Treyf: My Life as an Unorthodox Outlaw
In her memoir, Treyf: My Life as an Unorthodox Outlaw (New American Library), food writer Elissa Altman, who also wrote Poor Man’s Feast, deftly uses kashrut – Judaism’s dietary laws – to portray, both literally and symbolically, the toxic relationships in her dysfunctional Jewish family.
The House by the Lake: One House, Five Families, and a Hundred Years of German History
On the outskirts of Berlin lies the charming lakefront community of Groß Glienicke, where locals and summer visitors enjoy swimming, boating and fishing. Nestled among the medieval village’s structures is the lake house where author Thomas Harding’s grandmother once lived.
Zionism: The Birth and Transformation of an Ideal
Author Milton Viorst wants to know how Theodor Herzl’s vision of a Jewish refuge for a beleaguered people became “a military power where peace and security was thought about exclusively within a military framework.”
Hitler’s True Believers: How Ordinary People Became Nazis
A widely believed myth is that Adolf Hitler was a unique personal aberration in history and his Nazi movement with its reign of terror was a one and done occurrence that lacked any real foundational ideology.
Stan Lee: A Life in Comics
Stan Lee: A Life in Comics (Yale Press) examines Lee’s work from a Jewish perspective.
Married to the Rabbi: Sixty Spouses of Retired Reform Rabbis in their Own Words
In 60 essays collected throughout a five-year period by the National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis, rabbis’ spouses share memories and insights about their lives. The pieces vary in length, tone, and writing style, even including poetry – but all add to the fascinating discussion.
Exile Music
The story is narrated by Orly Zingel, who, at age 11, journeys with her parents from Vienna to Genoa to Chile and finally to La Paz, leaving behind her older brother, Willi.
Radiance: Creative Mitzvah Living
In his introduction to Radiance: Creative Mitzvah Living, Rabbi Neal Gold writes that Danny Siegel’s teachings have profoundly shaped American Jewry – and he’s right.