Will the book, the compact disc, and the digital videodisc soon be replaced by other kinds of electronic means to enable people to enjoy words, music, and motion pictures?
Maybe so; but that day clearly has not arrived, as new offerings in all those formats, especially books, keep arriving at The Chronicle office. Some of them look as though they might make excellent gifts for this coming Chanukah season.
That Jews are the “people of the book” might be a reason that books arrive here more frequently than any other kind of entertainment or educational medium.
For the Jewish history-lover on your list, two items look like especially promising gifts.
In “When They Come for Us, We’ll be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 598 pages, $30), journalist Gal Beckerman tells the story of an endeavor that many in our community (including me) lived through personally.
Indeed, his tale climaxes with the great Freedom Sunday rally in Washington, D.C., in December 1987 — and I was there covering it for The Chronicle.
I have not yet had a chance to read this book through, but even a skim showed that anybody who remembers that cause and anybody interested in history will find much to learn and enjoy.
Readers fascinated by the history of Israel can see some of it from an inside and personal perspective in “The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership” (The Toby Press, 715 page, $29.95).
Author Yehuda Avner, an immigrant from Britain in 1947, worked closely with Israeli top leaders Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, and, especially, Menachem Begin. Avner apparently was in the company of these leaders during many dramatic moments in Israel’s history, from the 1967 Six Day War to the first Lebanon War.
Hillel to hilarity
The generally excellent “Jewish Encounters” series by Schocken Books and Nextbook has released two more titles that look like they might be welcome in any Judaic library.
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin (“Jewish Literacy” and many others) is one of my favorite authors of books about Judaism, because of the breadth of his knowledge and the clarity of his prose. I am reading his “Jewish Encounters” book “Hillel: If Not Now, When?” (244 pages, $24). It is a fascinating study of the great First Century B.C.E. rabbi and a worthy addition to Telushkin’s growing list of titles.
The other new book in the series looks like one of those more experimental and creative items that the series editor’s seem to encourage.
In this one, Rodger Kamenetz (“The Jew in the Lotus”) decides that somehow the Chassidic master Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (1772-1810) has spiritual connections to the famously alienated 20th century secular Jewish literary giant Franz Kafka (1883-1924).
Kamenetz explores this in “Burnt Books: Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav and Franz Kafka” (361 pages, $23). He apparently finds they have more in common than that both were master parable-style storytellers who died young. “Often I found that a Franz Kafka story asked a question that a Rabbi Nachman tale answered,” Kamenetz writes.
Three items fall into the category of “Jewish self-help.”
I normally have little use for the views of Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (“Kosher Sex” and other books), but I can’t deny that he writes well and has many fans. If one of those fans is on your list, you might give his new book “Renewal: A Guide to a Values-Filled Life” (Basic Books, 220 pages, $22).
A more skill-focused Jewish self-help item is “Where Did Noah Park the Ark? Ancient Memory Techniques for Remembering Practically Anything” (Three Rivers Press, 244 pages, $14 paperback).
In this light-hearted work, memory trainer Eran Katz offers techniques that he writes are partly derived from those taught in Chasidic yeshivas that help students memorize large quantities of information.
Finally, Carin Davis of The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles offers her light-hearted wisdom on everything from kashrut to dating in “Life, Love, Lox: Real-World Advise for the Modern Jewish Girl” (Running Press, 207 pages, $13.95 paperback).
Some may consider the graphic novel to be a light form — comic books with pretensions — but to judge from the space devoted to them in bookstores, its popularity seems to be continuing to grow.
Fans of the form may enjoy “How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less” (Vertigo, 208 pages, $24.99). This account of a Birthright Israel trip written and drawn/painted by Sarah Glidden certainly looks intriguing, though I feel a bit disconcerted by the uniformly cartoon-faced characters moving in often exquisitely rendered landscapes and cityscapes.
Finally, lovers of Jewish humor will relish a new paperback born from the Web site of the same name, “Old Jews Telling Jokes: 5,000 Years of Funny Bits and Not-so-Kosher Laughs” (Villard, 256 pages, $15). Sam Hoffman and Eric Spiegelman offer some wonderful items, some coming from their relatives; but beware that this book is most definitely not for people offended by sexual humor.
Music and video
It seems to be a quiet year for Jewish music. Only two CDs have come to The Chronicle offices so far this season. But both are fine blends of jazz, klezmer, and other ethnic musics.
“Celebrations” by Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble (MEII Enterprises) is more directly geared to the holidays, including Chanukah songs in four of its nine tracks, and Purim songs on two others. It leans more to jazz style in treatment, and does so with taste and flair, with excellent improvisations.
“Oy Yeah!” by Klezwoods (Accurate Records) leans more to the world ethnic music side, both in repertoire (including Yemenite, Bulgarian, Turkish, Macedonian, and Arab tunes as well as klezmer) and arranging style. This group also plays with delightful taste and exciting virtuosity.
Finally, those with small children and DVD players might want to obtain new episodes of the “Shalom Sesame” series, Israel’s version of “Sesame Street,” distributed by Sisu Home Entertainment.
The first two of a series of 12 have been released: “Welcome to Israel,” and, geared for the holidays, “Chanukah: The Missing Menorah.” They are $14.95 each.
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