1 comments about When They Came to Take My Father: Voices of the Holocaust.

1. 
   This is a rather different book on the Holocaust.It is the summaries of the interviews carried out with 50 people who survived the Holocaust.These interviews were done in the mid 90's with survivors who are in their senior years;many who were born over 80 years ago.Several of the people were the sole survivor of a large family.Included are excellent portraits of all these people.It is obvious that they have heavy hearts when remembering the terrible injustices they experienced.
   Some of the thoughts expressed:
   "We were counted like gold,treated like s---."
   
   " know that the bulk of them went straight to the gas chambers
   because I saw it that day kneeling on the stones."
   
   "The hope of everyone was to see the Germans beaten."
   
   "The sign of a free man is being able to keep your hands in
   your pockets."
   
   "We were loaded on cattle cars-jammed full-and shipped to
   Auschwitz."
   
   "It was a daily lottery with death,and I happened to win."
   
   "If they nail me,you can have my shoes."
   
   "Those who say we should forgive and forget,have nothing to
   forgive and nothing to forget.I cannot forgive,I cannot
   forget."
   
   NEVER AGAIN!

No comments about The Life and Thought of Hans Jonas: Jewish Dimensions (Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry Series).

No comments about Letters to Sala: A Young Woman's Life in Nazi Labor Camps.

No comments about Send for Haym Salomon: A Biography of the Revolutionary War Hero.

5 comments about We Just Want to Live Here: A Palestinian Teenager, an Israli Teenager -- an Unlikely Friendship.

1. Ashley Southard
   English Book Review
   April 16, 2004
   The Arab/ Israeli conflict has been discussed in many books, and Americans hear of it every day in the news. But do you really know both sides to the story? We Just Want to Live Here, a story of teenagers Amal Rifa'I (a Palestinian) who is planning on studying special education in an Israeli college, and Odelia Ainbinder (an Israeli) who is part o a socialist/Zionist movement before she gets ready to join the military living in Israel, shows the opinion of both sides of the conflict. Amal and Odelia met one summer while at an exchange program in Switzerland. After, they were asked by journalist Sylke Tempel to begin writing to each other discussing the conflict in which they are living.
   This non-fiction book is presented as a compilation of the letter the girls wrote to each other. In these heart-to-heart letters, Amal and Odelia discuss political, social and ethnic issues. This book was published for people who are passionate about the "bad blood" between the Palestinian and Israeli issues. These letters really dig deep into the soul of the people of Israel, Palestinian and Israeli alike, and readers begin to feel compassion for these girls. One of the only weaknesses of this book was the fact that there was really no plot or suspense to keep a person reading. Many people watch TV shows consistently because of the suspense, and many people like books that are the same way. This book lacks that appeal, and it is easy to become bored with this book if you don't wish to delve into the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

   Unlike most books, these letters truly had no bias. Each teenager is from one side of the conflict, and they discuss the modern issues in such a way that the reader genuinely gains an understanding of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Readers begin to realize the stupidity of the prejudices that people hold and realize that you cannot make judgment about this dispute until you completely understand the emotions of both peoples.
   I would recommend We Just Want to Live Here for readers who are interested in this dispute. People who are passionate about this ongoing war will not become bored with the lack of plot in these letters. The letters really help to achieve true understanding of this everlasting issue.




