Wednesday, December 1, 2010

New Book Release: Feminine Faith

Feminine Faith by Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn

When the Jews served the golden calf during their sojourn in the wilderness, says the Midrash, the woman refused to join them. Feminine Faith traces the roots of the feminine within the supernal realms, and explores its relationship to woman and how it translated into their aversion for unholy and ungodly worship. Why are woman more sensitive than men to G-ds role in earthly events and His mastery over creation? In this discourse, Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn, fourth leader of Chabad Lubavitch (1834-1882), explores G-ds unity and immanence in the world, and the innate sensitivity that woman posses to spirituality.

New Book Release: Full Devotion

Full Devotion by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson

Referred to as a landmark discourse, delivered by the Rebbe barely two years after ascending to the leadership of Chabad-Lubavitch, this discourse is perhaps unique among all of the Rebbe`s teachings in the sense that its message required a retooling of our conception of divine service. It discusses the self-satisfaction that might result from our love and awe of G-d, and that contemplating the fact that our days upon earth need to be utilized to the fullest serves to remove any such feelings of satisfaction.

Even without having been present, the reader can sense the immeasurable devotion emanating from the mind and heart of a true servant of G-d, as he charges us with the task of continuously choosing to look beyond ourselves, with FULL DEVOTION, to see G-d`s love for us, which in turn, will make us successful in loving and serving him.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

New Book Release: Jewish Living

Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice by Mark Washofsky

This definitive guide for Reform Jewish practice is a complete source for those who wish to incorporate Jewish practice into their everyday life. Mark Washofsky, a highly respected professor at Hebrew Union College, leads the reader to an understanding of the whole of Jewish life-from blessings to bar/bat mitzvah, Havdalah to haftarah, and tikkun olam to tikkun Leil Shavuot. This user-friendly compendium for living a Jewish life is a wonderful tool for those seeking an understanding of current Reform Jewish practice.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

New Book Release: Real Monsters

Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside by Brad Steiger

Spotlighting news articles, historical accounts, and first-person interviews, this chronicle of human interactions with monsters will convince even the most hardened skeptic of the existence of the bogeyman, bigfoot, werewolves, and swamp creatures. Offering an array of wild reports—from the police officer who begrudgingly responded to a call about a long-haired woman flying over a suburban neighborhood only to find himself calling for backup when she attacked his patrol car to the motorist whose headlights illuminated a seven-foot tall, wolf-like creature that stood on its hind legs—this historical record highlights scary and unbelievable narratives. From slightly demented humans to spine-tingling paranormal encounters, each outlandish occurrence is detailed with thorough research and recounted with a storyteller's crafted voice.

New Book Release: The Vampire Book

The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead, 3rd Edition by J. Gordon Melton

Death and immortality, sexual prowess and surrender, intimacy and alienation, rebellion and temptation. The allure of the vampire is eternal. The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead, 3rd edition, explores the historical, literary, mythological, biographical, and popular aspects of one of the world's most mesmerizing paranormal subject. This vast reference is an alphabetical tour of the psychosexual, macabre world of the soul-sucking undead.

In the first fully revised and updated edition in a decade, Dr. J. Gordon Melton (president of the American chapter of the Transylvania Society of Dracula) bites even deeper into vampire lore, myths, reported realities, and legends that come from all around the world. From Vlad the Impaler to Dracula and from modern literature to movies and TV series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood, Twilight, and The Vampire Lestat, this exhaustive guide furnishes more than 400 essays to quench your thirst for facts, biographies, definitions, and more.

Friday, August 13, 2010

New Book Release: The Five-Year Party

The Five-Year Party by Craig Brandon

Colleges look much the same as they did five or ten years ago, but a lot has changed behind the scenes. While some mixture of study and play has always been part of college life, an increasing number of schools have completely abandoned the idea that students need to learn or demonstrate that they've learned. Financial pressures have made college administrations increasingly reluctant to flunk anyone out, regardless of performance, although the average length of time to get a degree is now five years, and for many students it's six or more. Student evaluations of professors—often linked to promotion and tenure decisions—have made professors realize that applying tough standards, or any standards, only hurts their own career progress. For many professors, it's become easier and more rewarding to focus on giving entertaining lectures and to give everyone reasonably good grades.

