STN Entertainment Dreaming Of Hitler: Passions And Provocations By Daphne Merkin; Crown; $25. This collection of essays, mag- azine pieces and musings ranges in topics from a youthful dream of "stopping Hitler from his dire deeds," to her feelings on losing her favorite scarf. The Torah Published by Henry Holt; $30. The cover illustration — a de- tail from an 1834 German paint- ed linen Torah binder from the collection of the Skirball Museum — is just one of the many gorgeous illustrations which illuminate this edition of the Five Books of Moses, including those from a 15th-cen- tury German Bible, a 13th-cen- tury Spanish knot page and a medieval Spanish Sarajevo Hag- gadah. In his introduction, Rabbi Rodney J. Mariner states that the intention of this edition of the Torah is to "serve as a stimulus for those who are hesitantly mak- ing their way toward an under- standing of Judaism." Readers' Picks Name: Donna Klein Residence: Birmingham Occupation: Business writer for AT&T Capital Corporation; mother of two Prague In Black And Gold: Scenes From The Life Of A European City By Peter Demetz; Hill and Wang; $27.50. Professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at Yale, Demetz left Prague as a young man in 1949 and here explores the social history of his native city — Czech, German and Jewish. NEW IN PAPERBACK Driving Off The Horizon By Lynne Meredith Cohn; IM Press; $7. Cohn's poetry deals with the "beauties and dilemmas of be- coming an adult"; she believes it is important to inform her read- ers of the powerful abilities that women, Jews and young adults possess and to make poetry more accessible to these readers. Citing influences ranging from Adrienne Rich, Myra Sklarew and Yehu- da Amichai, its been said that "us- ing gentle, impressionistic associations, Lynne Cohn's poet- ry evokes the freedom of youth and a rich reservoir of memory." Cohn will read her work 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, at Lonestar Cof- fee in Birmingham. —Compiled by Lynne Konstantin 'Independent Jewish Film: A Resource Guide' Edited by Janis Plotkin, Caroline Libresco and Josh Feiger; San Francisco Jewish Film Festival; $24. hen was the film Ameri- can Shadchan first re- leased? What city is the focus of the British film Jewtown? Who stars in The W King of Crown Heights? These and most other ques- tions about Jewish-themed movies are answered in Inde- pendent Jewish Film: A Re- source Guide, edited and published by the pioneering San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. The 172-page volume in- cludes synopses of more than 400 films from 27 countries, cross-indexed by theme, na- tionality and distributor. There are step-by-step in- structions on how to put on a Jewish film festival, articles on the state of the Jewish cin- ema in America and Israel, and a hilarious description of the first Jewish film festival in Moscow. Tom Tugend is a freelance writer based in California. The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is the oldest and largest of its kind in the world, producing 40 festivals in the last 15 years. The re- source guide re- flects its staffs knowledge and ex- perience. Copies of Inde- itcher rebbe, played himself in The King of Crown Heights. . NTAiN K{LM MIAKKN 1..047K.M. /0. 091.1-VC9 pendent Jewish Film are available from the San Fran- cisco Jewish Film Festival, 346 Ninth St., San Francisco, CA 94103; or by calling (415) 621- 0556. The answers to the questions: American Shad- chan was made in 1940; Jewtown is set in Cochin, In- dia; and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneer- son, the Lubav- "I regretfully finished reading the just released Ernie Pyle's War by James Tobin, the biography of famous and well-loved World War II war correspondent. It was one of those books that I hat- ed to see come to an end. Ernie Pyle brought the human side of the war into people's homes in those pre-TV days, a hard time for Tortysomethings' like me to imagine. "I have heard my parents speak of Pyle with great admiration: my dad as a sailor who participated in the Normandy invasion, and my mom at home reading Pyle's columns as she waited for his return. I enjoyed the book, then, also because it offered some insight into my parents' experiences. "Of local interest, incidentally: The author is a reporter for the Detroit News. His sources offered a compelling representation of the man behind the image." Name: Shirlee Kuhl Residence: Birmingham Occupation: Pediatrician "I've just read a book by a Jewish au- thor who's coming to Michigan in Oc- tober. His name is Jay Finkelstein. He wrote See No Evil, a murder mys- tery that takes place in Egypt. "I also read the Martha Stewart book [Just Desserts]. It was an in- teresting behind-the-scenes biogra- phy of a person I've always admired and whom I now admire a lot less. You get to see how ruthless she re- ally was. "Also, Map of the World, by Jane Hamilton. It was very dis- turbing, life as a simple person. But her writing is so compelling, it makes you want to read it." Name: Eric Kingston Residence: West Bloomfield Tom Tugend At7 Occupation: Filmmaker/Author I just read a book called JFK Wants to Know. It's the memos sent from his office while president, from 1961-1963. They showed a different aspect of his personality, very mat- ter of fact and to the point. All of his memos are confidential. "I liked Armed But Dangerous by Hal Crowther. It dealt with Amer- ican issues: He attacks all these things fundamentally wrong with America, kind of like a Rush Lim- baugh but with a lighter edge." Hey, Book lovers! Read a great book? "On The Bookshelf' would like to share your recommendations with our readers. Send a photo of your- self along with a daytime phone number, to Gail Zimmerman, Bookshelf, 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034. If you want your photo returned, you must include a self-addressed stamped envelope.