Library Corner
Looking Anew at Captain Dreyfus
April 8, 2024
By Robin Jacobson. Near the turn of the 20th Century, the Dreyfus Affair thrust France into turmoil. In 1894, the French army falsely accused and convicted Jewish military captain Alfred …
An American Tale of Love & Community
March 6, 2024
By Robin Jacobson. How can a book full of societal evils like racism, antisemitism, and child abuse manage to be heartwarming and uplifting? This is the magic of The Heaven …
The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance
January 29, 2024
By Robin Jacobson. “Pa pleaded. “We can get a hundred and sixty acres out west, just by living on it… If Uncle Sam’s willing to give us a farm… I …
Music, War, and Memory
November 30, 2023
By Robin Jacobson. The great German poet-playwright Goethe had a deep fondness for a grand oak tree in the woodlands near Weimar. One autumn morning in 1827, he famously picnicked …
When Your Child Becomes a Stranger
October 24, 2023
By Robin Jacobson. There’s an old Jewish story about two women sitting on a park bench together. One sighs. Her friend reproves her, “I thought we agreed not to talk …
Beneath the Roman Arch
September 28, 2023
By Robin Jacobson. Intimate Strangers: A History of Jews and Catholics in the City of Rome by Frederic Brandfon tells the epic story of Jews in Rome across more than …
Summoning the Family Ghosts
August 29, 2023
By Robin Jacobson. The Postcard by French author Anne Berest is a remarkable true story of a Jewish family told in the form of a novel. It opens with the …
Jewish Dynasties
August 1, 2023
By Robin Jacobson. Fans of multi-generational tales of Jewish families have three new non-fiction options, each fascinating: The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire by …
Martinis and Memories in a California Garden
June 6, 2023
By Robin Jacobson. Early in 2020, Julian Künstler receives an unexpected phone call from his 93-year-old grandmother, Salomea (“Mamie”) Künstler. Mamie invites Julian to stay with her in California for a few weeks while …
New Life from Ancient Seeds
June 6, 2023
By Robin Jacobson. “The righteous bloom like a date-palm . . .” Psalm 92:13 Among the glories of ancient Israel were its flourishing Judean date palm trees, celebrated for their …