My Grandfather Would have Shot Me, by Jennifer Teege and Nikola Sellmair. The Experiment, Pub. 2015, 221pp By David Strom SAN DIEGO — At the age of 38 Jennifer Teege was at the Hamburg central library. There she glanced at a book with a red cover and was drawn to it. From photographs in the book, […]
Mixed-race descendant of Nazi murderer tells of life Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish HistoryRashi: The Magic and the Mystery by Avigdor Bonchek, Gefen Publishing House, New York; ISBN 978-965-229-779-2 ©2015, $18.00, p. 132, plus Appendix, References and Index of Interpreted Verses By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California — Torah Commentator Rashi, the acronym for Shlomo Yitzchaki, stands at the head of a long line of revered Jewish sages. For instance,
Why Rashi wrote sometimes and refrained at others Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion
More Than Enough: A Passover Story by April Halprin Wayland, illustrated by Katie Kath; Dial Books for Young Readers © 2016; ISBN 978-0-8037-4126-3; $16.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — We received at San Diego Jewish World a book to be read to children that either came to our mailbox quite late or extremely
Many reasons for happy children to say ‘Dayenu’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish ReligionA Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz, Harcourt, Inc., 2003 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Is it fair to write a review of a book after having read only 55 out of a total of 358 pages? Probably, not. And, yet, that is exactly what I am going to do. Amos Oz is
Love and Darkness on Jewish book shelf Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short StoriesBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Peter Gould has lived in Vermont for over 45 years and his new novel Marly is about Vermonters, climate issues and wind turbines, among other things. Growing up Jewish, Gould — who calls himself a “non-observant Goddess-worshipping American Jew — said it was his parents who were “intellectual,
He does the talking; she dominates the discussion Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short StoriesThe Theft of Memory by Jonathan Kozol; Crown Publishers, New York, 2015, 302pp By David Strom SAN DIEGO–My oldest sister died at the age of ninety-three. She couldn’t recognize or communicate with her children or her two living brothers. Gertie, my sister, grew up in a home where singing and music were a joyful part
A prize- winning author looks at dementia Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short StoriesBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan –When it comes to translating science fiction novels from France, Japan or other non-English speaking nations, the U.S. publishing industry has a rather dismal track record. Yes, Tor Books published in 2014 a popular sci-fi novel from communist China by Cixin Liu, titled The Three-Body Problem and not only did
Non- English language novels find U.S. challenging Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short StoriesThe 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