Siegel, Lansky, and Luciano: all recognizable names. Rothstein, far less recognizable and a generation or so older, was their mentor.

The book is the definitive account of Rothstein's fairly short life. I believe it serves as the source for most books that deal with him.

An enjoyable read.

The Brain was a character I would of liked to have met. I read about him while doing research on my father, who probably played at his table.

The title is a little deceptive. In fact, this book is mostly about Chaucer and his era, 220 pages worth. Stevenson gets a fair shake at 106 pages. But Carlyle gets only 12 pages, and Tolstoy only four, and those a rather simplistic critique of his philosophy. So only buy the book if you're interested in the former two writers.

As in most of Chesterton's biographies, the story of the subject's life is of minor interest here, compared to a philosophical and artistic description of the subject's works in the context of his time and "modern times." Chesterton is interested in the writer as a thinker, as a creator, and as a moral agent. In defending Stevenson and Chaucer, he argues for his view of Christianity, poetry, love, and artistic humility. If you want his religious views in a purer form, go to the brilliant Orthodoxy or Everlasting Man. If you want a detailed narration of the lives of the writers in question, look elsewhere. And even for this style of biography, I think his book on Dickens was the best I've read. But I found his opinionated description and defense of Chaucer and his times also very interesting. And while he does not scatter brilliant sayings like rose petals at a wedding, as in his best books, (reading Everlasting Man, I wanted to copy every other sentence) a few blossoms do flutter down, like the following, which also explain Chesterton's method:

"The truly impartial historian is not he who is enthusiastic for neither side in a historical struggle. . .The truly impartial historian is he who is enthusiastic for both sides. He holds in his heart a hundred fanaticisms."

"The greatest poets of the world have a certain serenity, because they have not bothered to invent a small philosophy, but have rather inherited a large philosophy. It is, nine times out of ten, a philosophy which very great men share with very ordinary men. It is therefore not a theory which attracts attention as a theory."

Author, Jesus and the Religions of Man (July 2000)

d.marshall@sun.ac.jp

G.K. Chesterton, best known for his Father Brown detective stories, also stands out as a remarkable literary critic. He is most astute on Stevenson, his greatest influence, rightly seeing him as the first great writer to find beauty in a modern city. A must!

Favorite characters: Dabble the Duck and Jason the young boy

Dabble starts out as a baby duck that belongs to a young boy named Jason. But Dabble grows and grows into a large white duck, and Jason's parents must decide whether Dabble has outgrown the apartment and might be happier on farm. You will have to read the book to see what happens to Dabble.
It is a great story for any kids who have pets, as it shows how much Jason cares about Dabble. The pictures in the book are very colorful and the story shows a real friendship between a boy and his duck. I recommend it for all ages.

Its a shame this book is out of print for its a fun story that teaches compassion. Dabble is cute as a chick, but as a full grown duck he makes a mess in his apartment home. He also is very lonely when his boy goes to school. Then one day on a walk they find an injured, bedraggled dog. The dog finds a caring home and Dabble has a friend. A heartwarming and funny story for preschoolers

The book contains some short stories; one of them is titled "Divine and Human". The content of the stories varies: some of them are fables with a happy ending others, as for instance "Divine and Human", are stories with bleak atmospheres resembling the ones present in "The Death of Ivan Ilich" or in "Resurrection. The author, anyhow, always deploys a positive message of hope. The author clearly depicts last century Russian peasant's poor conditions of life. These very miserable life styles are the base for the author's reflections and considerations about the morally correct behaviour that rich people should hold in order to be useful to others and to be happier themselves.

Tolstoy, a writer of such undeniable power, proves perhaps by the most extreme scenario that he is not overrated as a transcendant writer: namely, this book is still vital despite a horribly mangled translation by Gordon Spence. Here's one example of the needless contortions Spence plays with Russian/English: "But what he understood now by him to whom he appealed was something he knew to be the most real of everything he knew." Another gem: ". . .and in the same week he drank not only all the money that he had received for the execution, but also all his relatively expensive clothes. . ." Whaat? How does one drink expensive clothes? Yet another: "With the devoted old nurse. . .she sat in her father's closed sleigh, which had been newly repaired for the long journey, and set out on the long journey." Come on. How about ". . .newly repaired for the long journey, and set out."? Yet to read the story "Divine and Human" is a seminal experience nonetheless. Amazing, Tolstoy has to be a titan to shine through this, yet he does.

This is a wonderfully illustrated story that teaches children that being different is ok and that our "differences" are what make us unique and special. Each person is special whether they look like those people in their surroundings or not and we must cherish our differences.

My kids love this book. They are 3 and 5 years old. This book follow the adventures of Jessica the frog who finds an alligator egg. The other frogs tell her it is a chicken egg and they call the baby alligator a chicken throughout the book (the kids get a kick out of this - and try to correct me after they heard the story again and again). Things good for kids from this book: 1) nature 2) use your imagination 3)explore the world around you.

