Reviews (1)

panoramic coffee table book
This super 380-page coffee table book documents the history, art and literature of the Jewish Nation from tracts from the Jewish Bible (Tanach) to articles about Israel in the early 1990's.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Art    3. Art, Jewish    4. General    5. Jewish    6. Jewish literature    7. World    8. Jewish studies    9. The Arts: General Issues   

Editorial Review

Arnold Eisen is like MichaelLerner with an intellectual twist. Both men seek to help American Jews figure out how to live authentically Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Cultural assimilation    3. Jews    4. Judaism    5. Judaism - General    6. Judaism - History    7. Religion    8. Religion - Judaism    9. United States    10. United States - General    11. Criticism & exegesis of sacred texts    12. Jewish studies    13. USA   

Reviews (1)

New, small paperback teaches Judaism
Thoroughly readable, yet acknowledging scholarly differences, FROM MESOPOTAMIA TO MODERNITY presents the history and literature of Judaism from Tanakh to the State of Israel in 245 pages. The instructor can basean adult education series, an undergraduate course or a graduate seminar onthis book, its references and other sources as s/he chooses. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History and criticism    5. History: World    6. Jewish - General    7. Jewish literature    8. Jews    9. Judaism    10. World - General    11. Jewish studies    12. Literary studies: general   

Reviews (5)

An outstanding and inspiring guide
This is more than the usual guide to the holidays. It is written by one of the pre-eminent Jewish thinkers of our time, and therefore rich in insight and wisdom. Rabbi Greenberg's great love of the Jewish tradition and the Jewish people pervades the work.
I love this book
I am a Christian, and I read this book years ago. Since then it has become a standard on my shelf. If I want inspiration, especially the Jewish view of Sabbath, I pick up this book and read the parts I have highlighted. My heart continues to be stirred by its contents.

Definitely the Jewish way
A wonderful overview of Shabbat and the Jewish holidays.I use it as a refresher before every holiday and recommend it as a resource for friends wanting to learn more. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fasts and feasts    2. Holidays - Jewish    3. Jewish way of life    4. Judaism    5. Judaism - Rituals & Practice    6. Religion    7. Religion - Judaism    8. Jewish studies    9. Religion / Judaism / General   

Reviews (28)

Rudolf Hoess' Mistress Interviewed
After Dachau was liberated, Army intelligence interviewed a woman at the camp who claimed to have been Rudolf Hoess' mistress while at Auschwitz. What details they could check were confirmed, and her interview became part of a Seventh Army report issued a few weeks later, a report that has been republished as Dachau Liberated: The Official Report (ISBN: 1587420031). For those who want to understand the infamous Hoess, that interview of "E.H." provides a much-needed check on his obviously self-serving autobiography.Here's a short passage from her interview:
IT WAS NOT HOESS' FAULT
There is another autobiography of Hoess titled "Commandant of Auschwitz:The Autobiography of Rudolf Hoess".I would be interested in reading that account but am curious how that could differ from "Death Dealer".Given the circumstances the man at the end of his life did not have a whole lot of time to write different autobiographies.My guess is the two books are essentially the same.
The Final Solution:An Inside View
On April 16, 1947, Rudolph Hoess, the infamous Kommandant of Auschwitz was hanged in his former concentration camp for, "crimes against the Polish people."While awaiting trial, Hoess, who knew he would pay for his crimes with his life, sought to renew the spiritual connection he had eschewed as a youth.Accordingly, he recounted his time in the SS for his captors.His story is also that of the darkest side of the Third Reich.
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Subjects:  1. 1900-1947    2. Auschwitz (Concentration camp)    3. Biography    4. Concentration camp commandants    5. General    6. History - Military / War    7. Hoss, Rudolf,    8. Military - World War II    9. Nazis    10. Personal narratives, German    11. World War, 1939-1945    12. Biography: general    13. Höss, Rudolf    14. The Holocaust   

Reviews (6)

An account from one of the survivors
A good book written by one of the few survivors of the uprising.The author tells a harrowing story about what seemed to be a hopeless situation for the Jewish fighters as the Nazis decimated the ghetto around them with bombing and fire.The Jewish resistance fighters held off the Germans longer than the Polish army did.The author freely admits that he is not a writer and the story gets a little rough in spots but overall a good book from an insider who was there and lived to tell his heroic story.