The worst of these schools are the "subprime" colleges, where performance standards and accountability have been completely abandoned. Students enjoy a five year party with minimal responsibilities while their parents pay the bills. These schools' investment decisions (first-class gyms and dining centers) are all geared to attracting students that want to have a good time, and their brochures all emphasize the fun aspects of the college experience—there are very few pictures of students actually studying or in class. And after graduation, former students are frequently unable to find work in their chosen fields, thanks to their school’s reputation with employers, and unable to afford the payments on sizable student loans.

The subprime colleges, which "teach" a significant percentage of college students, are only the tip of the iceberg. All colleges, even the most elite, have moved in this direction to some extent. If you are a parent sending your child to college, "The Five-Year Party" will give you critical information you need about what is really happening at your child's college, and what you can do to ensure help your child gets a real education.

New Book Release: Writing Readable Research

Writing Readable Research by Beverly Lewin

Writing Readable Research analyses scientific writing in English for non-native and native speakers. The Introduction looks at different layers of constraints in scientific writing in English including grammatical and semantic rules, register, style, rhetoric, textual cohesion, social amenities, mode, field and genre. Section I covers the grammatical and sentential structures relevant to scientific genres and those that pose problems for non-native speakers. It explains the function of the relevant tenses, of voice, and conditional clauses and how "grammatical" and syntactic facets interact with rhetorical choices. Section II looks at problems common to novice writers, whether non-native or native English speakers, including neglect of the paragraph as an organizing unit, superfluous words and phrases, monotonous sentence structure and inappropriateness for the intended readership. Many writers who have been taught "academic English" still find themselves unable to cope with "scientific English" and the final section of the book discusses how to analyze various scientific genres, such as journal articles, oral presentations, abstracts, professional letters and grant proposals. This section also covers the usually neglected area of interpersonal relations in the scientific discourse community. How do we handle sensitive issues such as criticizing other researchers and advancing one's own claims?

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

New Book Review: I Loved My Mother On Saturdays

"I Loved My Mother On Saturdays" and Other Tales from the Shtetl and Beyond by Roslyn Bresnick-Perry

From Roslyn Bresnick-Perry's childhood in the shtetl to her immigration to New York and life into adulthood with a career in the fashion industry, this book cannot simply be considered a collection of short autobiographical stories, or even a transcript of the dynamic family history she has been relating orally to audiences for decades. Written mostly in the first person, which gives the reader a feeling like she is right there in your living room, a few major themes of Bresnick-Perry's stories include adventures in adjusting to Jewish life in America and ups and downs in her relationship with her mother (as illustrated in the book's title). As the captivated reader will discover once the author admits it to herself, the author's life is storytelling, which she eventually decides to make into her real career, and a very successful one it is. Recommended for all types of Jewish libraries.

New Book Review: jobnik!

jobnik! by Miriam Libicki

jobnik!, a compilation of the first six issues of graphic artist Miriam Libicki’s self-published comic series, captivates the reader with the story of an American girl’s adventures in the Israeli army during the 2000 Intifada (which appears to have been based on her own army experiences). Miriam does not quite fit into the mold of your “typical” chayelet—quiet, emotional, and forever romantic, but a good girl at heart—as well as still trying to find her place in life religiously and socially. Miriam’s storytelling style is honest and real and draws the reader in from the very first panel. This memoir is unique in that it is one of only a handful of Jewish-themed graphic novels in publication, but a format which hopefully other writers will take note of. The illustrations bring the reader into the story much more than simply putting words on a page can and they truly feel like they are experiencing it there with her. Highly recommended for all types of Jewish libraries in the adult section.

New Book Review: The Blessing of a Broken Heart

The Blessing of a Broken Heart by Sherri Mandel

Sherri Mandell was just another writer and mom trying to find meaning and happiness for herself and her family after making aliyah when in 2001 the unthinkable happened: her oldest child, 13-year-old Koby, was murdered by terrorists only half a mile from their home in Tekoa. With an amazing gift of eloquence and unshakeable faith in God, Mandell weaves stories of Koby's life together with musings on the powers of healing and religion in order to try to make some sense of the tragedy. Highly recommended for all types of libraries.

New Book Review: Approaching an Auschwitz Survivor

Approaching an Auschwitz Survivor: Holocaust Testimony and its Transformations by Jurgen Matthaus, ed.

