5 comments about An Echo in My Blood: The Search for My Family's Hidden Past.

1. This book goes far beyond conventional memoir. The author's story shows how our world today is tangled with the past, and that we drag the past along with us, whether we know it or not. Through vivid personal stories, the writer shows how events as disparate as the Jewish pogroms in Russia, the McCarthy blacklist, and the current environmental crisis are all connected. He reminds us that we all share the inherited pain of immigration. A beautifully written, sad and funny, important book.



2. I am a descendent of the family that Mr Weisman writes about. How ironic, that I discovered this book through a distant relative who knew I was looking for information on my great grandparents, on my mother's side. I am named for Bess Goldman, a relative of Mr. Weisman. I asked hundreds of questions about my family while my grandparents were alive, and most were stonewalled. After resigning myself to never knowing the truth, I read this book, and many mysteries are finally solved. I am now 56 and for most of my life the story of my family was concealed from me, I never knew why. In those days, living in denial saved you from the truth. I must be a distant cousin to Mr. Weisman, I had many relatives my grandparents would never tell me about, I never knew why they fled the Ukraine. this book has provided answers to lingering questions, echos, so to speak. I will be sending each my two children this book and will share it with remaining family members. Mr. Weisman's research is inspiring. I admire his tenacity in delving into the past with such enthusiasm. This book could be anybody's family, it is a microcosm of our journey from elsewhere to America. Pamela Price Lechtman



3. How deeply moved my wife and I have been by this momentous, beautiful book, which both of us have found to be truly unforgettable. Echo in the blood, indeed. Weisman has found a way to widen a story that is essentially "personal" and familial by ramifying that story in multiple dimensions -- geo-politically, ecologically, historically and racially (the euphemism is "culturally," but this is a book that is unabashedly concerned with the complex meanings of racial inheritance). Most staggering to me are the book's accounts of visiting the weirdly transformed Ukrainian landscape around Chernobyl, the passages that combine the author's father's letters from combat in World-War-Two-era Europe with descriptions of the ongoing lives of relatives at home in Minnesota, and the chapters detailing (with intricate, agonizing subtlety) the deaths of his parents, one then the other. My wife's strongest response was a whole-body recognition of a certain truth, in which the book immerses its reader: As a people, as a species, we are making war on each other and on the living earth. Every one of us carries the burden and the damage of that war into our future. This is extraordinary writing, extraordinarily difficult to make sing, and Alan Weisman has brought it to song.



4. I surpsed myself and finished this
   book as I was going to stop on several
   ocassions. His vinettes of imprtant
   history(the Russian civil war,the Chicago
   convention,the Unamerican Committee) were
   incredible. I take issue with the extent
   of his family history which was confusing
   and tiring.



5. Weisman is a good writer, with an amazing true story to tell. A journalist traveling to the Ukraine to investigate the Chernobyl disaster (an amazing story in its own right), he decides to visit his ancestral town of Elizavetgrad (Yelisavethgrad). This takes him on an unexpected odyssey of self-discovery and family history.

   His insights into Jewish life (in Chicago and Russia) are especially engaging. Some readers will tire of his sometimes relentless left-wing agenda, but I was glad I didn't let that distract from the really fine cultural portrait he has composed.

5 comments about Tessie and Pearlie: A Granddaughter's Story.

1. This is Joy Horowitz's tribute to her two jewish grandmothers. They are both in their 90's and as feisty and loving as can be. In a book full of wisdom, humor, and yes, recipes, there is a lingering sense of mortality as both bubbes tell their tales and wonder when death will claim them. This is a book for anyone who treasures the stories of years past, who loved to sit at their grandmother's knee as she told stories of years gone by. It will leave you at turns both happy and almost tearful as each grandmother grapples with the life she has lived and the fact that she won't be around much longer. Please read this book, it will help you as you look at the big picture of life and determine what is really important to you



2. Having known one of the grandmothers, it made the book much more real for me. Joy's portrayal of her grandmothers' lives is rich with the love and sorrow that each has endured. This book also tackles the issues of aging with a mature and realistic outlook. This has to be one of the most inspiring books I have read.



3. One of my all-time favorites. Absolutely addictive. Many thanks to the author.



4. Not since Bill Withers' song, "Grandma's Hands" has there been such a touching tribute to a "bubbe", the Yiddish word for grandmother. Or, in this lucky case, to BOTH her 90-something grandmothers. How I envied her the privilege, courage and perspicacity to ask these questions before it was too late! I shared many, many things with my beloved grandmother, but I wish with all my heart that I had done what Joy Horowitz did in "Tessie and Pearlie", to search out and record the stories of her grandmothers' lives, what made them who they are, what their lives mean to her own life, to her children's lives. Joy Horowitz did, indeed, build an amazing, bittersweet bridge between her family's past and future and created a truly precious legacy for her own children and subsequent generations of her family. Especially when one is young, it is very often difficult to let go of the irritations and inconsistencies you see in your parents and grandparents and really communicate with them. It is usually in middle age that the sense of one's mortality overcomes these quibbles and by then, for most, it is too late for grandparents. If you are now fortunate enough to have a living grandmother, seize the moment. Read this book, put on Bill Withers and cry and - and then go call her up and ask and ask and listen and listen. Then write it down for posterity and marvel at the blessing.



