America. A novel by Franz Kafka

The story describes the bizarre wanderings of a seventeen-year-old European emigrant named Karl Rossmann in the United States, who was forced to go to New York to escape the scandal of his seduction by a housemaid. As the ship arrives in America, he becomes friends with a stoker who is about to be dismissed from his job. Karl identifies with the stoker and decides to help him; together they go to see the captain of the ship. In a surreal turn of events, Karl's uncle, Senator Jacob, is in a meeting with the captain. Karl doesn't know that Senator Jacob is his uncle, but Mr. Jacob recognizes him and takes him away from the stoker.

Karl stays with his uncle for some time but is later abandoned by him after making a visit to his uncle's friend without his uncle's full approval. Wandering aimlessly, he becomes friends with two drifters named Robinson and Delamarche. They promise to find him a job, but Karl departs from them on bad terms after he's offered a job by a manageress at Hotel Occidental. He works there as a lift-boy but is fired one day after Robinson shows up drunk at his work asking him for money. Robinson, in turn, gets injured after fighting with some of the lift-boys.

Being dismissed, Karl leaves the hotel with Robinson to Delamarche's place. Once there, a police officer tries to chase him, but he gets away after Delamarche saves him. Delamarche now works for a wealthy lady named Brunelda. She wants to take in Karl as her servant. Karl refuses, but Delamarche physically forces him to stay. He decides to stay but looks for a good opportunity to escape.

One day he sees an advertisement for the Nature Theatre of Oklahoma, which is looking for employees. The theatre promises to find employment for everyone and Karl is taken in by this. Karl applies for a job and gets engaged as a "technical worker". He is then sent to Oklahoma by train and is welcomed by the vastness of the valleys.

Judaism (Crash Course Series), by Monika Grubel

This book presents the basics of Jewish history, religion, and culture in graphic and understandable form. It can make no claim to being exhaustive-the breadth of the subject precludes such a claim in so short a space.

In short order, Monika Grübel covers everything from the time of the patriarchs in Canaan and the Exodus from Egypt to the Holocaust and contemporary Israel. Grübel touches on the Judges, King David, King Solomon, and the Temple, the exile to Babylon, Alexander the Great, the revolt of the Maccabees and the origins of Hanukkah, Herod, the Bar Kochba uprising, the Mishnah and the Talmud. There are chapters on the Sephardim, the Ashkenazim, and Jews under Islam, Jewish religious factions, Anti-Semitism and Zionism. In addition, there's an index of names, an index of subjects, a glossary, and a guide to Jewish museums. Grübel pulls off a difficult job while making it look easy, as she summarizes the history clearly, makes each topic accessible, and winds up with a text that's so interesting to read that you lose sight of your specific goal, learning about Moses Mendelssohn and Nathan the Wise when you'd just intended to brush up on dietary laws and the dispersion of the Jews from Spain. --Stephanie Gold

This book is available on Amazon

Going Rogue An American Life By Sarah Palin

On September 3, 2008 Alaska Governor Sarah Palin gave a speech at the Republican National Convention that electrified the nation and instantly made her one of the most recognizable women in the world. As chief executive of America′s largest state, she had built a record as a reformer who cast aside politics-as-usual and pushed through changes other politicians only talked about: Energy independence. Ethics reform. And the biggest private sector infrastructure project in U.S. history. While revitalizing public school funding and ensuring the state met its responsibilities to seniors and Alaska Native populations, Palin also beat the political "good ol′ boys club" at their own game and brought Big Oil to heel. Like her GOP running mate, John McCain, Palin wasn′t a packaged and over-produced "candidate." She was a Main Street American woman: a working mom, wife of a blue collar union man, and mother of five children, the eldest of whom was serving his country in a yearlong deployment in Iraq and the youngest, an infant with special needs. Palin′s hometown story touched a populist nerve, rallying hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans to the GOP ticket. But as the campaign unfolded, Palin became a lightning rod for both praise and criticism. Supporters called her "refreshing," "honest," a kitchen-table public servant they felt would fight for their interests. Opponents derided her as a wide-eyed Pollyanna unprepared for national leadership. But none of them knew the real Sarah Palin. In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Palin paints an intimate portrait of growing up in the wilds of Alaska; meeting her lifelong love; her decision to enter politics; the importance of faith and family; and the unique joys and trials of life as a high-profile working mother. She also opens up for the first time about the 2008 presidential race, providing a rare, mom′s-eye view of high-stakes national politics - from patriots dedicated to "Country First" to slick politicos bent on winning at any cost. Going Rogue traces one ordinary citizen′s extraordinary journey, and imparts Palin′s vision of a way forward for America and her unfailing hope in the greatest nation on earth.