Approaching an Auschwitz Survivor takes a unique approach to understanding the Holocaust. Instead of simply compiling stories of many survivors, this book takes the testimony of one survivor, Helen "Zippi" Tichauer, and has it analyzed by Holocaust scholars who have known her personally. Zippi's detailed testimony covers over fifty years, from her time in Auschwitz to meeting and marrying her husband in a DP camp, surviving the war and making a new life for herself in New York, but at the same time making sure that her story would never be forgotten. Five scholars who have interviewed Zippi independently of each other analyze different aspects of her story: order, death, and survival in Auschwitz, comparative humane aspects of camp life, translating and transforming Zippi's first testimony dating back to 1946, postwar Jewish life, and the role of survivors for classroom teaching. These scholars have put together a fascinating read about not only how survivor testimony better helps in the understanding of the Holocaust itself, but delving into the deeper meaning of collecting testimonies and their value in history. Highly recommended for all types of libraries.

New DVD Review: Circumcise Me

Circumcise Me: The Comedy of Yisrael Campbell

Yisrael (born Chris) Campbell has a life story that seems perfect for a stand-up comedian: born in Philadelphia to an ex-nun and a Catholic teacher but still searching for spirituality, Chris captivates audiences with his fascinating journey from alcohol- and drug-addicted Catholic teenager to Jewish adult, going through Reform, Conservative and Orthodox conversions and finally becoming "Yisrael" and moving to Israel. This DVD intersperses bits of Campbell's comedy act with interviews of himself and his father about his upbringing, conversion and aliyah, marriage, parenthood, the second Intifada, and Jewish and Israeli life in general. His humor is universal and is likely to appeal to all types of audiences. A great addition to Jewish collections containing DVDs.

New Book Review: The Jews of West Point

The Jews of West Point in the Long Gray Line by Lewis L. Zickel

The United States Military Academy at West Point, the institution which trains leaders of the American Army, is not a place one may think has much of a Jewish presence. Small in number (fewer than nine hundred alumni) since West Point's inception in 1802, the now-late Colonel Lewis Zickel writes in the first part of The Jews of West Point in the Long Gray Line about the history of Jews in the military. The impact has been tremendous that Jews have made on the Army as a whole, which is known to insiders as being very accepting of its Jewish members, and being part of a tiny minority has influenced their own religious outlook as well. Zickel tells his own story in the second part of the book, what led him to join the Army at the time of the Korean War and how he helped create the West Point Jewish Chapel. Mostly positive memories from Jewish West Point graduates of their time there make up the final part of the book, relating how the Chapel's activities brought its members together into a close and active group, even after graduation, and played a part in bringing some of them closer to Judaism. West Point graduate Steve Rotkoff summed it up best: "Judaism made me a better officer and the Army made me a better Jew." Highly recommended for all types of libraries.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

New Book Release: AutoCAD 2010 3D Modeling Essentials

AutoCAD 2010 3D Modeling Essentials by Munir Hamad

AutoCAD® is a premier PC-based drafting tool that has been used by millions of engineers, draftsmen, project managers, and engineering students since its inception in 1982. AutoCAD 2010 3D Modeling Essentials provides new and seasoned users with simple step-by-step procedures on how to create and modify 3D models, set up cameras and lights, assign materials to objects, render, and print. Use the DVD to set up drawing exercises, view all of the book’s figures in full color, and draw with a trial version of AutoCAD 2010. Forty-five exercises throughout the book simulate the creation of a full real-world project from concept to completion, without overlooking any of the fundamental commands and functions of AutoCAD® 2010.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

New Book Release: What We See

What We See: Advancing the Observations of Jane Jacobs

What We See refreshes Jane Jacobs' economic, social and urban planning theories for the present day. More than thirty renowned pundits and practitioners combine their personal observations with meditations on Jacobs' insights for the living city.

The book models itself after Jacobs' collaborative approach to city and community building, asking citizens and niche specialists to share their knowledge with each other. What We See asks us all to join the conversation about next steps for shaping socially just, environmentally friendly, and economically prosperous communities.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

New Book Release: Transportation

Transportation: A Supply Chain Perspective by John Coyle

Delivering comprehensive coverage of current domestic and global transportation trends, TRANSPORTATION: A SUPPLY CHAIN PERSPECTIVE, 7e helps readers understand both the fundamental role and importance of transportation in companies and in society, as well as the complex environment in which transportation service is provided today. The book takes a managerial approach from both the shipper's and carrier's perspective to provide readers with a thorough overview that examines domestic and international transportation systems and their legal issues.

