Cohen Books

SHARED STAGES reminds us of the special power of the stage. Each of these ten plays by and about Jews and Blacks in America is absorbing in itself. The ten taken together give depth to the already dramatic relationship between these dynamic and historically related groups. Not only for the issues they raise but also for their artistic quality as dramatic works, these are plays that deserve to be enacted again and again. One hopes this publication will help promote them. And it would behoove anyone producing just one of them to read the all others in this collection as well. But I think even more valuable is the editors' extremely helpful introduction, which is at once insightful and scholarly, as we might hope from editors who are both playwrights and educators. What a great contribution this book is to students of theatre or of American society and the teachers who prepare their courses, as well as to theatrical producers, artistic directors and thoughtful citizens! -- Anne Nicholson Weber, author of Upstaged: Making Theatre in the Media Age

This is an extremely timely and important collection. Relationships between Jews and African Americans have been testy and tested lately, and this anthology of disparate voices testifies to the importance of the relationship itself, regardless of how it ebbs and flows. Those who are characterized as "minorities" by a dominant culture have much in common, including the necessity of finding an authentic identity and voice and not allowing the dominant culture to define them as less. To do this with authority, power, yet without the kind of anger that become self-defeating rather than energizing - this task percolates through these dramas. Resolution does not come easily and sometimes doesn't come at all. Dramatic literature is up to the task of illuminating that fact in all its complexities and subtleties.

Creating a good anthology is a creative act, as much as editing a film or redacting a manuscript. Koch and Cohen have long experience and the right sensibilities for doing it right, and they have. This book is a meaningful contribution to an important ongoing dialog between two powerful groups who will succeed in standing together only if they gave full weight to the complexities of their histories and interaction.

This book is a unique partnership featuring plays that elaborate on and promote understanding of Black/Jewish relations. The selections have a timeless quality--yet important for this time.

A shlemazel is someone with no luck, but in this story, a lazy shlemazel finds luck in the strangest way---by digging for it, and instead of finding any, getting paid for his enterprise.

He wants luck, though, not zlotys, and next he turns to the mill to seek his luck, all the while digging with a magic spoon given to him by a neighbor.

As this story goes to show, work, and luck are both what one makes of them, and even a lazy shlemazel can find both.

A wonderful read for little kids, and grown ups alike.

Bright, colorful, animated illustrations enhance this delightfully entertaining story of Shlemazel who is so convinced that he is the most unlucky person in the world that he is afraid to get off his front porch. But when Moshke convinces him that he has the amazing, remarkable spoon of Pohost, Shlemazel learns the pleasure of a good day's work, finds a wife, performs a mitzvah, and discovers that he doesn't need luck to be happy. In an author's note, Stampler explains that as with her previous picture book, Something for Nothing, this story comes form her grandmother, a native of Pohost. The glossary also explains Yiddish terms like tsimmes, mensch, poretz and zlotys. A wonderful edition to folklore collections, the story will be enjoyed by both younger and older readers.

Delightful! A well-constructed folktale that proves the power of motivation and hard work, a value that the author learned from her immigrant grandmother who first told her this story.
Shlemazel (literally "unlucky") has no prospects. The gift of a "lucky" spoon convinces him that he can dig up his luck. He never finds what he is looking for, but his efforts cause him to inadvertently plow a field, help the miller, and find a wife. "Is that not luck?" cries the neighbor who provided the spoon. "That is work, not luck," replies Shlemazel, who admits that he now has all he needs to be happy - without any luck! The bright illustrations boast a flattened perspective and the blocky boldness of folk paintings. They exactly depict what is described in the text, but add another level of life and detail to the story too. The Jewish content may not be obvious to young readers. However, along with a smattering of Yiddish (defined in the glossary at the back), the story teaches Jewish values. The lucid Author's Note explains that in the course of the story, Shlemazel develops a work ethic, begins to celebrate the Sabbath, and finds a good wife, becoming a "self-respecting and worthy individual through actions that bind him to his community and his heritage." An excellent choice for Jewish folklore and storybook collections. Ages 5-10. Reviewed by Heidi Estrin

Great advice especially for first time visitors to any of the covered areas. Heavy on "LBJ's" but that's no real flaw -
twitchers are people, too. Directions generally correct and useful where I used them in South Africa. You could actually plan a birding trip using the info in the book.

This book is so full of information that it transcends the format of a typical site guide (you'll find advice on the type of car jack and how to behave in case of attacks by wild animals. The target audience are independent birders who will find the guide indispensable for Namibia, Botswana and especially South Africa. Commendably, the less commonly traveled adjoining countries of Zambia and Angola find coverage as well, even though they are not strictly in Southern Africa. One hopes that success will breed a future edition in which I would like to find GPS coordinates, particularly for the more remote sites. Even if you don't have any immediate plans for a birding trip to Southern Africa this book would enjoyable for the armchair adventurer fascinated by the charismatic (and often enigmatic) avifauna. Congratulations also to the publisher for keeping the price so low.

