New Book Release: Handy New York City

The Handy New York City Answer Book by Chris Barsanti

New York, the self-proclaimed capital of the world, the largest city in the United States, and is known as a melting pot of immigrants, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Central Park, Wall Street, Broadway, bridges, bodegas, restaurants, museums, and so much more. The “city that never sleeps” is bustling with people, cultural and sporting events, world-class shopping and high fashion, and other tourist attractions that draw in millions visitors from all over the world. The Handy New York City Answer Book explores the fascinating history, people, myths, culture, and trivia, taking an in-depth look at the city so nice, they named it twice. Illustrating the unique character of the city through a combination of facts, stats, and history, and the unusual and quirky, it answers more than 850 intriguing questions about people, events, government, and places of interest, including Who were the first New Yorkers? Why are Manhattan’s streets laid out in a grid? Why is there a windmill on the New York seal? How did New York help elect Abraham Lincoln president? What were “sweatshops”? Who started the gossip column? What is “stop and frisk”? How many trees are there in New York?

New Book Release: Tiferet Yisrael

Tiferet Yisrael by Ramon Widmonte

The famed Maharal of Prague, a 16th-century mystic, is known for the legend of the Golem, but his Torah scholarship has remained a closed book to English speakers for far too long. While several attempts have been made to translate or abridge the Maharal’s Torah, the complexity of his thought has defied standard translation methodologies. This edition of the Tiferet Yisrael (the Splendor of Israel) seeks to present the Maharal’s thought in all its majesty and to enable beginners and scholars alike to grasp the overall structure of the Maharal’s concepts through the addition of innovative summaries and graphical aids. In the work, the Maharal contemplates questions of Jewish life, such as How can there be ritually observant Jews who behave immorally? What is the reason for performing Mitzvot (commandments)? Is there any relevance or meaning to performing Mitzvot if one doesn’t understand God’s reasons for commanding them? What is the path to self-fulfillment? The translation is lucid and faithful, with in-line comments to guide the reader in exploring the Maharal’s depths.

New Book Release: An Obsession With Rings

An Obsession With Rings: How Rowing Became an Olympic Sport for Women in the United States by Joanne Wright Iverson

Joanne Wright wanted to go the Olympics. An amateur athlete, she had taken up the sport of rowing those long skinny boats and found that she was good at it. She also quickly learned that there were no rowing events for women in the Olympics. Why? Because the governing body for rowing in the United States viewed it as a man s sport and they would not sanction U.S. women to compete in international competitions. When the International Olympic Committee considered the addition of women's rowing to the Olympic program the various countries were asked if they would send a women's rowing team. The response from the US governing body for rowing had always been No because the men thought that women not only could not, but should not row. Joanne set about changing their minds. In 1963 she, Ted Nash an Olympic Gold Medalist training in Seattle Washington, and Edwin Lickiss, a dedicated coach of young rowers in Oakland California teamed up to form the National Womens Rowing Association (NWRA) to literally become their own governing body for women s rowing. By 1966 they organized and ran the first regatta to pick national champions even though at the time there were less than nine clubs and colleges available to race. This is Joanne s story of how three people communicating without the help of the Internet started new rowing programs, encouraged colleges to add women s crew programs, provided a venue for those colleges with intramural women's crews to start competing against one another, and proved to existing men's clubs that they should welcome women to their ranks of competitors. The 1976 Olympics in Montreal held the first rowing events for women. The United States team came home with a Bronze and Silver medal. The Second edition is now fully annotated and contains the official National Association of Amateur Oarsmen race results for women prior to the formation of the National Women's Rowing Association.