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Subjects:  1. Baseball - General    2. Baseball players    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Jewish Studies    6. Jewish baseball players    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Sports    9. Sports & Recreation    10. Sports - Baseball    11. Sports - General    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / Sports    14. Biography & Autobiography/Personal Memoirs    15. Blomberg, Ron    16. New York Yankees (Baseball team)    17. Religious Orientation/Jewish    18. Social Science/Jewish Studies   

Reviews (4)

My favorite book
This book is difficult for me to describe, I guess I can only say that along with 'Man's Search for Meaning' by Viktor E. Frankl, 'Souls on Fire' by Elie Wiesel is among the two books that have changed my life.In these powerful and beautiful stories of Jewish Hasidic masters Elie Wiesel teaches us to fight depression by deliberately cultivating joy,that we must enjoy life in spite of life,that death is never the answer,and that that life is sacred,so much so that in spite of anything we have suffered we must say yes to this life.
Disappointed
I was disappointed with this work. It is more about Elie Weisel then about chassidic stories. Many of the stories are familiar to me, and in all cases they appear distorted and many times the point of the story is missing. To summarize, as one of the stories said, He didn't hear what was said, and didn't write what he heard.

More than just nostalgia...
It's amazing how everything Wiesel touches turns to gold, and here, he's done it again.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Hasidim    3. Hasidism    4. Jewish - General    5. Judaism - Hasidism    6. Judaism - History    7. Legends    8. Religion    9. Religion - Judaism    10. Jewish studies    11. Religion / Judaism / General   

Reviews (1)

A great one-volume survey
This text is the primary text for a course I teach on Modern & Contemporary Judaism, at a university primarily set up for military personnel to get their education via distance education.It is ideally suited for a course in Judaism, as it is divided into three broad sections (history, belief, and practice) which are each in turn subdivided into short chapters easily digested by students, linking together well both within the sections and across the three principle divisions.
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Subjects:  1. Judaism    2. Judaism - General    3. Judaism - History    4. Judaism - Theology    5. Religion    6. Religion - Judaism    7. Jewish studies    8. Religion / Judaism / History   

Reviews (1)

A book I am very eager to get
I have to this point read only excerpts of this book, studied its table of contents, and read the guiding principles behind it.
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Subjects:  1. Consumer Health    2. Diet / Health / Fitness    3. Family & Relationships    4. Family/Marriage    5. Healing    6. Health    7. Health - General    8. Healthy Living    9. Jewish Law    10. Jewish Sociology    11. Jewish Studies    12. Judaism    13. Judaism - General    14. Medicine    15. Religious aspects    16. Family & Health    17. Family & Relationships / Health   

Reviews (9)

WOW!A Top-10 Cookbook!An Epiphany!
I would emphatically disagree with the person who characterized this as a coffee table book!It only leaves my kitchen so I can read it on the train or before I go to sleep!It has completely changed the way my family eats!I have often bemoned not being able to have fresh bread with dinner because my wife and I both work.Now we have homemade pita most days with dinner, and couscous has completely replaced pasta as our staple starch.My wife and 6-year-old love everything I've made from it -- from the Moroccan meatballs with tomato-olive sauce to kubbanah (a sabbath bread baked overnight) to fishballs in a spicy tomato sauce to chocolate challah!I now even make my own harissa (Tunisian hot hot hot sauce)!Joan Nathan, already one of my favorite cookbook authors, has really created a masterpiece.I can't imagine anyone being disappointed with it -- it is such a joy and opens the door to the cuisine of Israel to the American home cook.My only suggestion for improvement -- and it is small -- would have been to include a resourse for purchasing some of the exotic or esoteric cookware mentioned in the book.I would love to own a kubbanah pan and a large couscousierre, but don't know where to get either in the states.I love this book and will probably buy a second copy to tuck away for when I wear this copy out!I wouldn't want to live without it!Bravo, Ms. Nathan!

Every dish has a story to tell
If you believe that every dish has a story to tell, in other words, if you are the kind of person who likes to read cookbooks as much as you like to cook by them, then "The Foods of Israel Today" by Joan Nathan is a book for you.While the title indicates these are foods found in contemporary Israel, each dish is traditional, originating perhaps in Israel, or more often somewhere else: Germany, Iran, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Turkey, etc., but all a part of the Jewish diaspora and eventual return to multicultural Israel.The author really tells the story of each dish (there is just as much "story" as actual recipe): the people that make it, where they come from, how they live, and how the author came to learn it all.There are lots of historic photographs too.One slight drawback is that this book is most useful to someone who is an experienced cook, especially one who is familiar with Jewish cuisine.In a few places where a food or cooking technique may not be familar, it is not as much a step-by-step guide as it could be.However, this is a minor fault in a very valuable and enjoyable book.