This collection of papers on the Family in ancient Israel covers the various periods of Israelite history. From pre-monarchy to second temple Judaism the chapters discuss many aspects of the family. The various authors discuss the members of the family, divorce, inheritance, and other issues that families of old as well as modern families experience. The ancient Israelite family was similar to those in the ancient Near East in their work ethic, structure, and culture.

This book helps the American family redefine their concept of family, extended family, and household as a source of strength for their cultural development.

This is the book for anyone who has ever wondered about the political homage paid to the "biblical family" in recent years. Profiting from recent breakthroughs in the study of Hebrew scriptures, this book, one of a series produced by the Religion, Culture, and Family Project of the University of Chicago Divinity School, argues that the family in ancient Israel should be understood as a complicated, multi-generational "household" system organized around a core "covenant" between father and mother, parents and children, households and land, and families and God. The ancient Hebrew family was hardly the "nuclear family" of today. Codes of hospitality insured that even outsiders and marginal members of the community were included when necessary. Indeed, the ancient Hebrew family resembled more the "village" concept, not only for raising children, but for building up community. Religious ideas in ancient Israel gave order and significance to the practical realities of family life, and were closely connected to the realities of household labor, land, wealth, procreation, inheritance, economic profit and loss, sickness, and dependency. This book is the only recent comprehensive review in the English language of the family in ancient Israel. It is well worth reading for anyone who wants to understand the biblical families of the Old Testament.

Originally pusblished in 1962, this book is still fresh and informative. It is a clearly written introduction to the history, customs, and principals of Judiaism, told from a historical perspective. This unique approach is best summed up in the Preface: "Whatever happened to the Jews at a given moment in history helped shape their outlook, their prayers and practices, their philosophy and hopes. The discussion of doctrines and movements, of observances and practices, is introduced at the historical point in the narrative when they reached their fullest expression and concreteness." For example, during the refinement of Jewish laws and customs by the early rabbis, the rabbis allowed open debate about the meaning or practical implemention of Jewish laws or practices. This openess developed in the context of Greek (Aristotelian) use of logic and open discussion. I think the reader will find the author's historical approach, a useful complement to the traditional approach of discussing Jewish traditions and philosophy on a topic by topic basis.

A History Of The Jewish Experience: Book One, Torah and History, Book Two Torah, Mitzvot, And Jewish Thought by Rabbi Leo Trepp stretches across the centuries as it examines what it means to be Jewish and to partake of Judaic culture, tradition, faith and a way of life which embraces the Torah. Biblical history through the dynamics and issues of modern-day American Jewry are discussed in this scholarly and thoughtful testimony. Enhanced with eight maps and 145 illustrations, A History Of The Jewish Experience is warmly recommended for personal, academic, and community library Judaic Studies collections.

When many think of the land locked country of Bolivia, they think of narcotics, Nazi's and natural resources. Few think of Jews. But to Jews fleeing Europe after the Anschluss of 1938, Bolivia was the place about which to think. Bolivia offered a safe haven in a world of closed doors; at least 20,000 Jews found refuge in La Paz, Sucre, Oruro, Cochabamba during the War.

Leo Spitzer, a Professor of History at Dartmouth and specialist in cultural memory and gender studies, was born in La Paz in 1939, his parents having just fled their beloved Vienna. His book, Hotel Bolivia, succeeds in providing an enlightening look at the little known story of the Jewish refugee community in Bolivia; and also, for the most part, Spitzer accomplishes his goal to craft a meditation on the nature of individual and collective memories and the ability of people to adapt to their new environment.

Through interviews, testimonies, documents, diaries, and recollections, many rendered benign by the passing of time, Spitzer relates to us the stories of the refugees who never felt at home in Bolivia -- people who viewed themselves as refugees and not residents -- perceiving Bolivia as a transit station, a hotel by the name of Hotel Bolivia.

In 1938, Bolivia was still recovering from its devastating Chaco War with Paraguay. This Catholic country that was seventy percent Quechua and Aymara-speaking mestizos did know a little about Jews. Its liberator, President Antonio Jose de Sucre, was probably part crypto-Jewish, and Mauricio Hochschild, of German Jewish parentage, was one of Bolivia's wealthiest industrialists. Into this high altitude came over 20,000 Jewish refugees. While most gained entry in order to set up agricultural settlements, just a few hundred ever left the urban center of La Paz for the good earth of cooperative farming.

The story of Spitzer's own family's crossing from Genoa to La Paz is engrossing. Although Spitzer's grandfather Leopoldo, for whom he is named, died on the ship en route to Boli! via, the Spitzer family's shipboard photos and recollections are filled with optimism and are devoid of sorrow. Did the passage of time distort their memories? It was not until Spitzer discovered his father's captions on the obverse sides of the photos that he learned of his father's profound sadness of leaving his homeland (Heimat) and his extreme feelings of loss on losing his beloved father and having to bury him during a port call in Caracas. Spitzer sharply quotes journalist Herb Caen's observation, "Nostalgia is memory with the pain removed."