2. "Boom," a bomb goes off two blocks away from your school, just as you are leaving class. This isn't that rare of occasion for the two teenage co-authors of the book, We Just Want to Live Here. In this book they are often left to decide how they feel about the suicide bombings and other occurrences in their hometown, Jerusalem. Sylke Tempel put the fascinating letters between these very different teenage girls together into this great factual book about living in Jerusalem during the second Intifada.
   Sylke Tempel does a great job putting together the letters in a logical order that helps the reader to understand the conflict in Jerusalem from both opinions. By using a Palestinian girl (Odelia Ainbinder) and an Israeli girl (Amal Rifa'i) you were flushed with both aspects of such topics as the suicide bombings, the army, school and even normal girl talk such as boys. Through both girls' lives, their views of the other side were only composed of what they heard from their friends, family and media making them only see a glance of the big picture. The girls' way of expressing their feelings made you get in the shoes of both sides of the conflict. They didn't leave anything out about their beliefs on what should be done to solve the conflicts between the Palestinians and Israelis. their feelings are even supportive of the other side. For example they agree on such things as how influential their parents were to their lives, yet abruptly disagree on such issues as whether Odelia, the Israeli girl, should join the army after her year off. Sometimes all they would do through their letters was learn more about the other persons culture, which is what happened when they started talking about such things as school and getting married and moving in with boys. This book is very un-biased because it shows how real teenagers on both sides feel about the conflict. Sylke Tempel makes it very clear that she wants people to receive no bias towards either side. She does this by showing both sides of the argument and showing how neither girl is evil. Because of the way Tempel broke up the book, it reads very fast and is easy to understand. The girls' discussion was very interesting and sometimes even shocking to learn how they felt on different issues.
   We Just Want to Live Here, is a great read for people of all ages. It would probably be better for girls to read because it is written by girls and sometimes would get a little into girl talk. Being the letters of real girls, this book would be great to read as a class in history or English. This is because it is very factual and a great un-biased way to learn about the conflict in Jerusalem. Before reading this book I would suggest to have previous knowledge of the conflict to better understand what girls are talking about. Overall this was a great, educational book filled with many different opinions and thoughts. I would definitely recommend this book to someone wanting to expanse his or her knowledge in the Arab-Israeli conflict.



3. In the summer of 2000, a group of Israeli and Palestinian teenagers were invited to Switzerland. Despite many misunderstandings between the Jews and Muslims on the trip, tentative friendships were formed. However, just before the students returned home to Israel, the second Intifada broke out reminding each participant of their differences. Two young women on the trip who did become friends were Palestinian Amal Rifa'i and Israeli Odelia Ainbinder. Two years later, in June of 2002, journalist Sylke Tempel began looking for a young Israeli and a young Palestinian to exchange letters and ideas in order to create a book that would tell the story of Palestine, Israel and the Intifada in their own words. She found the ideal pair in Amal and Odelia. The result is WE JUST WANT TO LIVE HERE, a series of letters and conversations between Amal and Odelia.
   
   Just 18 years old when they begin corresponding, the women are wise beyond their years and patient with each other's points of view. There is much potential for name-calling, disrespect and worse in such a dialogue, but Amal and Odelia behave with a restraint and open-mindedness often sorely lacking in regards to this difficult and delicate subject. Covering topics such as Jerusalem (where they both live, geographically close but socio-cultural worlds apart), school and the Israeli army, both women are not only quite honest and articulate about their feelings, but are also well versed in their cultural and religious history and tradition. To further illustrate certain points, each invites family members to share her story and thus we read about Odelia's parents and Amal's grandfather in their own words.
   
   Even with such an open dialogue, Amal and Odelia realize there are some things they may never see eye to eye on --- each has a different interpretation of the formation history of the State of Israel, each interprets the plight of the Palestinians in a very different way. Yet they both agree that continued violence is not the answer and hope for strong leadership for the Israelis and the Palestinians. One major problem they both identify is the lack of knowledge about each other's culture, religion and history. Knowledge, they stress, is key to a sustainable peace.
   
   As the book was being written, both Amal and Odelia faced adult life and responsibility --- Amal was engaged to be married and Odelia was preparing for her mandatory service in the Israeli army. Yet the tone of the book still reflected a youthful hopefulness and youthful frustration.
   
   Poignant, brutally honest and sometimes heartbreaking, WE JUST WANT TO LIVE HERE is written with the idealism of youth and the cynicism of those who grow up amid war and violence. This is a book that puts a human face on the violence and destruction of the Israeli-Palestinian war and invites the reader to question her beliefs and opinions. Amal and Odelia are brave and admirable, willing to open their hearts and minds to each other.
   
