5 comments about Memoirs of Glueckel of Hameln.

1. Fascinating description of an educated Jewish woman's life in the 1600's with an amazing amount of travel in Northern Europe pertaining to family matters and business. It was not a small world by any means. She was a bit effusive in her thanks and acceptance of her life with moralising, but her description of her life is outstanding.



2. Anyone wanting to get a profound insight into the life of Jews in Germany during the 17th Century as told with true life experiences by an outstanding mother, wife and businesswoman of the time, must read this book. My wife and I bought two so that we could read and discuss every paragraph together, and we really got caught up in the emotions and life experiences of this era in Jewish and German history. Told in simple language and with profound true life experiences and deep religious belief, as only this extraordinary Jewess could have transposed us to this era and the every day life and the hardships and tribulations of German Jews already then.



3. Gluckel of Hameln is the diary of a frum woman from the 1600's. We don't have any real information from this period except from some unavailable books of Rabbi Yaakov Emden. In her diary, she speaks of events of life, death, the Plague, Shabsai Tzvi, and how she raised her family during this hard time in Jewish History.
   This version of the book come in paperback and is annotated. The translation from the original version is pretty good considering that some words don't translate well from one language to another. The introduction gives some of her story away but important to read to understand her approach in writing this diary.
   I bought this book and have given it to my best friends for motivational and historical reading. BUY THIS BOOK!



4. It is a privilege to read a personal memoir of an inhabitant of 17th-century Germany. I have read "history books" about this period, but Glueckel's memoir tells me how it felt to be actually present. Glueckel is a good writer, although I'm sure the translator also deserves some of the credit.



5. THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST BORING BOOKS I'VE EVER READ. IT WAS REPETATIVE. THE ONLY INTERESTING PARTS WAS THE DEPICTION OF LIFE OF JEWS OF THAT TIME.
   ALSO THAT A 14 YEAR OLD FEMALE COULD ACCOMPLISH SO MUCH AS WIFE, MOTHER, BUSINESS WOMAN. IT NEEDED TO BE RE-WRITTEN BY A POLISHED AUTHOR.

5 comments about Parallel Journeys.

1. Seriously this book is impossible to stop reading once you pass a certain point. I stayed up 'til seven in the morning reading this book. Mind you I started reading that night around ten or eleven at night. It is seriously that captivating. This book tells some very important and over-all relatively unknown facts about the period surrounding WWII. It is an intriguing and captivating book that I believe every human being high school age and older should read. I also think it should be added to high school curriculums.



2. This book is not your usual book. It details the lives of Ayran Alfons Heck and Jewish Helen Waterford.
   
   Alfons was a member of the Hitler Youth and fought-and even met Adolf Hitler. After the war he was depressed about the things that he and his countrymen did to the Jews and moved first to Canada and then to the U.S.
   
   Helen is a Jew who spend part of the war hiding with her husband. They were eventually caught. Helen's husband did not survive, but Helen did, eventually moving from Holland to the U.S. with her daughter Doris.
   
   While in the U.S Helen read some of the things Alfons wrote about and contacted him leading to a friendship and career as they travel telling their stories to students all over the place.
   
   A very moving book!



3. WOW, what a book i would say. It's a very moving book about the memoirs of Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck during WWII.This book should be in high school history not to say only for high schoolers but 12 year olds and up.



4. The world must never forget the holocaust. Today some people espouse a theory that the nearly 12,000,000 deaths (6,000,000 of them Jews) at the hands of the Nazi party never happened. This sad, but honest, tale traces the lives of two persons who lived through that era. Helen Waterford was a Jew who experienced the atrocities first hand. Alfons Heck was a high ranking member of Hitler's youth. Both lived to tell their tales. Both met each other after the war. Both told their tales together. This book alternates chapters between the two principle characters so the reader can witness this period through eyes on both sides of the ideological conflict. This is really two books in one. Either story will challenge the mind and heart. Either one of the stories is an important read, but both placed together in this manner makes for a 5-star book. Our local middle school uses this classic in some of the literature classes. You will be richer for having read this book.



