Reviews (1)

How to be Worthy of One's Suffering
Frankl, who survived the concentration camps, writes that suffering is inevitable and that avoiding suffering is futile. Rather, one should be worthy of one's suffering and make meaning of it instead of surrendering to nihilism, bitterness and despair. He uses poetic, moving anecdotes from the concentration camps to illustrate those souls who find a deeper humanity from their suffering or who become animals relegated to nothing more than teeth-clenched self-preservation. Though not specifically religious, this masterpiece has a religious purpose--to help us find meaning. This book succeeds immeasurably.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Historical - Holocaust    3. Holocaust    4. Psychology    5. Psychopathology - Compulsive Behavior    6. Psychotherapy - General    7. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (1)

A stark and revealing insight into the banality of evil
Ably translated by Carol Scherer and edited by Karl Schleunes, Legislating The Holocaust: The Bernhard Loesener Memoirs And Supporting Documents is the direct, recorded testimony of Bernhard Loesener. This is the man who personally drafted much of the legislation that disenfranchised and dehumanized the Jews of Nazi Germany. He also kept the minutes of inter-ministerial conferences concerned with the "Jewish Question." In 1950, Bernhard Loesener penned a memoir in which he sought to explain and justify his actions, as well as professing his horror of the Final Solution to which he so thoroughly and directly contributed. First published in 1961, Loesener's memoir has never appeared in English until now. Also included are an introduction and lengthy notes by editor Karl A. Schleunes, as well as Loesener's testimony before the Nuremberg Tribunal. An invaluable contribution to Holocaust studies and reference collections, Legislating The Holocaust is a stark and revealing insight into the banality of evil, and the bureaucratic mechanics of facilitating mass murder. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Germany    6. Historical - General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. Holocaust    10. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    11. Jews    12. Legal status, laws, etc    13. Legal status, laws, etc.    14. National Socialism    15. Biography/Memoir    16. Human Rights    17. Holocaust Studies    18. Religion    19. Jewish Studies   

Reviews (16)

An Inspiring and Moving Tale of a Man's Desire to save Yiddish Literature
Wow, this book was terrific! Aaron Lansky was taking a Yiddish class where he had to go into the lower East side of Manhattan to obtain assigned Yiddish books that were no longer in print. One day while in class, he decided to devote his life to saving as many Yiddish books as he could.
Saving Yiddish Books
Aaron Lansky has devoted his adult life to rescuing, collecting, cataloging, and re-distributing hundreds of thousand of books written in Yiddish.They rescued the books from abandoned libraries, dumpsters, and taken publishers' complete collection when the publisher closed their business doors. They also accepted the private libraries of elderly people who wanted the story of each book preserved as well as serving Lansky and his cadre of volunteers kugel.
Lots about Lansky; little about literature

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Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Biography And Autobiography    4. Books    5. Books & Reading    6. History - General History    7. Jewish - General    8. Jewish Sociology    9. Yiddish    10. History / Jewish   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography And Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Concentration camps    6. Germany    7. Historical - Holocaust    8. Holocaust    9. Holocaust (Religious Aspects)    10. Netherlands    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Personal narratives, Dutch    13. Ravensbrèuck    14. Religious    15. Underground movements    16. Women    17. World War, 1939-1945    18. Religion / Christian Life   

Reviews (2)

a tremendously interesting book
Maimonides asserted that anyone who rejected his Thirteen Principles was a heretic who has removed himself from the Jewish people- yet most of these Principles were at one time or another rejected by leading rabbis both before and after Maimonides.
Believe This
There are those for whom their belief in religion will never quite approach their scholarly understanding of it. But the opposite is probably more prevalent. Many more people sincerely profess faith but are ignorant of the knowledge that should necessarily underpin such faith.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1135-1204    2. 1135-1204.    3. 13 ikre ha-emunah    4. 13 °iòkre ha-emunah    5. Doctrines    6. History    7. History: World    8. Jewish - General    9. Judaism    10. Judaism - Theology    11. Maimonides, Moses,    12. Religion - Judaism    13. Thirteen articles of faith (Ju    14. Jewish studies   

Reviews (27)

Blood Brothers:Recommended to anyone
Loved it!I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't heard a Christian Palestinian perspective on this issue.This book is one of the best on this topic that I have read.