Savoury to read and to cook from
The Foods of Israel Today is a delicious tour of Middle Eastern tastes and sights.The black and white photos of Israel's early days and the beautiful color photos of contemporary life in its varied ethnic communities provide a vivid picture of the country's history and the complex textures of its vibrant daily life today. Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, Israeli    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. History    5. Israeli cooking    6. Regional & Ethnic - Jewish & Kosher    7. Regional & Ethnic - Middle Eastern    8. Cooking / Jewish & Kosher    9. General cookery    10. Jewish studies   

Subjects:  1. Christian converts from Judais    2. Christian converts from Judaism    3. Church And Other Religions    4. Europe, German-speaking    5. History    6. Judaism - General    7. Judaism - History    8. Judaism And Christianity    9. Messianic Judaism    10. Religion    11. Religion - Commentaries / Reference    12. Religion / History   

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Christianity    3. Christianity - History - General    4. Christianity and antisemitism    5. Christianity and other religio    6. Christianity and other religions    7. History    8. Judaism    9. Judaism - General    10. Judaism - History    11. Judaism And Christianity    12. Relations    13. Religion    14. Sociology    15. Interfaith relations    16. Jewish studies    17. Racism & racial discrimination    18. Religion & Theology | Judaism    19. Religion / Judaism / General   

Reviews (8)

See Michael Chabon
There's a great review of this book at Michael Chabon's website.You can get to it by googling for "Yiddish phrasebook".

Fun!
There aren't many places left in the world where Yiddish is the primary language; exactly why there would be a travel-phrase book like this one is a little bit perplexing to me.Of course, it was published decades ago, and apparently hasn't been reprinted since, so used copies are the way to acquire this little gem.It is organised in the typical fashion on any travel phrase book - basic expressions; greetings and general social conversation; travel expressions concerning hotels, boats, airlines, etc.; useful words about the house; sports, school, professions; and, of course, caf� and restaurant information.There are also sections for numbers, dates, seasons, and the like.
Hebrew alphabet
Most Yiddish books only use transliteration.This is difficult because everyone has a different way of doing that.I think it is always better to learn the alphabet.Unfortunately I do not live in the right part of the world to use most of the phrases in this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Conversation and phrase books    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Jewish - General    4. Language    5. Yiddish    6. Yiddish language    7. History / Jewish    8. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Reviews (2)

a tremendus collection...
The book is extremely interesting covering major events in Jewish history as early as circa 9000 BC (!) up through 1991.Of course most of it deals with the last 2000 years.What is most shocking is the documentation ofantisemitism that is so widespread in just about every location on theglobe and in every age. Best Jewish History Reference Book
This book gives a step-by-step history of the Jewish people and their religion. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a book that contains just about everything there is to know about Judaism and it's followers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chronology    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History Of Jews    5. Jewish    6. Jews    7. Judaism - General    8. Reference   

Reviews (1)

A Great book for anyone!
This is a GREAT book.I never thought I would utter those words about a history book, but I just can't help it when it comes to "Eyewitness to Jewish History."I'm not a history buff, and at times, I find history books to be a bit bland.However, I must say that this book was an absolute page-turner; I could not put it down.It's a great book for the advanced who know all the history and a must for everyone else (including those who know nothing).
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Subjects:  1. History    2. History - General History    3. History Of Jews    4. History: World    5. Jewish - General    6. Jews    7. History / Jewish   

Reviews (3)

Biblical figures as real people
Wiesel has conceived an amazing and important set of human beings from several Biblical figures. People, strong and weak, right and wrong, very much flesh and bones, are presented from the unique perspective of a Holocaust survivor who sees human natures in the extremes of good and evil. What was it like for Job? How flawed were the Forefathers? And how did their personal relationships with the Almighty lead to inner peace? Most remarkably, a portrait of the Lord emerges as few scholars have painted. The juxtaposition of, for example, Moses and Abraham, with their individualities crisply drawn is a new level in Biblical scholarship, and most relevent for us today. When faced with the challenges of life, the people of the Bible are as human as each and all of us. This book is truely a gift to mankind.

