An essential collection of Judaica that ably combines the known and the obscure.
The sixth book in an anthology series about Jewish history and culture that covers the years 1750 to 1880.
The latest volume, edited by Carlebach—a professor of Jewish history, culture, and society and director of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies at Columbia University—contains a wide range of material by and about major Jewish figures of the era, including autobiographical excerpts, poetry, fiction, and scholarly writing. Authors include well-known figures, such as Karl Marx, and lesser-known ones, such as socialite and poet Rebecca Franks, known as the “Jewish Belle” of Philadelphia. Sections devoted to visual and material culture include images of finials on the rolls that hold Torah scrolls, a stylized topographic map of Israel by scribe and illustrator Moses Ganbash, and paintings such as one depicting a Jewish burial society from the late 1700s. Also included are excerpts from sheet music, such as that for Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Ancienne melodie de la synagogue from 1844. Even those who are well versed in the time period will learn much from these pages, which include a wide range of material, from an epistle that expresses opposition to Hasidism, penned by scholar Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, to a piece on bare-knuckle boxing by an Englishman known as “Mendoza the Jew.” The greatest takeaways from the work involve questions that readers may not have considered; for example, just how did a soldier go about celebrating Passover in the middle of the Civil War, as a Union Army private set out to do in 1862? An account from American Mordecai Sheftall, who was captured by the British in 1778 during the Revolutionary War, is brief but highly engaging. Other, more well-known sources don’t have the same enlightening appeal; for instance, excerpts from the work of Benjamin Disraeli prove relatively dry, with familiar statements, such as how “the fitness of a material object for a material purpose is a test of its utility.” Images of items such as an amulet made to protect pregnant women from Lilith, Adam’s first wife in biblical lore, create more lasting states of wonder.
An essential collection of Judaica that ably combines the known and the obscure.Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-300-19000-7
Page Count: 600
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A heartfelt if somewhat unsurprising view of old age by the former president. Carter (Living Faith, 1996, etc.) succinctly evaluates the evolution and current status of federal policies concerning the elderly (including a balanced appraisal of the difficulties facing the Social Security system). He also meditates, while drawing heavily on autobiographical anecdotes, on the possibilities for exploration and intellectual and spiritual growth in old age. There are few lightning bolts to dazzle in his prescriptions (cultivate family ties; pursue the restorative pleasures of hobbies and socially minded activities). Yet the warmth and frankness of Carter’s remarks prove disarming. Given its brevity, the work is more of a call to senior citizens to reconsider how best to live life than it is a guide to any of the details involved.
Pub Date: Oct. 26, 1998
ISBN: 0-345-42592-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998
An accessible, informative journey through complex issues during turbulent times.
Immersion journalism in the form of a graphic narrative following a Syrian family on their immigration to America.
Originally published as a 22-part series in the New York Times that garnered a Pulitzer for editorial cartooning, the story of the Aldabaan family—first in exile in Jordan and then in New Haven, Connecticut—holds together well as a full-length book. Halpern and Sloan, who spent more than three years with the Aldabaans, movingly explore the family’s significant obstacles, paying special attention to teenage son Naji, whose desire for the ideal of the American dream was the strongest. While not minimizing the harshness of the repression that led them to journey to the U.S.—or the challenges they encountered after they arrived—the focus on the day-by-day adjustment of a typical teenager makes the narrative refreshingly tangible and free of political polemic. Still, the family arrived at New York’s JFK airport during extraordinarily political times: Nov. 8, 2016, the day that Donald Trump was elected. The plan had been for the entire extended family to move, but some had traveled while others awaited approval, a process that was hampered by Trump’s travel ban. The Aldabaans encountered the daunting odds that many immigrants face: find shelter and employment, become self-sustaining quickly, learn English, and adjust to a new culture and climate (Naji learned to shovel snow, which he had never seen). They also received anonymous death threats, and Naji wanted to buy a gun for protection. He asked himself, “Was this the great future you were talking about back in Jordan?” Yet with the assistance of selfless volunteers and a community of fellow immigrants, the Aldabaans persevered. The epilogue provides explanatory context and where-are-they-now accounts, and Sloan’s streamlined, uncluttered illustrations nicely complement the text, consistently emphasizing the humanity of each person.
An accessible, informative journey through complex issues during turbulent times.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-30559-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Metropolitan/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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