   WE JUST WANT TO LIVE HERE is not about solutions or roadmaps to peace. It is the tale of a friendship and intellectual exchange in spite of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. I highly recommend this book for those who want a glimpse of what life is like for teenagers in Israel.
   
   --- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman



4. It is interesting to see the views of two young women caught up in this conflict. My main complaint about this book is the chronology in the back of the book.
   
   1. Under 1947 Temple writes "The Jewish population in Palestine rises from 24,000 to 630,000 due to several ways of immigration (aliyah; plural, aliyot) between 1882 and 1948. This more than triples Palestine's Jewish population at that time" It seems to me that the Jewish population increases by 26 times, why use triple? I really have no idea what she is referring to.
   
   2. Under 1948 Temple writes "Declaration of the independent state of Israel on May 14 by Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Guerion. On the following day, troops from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia attack Israel. The Jewish underground movements, Lechi and Ezel, launch a wave of attacks against Arab civilians, which culminates in the massacre at Deir Yassin, where 245 inhabitants lost their lives. According to UN estimates, 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven out of their homes." Deir Yassin occurred on April 9, five weeks before Israel declared independance and Arab armies intervened. Most of the Palestenians who were driven out of their homes were expelled before May 14.
   
   3. 1956 - Not mentioned, England, France and Israel invade Egypt. Retreat under US pressure.
   
   4. 1987 - Temple writes "In opposition to the nationalistic PLO, Israel supports the foundation Islamic factions, which will be the origin of he fundementalist Hamas (Arabic for "enthusiasm/excitement") under its leader Sheikh Achmed Yassin."
   Hamas was formed in the late 1970's and had been supported by Israel from the beginning.
   
   5. 1994 - Temple writes "Hamas commits suicide bombings with the goal of sabotaging the peace process." Hamas committed it's first suicide bombing in response to murder of 29 muslims at a mosque in Hebron by Baruch Goldstein an american born far right settler. Temple leaves out the part about Baruch Goldstein.
   
   There are some other things that I don't think she is very evenhanded or possibly even correct about in the chronology but I don't have time to research everything. The most glaring error is getting the date of Deir Yassin wrong, simple historical research.



5. Forget the negative reviews---this is a wonderful, sweet, realistic and educational view of what it's like to live in Jerusalem, as seen through the eyes of two teenage girls...one Muslim and the other Jewish. I am impressed with the intelligence of these two young women. They don't chat about rock music or Britney Spears or trendy clothing--instead, they describe the love they feel for their city and how they can each do their part to create lasting peace. The girls get into serious political debates and they disagree quite frequently, but they respect each other as human beings and the friendship is strong. It's fascinating to learn what young Israelis think of America--Odelia, for instance, believes it's far more dangerous to live in New York than in Jerusalem! This is a warm and endearing book. I recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary Jerusalem (or all of Israel) and what life is like there. I learned a lot from reading it.

5 comments about Where She Came From: A Daughter's Search for Her Mother's History.

1. Although this book has a slow start with a lot of historical information, once you get to the Holocaust section, you will not be able to put this book down. I read it while in Vienna and after I visited Prague. I felt so connected to my surroundings and the author that I literally felt like I was in the book. Makes the enormity of the Holocaust personal and understandable. A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE!



2. This book was a beautiful personal tribute to the author's ancestors.
   
   I was engrossed in this book from the first page...although it was a slow read for me, because I wanted to grasp the intensity of the generational saga, and grasp the historical facts, correctly. Epstein has more than proved herself in this dramatic memoir of family generations, identity, and history, weaving us through time, each piece of family fabric a part of the final tapestry. The reader is given remnants and squares of fabric in a familial tapestry, of sorts, through history and time, through the horrors of war, and how it affects all the generations, from past to present. From assimilating into society and racial and religous identity, to how one views themselves and what they identify with, Epstein manages to stitch a tapestry of her family, each stitch in time adding to the fabric of her own identity. Bravo for a wonderful read!