Good Account. Not a great book.
The author is sincere and spontaneous in telling his personal experience. The description of events, places and facts is also very well. But from the very beggining it is clear that the author is not a writer (or, at least, not a good one.)
The young man that survived
Kazik was a 19-year-old Jewish lad who survived the Nazi terror and systematic mass killings of Jews, the Warsaw ghetto uprising of 1943 and the Warsaw uprising of 1944.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Historical - General    5. Historical - Holocaust    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jewish Holocaust Personal Narratives    9. Jewish resistance    10. Jews    11. Military    12. Persecutions    13. Personal narratives    14. Poland    15. Warsaw    16. World War, 1939-1945    17. Biography: historical    18. Biography: political    19. European history: Second World War    20. History / General    21. Jewish studies    22. Second World War, 1939-1945    23. The Holocaust   

Reviews (2)

A Must for any serious student of the Bible
This book is FINALLY back in print in the USA and for a very reasonable price! this is part of Eerdman's "Biblical Resource Series". "The purpose of The Biblical Resource Series is to bring back titlesthat the scholarly community regards as ESSENTIAL RESOURCES for thebiblical thinker of today." This is well organzied so even thebeginner can easily find information, and covers Nomadism, FamilyInstitutions, Civil Institutions, Military Institutions, and ReligiousInstitutions. An encyclopedia of sorts!Roland de Vaux (1903-1971) wasesteemed both as a biblical historian and as an archaeologist.If you getthis book, you also need to purchase Archaeology of the Land of the Bibleby Amihai Mazar available here. Both will get you moving in the directionof biblical studies.

Well worth the time to read!
This is a indepth look at Ancient Israel, but not at all dry.The author has a dry wit and great enthusiasm for his subject.Although he uses alot of Hebrew language references, I was still able to understand his explanations.The author's personal faith in the Christian God is evident and refreshing.He is not out to tear apart the Old Testament, but to help other's better understand the life and times in which it was written.For anyone who has had questions after reading the Old Testament, I highly recommend this book. Submitted by Wendy Lang, Orillia, Canada ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Bible - Reference - General    3. Bible - Study - Old Testament    4. History    5. History Of Jews    6. History Of Judaism    7. Jews    8. Judaism    9. Judaism - General    10. Religion    11. Religion - Biblical Studies    12. Social life and customs    13. To 70 A.D    14. History of religion    15. History of specific racial & ethnic groups    16. Jewish studies    17. Social history   

Reviews (12)

Guide for the Perplexed keeps on showing the way.
Yes, this is a true classic.Though there have been many works written since this jewel was first written, it still shines as a jewel in the crown of the Torah.
Another Guide for the Perplexed
Maimonides offers an interesting perspective on the questions of theology. As told in the introduction, Maimonides rose from relative obscurity to a high level of academic merit very quickly due to his clear and distinct understanding and interpretations of the scripture. Indeed, his insights are what this book is all about. It is not an exhaustive study of all of the questions raised in the old testament, nor of other inquiries into the various properties of the divine, but it covers a lot. I found the text to be a little dry; not as captivating as a Platonic dialogue, but not as confusing as, say, one of Aristotle's essays. Were I to do it again, I might reconsider buying this edition because the type is quite small and Maimonides covers a lot of ground in little space, so I found my self using up the margins while trying to keep up with his thoughts. One of the nice things about this edition, however, is that it is in one volume, the entire guide to the perplexed. I found other editions, with larger print and such, but nothing besides this has the complete text. Moreover, it's cheaper than everything else I found! The translation is descent to good. It was done in the late 19th century, so you might say that it's a little dated, but it doesn't effect your reading. I read this book during a college seminar at St. John's, if you were wondering why I would have read this thing in the first palce. Speaking of which, I don't know if I'll ever really read this book again. This may be an important point, because while owning a book means you can do with it as you please, if you don't read it again, then it's just dead weight.