I just got back from a two month self-guided birding trip to South Africa. I used this book for all my planning and selection of the places to visit. The book proved invaluable. It is well laid out, includes very good maps - including one of the whole of Southern Africa with all the birding spots clearly marked on it, it has many excellent bird and scenery photographs and a complete list of all the birds that can be seen with a cross-reference to their location in the book. A few minor points that caused me some irritations during the trip: only odd pages are numbered in the middle of the right hand side (very confusing); some of the maps are a little misleading e.g. the Sir Lowry's pass map is incorrect - the trail starts directly opposite the car park and not downhill as shown; some of the instructions are also incorrect e.g. the instructions to the Damara Tern Colony (I could not find the location.) These are minor points that an able birder can easily overcome. The book also covers other Southern African countries however having lived in Zambia and Zimbabwe I found their coverage of these two countries to be very sparse only covering the top birding spots. I strongly recommend this book if you are planning a trip to this beautiful area of our planet so rich in birds.

This book is about Mary Lou Retton being inspired by Nadia Comaneci to be a great gymnast. Mary Lou showed her strength and enthusiasm in her routines. Mary Lou's great in this book because she shows the fun side of gymnastics. One of the things that stands out in this book is Mary Lou's great positive attitude and her great smile. You should read this book because it's fun and exciting.

This book is a great book for gymnastics fans . I think a lot of non gymnastics fans would be bored with this book. This book tells about some of the most famous gymnasts in history, Mary Lou Retton, Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes, Nadia Comaneci, Olga Korbut, and Svetlana Boginskaya,etc.

This is a great book for anyone who wants to know about these superstars and their termendus struggles as they strive for perfection. For example, I wanted to learn about Shannon Miller and I learned alot more than I expected. This is a great book and I recommend it for all Gymnasts of all ages.

Michael and Dennis Cohen have done a great job in this book to help beginning to intermediate users with the iLife suite. I am often called upon to help friends with their Macs. When they have questions on the iLife programs, I find it much easier to refer them to this book than to try and talk them through the problem on the phone or via iChat. Thanks to the Cohens for making my iLife as a consultant a bit easier.

Apple has long said it makes computers for the rest of us, and now with its iLife suite of tools Apple appears to be making software for the rest of us as well. The Teach Yourself Visually series of computer books seems to follow the same philosophy, but where TYV's offerings for more complex programs like Photoshop serve as "scratch-the-surface" introductions, iLife '04 really does look deep under the surface of Apples' popular suite of tools. My favorite section, perhaps because I know the least about it, is on GarageBand, which is the most exciting piece of software I've seen in years.

The Teach Yourself Visually books all benefit from strong integration of explanatory text with detailed graphics, but the text portion of this particular book benefits from clear, thorough, and often quite humorous writing. The author obviously knows the programs-more important, he knows how to communicate that knowledge to his readers (I believe he's the same Michael Cohen who writes the multimedia section of the famed Macintosh Bible). I highly recommend this title-for twenty bucks, it's a bargain.

Teach Yourself Visually iLife 04 is the perfect book for someone who wants simple, easy to follow instructions for using each of Apple's iLife programs (iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, Garage Band). What makes this book different from all the other iLife books are the clear step-by-step instructions, all accompanied by full color screen shots and illustrations, for using almost every iLife feature. The tips that accompany each task save time and effort in using the iLife programs and point out special features that aren't generally known. This is the book to get if you want to learn how to use iLife 04 without having to become a computer scientist, or read pages and pages of text. Get this and start using the software right away while you read.

The collaboration of Scott Cohen (Executive Chef of Las Canarias restaurant in San Antonio, Texas and the Pesca restaurant on the River in the Watermark Hotel and Spa) and food critic and author Marian Betancourt, "The Texas Hill Country Cookbook: A Taste Of Provence" is a showcase compendium of French influenced contemporary Texas cuisine. Superbly enhanced throughout with full color images of finished dishes by award winning food photographer Ron Manville, the recipes are organized into chapters dealing with appetizers; salads and sandwiches; fish, meat, and poultry; vegetables and side dishes; desserts; glazes and rubs. Replete with insightful and practical tips for preparing these memorable dishes, of special note are the many suggestions having to do with presentation and plating. From Squash Blossom Roasted Corn Huitlacoche Soup; Young Spinach and Goat Cheese Salad; Roasted Chilean Sea Bass; and Texas Pecan-Crusted Chicken Skewers; to Texas Home Fries; Honey Lavender Ice Cream; Chocolate and Roasted pepper Cheesecake; and Barbecue Pepper Glaze, each of these 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes would grace any dining occasion with gourmet quality meals.

I have tryed several of the recipies and they went great. I loved the presentation photos and it was easy to make my version very impressive.
Great read and a beautiful book to put out on the coffee table and share with friends.