3. This is a fascinating chronicle of three generations of the author's female ancestors. It is probably the only book in English that tells the story of Jewish women in Prague in the the first half of the twentieth century. Helen Epstein has a special talent for recreating social history and bringing it alive.



4. Beautifully written, WHERE SHE CAME FROM is also the product of very serious and exhaustive research. It is a magical and haunting book. It brings alive a period of Jewish women's history that is only now being written about in English. Travelling through pre-Holocaust Central Europe with Epstein is an amazing experience: the reader follows both the process of investigation of family history and the emotions this opens up for the writer.
   
   I taught the book several times both in the US and Mexico in classes on Memory and Autobiography. My students loved the book. Many of them bought several copies to give to relatives and friends as gifts. My graduate students (in History and Literature) were impressed by the rigor of Epstein's research, and the skill with which she weaves historical information into her prose.



5. In WHERE SHE CAME FROM, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based award-winning author Helen Epstein has penned a meticulously-researched memoir to the four generations of Czech and former Czechoslovak women in her extensive family, from her mother's side of the brood.
   
   While today she associates her public persona to the proud and extensive line of former Czechoslovak Epsteins (see Ms. Epstein's fabulous Amazon Short available off of this site, SWIMMING AGAINST STEREOTYPE: The Story of a Twentieth Century Jewish Athlete), the writer stakes her claim to a noble and illustrious family line which once proudly sported famous Viennese and Prague-based surnames such as Rabinek, Solar, Weigert, Sachsel, Furcht, and Frucht.
   
   Like an experienced batsman for a World Series-winning major-league baseball team, Epstein managed to hang in that old batter's box, waiting for just the right pitch to slug out of the ballpark. In the book world, the analogue was when all the right moments fortuitously transpired to assist Ms. Epstein in securing many essential clues of research which she utilized handily in crafting this excellent book's narrative. Even she'll tell you, the process was far from easy.
   
   Thanks to a dedicated coterie of like-minded collaborators based in points all around the globe as you'll soon read (the former Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Israel, South America, and the United States), Ms. Epstein succeeded in cobbling together one of the most comprehensive Czech geneological histories on the public record.
   
   The work is not only emotionally remunerative for Ms. Epstein, to the extent that those missing links in her family chain were finally sewn together, but it's additionally a fine account of several strong women, renowned in their various fields of endeavour, who persevered during the best of times and the absolute horrorific worst of the 20th century.
   
   Starting with Helen's great-grandmother Therese Sachsel, nee Frucht (Furcht), who lived during the reign of Franz-Josef in the last of the Habsburg-ian thrones, passing through her grandmother Pepi's life story during the turbulent First World War and the First Czechoslovak Republic, and finally overlapping the history of her own mother Frances Epstein, Helen pored over hundreds (if not thousands) of archival sources in constructing this cogent tale.
   
   Collectively, these three noble upstanding women belonging to the author's colourful past outlived the worst of the 20th century's ravages, passing fads, and tragic downfalls.
   
   We swoon with Therese Sachsel during the euphoria of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk's (TGM) storied first Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938), when all seemed possible for the Central European remant of the former Austria-Hungarian powerhouses of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Slovakia. Our hopes and dreams are temporarily crushed alongside her grandmother Pepi Rabinek as we witness the invasion and subsequent occupation of Prague by Nazi hordes, who sweep unchallenged through the former Czechoslovakia's borders after the West's perfidy of Munich. We agonize alongside Pepi's daughter, Frances Solar/Rabinek/Epstein, the paragon of the family and Helen's stalwart mother, as she is dispatched to the Teresienstadt (in modern-day Terezin, Czech Republic) concentration camp, or in the colloquial Czech, the "koncentrak." We also rejoice when Frances is extricated from the hellhole of Auschwitz, and tranported the West in wartime Germany as part of a labour brigade, towards the oncoming Allies from the West, liberated in Bergen-Belsen by British forces at the end of WWII. Finally, we are shocked to discover the insensitivity, sheer apathy, and in many instances -- outright hostility -- that Praguers demonstrated towards the surviving returnees from the Nazi camps, to which Frances and her future husband, famous former Czechoslovak Olympian swimmer, Kurt Epstein, counted themselves.
   