A Case Study in Hope
It seems that much has been written about the Middle East in terms of religion, culture, history, economics, geopolitical significance, etc.But it seems very little has been written about the region in terms of brotherhood.The notion almost rankles upon first utterance, yet Elias Chacour, a Christian Palestinian approaches the topic from this rather unique perspective.Having experienced the destruction of his home village of Biram by Israeli soldiers in 1951, one would expect him to have something to say.While portraying injustices honestly, he refuses to draw harsh generalizations.As Israeli soldiers or Zionist groups such as the Irgun destroy local villages, Chacour notes the sentiment of the native Jewish people in the area who were "shocked and disgusted" and who protested such activities via their religious leaders.Although the book is not enthralling in terms of literary quality, it is compelling in terms of ideas. A personal interaction with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict
I would recommend this book to everybody. It gives us a fair, and much needed, insight into the Palestinian Christian perspective within the greater framework of the Middle East conflict. The personal testimony and example that Elias Chacour gives us is compelling and convicting. What if we all started to act with the faith, love and renconcilation Elias promotes in this inspiring account of his life. Read more

Subjects:  1. Arab-Israeli conflict    2. Biography    3. Galilee    4. General    5. History - General History    6. Israel    7. Jewish - General    8. Middle East - Israel    9. Palestinian Arabs    10. Religion    11. Modern fiction   

Reviews (3)

rite of passage
I disagree with the "tad tedious" review. I just finished this book and felt uplifted by Robin's honesty about her transitions through life. The book is well-written -- her ability to intertwine her struggle with her own identity and religous hunger with her dad's illness is amazing. I hope to read more books by her.

A TAD TEDIOUS...
This is a book that, at times, was ofsome interest, but, overall, I found it to be a tad tedious. The author, who is half Jewish, as her father was Jewish while her mother was Christian, had a mid-life crisis that manifested itself in the desire to find her Jewish roots and lead a life with a religious bent. What she seemed to have done was simply substitute religion for the place that drugs used to have in her life, as religion seems to provide for her the panacea that makes her life worth living.
An exodus from rootlessness
Nobody plans to stumble across God in an unexpected place, least of all someone who doesn't believe in God at all.
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Subjects:  1. Bat mitzvah    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Jews    7. Jews In The U.S.    8. Judaism    9. Judaism - General    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Religious    12. United States    13. Jewish studies    14. Schools    15. USA   

Reviews (7)

Arthur Koestler Reviewer: Shame on you for appropriating authors name.
or provide your credentials for the whole lot of nothing you wrote.
Scattered and Gathered
This remarkable book reveals recent discoveries in molecular genetics that provide scientific confirmation of Biblical and oral tradition. For those completely unfamiliar with genetics, it is advised to read chapter four first. The basics of DNA are covered there, including the history of its discovery and key concepts like genes, the human genome poject, genetic markers and mitrochondrial DNA (mtDNA).
A wonderful work, also a refutation of the review by Arthur Koestler
The following is both a review of the book as well as a counter to the review called "Based on the wrong starting point by Arthur Koestler (Spain)."Please don't take my comments as a personal attack on Arthur Koestler it is simply a refutation about his comments on the book DNA and Tradition: The Genetic Link to the Ancient Hebrews.
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Subjects:  1. Bible    2. Bible - Study - Old Testament    3. DNA    4. Evidences, authority, etc    5. Genealogy    6. Genealogy in the Bible    7. General    8. History - General History    9. Jewish - General    10. Jewish Studies    11. Jews    12. Methodology    13. O.T    14. Pentateuch    15. Religion    16. Religion & Science    17. Religion - Biblical Studies   

