Association of Jewish Libraries of Southern California


Copied with permission by Linda L. Silver
from the AJL Greater Cleveland Chapter publication
Association of Jewish Libraries - Greater Cleveland Chapter
Review of New Adult Books
October 2006 – May 2007
Non-Fiction

Aly, Gotz.  Hitler’s Beneficiaries: Plunder, Racial War, and the Nazi Welfare State.  Metropolitan Books, 2007.  Historian Aly’s important and original contribution to Holocaust research posits that Hitler gained support from the Germans by a systematic program of theft and redistribution of wealth.

Antler, Joyce.  You Never Call! You Never Write! A History of the Jewish Mother.  Oxford University Press, 2007.  This comprehensive and scholarly study of the stereotype of the Jewish mother in American popular culture is an amusing and enlightening read.

Arendt, Hannah.  Reflections on Literature and Culture.  (Merieian Crossing Aesthetics) Ed. by Susannah Young-Ah Gottlieb.  Stanford University Press, 2007.  The 34 selections in this volume span 1930-1975, and offer great insight into Arendt’s less notable works of cultural and literary criticism. 

Bar-Zohar, Michael.  Shimon Peres: The Biography.  Random House, 2007.  Written with the cooperation of the family and friends of the prime minister, Bar-Zohar, the popular Knesset member and professor, has produced another excellent biography.
Includes source notes, index and photos.

Baskind, Samantha.  Encyclopedia of Jewish American Artists.  Greenwood Press, 2006.  Besides the excellent encyclopedic entry for each artist, the author includes a useful treatment of the definition and history of American Jewish art. The paucity of illustrations is disappointing.

Bernstein, Harry.  The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers.  Ballantine Books, 2007.  Written at age 93, this memoir is set in pre World War I England, where the author’s working-class neighborhood was divided by an invisible line between the Jewish side and the Christian side.  The Jews and gentiles shared little in common, expect for poverty, fervent religious belief, and prejudice. 

Biro, Adam.  One Must Also Be Hungarian.  Translated by Catherine Tihanyi.  University of Chicago Press, 2007.  Written by a Hungarian-born French author and publisher, this slim elegiac volume reflects on the 200-year history and the memorable characters of a Hungarian-Jewish family.

Blumberg, Ilana.  Houses of Study: A Jewish Woman among Books.  University of Nebraska Press, 2007.  This well-written feminist memoir is an intimate spiritual portrait of a young woman attracted to both Talmud study and secular literature and the limitations imposed by her position as an Orthodox woman.

Boteach, Shmuley.  Shalom in the Home: Savvy Advice for a Peaceful Home.  Meredith, 2007.  Influenced by his own experience as a child of divorce, the host of the television series “Shalom in the Home” gets to the heart of family dynamics and individual personalities to help families build deeper, more loving relationships.

Buhle, Paul, ed.  Jews and American Popular Culture.  (Praeger Perspectives)  Praeger, 2007.  This handsome three-volume reference set presents a scholarly, yet accessible, survey of the history of Jewish involvement in American pop culture.

Chafets, Zev.  A Match Made In Heaven: American Jews, Christian Zionists, and One Man's Exploration of the Weird and Wonderful Judeo-Evangelical Alliance.  HarperCollins, 2007.  A journalist with impressive career credentials, Chafets travels across America to explore the unlikely and uneasy alliance between Jews and evangelical Christians.

Comins, Mike.  A Wild Faith: Jewish Ways into the Wilderness, Wilderness Ways into Judaism.  Jewish Lights, 2007.  Rabbi Comins offers readers a way to deepen their Jewish spirituality by connecting with the natural world.

Dan, Uri.  Ariel Sharon: An Intimate Portrait.  Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.  Writing as Sharon’s supporter and confidante of 50 years, journalist Dan mined his notes and diaries to produce this very personal book, enriched by transcriptions of conversations and detailed reports of the many significant military, political, and legal battles in Sharon’s career. Includes a chronology, index and photos, but no bibliography.

Dennis, Geoffrey W.  The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic & Mysticism.  Llewellyn, 2007.  This comprehensive compendium covers over 1,000 terms that are associated with Jewish mysticism and spirituality.

Elkins, Dov Peretz.  The Wisdom of Judaism: An Introduction to the Values of the Talmud.  Jewish Lights, 2007.  Rabbi Elkins adds his commentary to the commentaries, and focuses on the Talmud’s teachings for ethical human behavior.

