Could The Solution to Today’s Problems Be More Arguing, Not Less?
Stories for the Sake of Argument, by Abi Dauber Sterne and Robbie Gringras, is filled with short stories designed to spur family members or groups to engage in healthy disagreement on hot button issues.
The Last Letter: A Daughter Explores Her Inherited Trauma from the Holocaust
In The Last Letter: A Father’s Struggle, a Daughter’s Quest, and the Long Shadow of the Holocaust, Karen Baum Gordon explores not only her father’s life story, but also the stories and events that shaped the lives of her grandparents — two Holocaust victims.
Is Superman Circumcised? The Complete Jewish History of the World’s Greatest Hero
"Is Superman Circumcised? The Complete Jewish History of the World's Greatest Hero" is the provocative title of Roy Schwartz' detailed analysis of the most famous comic book hero in history. The book is very big, as befitting Superman: it weighs a pound and a half, contains 364 pages and measures 7x12 inches.
From Where I Stand
Caroline Goldberg Igra's From Where I Stand explores the challenge of being a mother, the frustration of being a daughter, and the heart-wrenching complexity of being both.
Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero
Outraged by the social inequities in her neighborhood of Down River, 16-year-old Willow Zimmerman, a Jewish high school student, devotes her free time pursuing tikkun olam.
From the Jewish Provinces: Selected Stories
Fradl Shtok (1890-1990) was a Yiddish writer from Ukraine who has languished in obscurity. With this splendid collection of 23 of her stories (Northwestern University Press), she may now rightly be recognized as among the best Yiddish writers of her day.
What Remains: Selected Poems
Most of the 90 poems in What Remains (Ben Yehuda Press) grew out of David Curzon's experiences as he has wandered over the face of the earth. Some are touching recollections of precious moments in his life. Some are reflections on what he has learned by standing before great works of art from different centuries and different continents. Some are conversations with people in his life who meant the most to him and who are no longer among the living. And almost every one of them is a gem.
I Named My Dog Pushkin (and Other Immigrant Tales): Notes from a Soviet Girl on Becoming an American Woman
Margarita Gokun Silver was 20 years old when she left her homeland, the former USSR, to live in the United States. She relates her experiences as a Jewish refugee in a series of darkly funny essays about life in the Soviet Union, family dynamics, and culture shock upon entering "Amerika," as Silver and her high school friends referred to the U.S.
How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion
In How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion (Simon & Schuster), Northeastern University Psychology professor David DeSteno asserts that even skeptics, not just believers, can draw strength and comfort from religion in their personal lives. "Science and religion," he writes, "have often been at odds. But if...
The Forgiveness Tour: How to Find the Perfect Apology
Shocked by what she perceived as an egregious betrayal by her longtime psychotherapist, Susan Shapiro embarks on a quest for meaning in her part memoir, part self-help guide, The Forgiveness Tour (Skyhorse Publishing).
Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood
Shabbat morning, October 27, 2018 marked the day of deadliest antisemitic attack in American history at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mark Oppenheimer’s Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood (Knopf), focuses not on the killer, but on the reactions of Pittsburghers in general, and especially the responses of Squirrel Hill residents.