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- FINE CHINESE DINING
912ttitos, Tau/ Zo/

FESTIVAL OF BOOKS from page 53

'A wonderful adventure in fine dining" — Danny Raskin

Featuring Gourmet Oriental Cuisine

Excellent
Lunch
and
Dinner
Selections
7 Days
a Week
11 a.m.-
Midnight

Complete
Menu
Carryout

•
Gift
Certificates
Available

•

We Cater
To Private
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27925 Orchard Lake Road, north of 12 Mile • Farmington Hills

248.489.2280

912830

6123 Haggerty Road

V VW Uri, Between Maple & Pontiac Tr.
(BREAKFAST LUNCH & MORE) West Bloomfield

Our Restaurant is available
for evening functions
for more information: 248-668-2690

New Hours: 7 DaYs a week • 7:00 am - 3;00 pm

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Mic146 Eastertn Ctitisiv. 0

LUNCH SPECIALS

TRY OUR
MOUTHWATERING

BONELESS CHICKEN!

.% Traditional Middle Eastern Favorites
11 Extensive Vegetarian Menu
• Fresh Raw Juices
16 Catering Available For All Occasions

29222 OtAchavd Lake Rd,

(Near-13 /Mile)

FmAtningtoni-lills
248.851.1122

Shop

3N

12/ 3
2004

se

Online
the
Easy
Way...

www.jewish.com

915630

also a tribute to Alan King, who was
not only one of the greatest Jewish
comedians ever but also one of the
greatest comedians period, and a heck
of a nice guy, too."

FOR THE SPIRITUAL SEEKER
In the beautifully boxed The Five
Books of Moses: A Translation with
Commentary (W.W. Norton &
Company, $39.95), Robert Alter, a
professor of Hebrew and comparative
literature at the University of
California, Berkeley, has turned his
lifelong study of Hebrew and language
and literature to one of the world's
oldest and most challenging texts: the
Pentateuch.
By comparing the language of the
Bible to that used in other ancient
Hebrew documents and drawing on
recent developments in the study of
Hebrew as well as philological com-
mentaries dating back to the Middle
Ages, Alter identifies words that are
chosen for their strangeness, evocative-
ness or musicality and duplicates their
effect in modern English. Accessible
notes on every page guide the reader
through the nuances of the text.
"A beautiful translation — forceful,
lucid and haunted by the rhythms of
the original," writes Jonathan Rosen,
author of The Talmud and the Internet.
"The introductions and notes are
superb and make the whole work a
rare blend of the poetic and the practi-
cal."

FOR THE POLITICAL JUNKIE
Since taking over the helm of The
Daily Show on Comedy Central, Jon
Stewart has revolutionized the way
millions of Americans get their news.
Now, with America (The Book): A
Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
(Warner Books; $24.95), Stewart and
his Daily Show coterie of humorists
apply their skills to an original primer
parody on American democracy.
Roughly following the outline of a
classic government textbook, complete
with discussion questions ("What the
hell does it mean to 'rock' a vote?"
"Can a vote be R&B'd? Singer-song-
writered?"), and classroom activities
("Using felt and yarn, make a hand
puppet of Clarence Thomas. Ta-da!
You're Antonin Scalia."), America
traces the American democratic experi-
ment in nine easy-to-read chapters,
including "The President: King of
Democracy," "The Judicial Branch: It
Rules" and "Campaigns and Elections:
America Changes the Sheets."
"The book's ultimate joke — on our
educational system, if not us in gener-

al," writes the New York Times, "is that
it's not only more informative about
how American government and cul-
ture work than the textbooks it bur-
lesques, but gives us a keener sense of
having a stake in both."

FOR THE FILM FANATIC
In Never Coming to a Theatre Near
You (Public Affairs; $25), Los Angeles
Times and NPR Morning Edition film
critic Kenneth Turan profiles some of
the most intelligent, original and
enjoyable movies you may not have
seen and illuminates what makes them
so good.
Rarely getting much screen time at
the multiplex, these films are often rel-
egated to viewing on video and DVD,
but even hard-core fans have trouble
remembering what sounded good
when a film was released, notes the
author.
For this book, he's updated his
reviews, and walks viewers through
155 must-see films, as diverse as Devil
in a Blue Dress and Spirited Away to
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of
the Desert and Zoolander. The author
also includes special sections on for-
eign films, documentaries, classics and
collections from favorite directors.
Happy viewing!

FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER
More than 100 of the photographers
who made Life "the great American
magazine of the 20th century' come
alive in the pages of The Great "Life"
Photographers (Bulfinch Press; $50).
The book is arranged alphabetically
by photographer — with biographies
and portraits of each photographer
accompanying a portfolio of his or her
work. Classic images include Milton
Greene's Marilyn Monroe, Alfred
Eisenstaedt's V-J Day in Times Square,
Margaret Bourke-White's Buchenwald
Philippe Halsman's Dean Martin and
Jerry Lewis, Robert Capa's D-Day and
Cornell Capa's JFK. Little-known
gems — like Cornell Capa's Lessons in
a Chasidic Classroom — accompany
iconic images.
Other photographers with Jewish
backgrounds whose work is represent-
ed — most of them less well known
— include N.R. Farbman, Allan
Grant, Henry Groskinsky, Bernard
Hoffman, Yale Joel, Neil Leifer, Sam
Shere and Paul Schutzer, who was
killed on the first day of the Six-Day
War when the Israeli half-track in
which he was riding was struck by a
57mm shell. He was 37. II