A Difficult and Perplexing Work
An excellent work by a late medieval Jewish theologian/metaphysicist(a contemporary of Aquinas) who presents and breaks down the metaphysical arguments of the day for the existence of God, a God-created universe, and the interpretation of the Torah in regard to these topics. He examines the Aristotelian arguments supporting the eternal existence of the Universe and determines whether or not they are supported by Scripture and logical analysis. Our contemporary physicists could use his methods to uncover logical flaws in their theories about the ultimate origins of the Universe. He finishes the text with a treatise on Scripture and the perfection of Man. A must read along with the works of Augustine and Aquinas, and for that matter, any modern work on the ultimate nature of Nature.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Jewish - General    3. Judaism    4. Judaism - General    5. Philosophy, Jewish    6. Philosophy, Medieval    7. Religion - Judaism    8. Works to 1900    9. Philosophy / General   

Subjects:  1. Medical / Nursing    2. Nutrition    3. Jewish studies    4. Medicine   

Reviews (1)

A Magisterial Work
This dictionary of the vocabulary of the Old Canaanite, Phoenician, Punic, Moabite, Ammonite, Hebrew, Aramaic, and other ancient Northwest Semitic inscriptions is a state-of-the-art tool for specialists, yet it is so extraordinarily well organized and its material is so clearly presented that even those with no more than a nodding acquaintance with Semitics will find it easy to use.Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Architecture    3. Hamito-Semitic Languages    4. Interior Design - General    5. Paleography    6. Sociology    7. Afro-Asiatic Languages    8. Dictionaries    9. Jewish studies    10. Language & Linguistics    11. Literary studies: classical, early & medieval    12. Semitic languages   

Reviews (1)

This is an excellent book for getting more meaning out of the Torah/ Pentateuch.

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Subjects:  1. Bible    2. Bible.    3. Criticism, interpretation, etc    4. History and criticism    5. Judaism - General    6. Judaism - Sacred Writings    7. Midrash    8. O.T    9. O.T.    10. Pentateuch    11. Religion    12. Religion - Judaism    13. Criticism & exegesis of sacred texts    14. Jewish studies    15. Judaism   

Reviews (2)

Intelligent and thought provoking study of Israeli nationalism
For anyone who is interested in the field largely known as 'holocaust studies', as well as in the middle-eastern conflict, this is a must read. Zertal explores aspects of Israeli nationalism and national identity, tracing it to events in the past (Tel Hai, the death of Y. Trumpledor etc) but also, more centrally to the book's theme, tracing it to more recent historical events such as the second world war and the holocaust.
Israel's Politics of Nationhood
This is a fantastic book -- it actually starts before the Holocaust with the battle of Tel-Hai and the death of Yosef Trumpledor and touches also on the ghetto fighters, the Exodus affair, the Kastner trial, the Eichmann trial, the 1967 war, and the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin -- focused on exploring the treatment of the Holocaust and related issues by the Israeli political elite (especially Ben-Gurion) in their quest to craft an "Israeli national identity." As mentioned, the book touches on a number of different incidents and issues, but the keystone is the Eichmann trial and Hannah Arendt's book "Eichmann in Jerusalem" and the controversy that accompanied it. It is quite clear that Zertal is an admirer of Arendt, and has published on Arendt and her work before. It is well footnoted and very accessable (that is, you don't have to be an academic to really get a lot out of this book). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Attitudes    2. Historiography    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust survivors    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Israel    10. Jews    11. Middle East - General    12. Asian / Middle Eastern history: postwar, from c 1945 -    13. History / Middle East    14. Middle East    15. World history: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (30)

How old are the kids now, Isaac?
The doctor's four, the lawyer's seven.
Brilliant
Dennis Prager is emerging as one of the single most insightful and important conservative thinkers in the country.His analysis of Jew-hatred is by far and away the best organized, comprehensive, and compelling account I have ever seen.In an age in which Islamic radicalism seeks to kill the Jews all over again, Prager's book couldn't be more timely.

