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Amos Oz: Writer, Activist, Icon (Jewish Lives)
By Robert Alter. 2023
An intimate portrait illuminating the life and work of Amos Oz, the award-winning Israeli writer and activist Amos Oz…
(1939–2018) was one of Israel&’s most prolific and prominent writers, as well as a regular contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was the author of dozens of novels, essay collections, and novellas written between 1965 and shortly before his death. In this first published biography of Oz, the celebrated translator, literary critic, and biblical scholar Robert Alter explores Oz&’s relationship with his family, beginning with the suicide of his mother, Fania Klausner, when he was twelve years old, and goes on to review his time in Kibbutz Hulda, which he entered at fourteen following his separation from his father, Arieh Klausner; his family&’s right-wing Zionism; his writing career; his activism in support of a pluralistic Israel; and his work as an international lecturer. In examining Oz&’s life and work, Alter brings together testimony from Oz and his circle, as well as close readings of his central works, to present the inner world and public persona of Amos Oz.
Julian: Rome's Last Pagan Emperor (Ancient Lives)
By Philip Freeman. 2023
The tragic life of Julian, the last non-Christian emperor of Rome, by award-winning author Philip Freeman Flavius Claudius Julianus,…
or Julian the Apostate, ruled Rome as sole emperor for just a year and a half, from 361 to 363, but during that time he turned the world upside down. Although a nephew of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor of Rome, Julian fought to return Rome to the old gods who had led his ancestors to build their vast empire. As emperor, Julian set about reforming the administration, conquering new territories, and reviving ancient religions. He was scorned in his time for repudiating Christianity and demonized as an apostate for willfully rejecting Christ. Through the centuries, Julian has been viewed by many as a tragic figure who sought to save Rome from its enemies and the corrupting influence of Christianity. Christian writers and historians have seen Julian much differently: as a traitor to God and violent oppressor of Christians. Had Julian not been killed by a random Persian spear, he might well have changed all of history.
With My Eyes Wide Open: Miracles & Mistakes on My Way Back to KoRn
By Carol Traver, Brian Head Welch. 2016
He left KoRn to help himself. He went back to help others. And along the way, he nearly lost everything.A…
life-changing spiritual awakening freed Brian &“Head&” Welch from a stranglehold of drugs and alcohol and prompted him to leave the highly successful nu-metal band KoRn in 2005. What followed was a decade-long trial by fire, from the perils of fathering a teen lost in depression and self-mutilation to the harsh realities of playing solo and surviving the shattering betrayal of a trusted friend. In this intensely inspiring redemption saga, perhaps most inspiring is Brian&’s radical decision to rejoin KoRn and reconcile with the tribe of people he once considered family in the metal music scene.Brian returned to his musical roots with a clear head and a devoted heart. Though his story is wild, hilarious, and deeply poignant, the message is simple: God will love you into the freedom of being yourself, as long as you keep the relationship going and never, ever quit.