Some Vivid Imagery
Elie Weisel has a very descriptive style.He is able to describe the many possible interpretations of the characteristics of Adam, Cain, Abel, Isaac, Joseph, Jacob, Esau, Moses, and Job.Especially interesting is the description of how G-d created Eve.Why from the ribs as opposed to the eyes, head, neck, etc..Interesting stuff and I won't spoil it by giving you readers the analogy.The snake's role in Eve leading Adam astray is dealt with from many interesting points of view.The punishment of Cain is quite unique according to Weisel's theory. Classic Midrash in the Modern Age
Elie Wiesel is one of the most important thinkers of the modern era. His insights into the human condition are possibly the most profound to come from the HolocaustRead more

Subjects:  1. Aggada    2. Bible    3. Bible - Study - Old Testament    4. Hasidic parables    5. Jewish - General    6. Judaism - General    7. Legends    8. Midrash    9. Religion    10. Religion - Theology    11. Theology    12. Religion / Judaism / General    13. The Bible   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antisemitism    3. Europe - General    4. Germany    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Holocaust    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. Jews    11. Military - World War II    12. Modern - 20th Century    13. Persecutions    14. Sources    15. Europe    16. History / Modern / 20th Century    17. Jewish studies    18. Second World War, 1939-1945    19. The Holocaust   

Reviews (2)

Essential Reading for Understanding Israel's Current Conflic
Fascinating book tracing the ideological and judicial development of Simon Agranat.Agranat's changes over time mirrored Israel's and reflected the tensions within the developing state of Israel-- democracy and pluralism versus unity and nation-building, progressivism and universality versus particularism, human rights versus "security," etc. The sections on the Eichmann trial and the ongoing "Who is a Jew" controversy are the most powerful sections, while other sections, such as that on the powers of the Attorney General, are a bit dense. Since Israel is still confronting virtually all of the issues and conflicts which Agranat faced as a judge over many decades, this book provides essential historical background and context.

Winner of the 1998 Gratz College Centennial Book Award
"This is a judicial biography in the grand style, one which looks notonly at the central actor, but at the law he influenced as well as thetimes in which he lived. We learn not only about Agranat, but about Israel,and about an area on which relatively little has been written in English,the development of Israeli constitutional law and the impact of Americanlegal traditions on that development."Dr. Melvin Urofsky Director,Center for Public Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond,Virgini ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1906-    2. 20th century    3. Agranat, Shimon,    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Courts    9. History    10. History Of Zionist Movement    11. Israel    12. Jewish - General    13. Judges    14. Law    15. Lawyers & Judges    16. Zionism    17. Agranat, Shimon    18. Biography: general    19. Jewish studies    20. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    21. Religion / Judaism / General    22. USA    23. World history: postwar, from c 1945 -   

Editorial Review

Topicality is never an issue where Israel and the Palestinians are concerned. The arguments--not to mention bloodshed--over Jewish and Muslim nationhood and land rights have been going on for centuries and, whatever the best intentions of the current peace process, they will probably go on for centuries to come. Both parties fanatically believe they have an inalienable historical right to statehood on the land in question and both regard Jerusalem as a holy city. As befits the disenfranchised, the Palestinians are slightly more open to a negotiated settlement, but the Israelis remain intransigent about handing over any but the most inhospitable of scrubland and the impasse remains. In the battle between the bullets and the ballot box, the bullets are winning hands-down.Read more

Reviews (39)

Thoughts on One Palestine, Complete
I am a sophomore in highschool who had the opportunity toread One Palestine, Complete instead of the usual textbook readings on the story of Palestine.Tom Segev used first hand sources to compile a complete history of all the events from the British taking control to the creation of Isreal.He did a wonderful job writing a detailed account of Palestine, and I recomend reading the book if you would like to learn more about the origins of the conflicts that still occur to this day in that region.
Too Biased To Be "Objective"
While I did enjoy this book (I read it on an airline ride back from of all places: Israel) Segev seems to be one of these authors who is fascinated with making the Zionists in Israel look like English/Boer colonialists in South Africa, aka racist and uncarring to the "natives."
Challenging Mythology and Ortodoxy
Writing this book was a brave act.In it, Segev takes it upon himself to challenge what amounts to national mythology presented as history.Segev isn't always right in the book, but he is more often right than wrong.Thats what upsets so many reviewers.Its not that they find what he has written to be incorrect, its that such books (and the facts that go with them) should be suppressed in favor of patroitic national history as handed down.
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Subjects:  1. 1917-1948    2. 20th century    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. International Relations - General    7. Jewish - General    8. Jews    9. Middle East - General    10. Middle East - Israel    11. Palestine    12. History / Israel   