This book is available on Amazon

Far From Zion by Charles London

Are you Jewish? It was a question Charles London heard everywhere he went. Raised in a nonreligious Jewish family, London knew his heritage but had no strong desire to experience it personally. He even spent much of his teen years pretending not to be Jewish. But in the summer of 2004, while doing relief work with children in Bosnia, he stumbled upon a community the likes of which he had not seen before—where Jews worked alongside Muslims and Christians to rebuild a city ravaged by war. London liked this idea of a humanitarian Judaism, and though he didn't realize it at the time, this encounter gave him the idea for a journey that would take him around the world and back to his roots.

Far From Zion Facebook page

Charles London's blog

Far From Zion on Amazon

Меир Шалев "Как несколько дней..."

Роман Меира Шалева «Как несколько дней...» — о них, о таких совпадениях. И хотя в нем появляются и Ангел Смерти, и еще один персонаж явно потустороннего происхождения, главное в этой книге — история любви.

Она охватывает почти столетие, эта история и эта любовь, и, как настоящее дерево, прорастает корнями глубоко в прошлое. Главные герои родились кто где, но жили в маленькой палестинской деревушке — из тех, где если готовишь обед, то каждый знает, что у тебя в кастрюле. Один из героев, Моше Рабинович, оказался «не тем ребенком»: мать хотела девочку и поэтому наряжала младенца в девичьи одежды и завязывала ему косу. Позже коса эта, отрезанная и спрятанная в шкатулку, сыграла свою роковую роль. Сам же Моше в конце концов вырос в обычного мужчину, женился на девушке, похожей на него (за вычетом того, что у нее коса была, а у него уже нет), и жил бы себе долго и счастливо, да вот после одного случая остался вдовцом...

Другой — скототорговец Сойхер Глоберман — всю жизнь больше интересовался коровами и деньгами, и совсем мало — людьми, но нажил свою, особую мудрость, и свой запах, от которого коровы приходили в ужас, и еще обыкновение добиваться всего постепенно, шажок за шажком.

А третьим был несчастный счастливец Яков Шейнфельд, которого угораздило жениться на невероятно красивой женщине, а после влюбиться в другую. Этот Шейнфельд разводил цыплят в инкубаторе да приглядывал за канарейками одного пришлого чудака-альбиноса, и еще сходил с ума от любви к Юдит, наемной работнице вдовца Рабиновича.

Такой вот любовный квадрат, куда уж всяким ромео и джульеттам! Все трое: и Рабинович, и Глоберман, и Шейнфельд — как есть втрескались в Юдит, каждый по-своему. И вся деревня гадала, как же там у них все обернется. Ведь эта Юдит — странная женщина, прибывшая издалека, со своими тайнами и своим темным прошлым. Она кричала по ночам от тоски и жила у Рабиновича в коровнике, и чуть-чуть выпивала в том коровнике — при открытых дверях! — с Глоберманом, и Шейнфельд, похоже, ей не был безразличен. Она и родила-то, представьте, вроде как от всех троих: так до смерти и не сказала, чей сын. А назвала сына Зейде (то бишь, «старичок»), чтобы Ангел Смерти, когда придет, удивился и решил, что ошибся.

Эли Визель "Рассыпанные искры"

Книга лауреата Нобелевской премии мира повествует о зарождении и развитии хасидизма – мистического учения в иудаизме, возникшем в середине 18 столетия на Украине. Через призму преданий, легенд и поучений автор раскрывает образ основателя хасидизма БЕШТа и его ближайших учеников...

Фрагмент из книги:

Тем не менее сын Сары и Элиэзера отнюдь не считался первым баал-шемом. Были до него другие Владетели Имени: Йоэль Баал-Шем, Элиягу Баал-Шем, Биньямии Баал-Шем. Все они были странствующими чудотворцами. Они пересекали реки и леса, посещали деревушки и города, добираясь даже до таких отдаленных мест, как Вормс и Лондон. Наконец, существовал таинственный Адам Баал-Шем, считающийся предтечей хасидизма. Ходят слухи, что он поручил сыну свои эзотерические писания для передачи их Баал-Шем-Тову. Независимо от того, кем считать этих людей – святыми или знахарями, – надо признать, что они более или менее справлялись со своим делом: к ним обращались, чтобы изгнать бесов, заклясть дьявола, исцелить женщину от бесплодия. Чтобы отличить Исраэля Баал-Шема от других, к его имени добавили слово “Тов”. Таким образом он стал Владетелем Святого Имени, а все остальные отошли на второй план, если вообще не были забыты. Остался он один, на недосягаемой для других высоте.