Reviews (5)

Too much starch in the matzo balls
Fascinating subject matter as I grew up in an area where Jews were a vocal and very assimilated minority. The author's extensive research came to the same conclusions in every chapter: it was hard to keep Kosher in the South and black household help did much of the cooking. As a Jewish woman I am proud of our reputation for a sense of humor and delicious cooking. There are very few recipes; even those were not particularly tempting or typical. The book's major flaws lie in the author's dry, labored, one-note writing style that had me laboring to stay awake.

A Wonderful Read and a Surprise
I expected a cookbook (which is why it's 4 stars instead of 5, and that's the *only* reason), but got a history book instead.
so interesting for a southern girl
This was a gift and seemed to be just right for a southern Jewish girlfriend of mine. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, American    2. Cookery, Jewish    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Jewish Studies    6. Jews    7. Regional & Ethnic - American - Southern States    8. Regional & Ethnic - Jewish & Kosher    9. Southern States    10. Southern style    11. American Jewish history; Southern Jews; Jewish holidays; kashrut; southern folklore; southern foodways; barbecue; Low Country; Delta; Memphis, Tennessee; Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans, Louisiana; Montgomery, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Natchez, Mississippi; Arkansas; Mississippi River; colonial South; New South; Civil War; antebellum South; antisemitism; Leo Frank; Harry Golden    12. Central Southern states    13. Cooking / Jewish & Kosher    14. Cultural studies    15. National & regional cuisine   

Reviews (13)

Excelent
I really like this book and i think the translator is really skilled but the thing that kinda bothers me is that...i think i would probably understand the book better if it was in its orginal language. But for what it is, its excellent!

Great Surprise
The book was received promptly and in the best and newest condition one could expect. Price was most convenient. I will continue shopping for historical books at Amazon; you are amazing!!! Thank you for the great and secure service.

It is not about Josephus..
but about the edition itself.I found it a little bit difficult to read due to the size and style of the fonts.but otherwise Josephus is Josephus - you cannot beat that. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. History    3. History Of Jews    4. Jews    5. Judaism - History    6. Rebellion, 66-73    7. Reference    8. Religion    9. Religion - Commentaries / Reference    10. To 70 A.D    11. Jewish studies    12. Other prose: classical, early & medieval   

Editorial Review

In Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel's memoir Read more

Reviews (911)

Unforgettable Tale of Holocaust Horror
Beyond and essential read, Night speaks to the reader about fundamental questions at the heart of the human condition.A powerfully moving autobiography, the story of this teenager's journey through the most horrific death camps of Nazi Europe, strips away discussion of anti-semitism and hatred, to present the raw suffering of individual humans, stuck in situations beyond their control.From the establishment of a ghetto in Elie's home town of Sighet, the reader can only watch with growing horror as the young man and his family are swept up in the Holocaust.Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Gleiwitz: some of the most infamous places in modern human history, rise around Elie, as we watch him stripped of absolutely everything.The reader is swept along helplessly, as Hitler's "Final Solution" unfolds - death marches, starvation, selections, cattle-carts full of people, torture, floggings, mass-murder - and as Elie is gradually reduced to nothing more than a 'hungry stomach'.
must reading
this is a disturbing work in that it recounts a man's experience of the nazi death camps. Warning: this book will shake you up mentally, and emotionally.It is not for the faint of heart.Yet, it is a must read because of the exposure it gives to humanity at it's worst and humanity under it's worst.

