Books, Poetry & Short Stories

Comic-Con speaker shares memories of her mammaries

The Story of My Tits by Jennifer Hayden; © 2015; Top Shelf Productions; ISBN 978160-3090544;  340 pages; $29.99 Story by Donald H. Harrison; Photo by Shor M. Masori SAN DIEGO –When she was a young teenager, Jennifer Hayden was frustrated that she had remained flat chested while many of her classmates had already bloomed.  But […]

Comic-Con speaker shares memories of her mammaries Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County

Raising children? This book might help

Parenting in Perspective: Timeless Wisdom, Modern Applications by Rabbi Barry Kislowicz, Maggid Books, New Milford, CT, ©20156, ISBN 978-159-264-456-8, p. 171, plus appendices, $22.95 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California –  How do we learn to be parents? It’s not taught in high school or college; so do we learn by mimicry? Trial by fire?

Raising children? This book might help Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD

Alternative Jewish histories: Fun, instructive

What Ifs of Jewish History: From Abraham to Zionism edited by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld; (c) 2016 Cambridge University Press; ISBN 978110-7037625; 406 pages including notes and index; $34.99 hardback. By Mitchell J. Freedman POWAY, California –Counterfactuals or alternative histories remain controversial among historians mostly because it is an area where Literature with a capital L

Alternative Jewish histories: Fun, instructive Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History

Artist Charlotte Salomon’s life told in free verse

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson   MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Life is full of strange coincidences. I first encountered the story of Charlotte Salomon about twenty years ago, when an exhibition of her work, a series of paintings with captions describing her life and entitled Life? Or Theatre? was held at the Royal Academy in London. It made

Artist Charlotte Salomon’s life told in free verse Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History

Detective, romance story based on Salem Witch Trials

How to Hang A Witch by Adriana Mather; Alfred A. Knopf; © 2016; ISBN 978055-3539479; 358 pages including author’s notes; $17.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Adriana Mather is the author and Samantha Mather is the fictional protagonist of this mystery-romance-supernatural novel for young adults that draws upon the Salem Witch Trials for

Detective, romance story based on Salem Witch Trials Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

‘Days of Awe’ tells of recovery from a close friend’s death

Days of Awe by Lauren Fox; Penguin Random House Vantage Books: © 2015; ISBN 978030-7388278; 256 pages; $16 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –Isabelle’s life is ruined after her best friend and fellow school teacher, Josie, died when her car plunged off an icy road.  She was so devastated by the loss that her marriage

‘Days of Awe’ tells of recovery from a close friend’s death Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison

Understanding the 30th President: Coolidge by Amity Schlaes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 29, 2016 – In the midst of this crazy election year, it’s worth considering the events of almost 100 years ago at the dawn of the Progressive Era and the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge. The time bears a sometimes uncanny resemblance to our own; his challenges are

Understanding the 30th President: Coolidge by Amity Schlaes Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, USA

Art and words express cancer survivors’ emotions

By Chana Miller PETACH TIKVAH, Israel – “Good morning” Simple words. We say them every day. Most people are hardly aware of the greeting by neighbors or fellow workers. But for a small group of women at Ezer Mizion, the words mean everything. They represent the Good Morning program, a visual art workshop for cancer

Art and words express cancer survivors’ emotions Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

‘Mein Kampf’ profits to aid Holocaust survivors

A US publisher of Adolf Hitler”s Nazi manifesto announced its decision to donate all proceeds to a local organization that works directly with aging Holocaust survivors, according to a Boston Globe report. The move comes after Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a Boston-based publisher of one of the English translations of “Mein Kampf”, recently received criticism for

‘Mein Kampf’ profits to aid Holocaust survivors Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, USA

Biography of Nehemiah prompts mixed emotions

Nehemiah: Statesman and Sage by Dov S. Zakheim; Maggid Books © 2016; ISBN 9781592-643691; 246 pages including appendices; $27.95 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – From the standpoint of one in whose family there have been several intermarriages in which the children have been raised as Reform Jews, I read this biography of the

Biography of Nehemiah prompts mixed emotions Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion

From the Jewish Library: ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’

A Spoonful of Sugar: A Nanny’s Story, by Brenda Ashford, Doubleday 2013 (and co-writer Kate Thompson) By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Fairy tales usually begin with “Once upon a time” and end with “they lived happily ever after.”   But is that true?  No, of course not – that’s why they are called “fairy tales,” silly.

From the Jewish Library: ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories

June 28 play, lecture to augment ‘The Unfinished Diary’

SAN DIEGO — Feivel Wolgelernter, whose father Chaim Yitzchok Wolgelernter wrote the The Unfinished Diary: A Chronicle of Tears, which detailed his experiences hiding in Dzialoszyce, Poland from the German Nazis, will speak at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 28, at Congregation Adat Yeshurun, 8625 La Jolla Scenic Drive North. Feivel’s talk will be followed by a

June 28 play, lecture to augment ‘The Unfinished Diary’ Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, San Diego Calendar, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

Illustrated prayer book follows Ashkenazic tradition

Nehalel beChol: Weekday Siddur devised by Michael Haruni; Introduction by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo, Nevarech Press, Jerusalem, © 2015, ISBN 978-965-92180-1-1, p. 665 plus Photo and Credits Appendix, $29.95 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California – At first blush, one cannot help but be moved by the attractiveness of the color photographs permeating the Nehalel beChol

Illustrated prayer book follows Ashkenazic tradition Read More »

Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion