This book is short, but thought provoking. The question of “why the Jews?” has been asked for centuries without a good answer other than racism, probably because there isn’t one. As is tradition in the Jewish religion the book asks a lot of poignant, hard hitting questions but gives very few answers

When Heroes Fly (בשבילה גיבורים עפים) by Amir Gutfreund is a novel taking place over three decades in Israel, starting in the 1960s after the Six Days War.

Germania by Harald Gilbers is a murder-mystery taking place during the last weeks of World War II, following a Jewish investigator reactivated by the Gestapo. This book won the Glauser Prize for the best German crime novel.

This is a short biography on one of the most influential men in American pop-culture, and a true American success story. The book tries to tie Stan Lee’s stories and ideas to Jewish culture and Jewish religious book, some of the passages are a stretch, but all of them are interesting and show an understanding of the author of the characters he created.

If all you know of Jewish history is the Bible or your World War II classes in school, this book attempts to fill in some of the gaps.

Primo Levi (31 July, 1919 – 11 April, 1987) was an Italian chemist and writer books about his experiences as a Jewish man during World War II.

The book is well researched, it presents events with historical accuracy without spending time on nuances which will bog down the story. I enjoyed that the author tried to make the story flow presenting relevant facts intertwining with the narrative.

His worldview and predictions for a better world shaped his speeches and willingness to compromise with militants and extremists in his own party, opposing political forces, as well as other countries. To his credit, Mr. Peres is one of the few politicians, worldwide, that even attempts to start a discussion about a “new Middle East”, a very divisive topic.

The book is certainly worth reading, we should not be losing this kind of history, and future generations of the author’s family will have something that many others wish they did.

The author follows several people throughout the book, some famous, some well-known, and others are just trudging day to day trying to survive.