Не был Баал-Шем и первым хасидом. Не забираясь в исторические дали и не разбирая такие явления, как хасидизм Талмуда или XII века, сошлемся лишь на существование в период, непосредственно предшествующий появлению Баал-Шема, своего рода хасидских братств в Бродах, Баре, Кутах и Меджибоже. Они объединяли каббалистов и знаменитых ученых, среди которых были Гершон Кутивер, Нахман из Городенки, Нахман из Косова, Вулф Кицез, Ицхак Дрогобычский, Шабтай Рашковер. Кружки эти были весьма замкнуты – их участники желали оставаться избранным обществом. Чтобы отбить у возможных претендентов стремление проникнуть в элиту, они ввели правила приема, требующие от каждого кандидата не только превосходного знания Талмуда и каббалы, но и обязательства строго придерживаться практики аскетизма и “воздержания от пророчеств”. Говорят, будто сам Бешт пытался стать одним из них, однако знания его были сочтены недостаточными, и он получил отказ. Итак, хасиды имелись и до Бешта, но хасидизм в его нынешнем значении создан (или воссоздан) именно им. Он дал существующему термину новое содержание и форму.

Saving Israel: How the Jewish People Can Win a War that May Never End by Daniel Gordis

Israel is beset from all sides. In the international community, it is the only country whose right to exists is still debated. Closer to home, many Arab leaders continue to call for its destruction. Inside its borders, Israel’s own Arab population grows ever more hostile. And now, countless Jews within Israel and around the world have begun to lose faith in the very idea of a Jewish state. Can Israel weather these challenges? In Saving Israel, Daniel Gordis offers a new defense of the Jewish state, asking first why Israel is necessary, and then discussing what Israel has to do in order to survive its enemies. Gordis begins with a novel discussion of Israel’s purpose, reflecting on the overlooked ways in which Israel has changed the existential condition of Jews everywhere. In the process, he grapples with controversial questions about Israel, Israeli Arabs, Muslims, and the International community that many Israelis and American Jews are loath to confront.

Author's website: Saving Israel: How the Jewish People Can Win a War that May Never End

Why Israel Can't Wait: The Coming War Between Israel And Iran by Jerome R. Corsi

The new Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly declared that a primary foreign policy objective is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability. Israel is a "one-bomb state," such that one atomic weapon, even a relatively low-yield bomb of the type the United States dropped on Hiroshima or Nagasaki in World War II, would destroy the modern Jewish state as we know it today.

This book is available on Amazon

Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that's Conspiring to Islamize America by P. David Gaubatz

CAIR describes itself as America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, aiming to "enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding."

Among the many findings in "Muslim Mafia," however – backed by internal documents obtained in the undercover probe – is CAIR's behind-the-scenes work to mislead and deceive the FBI on behalf of terrorism suspects and its cultivating of Muslim moles inside law enforcement who have tipped off FBI terror targets.

The book, co-authored by P. David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry, asserts CAIR is acting as a front for a conspiracy of the Muslim Brotherhood – the parent of al-Qaida and Hamas – to infiltrate the U.S. The book's release caused leaders of the bipartisan Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus to call for multiple federal investigations of CAIR. In response, CAIR has sued "Muslim Mafia" co-author P. David Gaubatz and his son Chris Gaubatz who led the daring six-month undercover penetration of CAIR.

This book is available on Amazon

Related news article: CAIR concedes it doesn't legally exist Defense lawyer says 'Muslim Mafia' effectively admits its case meritless.

Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilisations by Martin Goodman

History which never happened both comforts and tantalizes by hinting how we might have avoided present miseries. What if Rome had never grown to be more than a small, undistinguished Italian city-state? It is unlikely that any other Mediterranean empire would have obliterated the Temple of Jerusalem, as did the Roman emperor's son Titus in 70CE - at least, it is very unlikely that the temple would not have been rebuilt or redeployed for a new sort of faith. Total destruction was not the way in the ancient Near East: witness the seventh-century struggle over the ancient holy place of Mecca, which Muhammad transformed into the focus of a newly conceived religion. Without the Romans, temple worship would have continued in Jerusalem, with thousands on thousands converging on it yearly, ecstatic to end their pilgrimage in a centuries-old sacred city, as still happens on the hajj to Mecca.The reality of history is that after 70CE, followers of Judaism throughout the Mediterranean and Near East witnessed the agony of their homeland in Judaea, shattered and traumatised by Titus's victory. Resentment at Roman repression and the temple's continuing ruin provoked rebellion, and a second and decisive round of destruction in 132-35. In the decades between, one messianic offshoot of Judaism, founded by Jesus who was crucified, projected an identity right outside the normal confines of Jewish faith. The Jesus movement's crucial transformation into a religion for Gentiles as well as Jews, pioneered by Paul even before the temple had fallen, gave it potential for growth on a scale unprecedented for a marginal Jewish sect.

This book is available on Amazon

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Psychology by Joni E. Johnston

For students looking for a comprehensive resource, or those looking for a self-help book, this new edition provides an easy-to-understand look at both the history and modern practice of psychology. Inside, readers will find what treatment works best for what problem, how to use positive psychology to make one’s life even better, and alternative mental health treatments. They’ll also learn about how the mind and the body work with each other—and how to improve the communication between them. Covers all the basics, but gives extra emphasis to such contemporary issues as fear/anxiety, child psychology, health psychology, mood altering drugs, forensics, and so on.

This book is available on Amazon