Summer
> strates the latter's brilliance as
a scientist, but debunks his
reputation as the "secular
saint" perpetuated by previous
biographies.
A caveat for those readers in
search of a beach book: This is
not light reading. While the
author shepherds the reader
through Einstein's ideas on
quantum theory, the book's
more technical passages are
slow going.
— Donna Blair Shear
`Bettelheim:
A Life and
a Legacy
By Nina Sutton
Basic Books, 606 pgs., $35.
ioneer or charlatan? Vi-
sionary or tyrant? Child
psychoanalyst Bruno
p Bettelheim was interna-
tionally recognized for his work
with emotionally disturbed
children. However, after he
committed suicide in 1990, re-
ports surfaced challenging his
credentials and techniques.
Nina Sutton attempts to rec-
oncile the conflicting views of
the controversial Bettelheim
in this comprehensive biogra-
phy.
Bruno Bettelheim's early
years were spent in pre-war Vi-
enna where he witnessed the
rise of anti-Semitism. In 1939
he was arrested by the Nazis,
and later survived Dachau and
Buchenwald. During that
time, Bettelheim kept his san-
ity by interviewing fellow pris-
oners — interviews that
became the basis of his early
research in psychology.
In 1944 Bettelheim moved
to the United States and be-
came an assistant professor of
psychology at the University
of Chicago. He also became di-
rector of the university's Or-
thogenic School, a center for
emotionally troubled children.
During that time, the new ap-
proaches he developed in
teaching autistic children cat-
apulted him to prominence in
the field.
However, immediately after
his death he was accused of in-
flating his academic creden-
tials. Former patients went
public with charges that he
had beaten students at the
school. These accusations were
challenged by other eyewit-
nesses who said he had been
extremely patient and gentle
with his students.
Ms. Sutton researched this
biography for almost half a
decade, and to her credit, she
directly addresses the scandal
surrounding Bettelheim and
his work. The result is a bal-
anced and even biography,
with perhaps one omission.
Bettelheim's experience at
Buchenwald deeply scarred
him emotionally. A more in-
depth discussion of his ongo-
ing struggle with depression
would have contributed sub-
stantially to this otherwise de-
tailed and thoughtful portrait.
— DBS
TOWARD THE FUTURE
`The Jewish
Guide to the
Internet'
By Diane Romm
JasonAronson, 225 pgs., $24.95.
I
t's a sure bet that on the
World Wide Web every-
thing is out there some-
where, and this book is a
good place to start to find
things Jewish. Diane Romm
comes to the rescue by listing
hundreds of organizations,
briefly describing them and
providing some kind of Inter-
net address to reach them.
In the face ofJewish diver-
sity, the sages noted, "there are
70 ways of interpreting the
Torah." The same holds true
for exploring the breadth of of-
ferings across the Internet's
Jewish sites. There are Inter-
net listings for myriad Zion-
ist organizations, Torah study
groups, political discussions
and nearly everything else
Jewish. (One of the puzzling
inclusions in the Jewish Guide,
however, is the Palestinian
Web site, Alquds.)
Overall, the guide provides
a directory of major Jewish or-
ganizations that have an In-
ternet presence. There is,
though, an unfortunate em-
phasis on older modes of Web
access, text-only Gopher sites
and subscription mailing lists.
The darlings of today's Inter-
net guides are the graphical
Web browsers, such as
Netscape Navigator. Many or-
ganizations only recently be-
gan to realize its potential and
are now jumping headlong into
the Web. For instance, did you
know that you can hear "Kol
Israel — The Voice of Israel"
every day in English and He-
brew at http://www.artifi-
cia.com/htrnlinews.cgi?
A book about the Web is an
oxymoron. Nevertheless, the
value of this one is that in flip-
ping through its pages the
reader will likely discover at
INTERNET page 52
ANTHOLOGIES
`Nice
Jewish Girls'
Edited by Marlene Adler Marks
Plume, 282 pgs., $12.95.
`Growing
Up Jewish'
Edited by Jay David
William Morrow, 245 pgs., $22.
ice Jewish Girls is a collection of
short stories and poetry organized
as a series of vignettes to convey the
Jewish experience through women's
eyes. Organized in four sections, the sto-
ries explore the different stages of devel-
opment of their Jewish identity.
The first section describes early en-
counters with Judaism, told from the
point of view of children. The diverse se-
lections, covering such topics as deal-
ing with the death of a parent, growing
up the child of Holocaust survivors and
watching an old-world grandmother
grind gefilte fish, illustrate the growth
in awareness of the characters' identi-
ties as Jewish women.
The second part is a series of recollec-
tions of ritual. There are memories of giv-
ing tzedakah in Hebrew school, reciting
the Shema, leading junior congregation
services and saying Kaddish for lost loved
ones.
Part three focuses on Jewish identity
development in adolescence and young
adulthood, ranging from coming to terms
with a parent's experience during the
Holocaust and growing up as the daugh-
ter of immigrants.
The essays in the last section deal with
Judaism in the context of greater society.
The diverse topics include: self-con-
sciousness about nose size, conflicting be-
liefs between Conservative and Orthodox
Jews and memories ofJewish overnight
camp.
The writers come to terms with their
two-pronged identities as Jewish women,
while finding their distinctive voices and
places in the community.
Growing Up Jewish is an anthology of
the immigration experience. Through the
words of such well-known Jewish writers
as Anzia Yezierska, Cynthia Ozick, Philip
Roth, Chaim Potok and others, the book
effectively conveys the transition to Amer-
ican life.
The positive and negative consequences
of assimilation is the central theme. The
monotony of work in the sweatshops, cul-
tural alienation and anti-Semitism in
small-town America are addressed.
— Deborah Shapiro
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