An orthodox Jew of today examines his faith, explores the history and the sources of his religion and his people. That this Jew should be Herman Wouk, successful novelist and playwright, insures his book a reception- if not an acceptance- far beyond the barriers of the religious book field. Thoughtful non-Jews, who have felt the need and the want of a clarification of Judaism, will find here their answer in terms that many of their Jewish friends will violently reject. For the opposition camp will be the Jewish camp. Non-practising Jews will feel resentful at the clear call to acceptance and understanding of their faith; Conservative and Reform Jews will resent the rejection of any path other than orthodoxy; assimilationists will resent the presumption that they are betraying themselves in attempting to wipe out their heritage. But a great many Jews who feel defrauded over their ignorance about their background, will learn here —in as much or little degree as they wish- the facts of Jewish faith, of the law, of the history of development, of the holidays and holy days, their history, significance and observance, of the difficulties- and the possibility- of following the path of the law in today's society. The liturgy too is discussed, more in spirit than in detail. And throughout the book, the ideals, the aspirations, the fibre of Judaism is contagiously reflected-providing together the answer to the miracle of Jewish survival for 3000 years and the miracle today of Israel.
Pub Date: Sept. 16, 1959
ISBN: 0316955140
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1959
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
If the authors are serious, this is a silly, distasteful book. If they are not, it’s a brilliant satire.
The authors have created a sort of anti-Book of Virtues in this encyclopedic compendium of the ways and means of power.
Everyone wants power and everyone is in a constant duplicitous game to gain more power at the expense of others, according to Greene, a screenwriter and former editor at Esquire (Elffers, a book packager, designed the volume, with its attractive marginalia). We live today as courtiers once did in royal courts: we must appear civil while attempting to crush all those around us. This power game can be played well or poorly, and in these 48 laws culled from the history and wisdom of the world’s greatest power players are the rules that must be followed to win. These laws boil down to being as ruthless, selfish, manipulative, and deceitful as possible. Each law, however, gets its own chapter: “Conceal Your Intentions,” “Always Say Less Than Necessary,” “Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy,” and so on. Each chapter is conveniently broken down into sections on what happened to those who transgressed or observed the particular law, the key elements in this law, and ways to defensively reverse this law when it’s used against you. Quotations in the margins amplify the lesson being taught. While compelling in the way an auto accident might be, the book is simply nonsense. Rules often contradict each other. We are told, for instance, to “be conspicuous at all cost,” then told to “behave like others.” More seriously, Greene never really defines “power,” and he merely asserts, rather than offers evidence for, the Hobbesian world of all against all in which he insists we live. The world may be like this at times, but often it isn’t. To ask why this is so would be a far more useful project.
If the authors are serious, this is a silly, distasteful book. If they are not, it’s a brilliant satire.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-670-88146-5
Page Count: 430
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1998
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