Best explanation of anti-Jewish sentiment
I won't give up my copy of "Why the Jews..." but I have purchased copies for other people. You might think you know the reasons for anti-Jewish sentiment, but you need to read this book to know for certain.If you believe that you understand the conflict surrounding the Zionists, you need to read "Why the Jews..." to be sure.The age-old mistrust of the Jews, the reasons the Muslim and Semitic attacks on the Jews is all explained in this thought-provoking and well-written book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Antisemitism    3. General    4. History    5. History Of Jews    6. Judaism - General    7. Political Science    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Religion - Judaism    10. Jewish studies    11. Racism & racial discrimination    12. Religion / Judaism / General   

Reviews (4)

Germany's Everlasting Shame
This book is quite simply a horror story.It is over 260 pages of man's inhumanity to man.I base my four star rating on one horror story after another throughout the book.Each person's misery is certainly to be respected, but how people who pass themselves off as human beings could treat other individuals with such despicable behavior defies explanation.Women would hold up their children so they could watch the "fun" taking place at the expense of the Jewish people.This night of November 10,1938 called Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, in which Jewish synagogues and Jewish places of business were destroyed all over Germany not to mention the loss of life these people experienced, was supposedly due to a Jewish person taking revenge on his family's expulsion from Germany by shooting an individual in a German embassy in Paris, France, on November 7, 1938.I've had the chance to meet Martin Lowenberg who was 10 years old at the time of Kristallnacht, and heard him tell his experience of horror at the hands of Hitler's thugs.What is especially frightening is that ordinary Germans got caught up in the terror and relished the role they, too, could play in this everlasting shame on their country.Let us not be so naive to think this could not happen again.

not his best effort
Interesting, but spends way too much time in minute details.And..plenty of the book had nothing to do with Kristallnacht.

compelling eyewitness accounts
The personal narratives that Gilbert found for this book are its most compelling aspect. The overall picture of Kristallnacht has been known for decades. And Gilbert's accounting of that, while written with his usual skill, basically covers well trodden ground.
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Subjects:  1. 1933-1945    2. Europe - Germany    3. Germany    4. Germany - History - Third Reich (1933-1945)    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History - Military / War    8. History: World    9. Holocaust    10. Jewish - General    11. Jewish Holocaust    12. Jews    13. Kristallnacht, 1938    14. Military - World War II    15. Persecutions    16. History / General   

Reviews (5)

Sprightly, optimistic take on the American Jewish community
If those who try to predict the fate of American Jewry can be divided into pessimists and optimists, count Jonathan Sarna emphatically among the optimists. In this succinctly written and cogently argued history of American Judaism, the Brandeis University historian makes a strong case that Jews on these shores have a promising future as well as a storied past.
Could not put it down
Jonathan Sarna's book is the first American Jewish History that I could not put down.Should be required reading for all American Jews.I have read Jewish history and studied in college under Arthur Hertzberg, Arnie Eisen, Michael Stanislawski, so that little here was actually new to me.The book, however, put everything into proper perspective and traced trends in a logical readable way -- beautiful analysis of the origins, history and current status of the major movements of Judaism.
A masterful history by a scholar optimist
In the closing chapter of this mastefully done history of Judaism in America Jonathan Sarna points to major problems the community faces today. One is the problem of boundaries, of defining who is a Jew, and who belongs to the community. Another problem is the one most spoken of the problem of assimilation and intermarriage. The Jewish community has in the last forty years seen an accelerating rate of intermarriage from around seven percent in the early 1950-'s to close to fifty percent today. Another problem(All these problems are interrelated) is the dimnishing numbers of the community that can no longer as it could some time ago rely on immigration to replenish its ranks. And many see that these problems are all moving the community to greater and greater bipolarization,on the one handa majority of assimilated and assimilating Jews with little Jewish knowledge or sense of ethnic or communal belonging, and on the othera more intensely religiously learned and religiously identified Jewish minority. Sarna somewhat worriedly describes these problems, but nonetheless points to past communal resilience . He suggests that the American Jewish community will findanswers and new ways to flourish.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. History - General History    3. Jewish - General    4. Jewish Studies    5. Judaism - General    6. Judaism - History    7. Religion    8. Religion - Judaism    9. United States - General    10. Judaism    11. Religion / Judaism / History    12. USA   

Subjects:  1. Emigration And Immigration    2. Ethiopia    3. Ethnic relations    4. History    5. History Of Jews    6. Jews    7. Operation Moses, 1984-1985   

Reviews (9)

