All Other Nights

Dara Horn is a young novelist who has now published her third book. I've loved them all. The first two are In the Image and The World to Come. The new book, which I recently finished, is entitled All Other Nights. It is historical fiction with strong Jewish content, like the other books.

This book is set during the Civil War and follows a young Jewish man from the North who ends up serving as a spy in the South. The title comes from the Passover Haggada because of the opening scene in the book.

The story is entertaining, with a nice mix of suspense, romance, and historical detail. It paints a vivid picture of that time and place, especially describing the mixed feelings within the Jewish community. I particularly liked the scene set in Philadelphia...without giving away too much of the plot, this is a scene where the main character is finally working to be true to himself. It is a turning point in the story, and definitely poses lots of "What would I do" questions. The description of what the city looked and felt like at that time was great, especially reading about the difficulties a disabled person faced in getting around town.

All of Horn's books are very readable, with a nice mix of entertainment and historical learning for the reader. Enjoy!

Peter Stein

Book # 1

I recently finished First Class Citizenship, which is a collection of the letters of Jackie Robinson. The book is edited by Michael G. Long and is published by Times Books.

I knew the obvious facts of Jackie Robinson's life...that he broke the color barrier in baseball and that he conducted himself with great dignity. What I enjoyed in the book was seeing how far his reach was. The book covers letters that Robinson exchanged with a wide variety of public figures, from the time when he began playing baseball through to the end of his life.

One section I particularly enjoyed was the set of letters from 1958, which have been grouped together under the title "Against Patience". Robinson writes to Chester Bowles, the former governor of Connecticut. Robinson writes "This battle for civil rights is taking a definite turn. It's due to the many Chester Bowleses we have around that are not afraid of what the future holds. If we can lick this fear, I am certain we can lick the problem of racial tension."

To me, this is a great and important statement...we can't be afraid of what the future holds. Fear paralyzes us, and fear stops us from changing the world. There's a great teaching by the Chasidic rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, who said that:

The whole world is a very narrow bridge,
a very narrow bridge,
a very narrow bridge.
The whole world is a very narrow bridge - A very narrow bridge.

And the main thing to recall - is not to be afraid - not to be afraid at all.
And the main thing to recall - is not to be afraid at all.

We need to wake up each day impatient enough and brave enough that we say "Today is a day when we can make the world a better place." Make today such a day!

My bookshelf

I've always been a booklover. I love to read, I love to talk about what I'm reading, and I love to hear about good books from others. I'm hoping to use this blog to share some thoughts about books and articles that I've read, along with some more general reflections. I intend to include a variety of books and I welcome suggestions for books for me to include.

Happy reading!