Finkelstein, Norman H.  American Jewish History: A JPS Guide.  Jewish Publication Society, 2007.  Written for the layman, this engaging history book covers American Jewish history from the discovery of America through the end of the 20th century.  The smooth-flowing text and the many photos and supplementary information about people, documents, and events add a personal touch that brings American Jewish history to life.

Fishbein, Susie.  Kosher by Design Short on Time: Fabulous Food Faster.  Mesorah Publications, 2006.  The newest entry (or is it entrée?) in the Kosher by Design series offers recipes that are sure to be a hit with busy families.

Fishman, Sylvia Barack.  The Way Into the Varieties of Jewishness.  Jewish Lights, 2007.  The latest title in The Way Into series of accessible guidebooks to Judaism presents an introduction to the many ways Jews understand Jewishness and identify themselves and their communities throughout history and today.
 
Franks, Lucinda.  My Father's Secret War: A Memoir.  Miramax, 2007.  As her elderly father slips into dementia, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lucinda Franks discovers a long hidden part of his life.  He reveals that during WW II, he was a spy for the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance and, disguised as an SS officer, he risked his life behind enemy lines.

Friedman, Cary A.  Wisdom From the Batcave: How to Live a Super, Heroic Life.  Compass Books, 2006.  Rabbi Friedman focuses on relationships with self, others, and the larger community, while drawing inspiration from Batman in this entertaining and insightful book.

Gold, Dore.  The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City.  Regnery Publishing, 2007.  Authored by the former Israeli ambassador to the UN, this book is a thoroughly researched, historically accurate account of the history and politics of Jerusalem, but a very strident diatribe against the dangers of Palestinian control over any piece of Jerusalem or its suburbs.

Gruber, Ruth. Witness: One of the Great Correspondents of the Twentieth Century Tells Her Story. NY: Schocken, 2007.  Ninety-five year old Ruth Gruber can still tell a great story and this time it is the story of her adventures becoming a journalist and reporting the great events in the life of the Jewish people in the 20th century. Accompanied by moving photographs, all taken by the author.

Hefez, Nir, and Gadi Bloom.  Ariel Sharon: A Life.  Translated by Mitch Ginsburg.   Random House, 2006.  Written by two newspaper editors/ journalists, this is a very readable, objective biography. Includes a bibliography and photos, but no index.

Isaacson, Walter.  Einstein: His Life and Universe.  Simon & Schuster, 2007.  Acclaimed biographer Isaacson examines the remarkable life of the famous scientist in this lucid account.

Jacobs, Meredith L.  The Modern Jewish Mom’s Guide to Shabbat: Connect and Celebrate - Bring Your Family Together with the Friday Night Meal.  Harper, 2007.  The author, founder of the popular web site ModernJewishMom.com, gives readers a must-have guidebook to Shabbat in today’s hectic world.

Kaplan, Beth.  Finding the Jewish Shakespeare: The Life and Legacy of Jacob Gordin.  Syracuse University Press, 2007.  Beth Kaplan explores the contributions of her great-grandfather Jacob Gordin, reformer and playwright, during the Golden Age of Yiddish Theater from 1891-1910.
Morinis, Alan.  Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar.  Trumpeter, 2007.  The Jewish spiritual tradition of Mussar, a set of teachings designed to cultivate personal growth, is explained in this new book, as well as one by Ira F. Stone (see below).

Newhouse, Alana, Ed.  A Living Lens: Photographs of Jewish Life from the Pages of Forward.  W.W. Norton, 2007.  This extraordinary volume features classic photographs of Lower East Side pushcarts, Yiddish theater, labor rallies, and other gems published in the Forward.

Noiville, Florence.  Isaac B. Singer: A Life.  Translated by Catherine Temerson. Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, 2006.  A brief well written “warts and all” biography of the Nobel laureate.

Ochs, Vanessa.  Inventing Jewish Ritual: New American Traditions.  Jewish Publication Society, 2007.  Vanessa Ochs invites her readers to explore how Jewish practice can be more meaningful through renewing, reshaping, and even creating new rituals, such as blessings for newborn daughters, Miriam's cup, becoming an elder, and more.

Parrish, Timothy.  The Cambridge Companion to Philip Roth.  Cambridge University Press, 2007.  The Cambridge companion series always provides in-depth analysis, and this fascinating collection of essays offers a thorough introduction to Roth’s oeuvre and critical analyses of his books and themes.

