Book review

A book about Germans who had status, safety and power; and still chose to defy Hitler - review

In September 1943, a group that included aristocrats, a diplomat, a pioneering educator, and an intelligence officer gathered in a Berlin drawing room. Not to gossip, but to defy the Nazi regime.

“The Traitors Circle” describes a group of German elites who plotted to fight Nazism.
Omar El Akkad attends the 76th National Book Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on November 19, 2025 in New York City.

National Book Award in nonfiction goes to ‘One day, everyone will have always been against this'

THE CHOFETZ CHAIM, Yisrael Meir Kagan, arrives with a group at the first Congress of Agudat Yisrael in Vienna in 1923.

'The True Power of Speech': Speaking improperly has cosmic consequences - review

THREE OF Zaidy’s comrades lie side by side in the military cemetery in Rehovot.

'Zaidy's Band': Revealing Canada’s contribution to World War II - review


'Moshe Dayan': Shedding analytical light on an Israeli war hero - review

Moshe Dayan: The Making of a Strategist is an outstanding book on multiple levels, offering valuable historical assessments and useful derivative opportunities to learn from Israel’s past.

MOSHE DAYAN and Jordanian Lt.-Col. Abdullah El Tell reach a ceasefire agreement in Jerusalem, Nov. 30, 1948.

'The Writers' Castle': Nazis at Nuremberg, impossible to defend - review

Uwe Neumahr provides an engaging account of the experiences (and sexual liaisons) of more than a dozen reporters in Nuremberg, their varied responses to the trial.

AT A solemn session in Berlin, representatives of various nations hand over to the tribunal their indictments in the Nuremberg Trials.

'Frequencies of Deceit': Propaganda broadcasting in the heyday of the radio age - review

From the previously under-appreciated source of radio broadcasting, Margaret Peacock sheds new light on how and why today’s Middle East has developed.

KING GEORGE V delivers the 1934 Royal Christmas Message on BBC Radio.

'The Jewish South': Comfort and discomfort of southern Jewry - review

Most pioneering is her description of the Jews’ participation in the Confederate government and army, pinpointing by name the Jewish “rebels” serving in the army.

BETH ISRAEL Synagogue in Macon, Georgia, circa 1876.

'Hostage': Eli Sharabi’s account of his captivity by Hamas - review

Two men grabbed Sharabi and dragged him out barefoot. He yelled to his family, promising to return. A terrorist hit him, causing his glasses to fall to the ground. He was beaten and kicked.

Eli Sharabi greets supporters, alongside Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon (behind him, next to the flag), as he arrives to address the UN Security Council in New York York City, in March.

'Living Dangerously': A man's journey to business success and religion - review

Irwin Katsof considers that his “journey has been... connecting to my soul and to the Jewish people and to God so that I’m never really alone, and I can deal with anything that happens…”

THE KATSOF FAMILY on Passover 2025, at the winery of one of Katsof’s sons, called Settlers Wine, based in Esh Kodesh.

Mermaids and a talking donkey: A treasure trove of ‘midrashic’ interpretations - review

Zev T. Gershon's '100 Wonders in the World of Torah' includes entries of little-known stories and oddities.

‘BALAAM AND The Angel,’ 1493 woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle.

'Questioning Belief': Torah and tradition today - review

Understanding the Torah in ways that ‘make sense to the modern mind,’ to ‘facilitate a deeper connection with our traditions and our Creator.’

CHARLIE KIRK, Turning Point USA founder, greets the crowd at the start of AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix, last Dec. After his assassination, Kirk became a worldwide symbol for both those who agreed and disagreed with him, except the haters. He kept Shabbat ‘from Friday evening to Sunday morning.

'While Israel Slept': Inside the failures of Oct. 7 - review

The book raises many questions of government and the IDF’s systematic failure on October 7.

COMMUNITY LEADERS in Israel bear witness to Oct. 7 in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Nov. 2023.

'To Be Holy but Human': A look into the life ‘hesder yeshiva’ creator Rabbi Yehuda Amital - review

One of a kind: Rav Amital was that unique and unparalleled leader who lived at a time when he was needed the most.

Israelis carry the body of Rabbi Yehuda Amital during his funeral in Jerusalem, on July 09, 2010

'Life-Tumbled Shards': A journal on family, loss, and search for self-healing - review

We are all part of the trauma-filled family of Israel struggling to cope with a divine-given destiny beyond our comprehension. Sometimes God says “No.”

Loss (illustration)