Lost in Translation
The short novel Night has emotional power not only because of the dark subject matter, but because Elie Wiesel is a gifted writer who deftly reveals the spiritual and mental anguish of the main character.Generally considered autobiographical, the account follows a young man who feels he is losing not only God, but his humanity as the Nazi machine ravages Europe.The novel itself deserves 10 stars.
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Subjects:  1. 1928-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    5. History - General History    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jews    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Personal narratives    11. Romania    12. Sighet    13. Wiesel, Elie,    14. Childhood and youth    15. Wiesel, Elie   

Reviews (6)

interesting but uneven
This book is a collection of a dozen essays, each of which can easily be read without reference to the others.The essays fall into three categories:
We Jews
We Jews is an excellent read . Rabbi S. has distilled Jewish thought and life both religious and secular.

The Jewish situation incompletely addressed

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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Attitudes    3. History Of Jews    4. Identity    5. Jewish - General    6. Jewish Law    7. Jews    8. Judaism - General    9. Religion    10. Religion - Judaism    11. Social conditions    12. Jewish studies    13. Religion / Judaism / General    14. Social & cultural anthropology   

Editorial Review

While living in Argentina in 1960, Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was kidnapped and smuggled to Israel where he was put on trial for crimes against humanity. The Read more

Reviews (39)

Evil as the absence of ....
In writing her book, "Thinking," Arendt claims that it was Eichmann's absence of thought that underlay his evil deeds; and that her conclusion drew her to write the book ("Thinking").
Very problematic theology
This is a philosophical book passed off as history.It is also a renowned and famous book.Arendt, famous for her affair with Nazi philosopher Hiedegger even after the Holaust and an expert on totalitarianism, presents the thesis that without the help of the collaborationist Jews in many of the Nazi occupied countries those Banal men who were 'just following orders' such as Eichman could not have acheived the Holocaust.Thus she pus the blame for the Holocaust squarely on the 'actions' of Jews while reserving no judgement for the Nazis who ran the camps(themsleves mostly collaborators such as French, Austrians, Ukrainians, Germans from non-German lands and Poles), those Nazis are 'banal' which is to say 'boring' and therefore uner the rubric of moral relativism their actions cannot be judged, after all anti-semitism was part of their 'culture' it was not their fault they murdered 6 million people, because some of those people went willingly.
i'VE JUST RE-READ THIS
AND WHO COMES TO MIND? W. CHENEY. RUMDSFELD.RICE.SANTORUM.GONZALES.
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Subjects:  1. 1906-1962    2. Eichmann, Adolf,    3. Europe - General    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Holocaust    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Jerusalem    10. Middle East - Israel    11. War crime trials    12. Eichmann, Adolf    13. Europe    14. History / Jewish    15. International humanitarian law    16. The Holocaust   

Reviews (3)

Best book on Anti-Semitism
As I see it, Laqueur's book has advantages over the many other works on the same subject:
An excellent book
This thoughtful and rather comprehensive book got me to come up with my own definition of anti-Semitism:
Advance Praise for The Changing Face of Antisemitism

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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Antisemitism    3. Archaeology / Anthropology    4. Christianity    5. Christianity and antisemitism    6. Discrimination & Racism    7. History    8. History: World    9. Judaism    10. Relations    11. Sociology    12. World - General    13. History / World    14. History of religion    15. Jewish studies    16. Politics | Comparative Politics   

Reviews (15)

Five Minutes Past the Thousand-Year Reich . . .

The Nuremberg Interviews.
VERY GOOD DETAILS PERTAINING TO THE THOUGHT PROCESSES OF BOTH THE ACCUSED AND THE WITNESSES. WELL ORGANIZED AND WRITTEN IN A MANNER THAT IS EASY TO FOLLOW.

Over familiar ground
An interesting presentation if you have not read Gilbert and others. Otherwise, somewhat of a disappointment. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Germany    3. History - General History    4. Holocaust    5. International    6. Interviews    7. Law    8. Nuremberg    9. Nuremberg Trial of Major Germa    10. Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946    11. War criminals    12. Witnesses    13. History / Holocaust   

Editorial Review

So often, day books are vaguely fancy calendars that seem afraid to commit to any one particular year, the sort of well-meaning gift one never really cracks open. Of course, Abrams'