&“An important and powerful work that speaks to Mordecai M. Kaplan&’s position as perhaps the most significant Jewish thinker of…
the twentieth century.&” (Deborah Dash Moore coeditor of Gender and Jewish History) Mordecai M. Kaplan, founder of the Jewish Reconstructionist movement, is the only rabbi to have been excommunicated by the Orthodox rabbinical establishment in America. Kaplan was indeed a radical, rejecting such fundamental Jewish beliefs as the concept of the chosen people and a supernatural God. Although he valued the Jewish community and was a committed Zionist, his primary concern was the spiritual fulfillment of the individual. Drawing on Kaplan&’s 27-volume diary, Mel Scult describes the development of Kaplan&’s radical theology in dialogue with the thinkers and writers who mattered to him most, from Spinoza to Emerson and from Ahad Ha-Am and Matthew Arnold to Felix Adler, John Dewey, and Abraham Joshua Heschel. This gracefully argued book, with its sensitive insights into the beliefs of a revolutionary Jewish thinker, makes a powerful contribution to modern Judaism and to contemporary American religious thought. &“An interesting, stimulating, and well-done analysis of Kaplan&’s life and thought. All students of contemporary Jewish life will benefit from reading this excellent study.&” —Jewish Media Review &“The book is highly readable―at times almost colloquial in its language and style―and is recommended for anybody with a familiarity with Kaplan but who wants to understand his thought within a broader context.&” —AJL Reviews
The Obsession
By Meyer Levin. 1973
The WWII reporter and “most significant American Jewish writer of his time” recounts his decades-long battle to stage Anne Frank’s…
diaries (Los Angeles Times).As a war correspondent in Europe during World War II, Meyer Levin was among the first to report on the horrors of Nazi occupation. Also a successful novelist, he desperately wanted to bear witness to what he saw in literary form. Then, in 1951, he read The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. It was precisely the voice he had been searching for—and he became determined to bring Anne’s story to America as a Broadway play.The Obsession is Levin’s candid account of this ill-fated project and the mania to see it through that gripped him for twenty years. Though Levin began writing his adaptation with the support of Anne’s father, Otto, he was eventually replaced with non-Jewish writers. Refusing to let Anne’s story be sanitized, Levin fought for his version in and out of courtrooms in a protracted battle that nearly destroyed both his family and his career.In this extraordinary memoir, Levin explores the nature of Jewishness, the price of assimilation, the writer’s obligation to himself and to his subject, and the search for identity and purpose.
The Little Book of Saints
By Christine Barrely, Saskia Leblon, Laure Péraudin, Stéphane Trieulet. 2011
Learn about the lives and works of over eighty saints in this collection, featuring ninety-two colorfully illustrated holy cards.How does…
Saint Christopher keep us safe when we travel? Why is Saint Patrick always depicted with a nest of snakes? How did Cecilia come to be the patron saint of music? These wonders and more are explained in this treasure of a book. The perfect book for the devout or any religious occasion, this captivating collection recounts the extra-ordinary legends, heartrending stories, joys, and sorrows of the most beloved saints, from the famous to the mysteriously obscure. Beautifully illustrated with historical pictures from prayer books and missals, this elegant keepsake is a joy to have.
Leon Uris: Life of a Best Seller (Jewish History, Life, and Culture)
By Ira B. Nadel. 2010
The first biography of the massively popular author of Exodus and Trinity, who &“was as feisty as any of his…
fictional creations&” (Publishers Weekly). As the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Exodus, Mila 18, QB VII, and Trinity, Leon Uris blazed a path to celebrity with books that readers couldn&’t put down. Uris&’s thirteen novels sold millions of copies, appeared in fifty languages, and were adapted into equally successful movies and TV miniseries. Few writers equaled his fame in the mid-twentieth century. His success fueled the rise of mass-market paperbacks, movie tie-ins, and author tours. Beloved by the public, Uris was, not surprisingly, dismissed by literary critics. Until now, his own life—as full of drama as his fiction—has never been the subject of a book. Now Ira Nadel traces Uris from his disruptive youth to his life-changing experiences as a marine in World War II. These experiences, coupled with Uris&’s embrace of his Judaism and desire to write, led to his unprecedented success and the lavish excesses of a career as a best-selling author. Nadel reveals that Uris lived the adventures he described, including his war experiences in the Pacific (Battle Cry), life-threatening travels in Israel (Exodus), visit to Communist Poland (Mila 18), libel trial in Britain (QB VII), and dangerous sojourn in fractious Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic (Trinity). Nadel also demonstrates that Uris&’s talent for writing action-packed yet thoroughly researched novels meshed perfectly with the public&’s desire to revisit and understand the tumultuous events of recent history—making him far more popular (and wealthier) than more literary authors—while paving the way for future blockbuster writers such as Irving Wallace and Tom Clancy.
Looking Backward: True Stories from Chicago's Jewish Past
By Walter Roth. 2005
Essays chronicling the Jewish history of Chicago, from the late nineteenth century to the end of World War II. The…
history of Jews in Chicago is a fascinating, complex, and largely unknown story. Thanks to the unstinting efforts of Walter Roth, much of this history has been preserved. Now, for the first time, this material has been distilled into a single volume, chronicling events and people from the late nineteenth century to the end of World War II. There are six broad themes, each of which includes several essays: the first of which is &“Chicago Jews and the Secular City: Builders, Movers, Shakers&” about HL Mettes&’s huge 1924 history of Chicago Jews; financier Lazarus Silverman; the U of C Centennial; Jewish participation in the World&’s Columbian Exposition; Julius Rosenwald and the Museum of Science & Industry and the Jewish Day Pageant at the Century of Progress in 1933. The other five themes are &“Chicago Jews and Anti-Semitism: Tragedy Abroad, Challenges at Home&”; &“Chicago Jews and Zionism: Local Idealists&”; &“Chicago Jews and Zionism: Renowned Visitors&”; &“Chicago Jews and the Arts: The Page and the Stage&” and &“Chicago Jews on Both Sides of the Law: Colorful Characters.&” Anyone interested in Chicago history, ethnic history, Jewish history, will find Looking Backward a fascinating and informative read. Praise for Looking Backward&“Roth writes about the well known and the not so well known, bringing to life the people, events, and institutions that shaped the Jewish community.&” —Booklist
The Presence of Absence: On Prayers and an Epiphany (Inspirational Ser.)
By Doris Grumbach. 1998
The story of an ecstatic spiritual moment—and the search to experience it again When she was twenty-seven years old, writer…
Doris Grumbach had an epiphany. It was as if God were right there beside her, and she had a &“feeling of peace so intense that it seemed to expand into ineffable joy.&” After this fleeting moment, Grumbach became determined to recapture what she had felt. The Presence of Absence is the story of her fifty-year search. Grumbach is an open-minded and skilled seeker, and she writes candidly of the people she has met along the way. She details how she lost her path after decades of going to her Protestant church and writes of her turn to personal spirituality. In her quest to find God, she encounters a multitude of philosophies and gives all of them their due. She reads the works of Thomas Merton and Simone Weil, seeks the advice of her seminary-attending daughter, and studies the Psalms. Despite the setbacks of disease, injury, and ego, Grumbach perseveres in her pursuit of beauty and proof in the absence.
The Wisdom of Confucius (Wisdom)
By The Wisdom Series. 1968
Hundreds of sage observations from China&’s most revered scholar Teacher, politician, philosopher, and student, Confucius offered wisdom and aphorisms on a…
variety of topics that transcend borders and time. Whether considering his own life, human nature, or a society&’s responsibilities, Confucius&’s teachings emphasize personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. He aimed to effect social and political reform, and left a legacy of wisdom that remains true today. Organized by topic and accompanied with contextual footnotes, this collection of quotes, sayings, and lessons is often as entertaining as it is educational.
The Wisdom of Confucius (Wisdom)
By The Wisdom Series. 1968
Hundreds of sage observations from China&’s most revered scholar Teacher, politician, philosopher, and student, Confucius offered wisdom and aphorisms on a…
variety of topics that transcend borders and time. Whether considering his own life, human nature, or a society&’s responsibilities, Confucius&’s teachings emphasize personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. He aimed to effect social and political reform, and left a legacy of wisdom that remains true today. Organized by topic and accompanied with contextual footnotes, this collection of quotes, sayings, and lessons is often as entertaining as it is educational.
Discover the origins of Buddhism and its tenets from the seminal texts Drawn from the sacred books of Buddhism, this collection…
reveals the insights and beliefs at the heart of the world&’s fourth-largest religion. Siddhartha Guatama, a sixth-century Hindu warrior prince, renounced the world in his search for the meaning of life and became the Buddha, or &“Enlightened One,&” while meditating at Bodh Gaya. From that moment forward the Buddha sought to share his own enlightenment with all of mankind. Through the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, the Buddha taught followers to let go of desire and worldly attachments in order to alleviate suffering while embracing practices of meditation, mindfulness, and right conduct. Covering the birth and death of the Buddha, as well as the major tenets of Buddhism, including karma and the middle doctrine, The Wisdom of Buddha offers a profound view of the Buddhist religion and its founder.
Madame Blavatsky: The Woman Behind the Myth
By Marion Meade. 2001
The life and times of Helena Blavatsky, the controversial religious guru who cofounded the Theosophical Society and kick-started the New…
Age movement. Recklessly brilliant, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky scandalized her 19th century world with a controversial new religion that tried to synthesize Eastern and Western philosophies. If her contemporaries saw her as a freak, a charlatan, and a snake oil salesman, she viewed herself as a special person born for great things. She firmly believed that it was her destiny to enlighten the world. Rebelliously breaking conventions, she was the antithesis of a pious religious leader. She cursed, smoked, overate, and needed to airbrush out certain inconvenient facts, like husbands, lovers, and a child. Marion Meade digs deep into Madame Blavatsky&’s life from her birth in Russia among the aristocracy to a penniless exile in Europe, across the Atlantic to New York where she became the first Russian woman naturalized as an American citizen, and finally moving on to India where she established the international headquarters of the Theosophical Society in 1882. As she chased from continent to continent, she left in her aftermath a trail of enthralled followers and the ideas of Theosophy that endure to this day. While dismissed as a female messiah, her efforts laid the groundwork for the New Age movement, which sought to reconcile Eastern traditions with Western occultism. Her teachings entered the mainstream by creating new respect for the cultures and religions of the East—for Buddhism and Hinduism—and interest in meditation, yoga, gurus, and reincarnation. Madame Blavatsky was one of a kind. Here is her richly bizarre story told with compassion, insight, and an attempt to plumb the truth behind those astonishing accomplishments.
Uncover the tenets of Islam through the words of its founder. This compelling examination of the life and sayings of…
Muhammad offers the modern reader both a historical context for and a spiritual guide to the principles at the heart of the world&’s second largest religion. Drawing on the Koran and the Sunnah, this collection of quotes is organized by topic from A to Z and provides a window into the eloquence, practicality, and ethical fortitude with which Muhammad preached to his followers. Covering a diverse range of topics, from marriage and civic charity to the individual&’s relationship to God and the afterlife, the Prophet&’s words dispel misconceptions about the history of the faith, its leader, and its core beliefs. With footnotes, a glossary of terms, scriptural citations, and a timeline, The Wisdom of Muhammad is essential reading for anyone who wants to have a true understanding of Islam. &“The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr.&” —Muhammad This ebook edition features a new introduction and image gallery.
And We Are Not Saved
By David Wdowinski. 1945
This WWII memoir recounts a Jewish man&’s harrowing and heroic journey from Nazi-occupied Poland to standing witness at the trial…
of Adolph Eichmann.A brave defender of the Jewish community since his student days, Dr. David Wdowinski became a leader of the Zionist movement in Poland and head of the Zionist Revisionist Party. He saw the troubling rise of antisemitism and advocated for Jewish immigration to the Homeland. But when Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Wdowinski and his wife were still in Warsaw.In this eloquent memoir, Wdowinski recounts his part in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. He speaks frankly of his capture and the horrors he endured in the concentration camps, as well as his efforts to raise the spirits of his comrades in their most trying hour. His struggle continued after liberation, as he applied himself once again to the Zionist movement in Italy, France, and elsewhere. In 1961, he was summoned by the Israeli government to testify at the trial of Adolph Eichmann. Delivering his testimony in flawless Hebrew, he demonstrated how the Nazi crimes against humanity were the result of centuries of psychological conditioning.
Columba and All That (The And All That Series)
By Allan Burnett. 2011
The illustrated true history of the 6th-century Irish abbot and saint and his evangelical mission in Scotland.Columba And All That…
is a real-life adventure packed with historical facts about the legendary Celtic saint. Join Columba as he leaves his home in Ireland for the undiscovered country of Scotland. Witness magic and miracles as Columba confronts the Loch Ness Monster and mysterious painted warriors. Packed with fantastic illustrations, Columba And All That is one man&’s epic quest to spread the Word of God in a strange land—and hoping the natives like what they hear!
Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America
By Natalie Goldberg. 1993
The author of Writing Down the Bones shares her story of self-discovery through Zen Buddhism, in &“beautiful and simple prose&”…
(Library Journal). In this autobiographical work, Natalie Goldberg takes us on a journey from her suburban childhood to her maturation as a writer. From the high-school classroom where she first listened to the rain, to her fifteen years as a student of Zen Buddhism, Natalie Goldberg&’s path is by turns illuminating, disciplined, heartbreaking, hilarious, and healing. Along the way she reflects on her life and work in prose that is both elegant and precise, reminding the reader of what it means to be fully alive. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Natalie Goldberg, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s personal collection.
The Book of Saints: A Day-By-Day Illustrated Encyclopedia
By Weldon Owen. 2011
A lavishly illustrated reference guide to over five-hundred Christian saints, organized by the calendar year and featuring about six-hundred works…
of art.Organized by feast day throughout the calendar year, The Book of Saints is both a definitive reference work and a spectacular art book. Featuring fascinating stories of more than five-hundred saints from around the world, the book includes approximately six-hundred works of historic and contemporary art. This extraordinary reference book is a stunning keepsake and essential resource that makes a perfect christening, confirmation, or birthday gift, and is a great addition to any family library. The Book of Saints is an illustrated treasury of compelling information for the devout and the culturally inquisitive alike.
Life Between the Lines: A Memoir
By John Izbicki. 2012
The Daily Telegraph correspondent tells his &“fascinating history, not just of newspapers, but of his personal life, fleeing Nazi Germany,…
as a child&” (The Independent). Berlin-born, John Izbicki lived through the horrors of Nazi persecution and, on the day after his eighth birthday, he witnessed the Kristallnacht, and the smashing of his parents&’ shop windows. On the day Germany invaded Poland and Berlin experienced its first wartime blackout, the Izbickis escaped to Holland and from there on to England. The author describes what it feels like to have been a refugee, unable to speak or understand a single word of English, and how he was persuaded by a kind policeman to change his name from Horst to John. He also leads the reader along the remarkable journey he traveled from school to university, the first of his family to enter higher education, and through his adventurous time as a commissioned army officer during two years of national service spent in Egypt and Libya. But the best part of his life was yet to come when this young refugee decided to make journalism his profession. The boy who, not that many years earlier, could speak not a word of English, became the distinguished education correspondent of the country&’s leading quality newspaper, the Daily Telegraph. After eighteen years in that responsible position, he was sent to Paris to head the Telegraph&’s office there. When he left the newspaper to join the Committee of Directors of Polytechnics, he played a leading part in transforming the country&’s polytechnics into its &“new universities.&”&“From Nazi Germany to Fleet Street—the story of a charming survivor.&” —The Guardian
Three great nonfiction works from the Nobel Prize–winning, Catholic, French author of Thérèse Desqueyroux.Saint Margaret of CortonaFor François Mauriac, Saint…
Margaret of Cortona became a source of fascination and solace during the Nazi occupation of France. During that time, feeling himself and all his countrymen to be among the downtrodden, he wrote this biography of the thirteenth-century Italian penitent who would become the patron saint of the homeless . . .Born in 1247 to a farming family in a small village outside Perugia, Margaret of Cortona was willful and reckless in her youth. At age seventeen, she became a wealthy man&’s mistress—even bearing his son out of wedlock. But her life of sin ended when she found her lover murdered.Devoting herself to prayer and penance, Margaret eventually joined the Third Order of St. Francis and took a vow of poverty. She established a hospital for the poor and homeless at Cortona. On divine command, she challenged her own bishop for his lavish and warlike lifestyle. Canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1728, she became a patron saint of the downtrodden, including the falsely accused, homeless, orphaned, and mentally ill, as well as midwives, penitents, single mothers, reformed prostitutes, and third children.Letters on Art and LiteratureIn this collection of letters, Mauriacshares fascinating insights through correspondence with Albert Camus, Jean Cocteau, and other authors, artists, intellectuals, as well as the readers of his various articles and columns. The letters delve into a variety of topics—from the death of Georges Bernanos to the correspondence between Paul Claudel and Andre Gide, and the Routier youth movement.Proust&’s Way The thinking and suffering of the author of Remembrance of Things Past are intimately exposed in these letters to Mauriac.