Cohen Books

This is a 'hard-to-read' book. The great mind builds up the world on his simple principles. He does not use his inventions that are now known as differentiation and integration. He only uses Euclid's geometry to build the world upon his three principles, with the majesty like God's. It's not so good as a course book for mechanics. He takes the hard but rigorous way than to take the way that is easy but yet lacks the rigour in his time. The Door to Heaven is narrow and hard to follow. But you can feel how a human mind can be great by just opening this book and look at the scratch of the lion's claw.

Editor's Review:
The book is written by practitioners who have experience and knowledge, who are equipped with the insight and knowledge, and who bore responsibility while serving the public in the various institutions. Among the authors are former State President Yitzhak Navon, former cabinet minister Gad Yaakobi, former Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Naomi Chazan, former Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein, Former Supreme Court President Meir Shamgar, and the State Comptroller Eliezer Goldberg. Indeed, some of the best authors in their respective fields take part in this project.

The book aims to tackle timely concerns, analyzing the relationships between democracy and bureaucracy, the military-political complex, the issue of separation of powers in democracy and more specifically the role of the Supreme Court, and the need for a written, solid constitution. It also sheds light on the roles of other influential institutions: the government, the Presidency, the Knesset, the Legal Advisor to the Government, and the State Comptroller. In addition, the book discusses citizenship education in Israel as well as the press council and its role in a democratic society.

The book will be useful to researchers on Israeli democracy, students, teachers, historians, sociologists, political scientists and legal scholars who wish to better understand this fascinating society and its institutions.

Must read for anyone interested in overviewing what is possible for excellence in education. Written to educate, inspire and inform parents and teachers what a first class education can be for pre-schoolers to middle school. The school's approach to education is focused upon how the brain works based upon empirical studies, and how that information can be translated for use in the classroom to create an individualized education and happy students.

Recently published by Kar-Ben, It's Challah Time is a wonderful photo-documentary of challah-baking by preschool children. The setting of the story is the preschool classroom itself. The children actively participate in adding the ingredients, mixing, kneading, rolling and braiding the home-made bread in the housekeeping area. As they wait for the challah to bake, they are pictured doing those things preschoolers do: reading in the book area and singing and dancing with the visiting Cantor. Finally, the challah is ready, the table is set, prayers are said. There's only one more thing to do...and by the looks on the faces of the children on both the front and back covers, the challah-baking experience is quite a success!
The photographs in this book are just wonderful. The children will love looking at the children their ages in a setting so similar to their own. I'm thinking I may need two copies of this book: one for story-telling and one for the housekeeping area itself. What a great reference for not only an actual challah-baking activity, but for a pretend one as well!

Reviewed by Leslie Granier and Nicholas Lopez (age 5) for Reader Views (10/07)

"It's Hanukkah Time" is a book that follows the preparations of a group of preschoolers who are getting ready for a Hanukkah party with their grandparents. It features numerous photographs of the children making invitations and gifts. It shows them hanging decorations and preparing traditional donuts (sufganiyot). The activities they participated in with their grandparents, such as dancing and reading stories, are also shown.

Nicholas liked looking at the pictures of the children and expressed that "they look like they are having fun." He really wants to make "some of those donuts." (The recipe is included in the book.) He now wants to make decorations for his house this Christmas and have a big party so people can take a lot of pictures and make a book.

"It's Hanukkah Time" is laid out more like a photo album instead of a storybook. I was unsure how children would react to it since they are used to illustrations instead of real photographs. However, I now think it helped to bring out his creative side since he saw that other children accomplished these tasks.

The rhymes are a little awkward, but my almost-2-yr-old loves the illustrations and asks for this nightly as we approach the Holiday. She touches the candles and clearly registers the increase in number as the rhyme unfolds. This is NOT the story of Hanukkah, instead it describes the holiday activities in a way a toddler can comprehend.

This book edited by Dariene Pictet contains poems written by readers of the best monthly review of English Literature in the World. Each poem rhymes, scans and make sense, which is more that can be said for the tendentious, introspective and senseless rubbish which currently masquerades as poetry in 20th Century Publishing. A most refreshing compilation of poems written by people with real talent and something to say, who have been given a voice by this excellent and discerning magazine. Were it not for the Literary Review and its encouragement of real poetry, all trace of originality, craft, skill, imagination and genuine poetic talent would have been swamped. The current stranglehold that so-called modern poets and their cosy coterie of talentless boors has almost murdered poetry. But not quite.

This delightful hardcover book tells the story of "Yom Ha'atzmaut", the celebration of Israel's independence. Author Ellen Dietrick takes us to Congregation Beth Israel's preschool class in Charlottesville, Virginia, where professional photographer Tod Cohen photographs the class as they take an imaginary plane ride to Israel to celebrate this very important Jewish historical event. The children have their passports stamped at Ben Gurion Airport. They stop at a kibbutz for an orange or two. They stop at the shuk (market) in Jerusalem. One of the children purchases a Kiddush cup as a Bar Mitzvah gift for his big brother. They buy lunch at a falafel stand. They visit the Kotel, (wall) and tuck a written prayer into the Western Wall. They walk through the hot desert sand and cool off in the Dead Sea, which has so much salt in it, you float very easily, just like you would if you tried to swim in America's Great Salt Lake. The children learn to count in Hebrew. They march in a big parade in Tel Aviv to celebrate Israel's birthday. All within the confines of their preschool classroom!

This is a sparkling fun book that's appropriate for children of all faiths. They will learn a little bit of the faith and the culture of their Jewish friends in an easy-to-understand way. Ellen's well-written text and imaginative ways for her class to "experience" Israel, combined with the fantastic photographs of Tod Cohen, makes this an outstanding book for children. The last page of the book is a "how to" craft page for children to make their own birthday hats to march in Israel's birthday parade. If you are looking for something different with a positive learning experience for your child, this is the book to read! This is the latest book in Kar-Ben's popular It's Time series.

My journey to being a homeowner started with Richard's book. Based on a review I read on a Washington State real estate blog, I brought a copy. Richard is a mortgage banker, but he writes like a regular human. No fancy pants mumbo jumbo or obscure loanspeak.

The style is direct, non-technical and plain. I like it.

And the content of the book gives you some basis for picking a loan officer and some sophistication in how loans work and how they can be compared.

It's a wonderful place to begin learning about mortgage and well worth the modest price. I have also read David Reed's Mortgage Confidential, which is very good and covers some topics in greater detail. Still, an hour invested in reading this little book will pay the house-hunting novice quite well for the trouble. Try it. You'll like it.

A window on an aspect of American Jewish history not as familiar as the mass immigration from eastern Europe, Cohen's book is also an unexpected window on an even less frequently explored topic: the use of great wealth to do good in the world. Schiff did not establish a foundation, screen grants, or hire professional advisors to guide his good works - he simply used his money to right wrongs where he saw them. Like giving half a million dollars to Barnard College as a reward for it's refusal to countenance discrimination against Jews. Or arranging mega-buck loans for the Japanese government during the Russo-Japanese War as a way of sticking it to the anti-Semitic Russians (who lost that war.) Not all of his ideas worked out, but you have to admire a man who had the courage of his convictions, and the character to put his money where his mouth was.