BOOK REVIEW
Nemesis, by Philip Roth
Reviewed by Jerry Binder, Ph.D. Dr. Binder teaches classes at the Whizin Center at AJU. He specializes in researching, writing and offering programs about the Jewish role in shaping the American experience.
 At the heart of Philip Roth's recent novel, Nemesis, are daunting questions. Just how able are we to contend with adversity? How much personal power do any of us have in the face of overpowering circumstances? How do we find meaning and purpose in our lives?
Nemesis begins in the "stifling heat of equatorial Newark," where a wartime polio epidemic in the summer of 1944 is terrifying and threatening the children of the city with disability and even death. Roth depicts a community that is vulnerable and impotent. In the midst of the onslaught is Bucky Cantor, a twenty-three year old playground director, who must contend with the dread of neighborhood residents and his own fears.
Read More
 AT THE LIBRARY
Terrorism and the Middle East
The Ostrow Library, together with the Whizin Center for Continuing Education, is proud to present authors Thanassis Cambanis, Joel Chasnoff and Mordechai D. Dzikansky, who will provide personal perspectives of terrorism in the Middle East based on their own experiences on Sunday, May 1 at 4:00PM at American Jewish University.
In his book, A Privilege to Die: Inside the Hezbollah's Legions and Their Endless War Against Israel, Thanassis Cambanis offers a detailed look at the surprising cross-section of people who are willing to die for this movement. Cambanis has covered the Middle East and Iraq as bureau chief for the Boston Globe and the Arab world on assignment for The New York Times.
Read More
interview
One Author's Perspective
 Eugene Yelchin is a painter, author, and illustrator born and educated in St. Petersburg, Russia. Yelchin's creative work extends across many disciplines including book publishing, film, and advertising.
Q. Congratulations on winning the very prestigious National Jewish Book Award for Best Illustrated Book for The Rooster Prince of Breslov. I've seen this book and it is such a contrast to what I have seen of your paintings and drawings. I am curious how you segued into illustrating children's books?
A. I have always had a huge respect and a fascination with an illustrated book. A book that allows equal, or even more weight, to the image than it does to the word is very appealing to any visual artist.
Read More
|