This cookbook is a must-have for home cooks who like the distinctive flavors of Texas (chiles, pecans, beef) served up in sophisticated and innovative ways. The recipes are clear and easy to follow, the photos are luscious, and I love the emphasis on buying locally and eating sustainably.

As a practicing psychiatrist I found this book written at just the right level of complexity. It can be appreciated by trainees and practitioners alike, and offers a comprehensive look at the field without being overwhelming. Very well written throughout.

I have worked in Psychiatry for more than 35 years as a Psychiatric Nurse and have read many text books. I was quite pleasantly surprised to find a book that is so informative and yet reads like a novel. The illustrations and examples are very realistic and describe quite accurately the behaviors and situations we deal with on the unit on a daily basis. The author has clearly had hands-on experience. I highly recommend this book.

This is a wonderful review and update of Psychiatry.. I am an internist and pediatrician and use this often. It has great information on drugs used and their mechanisms. The discussions on the various disorders is great. It is easy read with lots of tidbits thrown in. Clearly, the best psychiatry book I've used.

This is one of the best and most comprehensive works on Tourette's Syndrome I've come across. Scientists and/or practitioners working with people who have TS should buy this book. As a psychologist who works with people who have TS, I've found this book to be my best resource on the subject.

Even if you work with only one or two children with Tourette's Syndrome, this compilation of over 25 years of research results with a client base of thousands is an excellent resource to have in your reference library. The documentation of multidisciplinary contributions makes it convenient to explore concepts further without having to search through a wide variety of professional journals. Two useful features include the summary of one chapter and preview of the next on the same page and the assessment tools found in the Appendices. The recommended treatment approach focuses on supporting development of the child over time, rather than just eliminating symptoms. A multidisciplinary team of professionals can provide a variety of treatment approaches to address the factors affecting the child at home and at school. Coordination by a flexible, non-doctrinaire clinician, and partnerships with parents and teachers are encouraged. While the authors suggest that the school psychologist fill this role, not all schools have access to one with the necessary perspective on treatment. Instead, the licensed professional social worker is more likely to employ the multidisciplinary, strengths-based, coordinated approach to caring for children with Tourette's Syndrome and related conditions. Contributions from licensed professional social workers would be an asset to the next edition.

I bought this book after I found it mentioned in several posts and chat rooms for Tourette's Syndrome.

James Leckman and his book are held in high regard by the TS community.

If you are looking for an approach to the problem that doesn't involve drugs, look here, it is covered. There are techniques and methods explained, such as Habit Reversal, that have been validated as working for TS; validated over a long time. The method was originated in 1973 by Azrin. ....

I absolutely loved this book. I could hardly put it down and had it read
in 3 days. Even though I have read some children's diary
entries from the Holocaust, this book gave me a new perspective on their
experiences. Hearing Sonya's own reasoning and conclusions about things that were happening to her was my favorite part. Watching her having to make decisions as an inexperienced child deprived of adult protection really touched me.

Leslie Cohen's "Trapped Inside The Story" tells how Sonya Hebenstreit survived -- barely -- the horror that was visited upon the Jews of Lvov, Poland, under Russian and German occupation.

It's a biography written in the first person that literally traps the reader who has the good fortune to pick it up, and discovers a narrative so compelling that it's impossible to put down. Now far removed from Europe before and during World War II, many of us have only a superficial understanding of what it took to survive as a child when war and Nazi inhumanity decimated families and forced grade-school students to skills and horros far beyond their year.

Leslie Cohen's book make it vivid and is a compelling addition to the literature of human struggle in the time when the pits of hell opened and devils spewed forth in jackboots.

This was a book I couldn't put down. There were times when I felt that I was right next to Soyna/Nomi as she lost loved one after another. Her fear and confusion, as well as her bravery and ingenuity, were so well conveyed that her world seemed right there in front of me. Few books I've read have made the Holocaust experience so real and terrifying. Leslie Cohen's telling of the story is vivid and touching. Highly recommended for middle school and older, as well as for parents.

Dear potential reader,

Two Years too Much to Handle is destined to be a teenage classic novel amongst the lines of Catcher In the Rye, Lord of the Flies, and the Great Gatsby. Encompassing the pillars of adolescent development, confusion, heartbreak, and failure, a successful future lies not in the cards Jake was dealt, but in the successful application of his tricky pocket jacks. The ante was rough because Mr. Calhoun played on a high stakes table with his life savings. Will he check the flop, raise it, fold, or go "All In." You are thinking, "risk versus reward" especially since his financial future is on the line. The community cards are drawn when you read Two Years too Much to Handle!

forget the 5 star rating...this book is worthy of well over 5 bajillion stars. my favorite summer read yet! if this book wasnt beyond amazing i wouldnt have wasted my time reviewing it.

Lovely. Nothing like lonely at all. Lovely is the word I would use to describe this book. This is Cohen's first masterpiece and hopefully not his last (Although I hope there is no sequel). I recommend "Two Years..." to all!