From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a fast-moving, musically astute portrait of arguably the greatest composer of American popular music Irving Berlin (1888-1989) has been called-by George Gers
A fascinating biography of a revolutionary American artist ripe for rediscovery as a photographer and champion of other artists Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946) was an enormously influential artist
The first major biography in English in over thirty years of the seminal modern Jewish thinker Martin Buber An authority on the twentieth-century philosopher Martin Buber (1878–1965), Paul Mende
A revealing new portrait of Albert Einstein, the world’s first scientific “superstar” The commonly held view of Albert Einstein is of an eccentric genius for whom the pursuit of scie
An insightful new biography of the most controversial and perhaps most fervent of all Zionist political figures Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880–1940) was a man of huge paradoxes and contradictions and
A trenchant examination of an iconic American figure that explores the cultural and psychological roots of his comic genius Born Julius Marx in 1890, the brilliant comic actor who would later be known
Behind the scenes at the legendary Warner Brothers film studio, where four immigrant brothers transformed themselves into the moguls and masters of American fantasyWarner Bros charts the rise of an un
A vibrant portrait of one of the most accomplished and prolific American screenwriters, by an award-winning biographer and essayistHe was, according to Pauline Kael, “the greatest American scree
A lively and inspired biography celebrating the centennial of this master choreographer, dancer, and stage director Jerome Robbins (1918–1998) was born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz and grew up in We
Menasseh ben Israel (1604–1657) was among the most accomplished and cosmopolitan rabbis of his time, and a pivotal intellectual figure in early modern Jewish history. He was one of the three rab
A new biography of the seminal twentieth-century historian and thinker who pioneered the study of Jewish mysticism and profoundly influenced the Zionist movement Gershom Scholem (1897–1982) was
A lively and engaging biography of the first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States, a man fiercely committed to protecting all minorities Harvey Milk—charismatic, eloquent
An insider’s perspective on the life and influence of Israel’s first native-born prime minister, his bold peace initiatives, and his tragic assassination More than two decades have passed
A film-centric portrait of the extraordinarily gifted movie director whose decades-long influence on American popular culture is unprecedented “Everything about me is in my films,” Steven
The portrait of a humble retail magnate whose visionary ideas about charitable giving transformed the practice of philanthropy in America and beyond Julius Rosenwald (1862–1932) rose from modest
An enthralling appreciation of the monumentally gifted popular artist and cultural icon who challenged Hollywood’s standards of beauty and glamour Barbra Streisand has been called the “mos
A riveting new examination of the leading progressive justice of his era, published in the centennial year of his confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court According to Jeffrey Rosen, Louis D. Brandeis w
A reexamination of the biblical David, legendary warrior, poet, and king, by one of America’s most respected rabbis Of all the figures in the Bible, David arguably stands out as the most perplex
Behind the scenes at the legendary Warner Brothers film studio, where four immigrant brothers transformed themselves into the moguls and masters of American fantasyWarner Bros charts the rise of an un
Born in the Land of Israel around the year 50 CE, Rabbi Akiva was the greatest rabbi of his time and one of the most important influences on Judaism as we know it today. Traditional sources tell how h
More than two decades have passed since prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination in 1995, yet he remains an unusually intriguing and admired modern leader. A native-born Israeli, Rabin became an i
By the time he was twenty-eight, Hayim Nahman Bialik was already considered the National Hebrew Poet. He had only published a single collection, but his deeply personal verse established a profound li
“Everything about me is in my films,” Steven Spielberg has said. Taking this as a key to understanding the hugely successful moviemaker, Molly Haskell explores the full range of Spielberg’s works for
No figure looms larger in Jewish culture than Moses, and few have stories more enigmatic. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, acclaimed for her many books on Jewish thought, turns her attention to Moses in this