Leo, named for his grandfather who had died just a few weeks prior, became a link to the past in this new and alien land. The other refugees recreated several other links to their pasts, including the Circula Israelita, Austria Club, Juedische Jugendbund, Judische Gemeinde, and Macabi socials and sporting clubs.

Spitzer shows how the sinking of the refugee ship "Orazio" took on an amplified importance in the refugee community. Although most of the Orazio's passengers, who were en route to Bolivia, were rescued off the coast of France, the sinking came to represent the collective experience of all the Jewish refugees.

The most disconcerting passages in HOTEL BOLIVIA are those attributed to some of Bolivia's "German" Jewish leaders during the War, some of them laced with prejudice against the Ostjuden of Poland.

Today, with less than 1,500 Jews residing in Bolivia, and fewer than 100 of the original refugees, Leo Spitzer transmits an important story to us about forgotten refugees, their adaptations, their institutions, and their even leaders' attempts at communal farming.

As a grand son of jews that also took Bolivia (1910) as a Refuge from the madness of Pogroms in czarist Russia, I was since long ago interested in the following waves of forced jewish inmigration in this country. A soon as I read "Hotel Bolivia....", I commented it with some Austrian friends that live in Tarija, Bolivia to this very day and that came to Bolivia in 1938 in the same conditions as Spitzer's family. They all tell me that his description of that horrible time is very accurate (especially the Austrian pre-emigration period). Tarija is a small Department in the south of Bolivia which borders with Argentina. Here too, many Jews came in their way to Argentina, they were well treated and some stayed the rest of their lives, all of them respected by this community as hard-working and decent people. Some continued their journey to the USA or Argentina. Today, only 3 Jewish families (survivors) remain from that period and I would like to thank Leo Spitzer for a book that preserves a testimony of their lives in an objective and accurate perspective.

It is odd to me that Leo Tolstoy can write a novel like Anna Karenina that is so long and has such an intricate involved plot, yet be able to cram so much thought into such a small volume as "How Much Land Does a Man Need." This by far is my favorite of Tolstoy's works that I have read so far. The moral is eximplary of his life, and illustrates the joys of a simple life, and the consequences of greed.

There was once a Russian peasant who worked hard. The earth never failed to feed him and his family. His life was quiet and secure but he was never satisfied and happy. "We have too little land. If we had more land, I would fear nothing and no one." He borrowed money and bought twenty-five acres of land. "Now he was his own master. The grain stood tall. He had a bountiful harvest, and he made a handsome profit at market. He was able to repay all his debts. There was peace and happiness under his roof." But unfortunately, it did not last for long. He wanted more land so that he could become rich. Over and over again he moved his family, so that he could buy more and more land. One day a traveler told the peasant about good and fertile land in the faraway country of Bashkir. There, for one thousand rubles, a man could have as much land as he could walk around in one day..... Written in 1886, by Leo Tolstoy, and adapted for children, How Much Land Does A Man Need? is as fresh and powerful today, as it was over 100 years ago. This is the story of a man who was never satisfied with what he had, and unable to sit back and enjoy the pleasures in his life. Tolstoy's simple, engaging, and understated text is compelling and carries an important message. Elena Abesinova's beautiful and vibrant artwork is rich in intricate detail, and begs to be explored. Together word and art tell the sad story of a life wasted because of greed and envy. Perfect for youngsters 7 and older, How Much Land Does A Man Need? includes a fascinating biography of Tolstoy at the end, and is an intriguing fable that's sure to open interesting and thoughtful discussions.

This book is the most rabid attack on rationalism that I have ever read. Shestov seems to be out to get all of the "great" philosophers, particulary Emanuel Kant. Kant put forth that all religion must be scrutinized under the microscope of rational thought. Shestov makes the point that no religion could withstand this scrutiny, and that we would then be essentially making logic the religion.

Shestov's text, having been written by a Russian Jew, provides a point of view that most Americans would find extremely unfamiliar. This is not a book for the faint of heart, one must be prepared to view Western "thought worship" in a whole new light. This is a mind-expanding work. PS I have never seen a philosophy curriculum on-line or during my schooling that included this man.

Undoubtedly, Shestov is one of the eminent Russian scholars I ever heard of in Russia. Nobody had ever dealed with issue of religion so deep. We can hardly denounce his knowledge on Greek philosophy and Jewish religion and on the history of philosophy of Christianity since St. Augustine to his era. He was genuinely a Russian philosopher at his period, and mentally a real Russian too! If he was born in Germany, his name might be mentioned with another eminent philosopher on religoin, Martin Heidegger.