5. Although this was a book about great sorrow and despair, the strength of the human spirit shines through in the heart and mind of Helen Waterford. What was also astounding was the thoughts and emotions of Alfons Heck. What a horrific time--more than the mind can comprehend...and what a truly amazing journey of the souls that brought these two people together.
   
   I highly recommend this book to everyone. I just finished reading it and passed it along to my daughter.

2 comments about Out of Egypt: A Memoir.

1. Out of Egypt, is a very special memoir about growing up in Alexandria before the author and his family were forced to move from Egypt in 1965 . It's a fascinating memoir of a time and place that no longer exists, and a wonderfully written account .



2. I read these memoirs with strict concentration on all features of the environment that provided the interesting material to this book.
   
   From childhood of elderly relatives that was somewhat unhappy and bordering on deprivation, the family living off charity, in areas where the primary social groups' life revealed a pattern of neglect, moral [...] , and disregard for law.
   
   I watched a collection of things making people of the same feather sharing a common attribute. Perhaps I should say that a small part of these features I lived myself (1952-56). The message Andre Aciman is giving me is also addressed to every member of a clan feeling alien in the environment in which one was found, and resisted to share.
   
   You are taken back in time to the beginning of the twentieth century until the mid fifties. I never felt strange to uncle Vili, Aunt Clara, or Tante Lotte, like these people exist in the annals of many families' chronological account of events in any successive years.
   
   How much true it is when one had become a success story and thus an object of intense jealousy on the part of his less fortunate confreres. One would definitely feel better off to keep ones apart from ones fellows.
   Walking on tight ropes during WWII to keep balance between complete annihilation and survival is not impossible, or unethical, though the uncomplimentary remarks Uncle Vili used to make about the warring parties - about them both - in private, now remained no secret. We all tend to do the same thing when cornered; won't we? This is legitimate quest for survival amid a world run in madness, Uncle Vili appeared uncomplicated enough.
   
   Those were the people we came to know in Egypt in the mid-fifties, their private life, their intimate charm, their gentleness, their direct and affectionate manner, their kindness and modesty which remained unchanged even at the very height of their predicaments.
   
   We knew people like Uncle Vili, their sense of humor, coupled with caustic wit with their servants - Egyptians and/or Sudanese - that their good nature forsook them and their tongue became capable of mordant, wounding remarks. In the company of their intimate friends, they would throw off the habitual reserve they displayed on public occasions and behave like the big boy scouts which they remained in one corner of their personality - Pashas attitudes.
   
   Andre Aciman: I salute you.

5 comments about Five Chimneys: The Story of Auschwitz.

1. We know it happened; many of us have read books by others on the same subject--and yet it is hard to believe what went on. People gassed and tossed into ovens (even though some weren't even completely dead...) Then you've got your so-called Dr. Mengele who performed castrations on patients (male as well as female) without anesthetics. It goes on. It's gut-churning, but needs to be read. Because if we don't read about what happened, and if we don't see films about it--not only to honor all the innocent who were murdered (six million of the Jewish faith, and another six million non-Jewish), but as a reminder to remain vigil, keep alert...because you've got wannabe little Hitler jerks all over the place who'd love to do a re-peat of what their sorry and confused, not to mention mentally imbalanced "hero" set out to accomplish back in the 1940s--and, thankfully failed.
   
   Makes you wonder what Olga Lengyel's life was like after she survived her ordeal. How do you go on, knowing that your husband, your two kids and both of your parents were senselessly slaughtered? How was she able to endure?
   
   I read somewhere that she died a few years back. Not much else about her on the internet.
   All I can say is read the book--and pass it on to someone else.
   
   R.I.P.



2. I was captured by this book. It is amazing what the human body and mind can endure. Also appalling what horrors humans can put upon each other. I was afraid it would be too graphic or depressing but it was quite the opposite. You get a very good idea of what it was like, i.e., the point is made. This book is a lesson about civilization and I could not put it down.



