Niccolò Machiavelli (3 May, 1469 – 21 June 1527) was an Italian writer, playwright, poet, historian and diplomat, known for his groundbreaking book The Prince.

This is a refreshing and unique book, which provides a deeper understanding into a complicated, and sometimes contradictory, story.

Seven Mothers by Yochi Brandes is a fascinating book which turns some of the Jewish bible stories on their head by infusing new thinking from a modern woman into the stories which are much beloved. Mrs. Brandes writes about Moab’s mother, Tamar, Miriam the Prophets (Moses’ sister),the Pharaoh’s daughter, Ruth, Michal and Queen Ester.

What would you sacrifice in the name of faith? What would you choose when faced with impossible choices—the salvation of your soul, or the lives of millions? I often write about choice and sacrifice, thrusting ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances and presenting them with difficult choices. I also wonder what I would sacrifice for another person: money, freedom, my health, even my own life. I especially marvel at people who do give up their lives for others. I had friend, a soldier, who threw his body onto a grenade to save the lives of his comrades. I was in living India at the time—trying to find myself—when I heard this sad but heroic story and gained much-needed perspective on my own quest. I went through most of my life thinking the greatest sacrifice a person can make is giving up their life in service to another. But times and values change. Now it seems that many people have a greater attachment to their faith then their lives; they would more quickly die for their God than their fellow man—regardless of the consequences. Acts of terror, random shootings, myriad crimes that we could hardly imagine a few years ago are not…

The dictionary definition of ”fact” is ”something known to exist or to have happened,” whereas ”faith”generally is described as ”belief not based on proof.” There are 10,000 religions worldwide, eighteen of which are major Christian religions, and among Christians there are 9,000 separate denominations. Each of those religions and denominations has its own belief system–its followers act on faith–even though, as author Jack Gage points out, ”all the adherents of these different belief systems inhabit the same world, with the same physical facts, with access to the same knowledge.” So how and why did so many religions come into existence? And how do the various religious explanations–whether Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, or any other–for how the world and the people in it began stack up against scientific fact? Buy this book in from Amazon.com* Q&A with Author Jack Gage: Can you tell us about the journey that led you to write your book? Although I got my first college degree in Business Administration, and the second a Juris Doctorate in law, at heart I’ve always been fascinated by science and particularly astronomy. I was raised by my parents as an Episcopalian but the things I was taught there seemed inconsistent…

Three Days of Terror in November How Kristallnacht Continues to Haunt, and Instruct, Us Today ===================================================== Mr. Reisfeld has kindly made available the following books for giveaway (enter at the end of the post): Two (2) Signed paperback copies of The Last Way Station Two (2) eBook copies of The Last Way Station One (1) eCopy of Jerusalem Imperilled by Harry Freedman ===================================================== As night fell over the Third Reich on Wednesday, November 9th, 1938, Nazis at all levels of government launched a vicious, organized, national pogrom against the Jews. The attacks, unprecedented in their scope, brutality and brazenness, lasted for three days, during which time squads of sledge-hammer-wielding ‘brown shirts’ took the lead, savaging, looting and, in some cases, leveling Jewish businesses, homes and houses of worship. By the time the rioting stopped, organized mobs had ransacked and destroyed 267 Jewish synagogues, setting most of them afire. They had wrecked and plundered an estimated 7,500 Jewish storefronts and shops, desecrated Jewish cemeteries, and vandalized and looted countless Jewish homes. Many Germans welcomed the violence. Eyewitnesses described mothers lifting their children up over bystanders’ heads so that they, too, could see the destruction of Jewish property, while their parents cheered on the…

Pearl in the Sand is a fascinating book, the biblical characters of Rahab, Salmone, Joshua, Ezra and others are skillfully brought to life by Tessa Afshar