
Egg- citing plot twists in ‘Hatched’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short StoriesLA JOLLA, California (Press Release) – San Diego’s internationally recognized San Diego Jewish Book Fair celebrates its 21st year with many leading authors in their fields including: Steve Katz, David Gregory, Fern Mallis, Arlene Alda, Barney Frank, Jennifer Teege And Mitch Albom. Book Fair events will run from November 7 through November 16, and are
Highlights of Jewish Book Fair detailed Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Marcia Berneger, San Diego CalendarChildren of the Stone, The Power of Music in a Hard Land, by Sandy Tolan, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — In a “Note to Readers” the author states that the events and facts presented in the book have been extensively sourced, checked and, to the extent possible, verified. However, Tolan also
Music becomes cacophony in political treatise Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short StoriesBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Shari Becker grew up in a Jewish family in Montreal and now lives in Boston, where she is married and is raising two daughters with her husband John. Her first YA (young adult) novel has been published and there’s a fascinating story behind it I found out during
Hurricane Sandy got this debut YA author thinking Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories