We at the Gitlin believe that access to books should never be blocked by technology skills or income. When more people can read, reflect and connect our entire world grows stronger. May our books help to sweeten your New Year.
Reviews by JACQUI RODGERS Director, Jacob Gitlin Library
SIX DAYS IN BOMBAY by ALKI JOSHI.
When renowned painter Mira Novak arrives in a Bombay hospital after a miscarriage, her nurse Sonia is excited to learn more about the vivacious artist who shares her half-Indian identity. When Mira dies unexpectedly Sonia falls under suspicion. The key to prove her innocence may be in a cryptic note and four paintings Mira left in her care. She visits Mira’s former friends and lovers across Europe.The book is based on Amrita Sher-Gil, the Frida Kahlo of India.
CHILDREN OF RADIUM by JOE DUNTHORNE.
A riveting memoir about Dunthorne’s German-Jewish great grandfather who had been a chemist in 1933 outside Berlin. Siegfried Merzbacher’s work began in the toothpaste industry, but his development of radioactive household products led him to produce chemical weapons and gas mask filters used by the Nazis. Although he successfully escaped to Turkey with his immediate family, many family members left behind were murdered in Auschwitz.
ON DEMOCRACIES AND DEATH CULTS-ISRAEL, HAMAS AND THE FUTURE by DOUGLAS MURRAY. He confronts the pressing issue that Western support of the Palestinian cause is playing into a more dangerous force. He takes readers through the aftermath of
7 October 2023 with accounts from victims, survivors and terrorists. He argues that Israel’s commitment to Western values has made it a beacon of progress.
THE NAZI MIND by LAURENCE REES. Renowned British historian Rees explores how the unthinkable became normal, and ordinary Germans tolerated the removal of the Jews. Rees charts the rise of Nazi mentalities including the conditions that allowed this ideology to flourish and the sophisticated propaganda that sustained it. He uses previously unpublished testimonies from former Nazis and those who grew up in the Nazi system providing in-depth psychological insights.
MASTERING AI by JEREMY KAHN.
Kahn expounds how AI is likely to change art, education and the workplace. He provides an assessment of AI’s abilities and shortcomings suggesting that while the software may help artists with generating ideas it cannot produce anything novel without human input. It could expand educational possibilities but because of its writing ability degrade the human ability to think creatively.
A SWEET YEAR by JOAN NATHAN.
The book opens with an introduction to kashrut and follows with a section of each of the nine Jewish holidays suggesting menus and blessings for each one. The recipes in the book are planned so that adults and children may cook together. Many of the recipes can be vegetarian or meat and some dishes are less highly spiced for children’s tastes. It reflects Nathan’s travels and lifelong interest in the foods of Jewish groups throughout the world.
THE SUNFLOWER HOUSE by ADRIANA ALLEGRI. Strauss has an idyllic life until she finds that her birth mother was Jewish, making her a Mischling. She is forced into service at a state-run baby factory where she witnesses and participates in Himmler’s ruthless eugenics program. Allina must keep her identity secret, but when she discovers the neglect occurring, she is determined to save herself and the children in her care.
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