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Arts & Entertainment

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Books from page C11

than two decades in Three Balconies:
Stories and a Novella (Biblioasis; $24.95).

For the Kafka Fan
Mark Harmon restores the humor and
particularity of Kafka's language in his
translation of Kafka's unfinished novel
about America, Amerika: The Missing
Person (Schocken Books; $25), in which
a young man, following an incident with a
housemaid, is banished by his parents to
America, where a series of misadventures
eventually lands him in Oklahoma with a
beckoning theater career.

For the Spiritually Curious
Reuven Firestone, ordained rabbi and
professor of medieval Judaism and Islam
at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles,
offers An Introduction to Islam for Jews
(Jewish Publication Society; $18), a book
that seeks to differentiate the "real" Islam
from the extremist and militant variety
that dominates the news.

For the Human Rights Activist
For Triumph Over Tyranny (Devora
Publishing; $27.95), author Philip Siegel
interviewed more than 200 activists,
political leaders, former refuseniks and
prisoners of conscience to reveal new
details about the successful international
campaign that resulted in the immigration
of nearly 2 million Soviet Jews to Israel,
the U.S. and other countries.

For the Russian Emigre
In his memoir Shush! Growing Up Jewish
Under Stalin (University of California

Press; $24.95),
nwrican
Emil Draitser
takes readers back
to his childhood
and adolescence
TONY CURTIS
and provides a
unique account
dreams in Hanno Rauterberg's Talking
of post-Holocaust life in Russia — when
every time he uttered the word "Jewish," he Architecture: Interviews with Architects
(Prestel; $34.95). Jewish architects Peter
lowered his voice.
Eisenman, Frank Gehry and Daniel
Libeskind contribute to the discussion.
For the Modern Art Lover
Mark Rothko (Sidra; $70), edited by
For the Art Historian
Oliver Wick, is a beautifully produced,
Peter C. Sutton's Reclaimed: Paintings
oversized monograph presenting almost
From the Collection of Jacques
100 works (70 paintings in full-color
Goudstikker (Yale University Press; $60)
plates and 28 drawings) from private and
examines the legacy of a prominent Jewish
public collections, tracking the evolution
art dealer who died in flight from the
of this Jewish artist's signature style as a
Nazis, the dramatic story of the seizure
master of color.
of his art and the legal case that finally
brought restitution (with 200 color illus-
For the Photographer
trations).
In Celestial Nights (Abbeville$45), Neil
Folberg returns to the black-and-white
For the Theater Lover
photography he learned as a student of
Edited by Susan Goodman, Chagall and
Ansel Adams to capture the arid land-
the Artists of the Russian Jewish Theater
scape of Israel and the Sinai Desert
against the awesome spectacle of the night (Yale University Press; $65) chronicles the
sky. In Annie Leibovitz at Work (Random flourishing of Soviet Jewish theaters in the
1920s and 1930s, as they became catalysts
House; $40), the renowned photographer
for modernist experimentation.
describes how her pictures were made,
starting with Richard Nixon's resignation
For the Menopausal
and ending with Barack Obama's cam-
In I Still Have It... I Just Can't
paign.
Remember Where I Put It: Confessions
of a Fiftysomething (Harmony Books;
For the Architect
$23), comedian Rita Rudner comically
Twenty of the world's most influential
shares her vision of modern life as a
living architects discuss their accom-
woman navigating the world of "near-
plishments, challenges, inspirations and

Bob Wechsler

caa., L

sighted insights"

For Doctors and Patients
In Hippocrates' Shadow: Secrets From
the House of Medicine (Scribner $25),
emergency-room physician David H.
Newman seeks to improve doctor-patient
communication; in the process, he
dethrones medicine as an infallible sci-
ence and restores it to Hippocrates' origi-
nal vision, as an "art."

For the Businessman
Adapted from author Stewart Friedman's
popular Wharton School course, Total
Leadership (Harvard Business Press;
$25.95) helps readers identify their core
values and make them come alive in
everyday actions at work, at home, in the
community and within.

For the Cookbook Collector
Janna Gur, creator of Israel's leading Israeli
food and wine magazine, is the author of
The Book of New Israeli Food (Pantheon;
$35), at once a cookbook, a photography
collection (with lush photos by Eilon Paz)
and a history lesson. Also check out Jewish
author Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa
Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor From

Books on page C14

ci WS

411110 I Nate Bloom

ilk

4:11

Special to the Jewish News

Make It Lean

On Nov. 21, President-elect Barack

G IO Obama, trailed by a phalanx of

w

j

reporters and Secret Service agents,
went into Manny's Deli, a top Chicago
kosher-style eatery since 1942. He
stood in the cafeteria-style line and

President-elect Obama at Manny's Deli

C12

December 11 . 2008

ordered three corned beef sandwich-
es, three latkes and a slice of cherry
pie to go. Obama said that one of
the sandwiches was "for Rahm,"
referring to Rahm Emmanuel, his
new chief of staff. He declined the
owner's offer of a discount and paid
full price.
A Manny's regular, Obama frequent-
ly ate there with his campaign strate-
gist David Axelrod, who has just been
named a senior White House adviser.
During his whirlwind visit, Obama
posed with owner Ken Raskin, the
son of the late Manny Raskin, who
founded the deli. Ken asked Obama to
sign a photo of Obama eating lunch
at Manny's just after Obama won the
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate
in 2004. "I've aged a bit since then,"
Obama said as he smiled and signed
the photo.
Ken Raskin declared that he would

deliver to the White House anytime.

Latest Cinema
The Day the Earth Stood Still, open-

Jennifer
Connelly

ing Friday, Dec.12,
is a remake of the
1951 sci-fi film of the
same name. Keanu
Reeves plays Klaatu,
a human-like space
alien who has come
to warn Earth to
change its warlike
ways. Oscar winner

Jennifer Connelly,

38, co-stars as Helen, who becomes
Klaatu's friend and confidante. Co-
starring are Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm
(Mad Men), and John Cleese.
Also opening Dec.12 is Nothing
like the Holidays, about a Puerto
Rican family whose three siblings
return to their parents' Chicago

home for Christmas. John Leguizamo
portrays a New York businessman
who brings his new wife, a Jewish
business executive played by Debra
Messing, 40.

Small Screen

The Fox game show

Are You Smarter
Than a 5th Grader

airs a special holi-
day episode 9 p.m.
Thursday, Dec.11.
4111
An Ivy League-
Alan
Colmes
educated rabbi
competes for a $1
million Chanukah prize.
Alan Colmes, 56, of the Fox News
interview program Hannity and
Colmes, is leaving the show in the
near future. He says he probably will
stay with Fox News in some capac-
ity.

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