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Zev Bronfman, an angry atheist who was brought up in a Hassidic home escapes death from a falling beam. This near death experience was a wakeup call for Zev, who leaves his parents for a not-so-lucrative job as a cab driver in New York City.
t’s amazing to read about the history of the Talmud paralleled that of the Jewish people. During the pogroms and ages which anti-Semitism was a societal and politically accepted, those who seek to destroy the Jews tried also to destroy the Talmud, mainly because they didn’t understand what it was about (ridiculously bringing about the blood-libel scenarios over and over).
About: Escape from Sobibor by Richard Rashke is a non-fiction book which details the biggest escape from a Nazi concentration camp in Poland during World War II. The book was first published in 1982 and won acclaim world wide. 416 pages Publisher: University of Illinois Press Language: English ISBN-10: 0252064798 My rating for Escape from Sobibor — 5 Buy this book from in paper or electronic format* More Recommended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: Escape from Sobibor by Richard Rashke is an exciting history book, told as a novel. The book is divided into three sections which introduce the people, tell about the escape from a top secret Nazi death camp, and the after war years. Mr. Rashke knows that the strength of any book, non-fiction or otherwise, is the personal stories which make up the big picture, and does a great job introducing us to them. The people which the author chose to focus on were non-military Jews and a Russian officer, some were pulled out of the lines for the gas chambers due to special skills and some just by pure luck. The author engages the reader from the start with personal pre-war stories. This is not…
Bernie Karp, a 15 year old couch potato, son to a successful businessman in Memphis, TN accidentally stumbles upon a froze rabbi in the basement’s freezer. When asked, Bernie’s father explains that: “. “Some people got taxidermied pets in the attic, we got a frozen rabbi in the basement. It’s a family tradition.”
Mr. Lavie lived among the Egyptians and writes about the warm, wonderful individuals he met. The author also writes about Egyptian society, the difficult life and analyzes the economy and the mess that Egypt got itself into and the difficulties the country faces in the future getting out of them.
The book is part history, part historical fiction. While much of the book is based on outstanding research and first-person interviews, some of the book is told from a perspective which the author himself wrote but relied on historical information for reference. A most interesting way to write the book and a brave decision by the author (who states his method in the forward).
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.
My family members heard the story and were amazed. “You have to write about it,” my mother determined. I had my doubts. This is the problem with true stories: they aren’t credible. Readers would consider the story absurd if they read it in a novel. “Give me a different story,” I asked my sister. “That’s all I’ve got,” she said, and took a bite of chicken.
About: Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva is the eighth in the Gabriel Allon series. Even though there are numerous references to the previous books, I thought this novel was still a good read and could be read independently. 352 pages Publisher: Signet Language: English ISBN-10: 0451227387 My rating for Moscow Rules – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* Thoughts: Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva (website) is another solid, well-written and dependable adventure in the Gabriel Allon chronicles. After reading the 8th book in the series it is obvious that Silva has created a character that is strong, subtle and conflicted with an interesting background story and engaging future. At this point in his life, Allon and the readers aren’t really sure what he is. Allon is too old to be the James Bond style agent, too young to retire, too cynical to take a desk job but he is a patriot in every bone in his body and is still able to contribute. Silva realize that he can’t keep his spy young forever and basically ruined his spying career in several books prior by having his face splashed across newspapers and European agencies not allowing him entry…
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker is a novel taking place in New York, 1899. The story weaves two mythical creature from two different cultures to create a different kind of story altogether.
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