Piercy, Marge.  Pesach for the Rest of Us: Making the Passover Seder Your Own.  Schocken Books, 2007.  Prolific novelist and poet Piercy gives readers a personal guidebook to the holiday, complete with poems, blessings, and recipes.

Schorsch, Ismar.  Canon without Closure: Torah Commentaries.  Aviv Press, 2007.  Each commentary in this landmark collection by an influential leader and scholar draws upon the author's wide breadth of Jewish scholarship, Talmudic teachings, and inspirational personal insights.

Stanislawski, Michael.  A Murder in Lemberg: The Assassination of Reform Rabbi Abraham Kohn.  Princeton University Press, 2006.  In relating the details of the 1848 murder of a reformist rabbi by a fellow Jew, the author provides a well-written suspense story and also relates the convoluted history of conflicts within and around the Jewish community of the Hapsburg Empire.

Stone, Ira F.  A Responsible Life: The Spiritual Life of Mussar.  Aviv Press, 2007.  Stone’s book is another new offering on the topic of personal growth and spiritual responsibility.

Van Voolen, Edward.  My Grandparents, My Parents, and I: Jewish Art and Culture.  Prestel, 2006.  A beautifully illustrated book that illuminates the role Jews have played in the visual arts over the last 2000 years.
Fiction

Andrzejewski, Jerzy.  Holy Week: A Novel of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.  (Polish and Polish-American Studies)  Ohio University Press, 2007.  First published in 1945, Andrzejewski’s novel dramatically portrays the abandonment of the Jews to Nazi persecution by the dominant Polish society in Warsaw.

Begley, Louis.  Matters of Honor.  Knopf, 2007.  In the 1950’s, three Harvard roommates struggle with loyalty, integrity, and status pressures in school and in the ensuing years.  One of the roommates, Henry, is a Polish refugee who survived World War II in hiding and continues to battle anti-Semitism at every turn.

Chabon, Michael.  The Yiddish Policemen’s Union.  HarperCollins, 2007.  What if Sitka Alaska became a Jewish homeland, and not the British Mandate in Palestine? It is now six decades later, and Sitka, which has grown prosperous under the Yiddish speaking Jews, is reverting back to Alaska.  Meanwhile, homicide detective Meyer Landsman is busy trying to solve the murder of his chess-playing neighbor. 

Danford, Natalie.  Inheritance.  St. Martin's Press, 2007.  A daughter learns her father's secrets when she travels to his hometown in Italy after his death.  This engaging first novel takes readers from present-day America to Italy during World War II.

Elon, Emuna.  If You Awaken Love.  Toby Press, 2007.  A Tel Aviv interior designer specializing in closed rooms and clients' privacy, 40-year-old Shlomtzion Drore has closed herself off emotionally after her childhood sweetheart, Yair, broke off their engagement when his rabbi refused them his blessing.  Years later she is forced to confront her old flame and examine her own secular leftist politics.
 
Englander, Nathan.  The Ministry of Special Cases.  Knopf, 2007.  In his first book since the short story collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, Englander explores the erasure of identity among a Jewish family who lives in Buenos Aires in 1976, the time of the country’s “dirty war,” when suspected political subversives were kidnapped by the Argentine security forces and “disappeared.”  Englander’s dark themes demand readers’ close attention.

Etzioni-Halevy, Eva.  The Garden of Ruth.  Plume, 2007.  Etzioni-Halevy’s imaginative second novel focuses on the biblical story of Ruth.

Frank, Glenn.  Abe Gilman’s Ending.  Beaufort Books, 2006.  After the death of his beloved wife and a fall that leaves him wheelchair-bound, Abe Gilman thinks dying would be better than living out his days in a nursing home. Interwoven with Abe’s story is the story of Elie, a Jewish boy in 1948 who is determined to find out what happened to his father, a German Jew who remained in Europe after sending his family to safety.

Gregory, Jill, and Karen Tintori.  The Book of Names.  St. Martin’s /Griffin, 2007.   Gregory and Tintori’s first collaborative novel uses the Jewish tradition of the Lamed-Vovniks as the driving force behind a plot that is reminiscent of The DaVinci Code.

Isaacs, Susan.  Past Perfect.  Scribner, 2007.  Popular novelist Isaacs’ 11th novel has former CIA analyst Katie Schottland using her expertise to solve the mysterious disappearance of a colleague and the murders of two East German asylum seekers.