   Helen Epstein's lines draw us inexorably into this story, and once you start you'll have a difficult time finding excuses to stop.
   
   What staggered me as I made my way through this read was Ms. Epstein's formidable discipline. The sheer single-mindedness with which she approached the colossal task of the near-vertical climb to reach the bottom of her family's history. I read with awe how solace was found towards the end.
   
   WHERE SHE CAME FROM will stand as one of the foremost examples of the self-researched memoir. If you need any reason at all to read this book, then let it be thanks to the iron-willed determination which the answers gracing its pages were unearthed by Ms. Epstein.
   
   A book like this needs to be savoured for its significance, appreciated for its illumination, and respected for its purity. There isn't a single letter which graces these pages that wasn't typed, written, or transcribed in the absence of a labour which can only be termed love.
   
   I sit back and wish we all had the staying power of Ms. Epstein. The book is laudatory in the extreme.
   
   As if Ms. Epstein's family history were not enough, there are other benefits to this book too. For those with a keen interest in the past two centuries of life in Prague and the experiences of Bohemia's and Moravia's Jews and its Czech peasantry, WHERE SHE CAME FROM is chock-a-block with painstaking factoids and historical tidbits that'll nudge you gently towards further reading. It will also supply its readers with a glimpse towards the increasingly-distant Czechoslovak past, which, with the passing of the years and the keener integration of this country with the rest of the EU, slips further and further away from the grip of Czech youth.
   
   This book is more than just a reminder, it's a testament to a time which no longer exists. In that respect, it is now part of the permanent historical record.
   
   WHERE SHE CAME FROM is written in a language at once accessible and magnetic. For all ages, for all backgrounds. I can't do anything less than award this superb work of history my highest rating of 5-stars.
   
   I know you will too.
   
   -- ADM in Prague

4 comments about The Shadow of Death: The Holocaust in Lithuania.

1. Hello, Harry! I am your cousin, Leslie Hoffman Levenson (my mom's name was Ina Ginsberg, daughter of my grandfather Jack Ginsberg). I learned about your book on this title a while ago. I'd like to hear from you thru e mail shown at below (LEV10315@aol.com). Our cousin, Esther Ginsberg Cohen (daughter of Alex Ginsberg)also learns about you recently thru our cousin, Shelly and Marlee Ginsberg who went to the Museum of Holocaust in Wash. DC. Esther and I found each other by accident! Long story! We also found out there The Ginsberg brothers (Jack, Alex and Barney) did have sisters back in Lithuania we never knew ever existed). Please contact me and let you know that you have more cousins still living and well! Unfortunately, your book is out of print! Is there any way we can obtain that? Please don't put this on line as we the cousins are trying to locate you! :-) We are surely proud of your accomplishment for writing this book we want to read. We would love to know more about our descendents despite the history that happened. Thank you so much, Harry from your long lost cousin, LESLIE of Granada Hills, CA born in Buffalo, NY in 1948 daughter of Morris and Ina Hoffman (both still living).



2. While I know that genealogy searching can be difficult, please share this information where it will do the most good: with the author. As a Librarian, I depend on the kind of informative, concise, and relevant reviews that are shared on a regular basis by those kind souls who have actually read the book in question. Not having read the book, my stars are simply there so that I could post the messege. Thank you



3. I couldn't put this book down and didn't want it to end. Harry could easily write a sequel to this book of how he transitioned into American life. This book is very easy reading and insightful of the atrocities that happened in Lithuania. Harry I admire you.



4. Although this book is not of high quality literary-wise, it is very interesting. As a reader you get a realistic glimpse of how life in the Lithuanan Jewish gettho's was during WWII. I was shocked to find out that not only Germans, but Lithuanians and Poles too were involved in mass-killings of innocent people. 'The shadow of death' is a very suitbale titel, because that is exactly how the jewish people must have felt: living in the shadow of death.

2 comments about Boston Boy: Growing up with Jazz and Other Rebellious Passions.

1. Nat Hentoff, who later became famous as a writer about jazz and civil liberties, describes his "coming of age" and discovery of jazz in the Boston of the 1940s. A very enjoyable read.



2. It's great to see a book like this. As another Boston boy, I had many similar experiences that have been hard and perhaps confusing to explain to someone who grew up in another time and place.
   My wife feels that she understands me better now after reading Boston Boy. We are giving copies to our sons.
   The book for me is nostalgic, poignant, and somewhat reassuring. Helps to understand that generation, that time, and that place. We made it in spite of the bastards.

3 comments about Why Me.

1. Jacob Damkani has written an excellent book of apologetics for why Jesus is the Messiah. I particularly enjoyed the insight on the Jewish faith. I found it sad to realize how far away many Jews are from their Father and how they just miss the true joy and happiness they could have by getting to know Him personally. I was very helped by the book to realize the difficulties and obstacles the Jew faces. Thanks you, Jacob for your honesty in portaying what went on for you and how Jesus can change lives, even today! Praises be to God!



2. It reads very easily and you feel right along with Jacob on his journey to understand the Messiah of Israel. I pray that everyone would have an encounter with a person like Jeff. To me, the biggest question regarding the New Testament that Jeff asks is "How can you (the Jews) have such a fixed idea regarding something that you do not know anything about? How can you issue such a terrible verdict on Yeshua and on the New Covenant, when you do not have the faintest idea about them? It's too bad that you condemn a book that you have never seen." Jacob replies "We Jews are forbidden even to hold that book in our hands! It's a Gentile book, and we must not defile our hands with it." I didn't know the Jews felt this way. God says seek and you shall find. For all of us we must look for the answers ourselves, not take some other person's word as truth. This is such an eye-opening book and I do believe that everyone who reads this book will have a better understanding of the Jewish faith with love. God Bless You Jacob, Thank you.



3. This is a life changing book. I enjoyed reading it very much. God Bless Israel!

5 comments about Walking on Walnuts.

1. Yummy and lucious! Found this in the cooking section at my local bookstore and stumbled on a treasure!! It's part family history -- (a pet favorite subject of mine) -- part cookbook (I love baking) and part just-plain-fun! I loved reading about what life is like behind the scenes in swanky restaurants.
   
   And, as icing on this cake of a book, the author does her own illustrations -- and beautiful ones they are! Great work, Ms. Ring!



2. I really liked this book because I could identify with the author on every level: artist, baker, family member. An intricately woven story of life in the 1990's as seen through the eyes of a struggling female artist and the generations of women who proceeded her. I love how each chapter ends with a recipe she struggles with during the course of the story and how food and walnuts are used as metaphors for life.



3. There are those among us who read cookbooks like normal people read novels. If you are among this group, you will rejoice at Nancy Ring's evocative memoir, "Walking on Walnuts." This lovely book braids delectable recipes (Burnt Orange Ice Cream, Peach and Honey Upside-Down Cake, among many others) together with tales of the author's family and the story of her own path towards professional and personal fulfillment.

   Nancy Ring held a number of positions as pastry chef in some of New York City's finest restaurants, all without benefit of culinary school training. She learned to bake from her grandmothers, and she learned to create recipes from her own imagination. Her progress from utter novice to confident chef is fascinating, especially because she never seeks to pull the wool over her readers' eyes. She knows she's inexperienced, and she's not above naïveté and wonder as she traverses the Manhattan restaurant world--a world which shows its magic to the public and saves its horrors for those who create the magic. This only adds to the absorbing narrative tension of the story.

