Summer Jackets
BIOGRAPHY CONT.
*Bettelhe1m: A Life and a Legacy*
By Nina Sutton
Basic Books, 606pgs., $35 US.
Dioneer or charlatan? Visionary or tyrant? Child psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim was internationally recognized for his work with emotionally disturbed children. However, after he committed suicide in 1990, reports surfaced challenging his credentials and techniques. Nina Sutton attempts to reconcile these conflicting views in this comprehensive biography.
Bettelheim's early years were spent in pre-war Vienna 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, he kept his sanity by interviewing fellow prisoners — interviews that became the basis of his early research in psychology.
In 1944 he moved to the United States and became an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Chicago. He also became director of the university's "Orthogenic School," a centre for emotionally troubled children. During that time, the new approaches he developed in teaching autistic children catapulted him to prominence in the field.
However, immediately after his death he was accused of inflating his academic credentials. Former patients went public with charges that he had beaten students at the school. These accusations were challenged by other eyewitnesses who said he had been extremely patient and gentle.
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 balanced and even biography, with perhaps one omission: Bettelheim's experience at Buchenwald deeply scarred him emotionally. A more in-depth discussion of his ongoing struggle with depression would have contributed sub-
stantially to this otherwise detailed and thoughtful poitrait.
— DBS
TOWARD THE FUTURE
"he Jewish Guide to the Internet'
By Diane Romm
Jason Aronson.
It's a sure bet that on the World Wide Web everything is out there somewhere, and this book is a good place to start to find things Jewish. Diane Romm comes to the rescue by listing hundreds of organizations and brief descriptions of them with some kind of Internet address to reach them.
There are Internet listings for myriad Zionist 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 organizations that have an Internet presence. There is, though, an unfortunate emphasis on older modes of Web access, text-only Gopher sites and subscription mailing lists. The darlings of today's Internet guides are the graphical Web browsers, such as Netscape Navigator. Many organizations only recently began 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 Hebrew at tp.//www.artifi-cia.com/html/news.cgi?
A book about the Web is an oxymoron. Nevertheless, the value of this one is that in flipping through its pages the reader will likely discover at least a dozen resources hitherto unknown. This guide bushwhacks through some of the ever growing foliage of the Internet. Meanwhile, eager Web surfers looking for a good place to start should check out Judaism and Jewish Resources at: ttp://shamash.ny-semet.org/trb/judaism.html.
— Scott Sidel
'The Stars of David'
Edited by D.J, Kessler
DLZ Media, Eugene, Ore., 414 pgs., $18 US.
While many Jews have written science fiction (Isaac Asimov immediately comes to mind), none has imagined the genre of "Jewish science fiction." Until now.
That gaping void has been filled splendidly by D.J. Kessler in this first volume of what he promises will be a series devoted to Jewish science fiction. Mr. Kessler's small publishing house in Eugene, Ore., appropriately relies on one of technology's newest feats, the Internet, to advertise the book. There may be 40 million people who surf the net, but not many have stopped at his web page: http://www.the-stars-of-david.com.
This volume features two unique stories — Can Androids Be Jewish?, by Joe Sampliner, and Miriam's World, by Sol Weiss. The first is a funny tale about a planet of android miners. There is a
fascinating, parenthetical discussion about the difference between them and robots. Tlie activity is managed by one human, Josh Kominski, who is told on his arrival by the androids that they have to convert to Judaism. This raises such questions as whether or not creatures who don't eat can keep kosher. One android who acts like a Yiddish hubhe is unforgettable.
Miriam's World is a more serious account of an event in the 29th century when descendants of the Nazis tlireat-en the existence of Israel and its many settlements in space. The author implies that 1,000 years ft-om now, anti-Semites could start another Holocaust. Miriam's World is a trilogy and, like the episodes in old-fashioned movie serials, it stops at a crucial point of suspense, ensuring readers that there will be a second volume.
Mr. Kessler brings together his love for Judaism and science fiction. Readers have the unusual opportunity to be in on the creation of a bold new world for Jewish readers. Don't miss it!
— Morton I. Teicher
ANTHOLOGIES CONT.
ferent stages of development of their Jewish identity.
The first section describes early encounters with Judaism, told Irom the point of view of children. The divei-se selections, covering such topics as dealing with the death of a parent, growing up the child of Holocaust survivors and watching an Old-World gi-iuidmother giind gefiltci fish, illustrate the growth in awareness of the characters' identities.
Tlie second part is a series of recollections of ritucJ. There are memories of giving tzedakah in Hebrew school, reciting the Shema, leading junior congregation services and saying Kadiiisli for lost loved ones.
Part three focuses on Jewish identity development in adolescence and young adulthood, nmging fi-om coming to terms with a parent's experience during the Holocaust and growing up as the daughter of immigrants.
The essays in the last section deal with Judaism in the context of greater society. The diverse topics include: self-consciousness about nose size, conflicting beliefs between Conservative and Orthodox Jews, memories of Jewish overnight camp, as well as feelings about attending a non-Jewish boyfriend's holiday party and protesting the Vietnam War. 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, with various sections devoted to the memoirs of the first, second and third generations. Through the words of such well-known Jewish writers as Anzia Yezierska, Cynthia Ozick, Philip Rotli, Chaim Potok and others, the book effectively conveys the transition to North American hfe.
The positive and negative consequences of assimilation is the central theme. The monotony of work in the sweatshops, cultural alienation and anti-Semitism in small-town North America, changes in religious observance, Jewish prejudice against blacks and family relationships are addressed. There are also some humorous bits on the difficulty of understanding a grandparent's Yiddish accent.
Both of these anthologies effectively portray the search for one's identity, as a Jewish woman and as a Jewish-American. By reading others' observations, the reader is encouraged ■j to look witliin herself and discover her ■ own Jewish identity. These two collections are must-reads for anyone intent on exploring her past, present and future.
— Deborah Shapiro
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