Reviews (1)

Memory as monuments
After having read this book for my historical anthropology class, I was completely taken by its broad-based approach to analyzing monuments and the histories they possess.To fully appreciate this book, the difference between 'history' and 'the past' must be understood.'The past' is everything that has already happened.As soon as a second passes, the past has been constructed simulatenously the world over.History, on the other hand, is how people, cultures, governments, etc. choose to present sections of the past.History is a section of the past that is magnified and often made to represent the entire past despite its fragmented recounting.Young does an excellent job of showing how four different countries recall the same events (the holocaust, the Warsaw ghetto uprising, among others) with different and unique results, demonstrating how 'history' differs from 'the past'; each history is a different retelling of a country's perception of 'the past'.He analyzes these methods of remembrance through monuments and the outcome is an excellent analysis of how memory is constructed and interpreted and how personal experience shapes and influences one's perspective on the past, thus influencing their perception of history.The book is well written with many pictures and historical tidbits to place monuments in their proper context (although, after reading the book, you come to realize that monuments have no true proper context).I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the holocaust, theory of history, art history, or cultural studies.Excellent book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. General    3. Holocaust    4. Military - World War II    5. Religion    6. Europe    7. European history: Second World War    8. History / Military / World War II    9. Israel    10. Jewish studies    11. Museums & Museology    12. The Holocaust    13. USA   

Editorial Review

As the old saying goes, hindsight is always 20-20; people looking back on the Holocaust and the events leading up to it often wonder why the Jews didn't flee Nazi Germany or why they put up with the prejudice and degradation inflicted upon them by the Nazis. From our perspective, 50 years later, it seems almost incredible that the victims of genocide didn't see it coming and made little effort to escape. But as Marion Kaplan makes clear in her powerful book, Read more

Reviews (5)

"Social Death"
Marion Kaplan's, Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998) is an in-depth study into the lives of Jewish people in Nazi Germany beginning with the takeover by Adolf Hitler in 1933. She concludes that not only were the physical lives of the Jewish people tormented and taken from them, the pervasiveness of the German government into everyday life led to emotional and physiological death of the Jews. Accurate Portrayal of the results of hatred
Missing in many Holocaust works are the experiences of common German Jews and what daily life for them became like after Hitler's rise to power in the early 1930s. One can read about the Nuremberg Laws or the November Pogrom but one can't get a real feel for how those laws impacted daily life except through memoirs and the testimony of common people. Marion Kaplan's book wonderfully fills the gap between history from the "top down" and history from the "bottom up."

Subjects:  1. 1939-1945    2. Germany    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: American    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Jewish - General    9. Jews    10. Social conditions    11. European history: Second World War    12. History / Holocaust    13. History of specific racial & ethnic groups    14. History, World | European | Germany    15. Jewish studies   

Editorial Review

When we think gangster, hood, or wiseguy, we often associate these characters with such names as Capone, Luciano, or even Corleone. However, when organized crime reared its ugly head in the late 1920s in Brooklyn, at the foundation were men like Meyer Lansky and Ben Siegel--both Jews. Rich Cohen's romantic account of Jewish gangsters, Read more

Reviews (44)

A closer link between Italians and Jews -- Empowering for the latter.
Growing up Jewish -- especially in non-Jewish dominated areas -- can lead a child to believe that the Jews are historically a weak people.Despite the history.And maybe it's because the brightest and most famous are so self-depracating."Tough Jews" is a compelling read.A Mario Puso like examination of a non-fiction dark tough-as-nails culture.But it also serves as a reminder that not all Jewish boys are "nice", or "sweet", or even Doctors or Lawyers.This book is a great read about the Murder, Inc. team, that serves as a reminder that Jewish history is not all "suffering", but also some "infliction", and in an odd and unexpected way, that is empowering to read.Simply put -- Mr. Cohen reminds us that, like those of any religion, some Jews shouldn't be messed with.

Jewish Heroes
An excellent book. Meyer Lansky, Benny Siegel, Dutch Schultz, Lepke Buchalter among the others were great men. They gave us Jews panache. Meyer Lansky helped keep the docks free of Nazi sympathizers during WW II he also rerouted weapons and supplies from the Arabs to the Jews during the Jewish war for independence. Benny Siegel attempted to murder Mussolini during WW II, he also built up and started Las Vegas. Dutch Schultz brought booze into the states when we had Prohibition. Lepke kept the garment district free from nonsense. Above all they weren't afraid to back up their word with a bullet. They didn't let anti-Semitism pass like these damn American Liberals, they did something about it. All of these good things and the history books gloss over their lives. And also not to mention these men were responsible for Israel's independence! So before you put down this book, ask yourself one question: What have you done to help out Jews all over the world? Answer that, then you can sing "Hatikvah" This is a great book, and must be read by all Jews!