A good overview, but the conclusions conflict with evidence
While I believe that this book is a must-read insofar as gaining an understanding of Khazaria goes, I do not believe, as the author contends, that this population survived in the numbers that he suggests.Most recent Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosome mapping work that has been done on Ashkenazi Jews suggests that the overwhelming majority of the progenitors of this population were middle-eastern in origin.The rest of the genome suggests that an intermarriage and conversion rate that could not have been more than one percent per generation.A mass influx of survivors from the fall of the Khazarian empire just doesn't fit into the genetic picture.
Extremely Interesting
Being turkish myself, I have always found the friendship between jews and turks very warm and interesting (and many of my friends are jewish). I knew the Ottoman Empire accepted 150.000 jews during Sultan Suleyman (Solomon) II in 1492 - when Spain chose to expel them - and that modern Turkey has close military ties with Israel; but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought than an entire Turkish kingdom converted to Judaism and allowed jews from all over the world to settle and build a strong kingdom. What a fascinating and extraordinary positive event!
Excellent
Brook does an excellent job in broaching this topic that many have attempted before him, and I'm sure many will attempt after. Considering how little is known about Khazaria, how much history has been either censored or re-written by the former Soviet Union, and the relatively sparse amount of archaelogical work that has been conducted in the region, Brook brings much information to light, detailing the tribal and linguistic origins of the Khazars. In comparison with Koestler's "The Thirteenth Tribe," Brook's work is more about presenting facts than coming to conclusions.Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Jewish - General    6. Eastern Europe    7. Jewish studies    8. Religion / Judaism / General    9. Khazars    10. Jews    11. Russia    12. Ethnic relations    13. Europe - Eastern    14. Caucasus, Northern   

Reviews (2)

Painstaking detail
This is a great sociology text regarding the concentration camp and its scary system.I have read several books about WWII and the Holocaust, but this has a totally different angle.If you have ever studied the sociology of control, crime, or time, this is a must read.It is an academic work, but definitely good leisure reading.

It was excellent
This book was so good.It helped me to do a project and now I read it just for fun.I loved it so much it is scary.I have read other books like this one, but they didn't help me as much like this one.The otherbooks weren't very interessting to read for fun, this one is.You shouldread it because it is the best book in the world.I guarrenty it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - Germany    2. History    3. History - General History    4. Holocaust    5. Military - World War II    6. Sociology    7. Anthropology    8. European History    9. European history: Second World War    10. Germany    11. History / Germany    12. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    13. Jewish Studies    14. Second World War, 1939-1945    15. The Holocaust   

Reviews (5)

worth reading, but short on objectivity
Oversimplified and relentlessly negative.Filled with sweeping negative generalizations that ignore abundant evidence of positive characteristics of the Third Reich personalities.The caricatures painted of the key figures in the Third Reich are laughably unrealistic.As a serious history reference, this is a terrible book.It is so bad that it's actually worth reading: its sheer awfulness makes it a great example of how NOT to write a serious non-fiction book.

Blitz biographies and absence of explanations
What you get in this book is pretty much what the title promises you. The author (J.Fest) plunges into a psycho-social analysis of the Nazi elite and attempts (succesufully) to shed some light on the people who moved the strings of Nazism in Germany. Essential reading on the Third Reich
Michael Burleigh's recent work "The Third Reich - A New History" was widely praised for its novel explanation of Nazism in the context of religion. Anyone who has read Joachim Fest's excellent book however will, among other things, know that this particular analysis was hardly new or innovative.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1933-1945    2. Biography    3. Europe - Germany    4. Germany    5. History    6. History - General History    7. Holocaust    8. Military    9. National socialism    10. Nazis    11. Politics and government    12. History / Holocaust    13. History-Europe - Germany   

Reviews (125)

Brilliant book
Finkelstein exposes the corrupt wanna-be Jews who exploit the Jewish Holocaust for financial gain.
Cleaning house on the holocaust memory.
The main premise of this book is that after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the powers-that-be in the U.S. saw Israel as a geopolitical asset in the Middle East. Johnson, in particular, decided to tap that asset in the interests of the Cold War. Thus, Jewish organizations siezed the opportunity and in lock-step with U.S. interest, began to exploit the memory of the holocaust, supposed "victim" status, and claims of anti-Semitism in support of Israel. Could this theory be true?
Three and-a-half stars. Prof. Finklestein is very close to being on point. And it has cost him dearly!
I first heard Norm Finkelstein speak