   To protect the innocent and not-so-innocent, Ring has altered the names of the restaurants which employed her, as well as the names of most of her co-workers. My favorite section takes place in the first restaurant to take a chance on Ring's as-yet-unproved baking talents; she works under a sassy woman named Arana who takes relish in appearing at the restaurant's staff holiday party dressed as a formally set dinner table:

   "She walked straight up to the chef and placed herself directly in front of him. Arana was very tall, and in those heels she towered over the chef, who stood barely over five feet. Her breasts were nearly exactly level with his eyes. When I tell you the crowd was disintegrated in laughter, I mean it. 'Arana,' the chef said in a tone somewhere between shock and appreciation . . . 'This is a party, not a watermelon sale.' Knock-down, all-out, knee-slapping laughter. Somebody yelled, 'Touché!' 'Hmmpf,' said Arana, real Mae West style, 'don't you know what I am?' . . . 'No, I don't,' he laughed. Arana stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the crowd until they quieted a little. Then, when she was sure they would all hear her, she turned back to the chef, enjoying her captive and her audience. 'Would you like a bite?' she smirked. 'I'm the tart of the day.' "

   This is the type of book you immediately want to go out and buy for friends. Ring's own illustrations punctuate each chapter; in addition to being a pastry chef and writer, she is a talented artist. I can hardly imagine a more enjoyable read for anyone who enjoys cooking as much as they enjoy a fast-moving, well-plotted story.




4. My mom insisted that I read this book because my career paths and quandries are remarkably similar to Ms. Ring's. I'm about 3/4 through it and I have to confess that the writing has so befuddled me that I've started skimming over the family history parts to get to the narrative of her restaurant stories, in fact I'm longing for even just ten uninterrupted pages of ANY straight narrative, preferably without walnut analogies or metaphors.

   If you're trying to decide whether you should read this book, let me give you a food analogy to help you out. This book is like a fruitcake. Densely packed with tasty tidbits and each and every tidbit is in every single bite. There's no escaping the pineapple if you don't like pineapple, no escaping the nuts either.

   The restaurant stories are entertaining, especially for anybody who's been in the industry; the family stories are compelling (and really deserve their own straight narrative, not this chopping up to accentuate Ms. Ring's life), the recipes look great and make me wish it were late summer so I could make that peach cake. The walnut facts and analogies are so tedious they make me want to cry.

   Basically I'm going to skip to the end of the book to figure out what she does (goes to work for a caterer? Opens her own pastry shop? Does she every marry Eric? Under a walnut tree in Central Park?) and I'm sorry, all you great grandmas and uncles.....I'd love to spend some time with you to get to know you, but you're too confusing a gaggle.

   Ms. Ring. In your next book, how about just a straight story, set in the not too distant past....some historical fiction based on your relatives and ancestors? That farm in Argentina--that's a great story-- imagine being that woman holding the farm together, trying to keep a kosher kitchen when all there is to burn is dried cow patties. You've got the material, now all you need is the time, right? Yeah, ha ha.




5. I loved the way Nancy Ring wrote this book. As educators, we struggle to teach students to use similies and metaphors in their writing. Why teach them these things if not to use them in real life?
   
   Nancy Ring found a delightful way to weave metaphors and similies throughout her book while at the same time shares her family history, her love of baking and art, and her struggles to make it in the world. I saw her use of the similies and metaphors as a tongue-in-cheek approach of relating life in general to her world of baking. I think she knew exactly what she was doing here and wondering if the reader was paying enough attention to catch it. Publishing the wonderful recipes passed down to her were an added bonus.
   
   I thought it very clever to start each chapter with a quote about something to do with nuts. I also enjoyed how she interspersed trivia about nuts into the story. You learn something new every day, don't you? Why not learn it while reading a good book?
   
   I enjoyed getting to know Nancy's family and friends as seen through her eyes. What a wonderful tribute and lasting legacy she has created!
   
   Nancy Ring, I would recommend your book to any English teacher struggling to show students some fine examples of similies and metaphors.