The Pater: My Father, My Judaism, My Childlessness by Elliot Jager; Toby Press, London, England By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I was given Elliot Jager’s book, The Pater: My Father, My Judaism, My Childlessness, as a gift, and must admit that it is not a book I would have chosen to read in the […]
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
God and Politics in Esther, 2nd Edition, by Yoram Hazony; Cambridge University Press; (2015); ISBN-10: 1107583454; $18.27 on Amazon. Rating ***** out of 5 Stars. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Yoram Hazony’s exposition of the Book of Esther is priceless. In my Judaism 101 class, everyone read a little bit from God
God needs worthy people as partners for His miracles Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiIn This Together by Ann Romney, Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin’s Press, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — When she was 47 years old and in the midst of a very busy life, Ann Romney noticed a numb spot on her leg as well as problems with her balance and increasing fatigue. At first she
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories
The Passover Surprise by Janet Ruth Heller; illustrations by Ronald Kauffman; © 2015; Fictive Press; ISBN 978-1-927663-17-1; 35 pages including glossary and discussion drive. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –A lot of ground is covered in this story for middle schoolers. It begins with a pre-teenage girl, Lisa, competing with her younger brother, Jon,
‘The Passover Surprise’ is brief yet topic rich Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish Religion, USA
The Book Thief (10th Anniversary Edition) by Markus Zusak; Alfred A. Knopf; ISBN 878-0-399-55652-4; 550 pages plus bonus material covering the creative process; $19.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – Sometimes a book comes out and, like a news article, dies after a period of time, forgotten by everyone except the author and perhaps
Never read ‘The Book Thief’? Steal the time Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. HarrisonBeing Selfish by Sarah Marshank, Selfistry.me, 2015, 978-1-68222-814-2, 350 pgs., $17.89. By Eva Trieger SOLANA BEACH, California — To paraphrase, some things are better left unwritten. I’m not saying that an author doesn’t have the right to speak her piece and put it out there for the market to purchase, however, I can’t imagine throngs
‘Being Selfish’ far too self- indulgent for most readers Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eva TriegerWhy Not Say What Happened: A Sentimental Education by Morris Dickstein (Liveright Publishing Corp., 2015) By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Morris Dickstein was born into a family of Orthodox Jews who brought with them the anxious and narrow life view of the Eastern European shtetl to New York City’s Lower East Side. He was given a
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – In my mail came a book of poetry for review, unbidden, a gift from its author, a stranger to me. Titled Above History, Behind Time, it contained the thoughts of Nathan Carliner Goldman, PhD, who is a professor of government at the College of the Mainland in Texas
Poet Nathan C. Goldman reflects on Jewish themes Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish ReligionZero Six Bravo: The Explosive True Story of How 60 Special Forces Survived Against an Iraqi Army of 100,000, by Damien Lewis, Quercus Publishers, 2014 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Damien Lewis is a British author who specializes in writing about the elite special forces in various military services; those soldiers who take on
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — Former Skinhead Frank Meeink kept the students of San Diego’s Community Jewish High School entranced for nearly two hours Thursday evening, March 3, as he spoke of being rejected and beaten by substance-abusing parents; accepted and respected by neo-Nazis; feeling adrenaline rushes when other teenagers visibly feared
Ex- Skinhead tells of self- loathing behind his bigotry Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education
By Eva Trieger SOLANA BEACH, California- I became aware of a program recently that actually made me wish I could roll back the clock and experience the angst, pressure and confusion of being a high school junior all over again. Not because I loved that stress-packed year of SATs, college apps, peer pressure, and road
A free summer program with great Jewish books Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eva Trieger
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyle; Random House Children’s Books/ David Fickling Books (c) 2016; ISBN 978-0-385-75107-0; 218 pages including discussion questions; $17.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — This novel is being brought back after a decade; its impact on its intended audience of young readers likely to be sad,
The Dream of Zion: The Story of the First Zionist Congress by Lawrence J. Epstein, Rowman & Littlefield, New York; ISBN 978-1-4422-5466-5 ©2016, $36.00, p. 137, plus chronology and references. By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — Professor emeritus Lawrence Epstein in his newest book The Dream of Zion, argues that the nineteenth-century European Enlightenment’s
‘The Dream of Zion’ focuses on the life of Herzl Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, International, Jewish History, Middle East
The Chameleon That Saved Noah’s Ark by Yael Molchadsky with illustrations by Orit Bergman; Penguin Young Readers Group/ Nancy Paulsen Books (c) 2015; ISBN 978-1-100-99676-8; 28 pages, 16.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO –You could call this Israeli-written and illustrated book a fable, or a midrash, that utilizes the well-known biblical story of Noah
Fabled chameleons protect food supply on Noah’s Ark Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison