King of the Jews (Norton Paperback Fiction)

Book Description

King of the Jews tells the darkly humorous story of I. C. Trumpelman, a man whose fancy determines the fate of others. Chosen as the head of a Judenrat, Trumpelman thrives on the power granted him and creates an authoritarian regime of his own within the ghetto. By turns a con man, charismatic leader and merciless dictator, Trumpelman reveals himself as an extraordinarily complex protagonist. King of the Jews continues to be an extraordinary vision of occupied Poland, and offers stunning insight through the trappings of history to questions of equal moral complexity today.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting novel, almost as interesting as the truth.......2005-09-27

Although I found this novel interesting I thought the story of the REAL Rumkowski and the Lodz ghetto is even more fascinating and horrifying. One of the best books I have read on the real story is "Rumkowski and the Orphans of Lodz" which tells about all the children Rumkowski molested both before and during WW2.
Many of the children he molested before the war tell their sad story to the author of that book during the war when she too was in the ghetto at Lodz that was run like a dictatorship by Rumkowski. He even had money and stamps with his portrait printed and his picture was in most offices (like Hitler's was in the Nazi offices). When you read that book you'll find that most of the ghetto residents hated and feared Rumkowski, and for good reason!

Powerful, visionary, epic........2003-07-09

I came across Epstein's latest novel SAN REMO DRIVE in the new fiction section of the bookstore, and rather than pay hardcover price for a good read, I decided to see if the store had his backlist in stock, and came across this. Almost buried under a dozen highly laudatory blurbs, I decided to take a chance, and discovered a great work of literary art. Based on the Polish city of Lodz and the sort of puppet leader set up by the Nazis to govern/liaison the Jewish ghetto there, Epstein paints a teeming, vivid portrait of what it was like to live in the absurdity and morally ambiguous maze of the ghetto. With a grand cast of quickly drawn yet practically breathing-at-your-side characters, dark, dark humor and a consistently paced torrent of words that captures the nearly Bosch-like space of this harrowing, unbelievable and dastardly experience, I feverishly followed the rise and fall of what becomes an archetypal Jewish ghetto existence, if you can call it that. The best thing about it all is the lack of moralizing and judgement-making. Epstein just shows it like it is -- even though, thankfully, it is a thing that was. Historical. Hopefully. And lastly, but not leastly, I'm going to have to shell out hardcover cash to read his latest.

Would make a damn good movie, someday.......2002-07-27

King of the Jews is a compelling, interesting fascinating read that tells the story of Lodz, the last ghetto to be liquidated in Poland. I.C. Trumpelmann is the protagonist. Supposedly a doctor, he cons his people, leaves, and returns to rule them and "protect" them from the nazis. He is loved and hated. There are funny parts, but most are horrifying and sad. One of the more interesting things about "King.." is that it gives you a look at not only what life was like inside the ghetto, but also the Jewish politics behind it.
The down side is that there are so many characters it's difficult to remember who is who. I knew that this was based on a real man, but it took me a while to realize that Epstein had changed almost every major character's name, including Hitler's.
Either which way, this is a fascinating book, that if fell into the right hands, would make a movie that could rival Schindler's List. Highly recommended.

Epstein makes us laugh, cry w/his ironic view of the tragidy.......1999-04-09

In 'King of the Jews', Epstein tells a captivating story of a doomed Polish Jewish Ghetto during WWII. The narrator makes us laugh and cry with his ironic view of the tragedy. It was daring of the author to break with tradition by allowing the reader to perceive WWII ghetto life with a sense of humor. By omitting the extremes of WWII horror, Epstein makes the story more believable without mitigating the tragedy. I could emphathize with the struggles yet did not perceive the Jews as victims. A great script for Mr. Spielberg!

A humorous and harrowing look at a holocaust ghetto-leader.......1998-12-05

It's rare to come across a book like this, which as Epstein brings out in his own review, brings a comical tone to an event of serious and tragic nature such as the holocaust. But in doing so, Epstein makes the characters much more alive, human and real. For instance, at one point, after the Jews had been transported to the ghetto and they must meet a work quota to eat, a rabbi presiding over a funeral has been deprived of his day's rations for failing to meet the quota. At the same time the funeral is being carried on, a few orphans of the orphanage which I.C. Trumpelman, who is "King of the Jews" presides over, are trying to smuggle a cow, the only one in the ghetto, out to some children more in need of its milk than themselves. In the process, the cow escapes and falls into the hole meant for the dead man, a once wealthy man, named Fiebig, who went crazy. The citizens try to think of ways to get the cow out, and the rabbi tells them to cut it up humanely and divide the meat between themselves. The citizens, of course, decide to get the cow out of the pit, so they can put the dead man in, and the rabbi finally comes up with, "Let's eat Fiebig and bury the cow." The book leaves the reader to make their own decsions on the morals at hand, much as the people who lived through it did, from the Judenrat members and their president, Trumpelman, who rides a messianic white horse in his daft idea of playing a greater Moses to his people, to the opposers of the Judenrat who dream of themselves as being allied with the Red Army and kidnap an American in hopes of his taking home news as to what is actually going on in the ghettos. I found nothing vulgar in the book other than what humans usually seem to be guilty of under such circumstances, in fact, I think there were only 4 curse words and no sex scenes. Just the same, the novel has a definite edge, as when the Judenrat members, which is a comittee of about 15 people who preside over law in the ghetto, must decide who first to send to the concentration camps, and find suicide is not an option. Trumpelman controls even that. I definitley recommend this for all and any who are looking for a book about the holocaust without the usual S&M tales of the gestapo agents with black and oiled leathered gloves, or more attention to the details of torturing and horror than to any of the people who lived through it, people much like us. It reminds me more, without giving away the ending, of how one feels when given an identity card of someone alive during the holocaust whose identity you take on, when entering the Washington DC Holocaust Museum, and it is only at the end of your tour, that you find out if they lived or died. But as you turn the pages of your passport, your identity, you never stop hoping.

Salvaged Pages: Young Writers` Diaries of the Holocaust (Yale Nota Bene)

Average customer rating:

Intense collection
Great to see this collection of works
moving, memorable, educational.....

Salvaged Pages: Young Writers` Diaries of the Holocaust (Yale Nota Bene)

Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Holocaust | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Jewish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0300103077

Book Description

This is a stirring collection of diaries written by young people, ages 12 to 22, during the Holocaust. Some of the writers were refugees, others were hiding or passing as non-Jews, some were imprisoned in ghettos, and nearly all perished before liberation.

Customer Reviews:

Intense collection.......2005-07-24

This collection provides 14 generous excerpts from journals of young people during the Shoah; the earliest diaries are from adolescents who got out before or just as things were getting bad, but as we go further on, the diaries get more intense in scope, moving from adolescents who weren't quite sure what was to come, to people who had some inkling but weren't quite sure the rumors were true, to finally young people in ghettos, young people who therefore knew how bad things were, although they didn't yet know what their final grisly fate was to be. Before each excerpt we also get a generous introduction to the author, his or her surroundings, what generally happened to the Jews of that particular city or town, and the diarist's final fate. Some of these young people survived, others perished, and still others' fates are unknown, though they are presumed to have perished. There's also an appendix detailing a number of other young diarists from the Shoah, some information on them, their fates, whether the diary is in a private collection, a museum, if it's been translated into English, or was published for the general public whatever language it's in. A lot of these young diarists were very literate and intelligent astute young people; it's incredibly sad how some of them died so young and therefore didn't get a chance to possibly become great writers. My only small complaint is that Poland is a little overrepresented; while it's true that at least half of the murdered came from Poland and that Poland was the nation that lost the greatest percentage of its prewar Jewish population by far, it would have been nice to have some variety in the locations, like maybe include more diaries from Germany, France, and Belgium, or ones from Holland, Hungary, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, and Greece, for example.

Great to see this collection of works.......2005-05-25

Even after countless movies and documentaries, nothing has personally ever made me direct as much attention to the tragedy of the holocaust than these young writers' words written in ghettos and in hiding places. Their optimism is heartbreaking when you learn of their fates, you see their struggles with hunger, fear of an uncertain future, their grief over losing loved ones and identity. But you also recognize their strength in troubled times and end up appreciating their courage to write, because you know it is essential that they should be known.

moving, memorable, educational............2002-08-13

i highly recommend this book. it is not only for those with historical interests. the diaries are so moving that this book will appeal to all. the writing is very vivid and the diarist's voice will stay with you for some time. zapruder has done an impecable job of introducing each entry. she sets the scene with such biographical and cultural detail that you feel at one with diarist before delving in. i was really moved by this book and encourage all to read it.

Holocaust Literature: An Encyclopedia of Writers and Their Work

Average customer rating:

Holocaust Literature: An Encyclopedia of Writers and Their Work
S. Kremer
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

History | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Literature | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Military | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0415929857

Book Description

Holocaust Literature falls in an international genre because Nazism affected many countries, and after the war survivors were scattered over the globe. It will prove a valuable resource to students, scholars, general readers, or to anyone interested in world history.

Featuring 300 alphabetically organized bio-critical essays on writers of memoirs, novels, poetry, and drama, ranging in length from 1,500 to 7,000 words, this comprehensive scholarly work presents a broad spectrum of voices remembering, interpreting, and reinterpreting one of the twentieth century's most politically and emotionally charged events. Including writers whose works first appeared in Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Yiddish, this reference provides wide international coverage, though its focus will be on writers whose work is available in English.

Key Features
* Includes a lengthy introduction discussing the special circumstances and characteristics of national literatures, and outlines the issues in the field
* Cross-lists authors and works by venue, literary theme, and category in an appendix
* General bibliography
* Article bibliography
* Thorough index, including names, places, and titles
* Maps

Average customer rating:

Anne Frank Life in Hiding
Anne frank
Anne Frank Life in Hidding
another breath taking book for such an intimate topic

Anne Frank: Life in Hiding
Johanna Hurwitz
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Europe | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Holocaust | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Teens | Subjects | Books

Holocaust | History & Historical Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Jewish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Children's Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0380732548
Release Date: 1999-12-08

Product Description

Anne Frank Life in Hiding From July 1942 until August 1944, a young girl named Anne Frank kept a diary. Keeping a diary isn't unusual. Lots of girls do. But Anne's diary was unique. It chronicled the two years she and her family spent hiding from the Germans who were determined to annihilate all the Jews in Europe. In this sensitive and thoughtful introduction to the Holocaust and to the life of one of its best known victims, acclaimed author Johanna Hurwitz deftly evokes the background of World War II while capturing the unforgettable spirit and tragedy of Anne's life. From July 1942 until August 1944, a young girl named Anne Frank kept a diary. Keeping a diary isn't unusual. Lots of girls do. But Anne's diary was unique. It chronicled the two years she and her family spent hiding from the Germans who were determined to annihilate all the Jews in Europe. In this sensitive and thoughtful introduction to the Holocaust and to the life of one of its best known victims, acclaimed author Johanna Hurwitz deftly evokes the background of World War II while capturing the unforgettable spirit and tragedy of Anne's life.

Customer Reviews:

Anne Frank Life in Hiding.......2005-12-02

This book is magical, because it shows you and makes you feel like you are the scene. It made me think how hard it would be to live like a young Jewish girl called Anne Frank living a life with guns being shot and having to move so much.
I can not imagine living like Anne that can only go to shops that have the Jewish signs, and not much of the stores had them. Anne was very brave to put up with this stuff every day. She is unbelievable, she was a great person. You should read this book because it can give you information and show how lucky we are that we have freedom to go anywhere we want to go.
I had a lot of fun reading this book and it showed me how lucky I am to be here in the United States. This book also taught me how cruel Hitler was to the Jewish and other people.

Anne frank.......2005-02-07

This book is filled with the ups and downs of Anne Frank, how she handles her problems, how life was being Jewish and happy memories of her life. It tells how Anne was a very energetic girl who had fun with friends and was very social. However, it also describes how hard life was for her, being Jewish, going into hiding and being captured and being transported to different concentration camps. Anne was born on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt Germany. During her time in hiding she kept all her secret thoughts in a diary that her mother and father (Edith and Otto Frank) gave to her the day she turned 13(June 12, 1942). Anne had a very strong bond with her father and sister (Margot) but not as strong with her mother but she still loved her dearly. This is a wonderful book and I recommend it to anyone who is interested about Anne Frank.

Anne Frank Life in Hidding.......2004-02-28

The summary on this book is this is a book about Anne Frank. It tells about her life and her diary. Also it tells about her troubles and her problems. In this book, people are put into concentration camps and poision gas room by the Nazis. If you don't know who the Nazis are, they are a type of group that dosen't like Jews.
Anne was born in 1856.Anne was very adventrous. She liked to write, so at the age of 13, her mom and dad bought her a diary. Anne was very talkative. Sha always got into trouble.
Some problems that she faced is hidding.She was hidding from the Nazis. She was hidding with another family and a dentist. Also another problem she faced is physical changes.
Some ways she solved her problems is by writting in her diary. In her diary she would write about things that were going on in her life. Another way she solved her problem is by hidding. This is a problem solver because if she didn't she would be in a concentration camp.

another breath taking book for such an intimate topic.......2000-06-23

This is another book about Anne Frank that I get the chance to read. Although there are many biographies about this wonderful human being, this book is the closest one that can answer the questions that all Anne Frank fan has. I did for many years just read the Diary over and over but I wanted more! This book is definetly more! It tells you more about the relationship she had with her family and the rest of the people in hiding. This is a girl who could hardly see the light coming from her window and the only green thing that she could think about was a huge chestnut outside the Annex. This book describes this little things that she cherished and that she no longer had....her freedom. She didn't either had freedom of speach inside the Annex due to the critics about her attitude. This book develops more information about why Anne acted like she did and why she had an open opinion about everything. It also gives you a bigger idea of why she didn't like her mother and develops more about her childhood around her family and her friends. I hope all readers that enjoy the Anne Frank writings will enjoy this description about her persona. Is a total different thing to read her diary knowing more about her life and early aspirations. ENJOY!

Regions of the Great Heresy: Bruno Schulz, a Biographical Portrait

Average customer rating:

Europe's most dedicated biographer

Regions of the Great Heresy: Bruno Schulz, a Biographical Portrait
Jerzy Ficowski
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Holocaust | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Eastern European | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0393051471

Book Description

"Bruno Schulz was one of the great writers....[His] verbal art strikes us—stuns, even—with its overload of beauty."—John Updike

Exactly sixty years after his death, Bruno Schulz (1892-1942) remains one of the twentieth century's greatest and most enigmatic writers—still the subject of front-page controversy. Here the renowned Polish poet Jerzy Ficowski presents the first biography of the man who, in the words of Isaac Bashevis Singer, "wrote sometimes like Kafka, sometimes like Proust, and at times succeeded in reaching depths that neither of them reached." In his novels and stories—The Street of Crocodiles, Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, and his missing masterpiece, The Messiah—Schulz employed a baroque, poetic style with a stunning surrealist edge. Including many of Schulz's paintings and personal letters as well as new information on the Mossad's theft of Schulz's murals from Poland in 2001, Regions of the Great Heresy is a cause for international celebration—a long-awaited work that will spark a renaissance of interest in Schulz's life. Published on the 60th anniversary of Schulz's death. 16 pages of color, 16 pages of black-and-white illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Europe's most dedicated biographer.......2007-06-08

Jerzy Ficowski's decades-long dedication to preserving the memory of Bruno Schulz has become legendary. This book is testament to his labors. It will long be the standard biography.

New Strangers in Paradise: The Immigrant Experience and Contemporary American Fiction

Average customer rating:

New Strangers in Paradise: The Immigrant Experience and Contemporary American Fiction
Gilbert H. Muller
Manufacturer: University Press of Kentucky
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Emigration & Immigration | Administrative Law | Law | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0813121345

World History Biographies: Anne Frank: The Young Writer Who Told the World Her Story (NG World History Biographies)

Average customer rating:

World History Biographies: Anne Frank: The Young Writer Who Told the World Her Story (NG World History Biographies)
Ann Kramer
Manufacturer: National Geographic Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Holocaust | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Jewish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1426300042
Release Date: 2007-02-27

Book Description

Anne Frank takes young readers back to the dark days of World War II through the story of the famous young diarist. Like teenagers everywhere, Anne wrote about friends, family, movies, her greatest joys, and her deepest fears. Through her vivid, tender entries we experience Anne's changing world, as persecution, hiding, and betrayal, become part of daily life in Nazi Europe.

Ann Kramer's superbly illustrated book also celebrates the enduring legacy of Anne Frank. Her story, now known to millions, is an inspiration for young readers—and writers—everywhere. This attractive, superbly illustrated volume will bring a new generation to a story that should never be forgotten.

Theatrical Performance during the Holocaust: Texts, Documents, Memoirs

Average customer rating:

Theatrical Performance during the Holocaust: Texts, Documents, Memoirs

Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0801870917

Book Description

Theatrical Performance during the Holocaust collects for the first time critical essays, memoirs, and primary source materials -- many never before available in English -- relating to the surprising history of Jewish drama, cabaret, music, and opera under the Third Reich. These documents offer the remarkable account of a phenomenon that existed across Nazi Europe -- in German cities, in Eastern European ghettos, and in concentration camps.

The Poems of Aemilia Lanyer: Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (Women Writers in English 1350-1850)

Average customer rating:

Refreshing Woman Writer of the Renaissance

The Poems of Aemilia Lanyer: Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (Women Writers in English 1350-1850)
Aemilia Lanyer
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Literature & Fiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Religion & Spirituality | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 019508361X

Book Description

Aemilia Lanyer (1569-1645) was the first woman poet in England who sought status as a professional writer. Her book of poems is dedicated entirely to women patrons. It offers a long poem on Christ's passion, told entirely from a woman's point of view, as well as the first country house poem published in England. Almost completely neglected until very recently, her work changes our perspective on Jacobean poetry and contradicts the common assumption that women wrote nothing of serious interest until much later. Mistress and friend of influential Elizabethan courtiers, Lanyer gives us a glimpse of the ideas and aspirations of a talented middle class Renaissance woman.

Customer Reviews:

Refreshing Woman Writer of the Renaissance.......2000-03-30

In Aemilia Lanyer's only volume of published poems, SALVE DEUS REX JUDAORUM, this Renaissance author uses beautifully crafted poetry to defend women against prevailing negative female stereotypes of the time. In "Eve's Apology," this portion of the poem is spoken from the point of view of Pontius Pilate's wife, who is begging for the life of Christ. She explores who really bares the guilt in original sin. She is passionate, yet uses reason in her argument (something women were not thought cabable of doing) and makes her point that any guilt all women may bear in original sin will be far overshadowed by the guilt men, in turn, may bear for Pilate's order to execute Christ.

Amazon.com

Forty years ago, novelist Herman Wouk wrote a book about his devotion to the Torah and the Talmud called This Is My God, which remains among the freshest and most quietly impassioned religious autobiographies in print today. The Will to Live On is Wouk's follow-up to that work, although its subject--the particular state of the Jewish people in the 20th century--is very different. Wouk promises to tackle all of the biggest subjects here: "the Holocaust, the reborn Jewish State, the prodigious yet precarious American diaspora, and the deepening religious schisms." And his broad-minded reflections on all of these topics--especially his explanation of modern Zionism's rise from the roots of ancient literature and history--are cleanly, forcefully, and respectfully written. Among Wouk's most penetrating insights are his reflections on Israel's struggle, throughout history, with the temptation of idolatry, and his conviction that the Holocaust at last purged Abraham's people of this "near-fatal cancer." The Will to Live On is a risky, wise book that deserves to be called prophetic.

Book Description

Herman Wouk has ranged in his novels from the mighty narrative of The Caine Mutiny and the warm, intimate humor of Marjorie Morningstar to the global panorama of The Winds of War and War and Remembrance. All these powers merge in this major new work of nonfiction, The Will to Live On, an illuminating account of the worldwide revolution that has been sweeping over Jewry, set against a swiftly reviewed background of history, tradition, and sacred literature.

Forty years ago, in his modern classic This Is My God, Herman Wouk stated the case for his religious beliefs and conduct. His aim in that work and in The Will to Live On has been to break through the crust of prejudice, to reawaken clearheaded thought about the magnificent Jewish patrimony, and to convey a message of hope for Jewish survival.

Although the Torah and the Talmud are timeless, the twentieth century has brought earthquake shocks to the Jews: the apocalyptic experience of the Holocaust, the reborn Jewish state, the precarious American diaspora, and deepening religious schisms. After a lifetime of study, Herman Wouk examines the changes affecting the Jewish world, especially the troubled wonder of Israel, and the remarkable, though dwindling, American Jewry. The book is peppered with wonderful stories of the author's encounters with such luminaries as Ben Gurion, Isidor Rabi, Yitzhak Rabin, Saul Bellow, and Richard Feynan.

Learned in general culture, warmly tolerant of other beliefs, this noted author expresses his own other beliefs, this noted author expresses his own faith with a passion that gives the book its fire and does so in the clear, engaging style that--as in all Wouk's fiction--makes the reader want to know what the next page will bring.

Herman Wouk writes, in The Will to Live On:

"And so the Melting Pot is beginning to work on Jewry. Its effect was deferred in the passing century by the shock of the Holocaust and the rise of Israel, but today the Holocaust is an academic subject, and Israel is no longer a beleaguered underdog. Amkha in America is not dying, it is slowly melting, and those are very different fates. Dying is a terror, an agony, a strangling finish, to be fought off by sheer instinct, by the will to live on, to the last breath. Melting is a mere diffusion into an ambient welcoming warmth in which one is dissolved and disappears, as a teaspoon of sugar vanishes into hot tea....

Yet here in the United States, for all the scary attrition I have pictured, we are still a community of over five million strong. . . . At a far stretch of my hopes, our descendants could one day be a diaspora comparable to Babylonia. At the moment, of course, that is beyond rational expectation. We have to concentrate on lasting at all. . . ."

Customer Reviews:

a little chatty but deeply moving.......2004-05-10

Anyone interested in Judaism, what it means to be a Jew, Jewish history, Jewish meaning will love this book. It's usually very well written eloquent prose although sometimes it's a bit too diary-conversational.

Another fine Wouk book.......2002-01-07

In a career of fifty years or so, Herman Wouk has published less than a dozen novels. Fortunately, the time he puts into his work shows and nearly all of his works are five-star quality. This book, a non-fiction follow-up to This Is My God (which is the only book of his I haven't read), continues the high-quality trend.

Although designed for a Jewish audience, this book has plenty to offer anyone who wishes to learn more about Judaism and the direction it is going. This is a good blend of history, theology and memoir, well-organized and filled with detail without losing readability. I found of particular interest the second part, "The Heritage, or the Power of a Dream" which describes the sources of Jewish thought and tradition.

Although not very religious myself, I am often fascinated with religion, and this book is a good addition to my collection on the subject. As he states in the Afterword, "If this book in any way helps readers to rethink the [future of Judaism] for themselves, I will have done, to the best of my ability, what I set out to do." He has accomplished this task very well.

What is Yiddishkeit?.......2001-12-04

One of many topics reviewed in this excellent book, possibly, but hopefully not the last of Herman Wouk's great literary career. From the author of numerous fictional works, including the epics Winds of War and War and Remembrance, this is the second of his major nonfiction books, published some 40 years after his first, "This is My God."

This 300-page book spans a greater time span, and is certainly more up to date than Heinrich Graetz's encyclopedic, multi-volume "History of the Jews." Aside from providing a succinct history of a people spanning over three millennia, Wouk addresses an even more important question of what will become of the Jews, having survived centuries of invasion, overthrow, exile, persecution and the Holocaust, only to be threatened with extinction through intermarriage and assimilation in the United States, and secular Judaism in Israel.

At times a difficult read because of its complex vocabulary, cultivated from Yiddish, Hebrew, Biblical and Talmudic colloquialisms, this is more than compensated for by its succinctness, its eyewitness perspective, and its inclusion in respective appendices, a glossary of terms, and biographical names.

Wouk certainly knows of what he speaks. Having been born into and Orthodox American Jewish family, Herman Wouk, is the grandson of a Russian Orthodox rabbi who moved to the United States in the 1920's, who later made aliyah in the 1950's, a member of what Tom Brokaw calls "The Greatest Generation," a World War II naval officer, a lifelong student of history, Old Testament, Talmud, Judaism, and Israel, Wouk has personally met such prominent figures as Prime Ministers Ben-Gurion and Ehud Barak of Israel, the Nobel winning physicist Richard Feynman. A must read for anyone interested in Jewish history, prognosis, Israel (ancient or modern)

A heartfelt look at Jewish survival!.......2000-12-03

At 84 years of age, Herman Wouk, one of the giants of contemporary American Jewish literature, presents his view of the survival of the Jewish people. His narrative moves back and forth between a thumbnail sketch of Jewish history and a colorful personal history . He indicates that the two motivating forces that have kept Judaism cohesive and growing during the twentieth century--the Holocaust and the birth of the state of Israel--are no longer of recent enough memory in the younger generation to ensure Jewish survival. Are there other factors, as the twenty-first century begins, that can influence young Jews to preserve their ancient heritage? This is the tough question the author attempts to address.

Wouk's whirlwind tour of Jewish history is unsatisfactory because it flies through time and presumes an in-depth knowledge by the reader. Far more satisying are the author's personal reflections as to how his life experiences and knowledge of the past allow him to appreciate his Jewish heritage. What seem to be lacking at the beginning of the book book are fill-in-the-blank kind of things. It is almost as if the author's intention is to get his readers to find the missing information by going to Judaic sources and reading what they need to know to preserve the Jewish faith. Nice ploy!

THE WILL TO LIVE ON concludes with Wouk's thoughts about the survival of the Jewish people into the distant future. His impressions differ regarding the Jews of Israel and those of the diaspora. He has one especially important thought to share about how diaspora Jewry can ensure their survival. It's not worth peeking at the last few pages of the book ahead of time, however, because the strength of Wouk's case slowly builds throughout the narrative. The reader can then sit back and truly savor the elderly author's insightful conclusion.

Eloquent and Inspiring for the Most Part.......2000-05-25

I would agree with the superlatives described in a previous review. I was particularly moved by the sweep of history described up through the 3rd Destruction. I was particularly moved by the section about the fall of the 2nd Temple and about Yahveh. The descriptions of Jewish literature and thought through the ages was very good.

Unfortunately, I was hoping for a more creative, less tradition bound ending, more in the style of Dershowitz in The Vanishing American Jew or Mordecai Kaplan in Judaism as a Civilization - see next paragraph). I have lately become a Reconstructionist Jew (a branch of Judaism founded by Mordecai Kaplan). Many of us find it particularly relevant to our needs as American Jews (our prior affiliations have been Reform). Not only was I puzzled to find the very word lacking as an option for the Jewish future anywhere in the book but lacking in all but one sentence in the middle of the book. Is he not familiar with it?

Elsewhere, I was confused by his use of the word Neology which I took as a critical bias toward one liberal theology?

After showing the book to a friend, I was suprised to learn about Wouk's misleading information with respect to Hannah Arendt's supposed relationship with a Nazi (via scholarly footnotes) which Wouk uses to discredit her views on the Eichmann trial in ..Banality of Evil. Her credentials are far better than Wouk implies. The distortion works in part by merging time periods of events separated by years.

Although Wouk admires an large number of intelligent people / leaders, to my recollection they are nearly if not all men.

After finishing the book, these considerations led me to be less confident about its overall accuracy .

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books