New Book Release: The Divine Commandments

The Divine Commandments by Nissan Mindel

The philosophical and mystical significance of the Mitzvot - the Divine precepts of the Torah - are succinctly explained in this classic essay by a distinguished author and scholar of Chasidism.

Divine Commandments provides insight into the power of tangible deed as a means of bringing life and Divine benevolence into the physical world, this brief work answers many basic questions about man and G-d.

Monday, March 15, 2010

New Book Review: Delivery From Darkness

Delivery From Darkness by Rabbi Baruch and Michal Finkelstein

After writing books about pregnancy and infertility, the Finkelsteins' Delivery From Darkness may be the first book of its kind, which is about postpartum depression (PPD), a disease that is little-known in general and even less talked about within the context of Judaism. It includes personal anecdotes from couples afflicted with PPD ranging from mild to psychotic, explanations of symptoms, causes, prevention and treatment options, as well as a chapter detailing how birth control is used halachically in situations of PPD and a chapter on PPD from the husband's perspective. Another section talks about dealing with PPD and depression/mental health in general within Jewish law and in the Jewish community—it's interesting to note that the chesed that is common in Jewish circles after a member has a baby, such as cooking meals and offers to help out with the other children, is something that is recommended in general as an effective treatment to reduce or eliminate milder cases of PPD. Highly recommended for all types of Jewish libraries.

New Book Review: Japan Took the J.A.P. Out of Me

Japan Took the J.A.P. Out of Me by Lisa Fineberg Cook

When her brand-new husband takes self-described Jewish American Princess Lisa Fineberg Cook from the comforts of posh Los Angeles to live in Nagoya, Japan, the dream of an exotic adventure quickly changes to frustration as she deals all at once with missing her old life and friends, the feeling of being different in a foreign culture, and the new lifestyle of marriage itself. Slowly, though, Lisa learns to become the wife she hoped she could be while finally fitting into this new world and making it feel like home.

Readers of this book will either love it or hate it: this is chick-lit at its finest and an engaging, enjoyable read. However, if you are looking to learn more about Japan's culture and language, or anything related to Judaism for that matter, not much will be found here Рand most of the few references to either contained in the book are not even explained. Although the book's title is clever and attempts to convey the theme of Cook's time in Japan, it is a whinefest from beginning to end filled with clich̩s about L.A. princesses. Cook does become somewhat domesticated during the year and touches on a few real issues in the book like the treatment of women in the Japanese culture, but the end didn't find her much closer to being "de-J.A.P.-ed" than the beginning. A cute memoir, but not necessary for specifically Jewish collections.

New Book Review: Good For the Jews

Good For the Jews by Debra Spark

Award-winning novelist Debra Spark's Good for the Jews centers around Ellen Hirschorn, a young Jewish woman living in Madison, Wisconsin. The book has everything needed in a good novel: mystery, suspense, romance, politics and humor, all based on the story of the Book of Esther. Ellen (Esther) is an orphan who lives with Mose (Mordechai), her much-older cousin and guardian. Their lives get tangled up in anti-Semitism when Mose, an unconventional high school teacher, gets into a confrontation with the new principal, Hyman (Haman), which is further complicated by Ellen's relationship with Alex (Achashverosh), the Superintendent of Schools who also happens to be her boss Valerie (Vashti)'s ex-husband. Although many creative liberties were taken as far as details staying true to the "original", Spark's update was well-written and reflects that the familiar story of good vs. evil still holds true today. Recommended for libraries with Jewish fiction collections.

Monday, January 4, 2010

New Book Review: We Plan, God Laughs

We Plan, God Laughs: What to Do When Life Hits You Over the Head by Sherre Hirsch

It happens to all of us: as much as we dream of and plan how we want our lives to turn out at each stage, there will always be something getting in the way. Using an outline of ten steps, Rabbi Hirsch can help to change one's way of thinking of these life goals from a perspective of "it's the end of the world if things don't go my way" to one of faith in God, finding His presence in everything, and knowledge that He will guide everyone on the right path for them. These suggestions include being flexible in expectations while still being true to yourself, holding yourself in as high esteem as God does, and taking charge of life instead of passively living it. Hirsch's blend of examples from the Torah and practical Judaism with modern wit make this book hard to put down. Recommended for all types of Jewish libraries.