3. One of the top few books I've read about the holocaust. Riveting. Couldn't put it down. One of those "stories" that really hook you - you can't wait to see what happens next and you're a little horrified that you're reading it so avidly and enjoying it. At the same time you feel such sadness for the people who lived (and didn't) through it.



4. Incredible book! Can't stop reading once you start. This books is the prove "THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!!" Very heartbreaking. It will change your life.



5. This review is based on the original (1947) edition. Let's focus on some seldom-developed issues.
   
   Large numbers of Polish clergy were sent to Auschwitz in the early years of the camp. However, Lengyel reports many more arriving in 1944 (pp. 108-110). They were often put to death immediately; the remainder being subject to degrading humiliations and tortures. Polish children were frozen to death (p. 210) and mostly Polish women were used by the Germans for vivisection experiments. (p. 176) Ironically, the Germans forgot their racism when they included the use of Jewish blood for transfusions to save the lives of wounded German soldiers. (p. 176)
   
   Recent claims that Jews and homosexuals were consistently treated the most harshly are fallacious. Lengyel says: "It would be difficult to say which of the internees were treated worst. Most of us, whether political, racial, or criminal prisoners, were reduced to existence on the animal level. But the Jews and the Russians were treated cruelly. On the other hand, the German internees, whether common-law criminals, perverts, or political prisoners, benefited from certain privileges. They provided large numbers of the camp functionaries; and, no matter what their duties, were never chosen in the dreaded `selection'." (p. 44) In fact, homosexuals were also victimizers: "The prisoners, men or women, were frequently abused by the German barrack leaders, among whom was a high percentage of homosexuals and other perverts." (p. 185) The camp "beasts" included Irma Griese, an SS woman (p. 40) and bisexual, who forced her way on female inmates and then disposed of them when she got tired of them. (pp. 185-186)
   
   Lengyel describes the Sonderkommando revolt, as well as the escape of a Polish inmate with his Jewess lover (pp. 124). Unfortunately, the SS uniforms that they had stolen fooled the Germans for only a few weeks.
   
   Once finished with the Jews, the Germans intended to do the same to the Slavs. After describing gruesome experiments designed to perfect mass-sterilization methods (pp. 177-179), Lengyel comments: "Once we asked an Aryan German inmate, a former social worker, for the basic reason for the sterilization and castration. Before his captivity he had been active in German politics and had known many eminent people. He told us that the Germans had a geopolitical reason for these experiments. If they could sterilize all non-German people still alive after their victorious war, there would be no danger of new generations of `inferior' peoples. At the same time, the living populations would be able to serve as laborers for about thirty years. After that time, the German surplus population would need all the space in these countries, and the `inferiors' would perish without descendants." (pp. 179-180)

5 comments about In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer.

1. Unlike most characters featured in such books, Irene Opdyke had no vested interest in helping the Jews during the Nazi occupation of Poland. She began her work in small, timid steps, gradually growing more bold and forceful as she matured. The story is told in an entirely credible and sympathetic way, without forcing young readers to wade though long narratives of graphic atrocities. I found the afterward to be the most moving and memorable part of the entire book.



2. I often think of this woman in my day to day life. She serves as a testament to all mankind that we must put others first and fight for the just cause. What she went through herself is quite harrowing. I am happy that she has been honored with a tree planted in her name at Yad Vashem in Israel. An easy read and a book that you cannot put down. She is truly inspirational.



3. My 14-year-old daughter read this book and insisted that I read it. When I finally agreed, I could not put the book down. The story is so well told that you can can truly understand the experience of a 17-year-old girl in the midst of the horrible events. A compelling book that everyone should read and discuss.



4. Whereas the novel I mentioned in my title left me feeling cold (not to mention the author was a small child when she writes about her experiences, which must be grainy), this powerful account is simply written, but also written well. It's deliciously descriptive and emotional. I felt like I did walk in Irene's shoes, for I saw everything through her eyes (true, it was written in first-person point-of-view), instead of like watching a movie.
   
   By the way, I think this would make a great film, though I am not sure if there is an actress beautiful enough to play Irene (who really should be played by a young, unknown girl, age appropriate, not a trashy pop starlet, who would degrade).
   
   Through it all (being raped by two Russian soldiers and left for dead, becoming a German officer's mistress to protect her Jewish friends, etc.), Irene maintains an innocence that is refreshing, and when she loses her first truelove before they have a chance to marry, it broke my heart.
   
   I will say I have an even dimmer view of the Catholic Church than I did before (not Catholics in general, just some of the politics of the religion), because when Irene goes to a priest to confess being a German's lover to save the lives of her friends, he says, "They are Jews", and I could actually hear the inflection in his voice that said, "They're just Jews", like they weren't worth saving. This un-Christlike priest refuses to give her absolution, which, from a doctrinal standpoint I understand, but not from a spiritual standpoint. Yes, Irene was sinning, but she was not committing crimes against humanity, and I believe my God is a merciful and just God and that He understands for He can see Irene's soul.
   
   This deeply religious, courageous woman has earned my respect and her chronicle is hardcover worthy.



5. First I listened to the book on audio. I liked it so much I got the book a year later andit it. Amazing story of survival. Hiding right in a Nazi officers home. WOW. What courage.
   
   A must read for those who what to never forget.
   
   Uplifting to what we can and will do for others when we have to.

5 comments about In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale.

1. I enjoyed this book immensely as I have lived and researched in the Kanara Coast of India where a main character in the book spends a great deal of his life and where there have been from early times trade relations with the Middle East. Although I have not researched in the Egypt I can relate to many research experiences of the author. It was a real treat for me. Martha B. Ashton-Sikora



2. I had read this book few years ago , but recently I had a conversation with a freind about it. I just thought I would like to have a copy and read it again.
   A book that I will recomend .



3. I found this book extremely dry and slow moving. All the other reviews focus on the master-slave relationship. I kept waiting for this part of the plot to get moving, and it was 200 pages before it even happened. "The Hungry Tide" is a far better work by this author.



4. If National Geographic stories reconstructing a stone-age human from its fossilized remains dug out of the ashes of a volcano (such as in physical anthropology) fail to engage your fascination, chances are that this story will seem more academic to you than the home work assignment to watch History Channel. I am one such history-averse person and the book was too slow to start. However, I finished it with a renewed respect for social anthropology and its relevance to the world we live in. The way a story of a 12th century Egyptian trader can be relevant to the social, cultural, political and business of our times is hard to ignore and not take heed of. Besides, it is fascinating to learn how a small set of information sources with varying degrees of reliability can be connected like dots that reveal the story of a 800 year old human life in all its aspects.
   
   Some of the revelations in the book that left me agape were: the rich history of trade between Indian and Egypt that made a lasting impact on the evolution of both countries and her peoples; the complex way in which the social temper and cultural identity of a country are entrenched in religion, thus making religion the primary tool for governing powers to achieve political and business goals in ways that are irreversibly divisive; the power of a united few with a disruptive agenda over the divided many with a peaceful one.
   
   Apparently, this book is part of the course reading for anthropology students at UC, Santa Cruz (and possibly many other universities worldwide), as I found out from a student sitting next to me in the plane. However, Amitav Ghosh's extensive research goes beyond anthropology and throws light on relevant topics of today such as Iraq & the Middle East, the cultural divide between Jewish, Muslims, Christians and Hindus, the Indian identity, and the massive social changes that conservative rural Muslims are grappling with.



5. Dr. Ghosh is a social anthropologist by training, and a gentle one at that. He is also a gifted writer and a masterful storyteller. At least that is the impression I have formed from reading this book.
   
   The book is part travelogue, part history and part anthropology. These three themes have been interwoven carefully, much like the layers of a leavened bread. And then there are gems of insights, somewhat like raisins mixed in the bread. The effect is somewhat soulful, and leaves you wonderstruck, not just at the story he tells, but als the skill and craftmanship with which he tell it.
   
   The pace is slow, like sipping a fine drink, and rolling it slowly around with your tongue to get the flavour. Several readers have found this annoying, but I did not. It did not cause any loss of interest, but had me coming back to the book over a week, waiting expectantly for the story to unfurl, and looking forward to that raisin.
   
   The base story is about a Jewish merchant, who migrated to India in the middle of 12th century, married and lived there for nearly 20 years. He also acquired a 'slave', who serves as the opening gambit of the book.
   
   Dr. Ghosh followed his (merchant's) trail, as a doctoral project and hence lived for several years in a village Egypt. This gave him an opportunity to juxtapose his own story with that of the merchant, and show how the cultures and religions of the region have moved apart and yet have remained intertwined. He also uses the narrative to share his views on modernity, technology, colonisation, war and how it affects all our lives.
   
   I found that the insights which he helps you get are very special - for instance, the bewilderment faced by Indians in the face of European attempts to monoploize trade routues in the Indian Ocean, when for centuries trade had prospered through cooperation and not domination. Similarly, how his visit to an ancient tomb in modern Egypt could have the police after him, themselves bewildered at what an Indian could be doing at a Jewish/Muslim sacred place. Or that 'slave' is a multi-textured word, with different meanings and implications across history and places.
   
   I have now been given to understand that his other books also have similar qualities, and I am keenly looking forward to reading these.
   
   The Hardcover edition that I read has been published by Penguin India and is available only in the subcontinent. The binding and paper was good, and for once, there were no printing errors. The type-face is nice and large, and the book is very good value at Rs.495.
   
   An excellent book, especially if you are interested in how the past continues to live with the present, despite changing all the time.

5 comments about Eyewitness Auschwitz: Three Years in the Gas Chambers.

1. It is hard to read this book because the subject matter is so grim. It is not written especially well but the unique view of the author makes this an important document. It is clear that the Nazi plan developed over time and it was truly a murder machine. This story from inside the machine is sad and ultimately worth reading and remembering.



2. This book was extremely slow. At times it was alright but there are much better books out there about the Holocaust and World War II



3. Nobody should be critical of the writing "style" of this book. The man who wrote it doesn't claim to be a professional writer. He relates his own eyewitness accounts of the most horrific scenes, worse than any fiction imaginable. The book details the planned and cunning killing of thousands upon thousands of living human beings, and the struggle by the SS to dispose of the mountains of remains. A terribly sad and unforgettable book. Thanks to Mr. Muller for sharing this horror with the world. Read it if you can. The world needs to experience this, and remember it, forever.



4. This book is so amazing. It really brings you to that time period and what he went through every day when he was there. I love this book.



5. An outstanding account of one man's experiance. I liked the way the story was told with more of a narative perspective rather than a dramatic one. I think this allows you to feel your own emotions rather than the authors. I intend to visit soon and see it 1st hand. May we never forget.

1 comments about Dumbfounded: Big Money. Big Hair. Big Problems. Or Why Having It All Isn't for Sissies..

1. On the back cover of DUMBFOUNDED, Matt Rothschild is said to be "the man David Sedaris could have been if he'd been part of an esteemed family on Manhattan's Upper East Side." Likening yourself to a famous writer is always a no-no for emerging authors, but Rothschild's memoir lives up to the comparison. While he doesn't yet have the near-flawless style of Sedaris, this first memoir is not something to be discounted or brushed off as amateur.
   
   Rothschild was raised by his grandparents in New York, while his mother lived her own life in Italy. Throughout the years his family situation, weight, Jewish ethnicity and emerging sexual orientation separated him from his peers. While many children in a similar situation would fade into the background, Rothschild fights back with humor, sarcasm and by singing Judy Garland songs --- one of which he performs at a school talent show. Unfortunately, the humor and sarcasm aren't always appreciated, and he finds himself being shuffled from school to school --- albeit private school to school --- until he enters college.
   
   While Rothschild's childhood is atypical, so is his level of responsibility. As he grows older and his grandparents' health declines, his mother and uncle are caught up in their own lives --- leaving him to provide care, make adult decisions, and juggle ensuring his grandmother isn't taking the car out on joyrides with trying to have his own social life back at college. It is this level of personal responsibility matched with independence and humility that cause Rothschild to make a decision that will radically change his future.
   
   From the beginning, Rothschild hooks us with humor. The first 80 pages are dedicated to childhood antics and funny dialogue from his grandparents, and this is the part of the memoir that reads just like Sedaris. However, Rothschild breaks out of the Sedaris style when he talks about his mother. While every other scene in the book is light with occasional serious undertones, any mention of his mom is just plain heavy. It is in these situations that he switches from Sedaris's style to that of Jennifer Lauck --- an author whose memoirs make us cry for the little girl who loses her parents at an early age.
   
   The problem is that, while Rothschild's strength is humorous narrative, he doesn't excel at the type of dramatic writing that made Lauck so effective. When I read Rothschild's humor, I am so mesmerized by the story that I forget I am reading words on a page. But with the introduction of any narrative about his mother, I have moved from mesmerization to being fully aware that I am reading about something that has touched the author deeply but does not flow as a narrative should. In these instances, instead of being captivated by the writing and thus transported into the world he is narrating, I am propelled back to the book itself and feel as though I am reading a draft for critique at a writing group.
   
   This, however, is my only complaint, and I'm sure one that is not unusual for a review of someone's first work. The story behind the narration is intense, heart-wrenching and full of plot twists, and this makes up for any flaws in the actual writing. Rothschild presents a boy trying desperately to fit in and failing at almost every turn. His story reads so well that it easily could be fiction, and his characters are so rich with personality that they all could have been invented. But the fact that they are not makes it a precious and priceless tale, and one that anybody --- whether like Rothschild or completely different --- will find worth reading.
   
   --- Reviewed by Shannon Luders-Manuel

5 comments about Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in One of the World's Most Elite Counterterrorism Units.

1. I bought this book hoping to see if Aaron received any Krav Maga training and what he thought about it, and I got what I wanted. His descriptions of the Krav training were terrific. It's pretty aggressive stuff, always testing your determination. But he also tells a compelling story. Growing up in LA, seeing his parents hang out with the stars, he needed some direction in life. He, of course, goes to Israel, joins the military and tries out for their special forces. Very gritty descriptions of the hell they put him through, the long-distance march, the heat, becoming delirious. He details some of the Israeli special forces missions, which are fascinating. I loved the story where he pretends to be a reporter "interviewing" a bad guy. Then he unleashes some pent-up aggression. I wanted more special forces stories. But I realize he can only tell what he is allowed to tell.



2. Aaron Cohen is the epitome of strength and courage. He's a man who wouldn't let anything stop him from achieving his goal; making aliyah to Israel and joining the toughest counterterrorism military units in the world. The reader gets an inside view of Israeli special forces training along with Israeli history, culture, and values. Cohen tells it like it is, very in-your-face. It was very hard to put down and an intense fast read. One of my favorite moments was when Cohen returned to the kibbutz and Gali greeted him in Hebrew and treated him like a fellow warrior. Very touching, inspirational, and fascinating story.



3. I found this book to be very interesting. It takes you thru the life of an individual who leaves CA to return to Israel to become a special operator. It was interesting to read of the differences between American and Israeli training methods. Easy to read, well worth the money.



4. A good read and a fascinating story, Cohen becomes a man in the IDF and makes it to a special unit. The story brought me back to my days in the IDF. Some details are a bit exaggerated for effect or inaccurate but it doesn't take from the quality of the story.



5. I got this book about 20 days ago and I just finished. If I can use one word to describe this book it will be "introspection". The author spends about 50% of his narrative on his Jewishness and his desire to be in touch with it entirely. A lot of the introspection is about his childhood and upbringing; moving to Israel; life in Israel; and his feelings/reactions to special operations in the IDF special forces (Duvdevan). The other 50% is very unrevealing in the way of military operations. Very little is conveyed in the way of tradecraft and what is revealed is very basic. He does provide a glimpse into IDF special mission units, but just a glimpse. Of course, he is protecting operational security and methods, but it leaves a lot to be desired of a book with such a title. It seems like the story glosses over missions and operations and then he abruptly ends the book with his exit from the Israeli Defense Forces. It then becomes a little preachy on the lack of American resolve post-9/11. Otherwise, a good book with something to be desired. I came away feeling like he could have written more.

5 comments about Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir.

1. Take a young child who relies on his parents for a fair-minded view of the world. Add a major dose of terror and uncertainty in describing an irrational, mean-spirited God who will strike you down if you walk four steps without a yamulke or dare to eat a McDonald's burger (as if God didn't have more important things to worry about). Sprinkle in liberal doses of hypocracy from abusive rabbis, teachers, and parents. It's a sure formula for a very confused, very angry adult.
   
   We've seen it with Islamic fundamentalists...with certain Christian evangelists...and here's the Jewish version of the story. Shalom (his name means "peace" in Hebrew) navigates a rigid orthodox upbringing, where the simplest day-to-day activities -- eating, dressing, even opening a refrigerator door during Sabbath -- have the potential to bring down the wrath of God. Since, in many children's eyes, God equates father, it's no surprise that this fear is maximized because Shalom's father is physically and emotionally abusive.
   
   Shalom Auslander uses humor (just like Augusten Burroughs, his advertising background has kept him in good stead; this is a breezy read in places) to reveal the downright silliness and ultimate harm of fundamental religiosity. His anger at his parents is very thinly veiled, and his desire to be a better father for his own son is poignant.
   
   It's always been amazing to this reader that grown, intelligent men and women take ancient religious precepts at face value, without exploration or examination (Auslander quotes directly from the Talmud about a particularly gruesome torture for those who flaunt God's rules, for example). I urge those readers to pick up a copy of Christopher Hitchen's book "God Is Not Great". However, I suspect that certain readers won't be able to get out of their comfort zone and admit what Shalom Auslander already knows...it is nothing short of theological abuse to submit innocent children to mean-spirited, fundamentalist beliefs of ANY religion.



2. Auslander is incredibly funny in his "memoir". I originally came across him in a GQ article and had to read his other material. He provided some great points about God and "theological Abuse" in this book. His negative & nonstop thoughts are both hilarious and very universal. He is in constant fear of an angry God and his idiotic rambles and stupid stunts are only fodder for a great story.



3. ...and indeed, he keeps you guessing. Well-written, heartbreaking. So amazing how he gets the reader to sympathize with his abusive father. I just have one critique, which is why I gave it four stars: How could someone raised ultra-Orthodox not know that a medical circumcision is "not kosher"? He participated in Blessing Bees, he can recite all 40 of the Forbidden Sabbath Activities, yet he doesn't realize that a circumcision is a ritual, complete with a *mohel* and blessings? C'mon...Sounds like selective amnesia to me, although who could blame him?



4. I wanted to like this book. I heard an interview in which Auslander read the first page or so, and thought it sounded really funny. As someone that grew up in what was, at times, an overbearing religious environment and a semi-dysfunctional home, I was sure I could understand, and laugh along with him.
   
   But my, oh my, Auslander is angry. Very, very angry. And more so than the humor, this is what permeated this book for me. In many places, it completely washed out the humor.
   
   Don't get me wrong, he's a funny man and knows how to turn a phrase for comic effect. There were moments I really, really enjoyed, and even one or two that made me laugh out loud. (Who names their kid peace?)
   
   But I guess I was expecting something more like David Sedaris -- a man who really knows how to make the most of a screwed up and depressing situation.
   
   Foreskin's Lament just left me uncomfortable, and possibly worried about Shalom's blood pressure. You just can't hang on to anger like that, can you?



5. you know those moments in life that are frustratingly awful but then you can laugh when you look back on them? This is Foreskins Lament. Auslander has the ability to look back and see the humour and how great to share it with us.
   
   The curcumcision Dillema is at the beginging and end of this book, and I feel it is more of a construct to make the book into a package and not the heart and story of the book.
   
   I do not know how it is interpreted by those who are far from this story in real life. For me, having gone to a yeshiva, I really sympathized and related and laughed out loud.
   
   I would love to see or hear Ausalnder on a panel togheter with the author of Living the Bible. What a panel that would be!