Toughness is not all
I understand very well Rich Cohen' fascination with ' tough Jews'. I shared it in childhood. Accused of being weaker physically than others, told we could not fight, persecuted in the Diaspora many Jews took hidden pride in those Jews who could battle back.
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Subjects:  1. Crime    2. Criminology    3. General    4. History    5. Jewish - General    6. Jewish criminals    7. Jews    8. New York    9. New York (State)    10. Social conditions    11. Sociology    12. History / Jewish    13. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (7)

One of the most important books written about the Holocaust
This work is still considered by many to be one of the best books written about the 'Holocaust.' It goes into great detail explaining the roots of the Nazi, and specifically Hitler's determination to destroy the Jewish people. It shows how the program to destroy the Jews went hand-in- hand with the Third Reich''s overall effort to conquer Europe.
Important History
Hitler. The very name seems to invoke black and white images of a charasmatic madman pushing his country to global domination. But the story goes much deeper than that. His intense hatred of the Jews pushed him to implement his "Final Solution". To exploit and then kill every Jew in Europe before they, in his twisted mind, did the same to every one else. The Holocaust book by which others are measured
Although an ocean of material has been written about the Holocaust, this book stands alone.The author has chosen the best way to present the material; by simple factual recitation.No amount of pejoratives would suffice, and even one would cheapen the book. Salut!!!!!!!!Read more

Subjects:  1. Antisemitism    2. Germany    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1933-1945)    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Jewish - General    10. Military - World War II    11. History / Holocaust   

Reviews (3)

Masterpiece
This is an excellent academic account--and, at the same time, most enjoyable reading for a scholarly work--on ethnic succession in organized crime. Italian and Jewish gangsters supplanted German and Irish hoods during Prohibition. The Italians outlasted the Jews and are now being supplanted by other ethnic groups. Working largely from FBI files and contemporary news accounts, Fried examines the why and how of it all, tracing Jewish organized crime from the early New York street gangs through such powerhouse mobsters as Waxey Gordon, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, the "Cleveland Four," headed by Moe Dalitz who later migrated to Las Vegas, and the legendary "Chairman of the Board," Meyer Lansky. One wishes there had been more emphasis on other Jewish mobsters such as Dutch Schultz, Jake Guzik, Charlie Birger, Kid Cann, and the Purple Gang but the rise and fall of the Jewish gangster seems to have been much the same story anyway throughout America and I don't think it's been told better anywhere.

The real New York Counter-culture
Anyone who has looked into American 20th century "Leftist" urban politics has undoubtedly run across Albert Fried's name before.In this wonderful history, he expertly tells the story of emerging urbanJewish culture at the turn of the century and of how one segment of thisculture then quickly evolved to succeed in the wilderness of the Lower EastSide, Manhattan.All of the major gangster figures are covered in detailand a number of "lesser known" gangsters (to those who are not asexpert in this subject) are revealed to have been important local figuresin their day, as well as meaningful players in a larger coherentsocio-political story.I emphasize "story" because to me that iswhat this book really is: Fried clearly has a passion for his subject andhis city and as a result, the book reads like a wise Jewish grandfatherpassing down his legends. Anyone with an interest in gangster culture,its relationship to local, state and national politics, the history of NewYork City, and/or the history of American Judaism as developed through theNew York Secular movement MUST read this book!

Gripping,elegantly written.
This is a gripping, elegantly written account of some of the most colorfully horrible people in our nation's history. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crime    2. Crime And Criminals    3. Criminology    4. History: American    5. Jewish criminals    6. Jews    7. Jews In The U.S.    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Minority Studies - Ethnic American    10. Social conditions    11. United States    12. United States - General    13. First World War, 1914-1918    14. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    15. Jewish studies    16. Organized crime    17. Second World War, 1939-1945    18. Social Science / Jewish Studies    19. Social history    20. USA    21. c 1900 - c 1914   

Reviews (1)

An important scholarly work
First a correction: The full title of this book is Iraqi Jews: A History of Mass Exodus.This is *not* a general history of Iraqi Jews; rather it specifically and exhaustively addresses the causes and repercussions of the exodus of Jews from Iraq in the period directly after the creation of the state of Israel.