Jacobson, Howard.  Kalooki Nights.  Simon & Schuster, 2007.  Booklist awarded a starred review to British comic author Jacobson’s ninth novel, in which cartoonist Max Glickman ruminates on his Jewishness.

Jenoff, Pam.  The Kommandant’s Girl.  Mira, 2007.  Emma Blau, a young librarian, escapes Krakow’s Jewish ghetto with false papers provided by her activist husband who has left to join the Jewish resistance.  She winds up working for a German general, and the consequences that ensue test her new marriage.

Judah, Sophie.  Dropped from Heaven: Stories.  Schocken, 2007.  This debut collection of stories illuminates the little known community of Bene Israel in India.

Lowenthal, Michael.  Charity Girl.  Houghton Mifflin, 2007.  The Committee on Prevention of Social Evils Surrounding Military Camps imprisons Frieda Mintz, a 17-year-old Jewish shopgirl from Boston, when her first encounter with a soldier turns from idealistic love into a nightmare of bureaucracy and medical mistreatment during World War I.

Mekler, Eva.  The Polish Woman.  Bridge Works Publishing, 2007.  Set in 1967 Manhattan, 29-year old Karolina Staszek suddenly appears in Jewish attorney Philip Landau's office, claiming to be his long-lost cousin who was hidden by a Catholic family in Lublin, Poland during the Holocaust.  In this suspenseful novel, Philip must decipher if Karolina is a shrewd con artist or his real cousin who survived the Holocaust.

Rakoff, Alvin.  Baldwin Street.  Bunim & Bannigan, 2007.  Rakoff’s novel is set in Toronto during the Depression, with a cast of characters who are members of the tight-knit Jewish immigrant community.

Reich, Tova.  My Holocaust.  HarperCollins, 2007.  A scathing satire on the trivialization of the Holocaust, there are few groups of aspiring victims that Reich’s novel will not infuriate.  It is at once hilarious and deeply serious, from its depiction of enterprising survivors who inflate their war-time experiences to wannabes representing the poultry holocaust, the fur holocaust, the menstrual holocaust, and a parade of others all looking for a piece of the action. 

Rosenbaum, Lisa Pearl.  A Day of Small Beginnings.  Little, Brown and Company, 2006.  A Polish American family searching for its roots uncovers a gripping drama that involves a ghost, anti-Semitism, love, and the small town in Poland that is both their curse and redemption. 

Segal, Lore.  Shakespeare’s Kitchen: Stories.  New Press, 2007.  Wonderfully realized linked stories that center on Ilka Weisz, from the author’s classic novel Her First American, and her relationship with the dysfunctional family that is formed by her intellectual co-workers at the Concordance think tank. 

Shomer, Enid.  Tourist Season: Stories.  Random House, 2007.  A collection of short stories about women charting unfamiliar territory, whether in Brooklyn or the Cayman trench. In one, a Jewish woman travels to Tibet where she accepts, with hesitation, her birthright as the reincarnation of a saint. In another, a Radcliffe student, home for the summer, is attracted to her cousin.

Sonenberg, Maya.  Voices from the Blue Hotel.  Chiasmus, 2007.  The second collection of short stories by the winner of the 1989 Drue Heinz Literature Prize.

Ulinich, Anya.  Petropolis.  Viking, 2007.  Sasha Goldberg, a bi-racial Jewish teenager living in Asbestos 2, escapes her dying Siberian town and her overbearing mother to search for her father in America.  In her debut novel, Ulinich weaves an engaging story with a thoroughly captivating protagonist.

Yahia, Mona.  When the Grey Beetles Took Over Baghdad.  Braziler, 2007.  Winner of the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize for Fiction, this vivid and personal story of growing up Jewish in Baghdad is set against the backdrop of political upheaval and an increasingly fractured society. 

Yizhar, S.  Preliminaries.  (Hebrew Classics) Toby Press, 2007.  Written in 1991 but recently translated into English, this autobiographical novel of a young boy growing up in Palestine in the 20s and 30s marked the final flowering of the great novelist’s oeuvre.
Compiled by
Wendy Wasman, The Temple – Tifereth Israel
Lee Haas, Temple Emanu El
Merrily Hart, Aaron Garber Library, Siegal College
Nina Rosner, Beachwood Branch, Cuyahoga County Public Library