Children of the Stone, The Power of Music in a Hard Land, by Sandy Tolan, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — In a “Note to Readers” the author states that the events and facts presented in the book have been extensively sourced, checked and, to the extent possible, verified. However, Tolan also […]
Music becomes cacophony in political treatise Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short StoriesBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Shari Becker grew up in a Jewish family in Montreal and now lives in Boston, where she is married and is raising two daughters with her husband John. Her first YA (young adult) novel has been published and there’s a fascinating story behind it I found out during
Hurricane Sandy got this debut YA author thinking Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short StoriesBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Writing a book is relatively easy. Choose your subject, write one page every day for a year, and hey presto, after a year you have a book that is about 365 pages long. Agreed, it may take another year or two to edit, correct, amend, etc., but essentially
The joys and oys of book marketing Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonLord Get Me High! by Rabbi Elchanan Shoff, Kodesh Press, New York; ISBN 978-069-250-143-6 ©2015, $24.95, p. 109 By Fred Reiss, Ed.D WINCHESTER, California –Psalm 27, the subject of Rabbi Elchanan Shoff’s newest book Lord Get Me High!, is every bit as commanding in its imagery and meaning as its more well-known cousin, the Twenty-Third Psalm.
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish ReligionEverything You Ever Wanted by Jillian Lauren, Plume/Penquin Publishing Group, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — This is the second of Jillian Lauren’s memoirs.* Born in 1973, she was adopted as an infant by a middle class Jewish couple in Livingston, New Jersey. Her childhood included the cultural norms of that time and place such
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Books, Poetry & Short StoriesJewish Identity: The Challenge of Peoplehood Today by Ruth Shamir Popkin, Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem; ISBN 978-965-229-671-9 ©2015, $24.95, p. 272, plus Notes, Sources, and Index (also available in Kindle) By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — From the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt in the second century to 1948 and the establishing of the State
Book probes the concept of Jewish identity Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish History, Jewish ReligionBy Dan Bloom CHIAYI CITY, Taiwan — Bill Tammeus is a former religion columnist for the Kansas City Star and the author of several books over the years, among them They Were Just People: Stories of Rescue in Poland During the Holocaust, which he co-authored with Jacques Cukierkorn. He knows the Jewish community in Kansas
Columnist who studied Shoah now writes about Pope Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short StoriesSome Girls: My Life in a Harem by Jillian Lauren, published by Plume/Penguin Group, 2010 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — Jillian Lauren was born in 1973 and was adopted as an infant by a Jewish couple in Livingston, New Jersey. Later a son was adopted. They were a middle class suburban family, gave their
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories
The Devil in Jerusalem by Naomi Ragen; St. Martin’s Press © 2015; ISBN 978-1-250-04313-9; 306 pages, $25.99 By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO – This novel is well-written and suspenseful, yet exceedingly difficult to read. It is about child abuse with descriptions so graphic it will make almost any reader shudder or cringe. Author Naomi
Child abuse makes important novel hard to read Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. HarrisonThe War Reporter by Martin Fletcher; St. Martin’s Press © 2015; ISBN 978-1-250-07002-9; 306 pages, $25.99. By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO—Set in Sarajevo (Bosnia) during the siege, and in Belgrade (Serbia) ten years afterwards, this novel tells of television journalist Tom Layne briefly encountering Serbian General Ratko Mladic near the former war-torn city and trying
Amid chaos, ‘The War Reporter’ introspects Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. HarrisonJonas Salk: A Life by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs, M.D., Oxford University Press, 2015 By Sheila Orysiek SAN DIEGO — For those of us who were children in the 1950’s, embedded in our memories of summertime fun, we also remember the horror of the dark shadow of poliomyelitis – polio – which hung over our days.
From the Jewish Library: ‘Jonas Salk’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy J. Zel Lurie DELRAY BEACH, Florida — Dear Friends and Family, I have been a reporter since 1934, but this is my first attempt at fiction. Actually, 90% of it is true based on my life and others that I have known. Love Conquers All: A short, short story by J. Zel Lurie Her name was
101-year-old writes a love story Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short StoriesEditor’s Note: San Diego Jewish World is fortunate to have among its contributors the authors of many books. To acquaint you with them, and their literary output, we will from time to time offer articles by the authors telling of their works. This article is by Dr. Michael Mantell, an Advanced Behavior Coach based in San Diego. By
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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Michael MantellBy Jack Forman LA JOLLA, California — King David’s rich and full life is meticulously detailed in Samuel I and II and Chronicles, and his last years are described at the beginning of Kings I. He is a larger-than-life figure who plays a central role in Judaism because it is from King David’s lineage, according
Rabbi Wolpe delves into King David’s lives Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History