5. Book was in good condition. I am satisfied with the purchase

2 comments about The Fortune Teller's Kiss (American Lives).

1. This memoir is beautifully crafted. It took me back to another time and place, and it is still with me. The author presents us with a candid look at her fascinating relatives (She is from a Sephardic family with roots, traditions and superstitions carried forth from centuries in Turkey and Spain.) She shares the struggles and triumphs of her own childhood. I am recommending it to those of us who remember the importance of a skate key, and to younger readers, as well. It is a timeless treat that continues to ring true.



2. Since visiting Ellis Island's Museum, I have been collecting adult and children's books about the trials and tribulations that my ancestors had to endure, at Ellis Island. This book is a great addition to those books!

1 comments about Rites: A Guatemalan Boyhood.

1. Read Pereira's Cross and the Pear Tree if you want to read something worthwhile, even fascinating. This book, however, isn't it. Don't waste your time.

1 comments about Nicholas Winton and the Rescued Generation: Save One Life, Save the World (The Library of Holocaust Testimonies).

1. This is a book about an ordinary man who never asked to be thanked. He did what he thought was his duty as a human being and a pacifist. In 1939 Nicholas Winton a Stockbroker from London set about trying to save the doomed children Jewish children of an about to be invaded Czechoslovakia. His efforts saved 669 of them.

   In 1939 there were some 15,000 Czech Jewish children in existence. By the end of the war in 1945 only 100 or so of these children were left alive plus the 669 that Nicholas Winton had managed to save and get to the UK before the European borders closed down.

   One of these children was Vera Gissing who co-wrote this book. For a long time she wanted to know who had saved her and eventually she found out. This book is her testament to one man's selfless spirit and his desire to do what he considered was right.

   In theory Nicholas Winton could be considered a "righteous man" a gentile who helped the Jewish people in their time of need. But Nicholas Winton himself was born Jewish though he did not practice his faith, and nor did his family so he could not be bestowed with this honour (for he was Jewish in the eyes of Jewish law) but he could be recognised and acknowledged by those that he helped save.

   Vera Gissing has co-written a marvellously engrossing book about one man and his life and times, and it is only as you read each page do you understand what Nicholas Winton did to get those 669 children to safety.

   This is not a sentimental story, but you should be prepared to invest in a BIG box of tissues, because this story will move you to tears.

   A wonderful book which like "The Diary of Anne Frank," and "The Colour of Justice," should be on the shelf of every school in the land.

5 comments about Finding a Home for the Soul: Interviews with Converts to Judaism.

1. I found the stories in this book highly interesting and enjoyed reading the tales of those who have chosen to convert to Judaism. I recommend it for those who are converting or who have relatives who convert. It explains why people choose to convert, the problems that can be associated with converting, and how they dealt with those problems.



2. I picked this book up off the shelves of my local JCC library. Amidst the books on conversion that I've encountered so far, I find it to be the least partisan. It shows a spectrum of conversion experiences from liberal to orthodox, male and female, striaght and gay, white and of colour authors. I found it to be highly articulate.and intimate.



3. I wanted this book when I first saw it in the bookstore when it was originally published, but balked at the price, and by the time I began to think about finally getting my own copy, it seemed to have gone out of popular circulation. I eventually found a used copy for a much more reasonable price, and it was really worth the wait. I had begun reading it before, and all of the rest of the many personal stories, based on interviews Mrs. Myrowitz had conducted, were just as good. The author herself is a JBC, and shared in the lengthy but quite good introduction her own personal story and journey. Like a number of people profiled here, she too technically converted because she was in a relationship with a Jew, but not in the traditional way one is used to. Instead of undergoing some superficial conversion for no other reason than she was marrying a man who insisted she convert (or whose family ordered her to convert), she had already long been drawn to Judaism and Judaic values anyway, and finding the man who became her husband was more like the catalyst to do something serious about these feelings. Although not all of the JBCs profiled converted for marriage; some, at least at the date of publication, weren't even in relationships. Many people assume the only reason someone would become Jewish (or any other non-Christian religion) is because of an impending marriage, but here we have plenty of stories of people who did it only for themselves, before even being in a relationship, or who still aren't in a relationship period, with either a Jew or a Gentile. And not all of the stories are of white converts; there were some individuals profiled who are African-American, and I loved the story of the woman whose husband was living in France but with Moroccan roots. It's such a myth that Jews are only white and from Eastern or Central Europe. Many things led these people to convert, but overall they prove what is often said, that a JBC is oftentimes more devout, passionate, and committed than many JBBs. I also enjoyed the extensive bibliography and have since read or bought a number of the wonderful books suggested.



4. Though the book was bulky, the style was for m a bit dry as well, the real prblem I had with it was that I nearly only saw stories of non-orthodox converts. I would not recommend it as an intro to love judaism.....



5. I bring no background knowledge to the matter of conversions to Judaism, so this book helped me to understand a bit about this topic. I read "Finding a Home for the Soul" as a consequence of meeting the author, a wonderful, engaging woman.
   
   As a Roman Catholic, I was most intrigued with descriptions of those Catholics who simply never warmed up to "Jesus" as Messiah and wandered into the orbit of Judaism because of a greater comfort with the notion of one God the Father (excuse me if I am mangling this concept).
   
   My specialty is more the arena of intercultural romance, which "Finding a Home for the Soul" indirectly addresses, as many of these conversions (but not all) occurred as a result of a mixed marriage.
   
   Also intriguing to me are the descriptions of important rituals in the Jewish faith. Sitting Shiva seems an especially valuable exercise that our overall society might think about adopting.
   
   As it is (I think here of funerals for members of my own family), an American funeral is often a wild 24-hour ride through the wake, the funeral and a gathering afterwards. The idea of structuring mourning over a good length of time just seems so human and right.
   
   I would suggest that the book could be improved by a larger type face -- that's the book publisher and designer in me speaking. Overall however kudos for an indepth work with loads of material.

3 comments about No Place to Run: A True Story (The Library of Holocaust Testimonies).

1. David's story starts on the day the German army attacked Poland at the beginning of World War II. It chronicles one man's struggle to save his family from the Nazis and the heroic efforts he made to save hundreds of other people in the process. David never stopped believing in life and he never stopped believing in God. Through every twist and turn first, while hiding from the Nazis then in the Warsaw Ghetto and finally in Bergen Belsen his quick thinking kept his family safe.

   You will not put this book down until David's final liberation. This book is a tribute to his zest for life. Through all the death and destruction David never lost his faith.

   David Gilbert is a true hero. His story makes personal what now seems so far removed. It should be read by all those who want to learn from the inhumanity of the Nazi era. This book should be required high school reading. David's story is about life and one man's triumph over incredible odds.




2. Some books of this type are tedious and rehash the same stories of an awful time in our recent history. I began this reading with reservations, but immediately found it not only an easy read but a page turner. Being written in the first person gives life and excitement to what could have been just another story. This book puts you there. You feel their anxiety. You experience their near hopelessness and rejoice in their triumph. This is a must read for anyone.



3. I read this book with intensity, and believe me I don't read very much. I never understood the complexity or the intensity of WWII until I read this book.
   I am a navy sailor and I have spent most of my time not realizing what that ment. I read this book after 9/11 and it helped me understand the sevarity of war and how tragic it is.
   And even though it might be thought that I have a biased opinion towards my father's book, this is one that you will not put down!

No comments about Memories of Babi.

No comments about Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Mussar Movement.

4 comments about To Jerusalem and Back (Penguin Classics).

1. How can one describe this classic book on Israel? At one level it is a personal account of one American writer's journey to Israel and England and back but scratch beneath the surface and you see the incredible panoply of faces and voices that is Israel. Here is A.B. Yehoshoua who writes "that because our spiritual life ... cannot revolve around anything but [political questions], you cannot spare yourself, spiritually, for other things." Here is a bomb going off in London just as it recently did in Israel. And here is Saul Bellow mourning the "six young [British] people" who were murdered while simultaneously noting that "the difference is that when a bomb goes off in a West End restaurant the fundamental right of England to exist is not in dispute."

   Here is Abu Zuluf, editor of El Kuds whose automobile terrorists have blown up because he is trying to follow what Saul Bellow feels is a "line of conciliation and peace."

   Here is the Greek quarter in Jerusalem covered in grapevine; there is the Jewish quarter where the principal relic is the ben-Zakkai synagogue, blown up by the Jordanians when they took over in 1948 and as Saul Bellow walks toward it he hears, somewhere, as Arab boys are racing their donkeys down a hill.

   Here is a Yemenite synagogue; there a Souk, the public market. And everywhere there is a profusion of communities: Arabs, Jews from Arab lands, Asian lands, Europe, Africa, Christians, Kurds, Hindus.... Everywhere a cacophony of voices; everywhere people mingling, arguing, making peace, making war, while philosophers philosophize and writers write.

   And he sits down to dinner with families who have lost children and as he passes dishes (Sephardic dishes, Indian dishes, Arab dishes, European dishes all mixed together) "on the Jaffa Road, because of another bomb, six adolescents-two on a break from school-stopping at a coffee shop to eat buns, have just died."

   "This is how we live, mister," a cabby tells Bellow (in what language: Ladino, Hebrew, Arabic?), "his voice cracking. "Okay? We live this way."




2. Bellow came to Jerusalem as celebrated novelist . Every door was open to him , and he met with Israelis from all walks of life. He writes an essentially sympathetic and understanding account of Israel and its special situation. He knows the score in terms of the Jewish past, the great sufferings many of the survivors living in Israel have gone through. He understands the constant threat from their Arab neighbors under which Israel lives. But he tries to see the situation too with sympathy for the Arab side. His basic line politically is of the left, and he clearly favors political compromise.
   The book does provide a pretty fair picture of Israeli society. But it is possible to quarrel with Bellow's basic orientation which is that of a Diaspora Jew who does not feel any call to Aliyah to Israel, and does not have much understanding or sympathy for a good share of its population, the religious.
   All in all though this is an insightful look into Israeli society by a commentator of great intelligence and literary skill.



3. This book is less about the Jerusalem that Bellow visited and more about himself. Indeed, his presence is so pronounced that he appears more fascinated with his own perceptions than he is with what he is witnessing, or so it seemed to me. While the writing is clear and vivid, I can now recall virtually nothing of what he describes, except for himself and his personal reactions - it is he who sees things more clearly than his hosts, etc etc. After 100 pages, this is boring. Alas, I got nothing out of this and it is also badly dated.
   
   Not recommended.



4. Well known , Nobel prize winning author , put his pen to the service of recording his 1975 visit to the Land of Israel and his thoughts on the dillemas faced by Israel at the time , and on world politics at large in the mid 1970's.
   The author puts down his observations , from his thoughts about Hassidim on a plane from Heathrow to Ben Gurion airport to a secular kibbutz near Ceasarea, and his meetings with leaders and thinkers in Israel such as former Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban , Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kolleck , poet and journalist Chaim Gouri and professor Yehoshafat Harkabi as well as Arab figures like Mahmoud Abu Zuluf , editor of the al Kuds , at the time the largest Arab language newspaper in Jerusalem , who'se life , and the life of his children , the author reports where threatened for his relatively 'moderate and conciliatory' line.
   
   Although Abu Zuluf later became a stooge of Arafat and the PLO.
   Bellow observes the Israeli people as lacking in rancour or bitterness against the Arabs , despite being constantly under the threat of anihilation and targeted by terrorism.
   The threat of anihilation , of a second holocaust , looms permanently in the Israeli mind , leading one of Bellow's aquaintances to observe that it would be a horrible irony if the Jews being gathered in one place enabled a second holocaust to become a reality.
   since before the State of Israel was established the Jews of Israel have had to live with terror , an example in this book being a homicide attack ""on the Jaffa Road, because of another bomb, six adolescents-two on a break from school-stopping at a coffee shop to eat buns, have just died."
   
   It is because of his relatively sympathetic portrait of the Israeli people in this volume , that Bellow came under attack from anti-Israel high priest of the ultra-left , Noam Chomsky.
   Bellow muses on the attempts made by Jean Paul Sartre to balance his understanding of Israel, with his sympathy of the Arabs and his anti-American stance.
   
   This book was written in the embryonic stages of anti-Israel hatemongering from leftwing academics in the West , alhtough it must be noted that all their propaganda was created in the old Soviet Union , where the 'Zionism is racism' canard was created .
   In a heartfelt plea the author writes: 'I sometimes wonder why it is impossible for Western intellectuals...to say to the Arabs " We have to demmand also more from you. You too-the Marxists among you in particular- must try to do something for brotherhood and make peace with the Jews , for they have suffered monstrously in Christian Europe and under Islam. Israel occupies under one sixth of one percent of the lands you call Arab. Isn't it possible to adjust the traditions of Islam , to reinterpret , to change , to change emphasis , so as to accept the trifling occupancy? A great civilization should be capable of humane and generous flexibility. The destruction of Israel will do you no good, let the Jews live in their small state".
   In reporting on a converstaion with Professor Jacob Leib Talmon , Bellow reports Talmon's warnings that 'the fate of Jewry in Israel and the Diaspora , is so closely linked he says , that the destruction of Israel would bring with it 'the destruction of corporate Jewish existance all over the world , and a catastrophy that might overtake US Jewry"
   Alas , in the 30 years since this was written , leftwing academics (and the media) around the world have been the main force in hardening Arab attitudes , by taking up anti-Israel hatred to Nazi-like levels.
   
   While the author has an overall understanding attitude of the Israeli people , he is rather less so of the Jewish residents of the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria, not quite seeming to understand the depth of the Jewish right to and connection with this part of the Land of Israel.