Leagues Books

During the Middle Ages a Jew passes away, and is buried, with kaddish spoken for him.
When his soul's deeds are weighed the good deeds and the bad deeds are completely balanced and since the sins do not outweigh the virtues the soul would not go to hell, and since the virtues did not outweigh the sins the soul would not go to heaven.
It was determined that he would fly about in the middle until G-D remembered him and took pity on him and summoned him with His Grace.

But it was also ruled that if he could bring three valuable gifts to the Saints, during his wanderings, he would be admitted to Heaven.

The soul witnessed three incidents of attacks on Jews and brought back three gifts

A rich Jewish merchant is murdered by bandits and the spirit carries to heaven a speck of soil from Palestine, signifying the eternal link between the Jews and the Land of Israel.
A beautiful young Jewish girl is sentenced to be executed by being dragged through the streets by a wild horse, for leaving the ghetto and walking the streets of the Christian town during a Christian holiday.
She asks for pins to sew the hem of her dress to her legs, sticking the pins deep into her flesh, so that her body would not be exposed when she is dragged through the streets.
The spirit pulls a bleeding pin out of the condemmned girl's leg and flew up to heaven to give it as a gift to the angels.

A Jews is executed in a prison, but refuses to die without his skullcap.
The spirit takes the bloody skullcap as a gift to the saints in heaven.

The tale here details some sardonic treatment of society and materialism, as well as indictment by Peretz of mediocrity and and pettiness.

The message is more metaphysical than social, but also tells something of the situation of the Jewish people and their eternal ideals and faith.
Herein lies the hope.

Peretz is an intellectual hero of mine because he rejected cultural universalism, seeing the world as composed of different nations, each with its own character.
Each nation is special and unique in it's own way.
That is my philosophy.
He saw his role as writing to express 'Jewish ideals...routed in Jewish culture and Jewish history'.
His writings, often of fantasy and metaphysical phenomena always reflect Jewish ideals and Jewish experiences through the ages.

Three-toed Sloths is out of print. People interested in number books might like Numerical Intrigue (formerly, Numerical Allusions), by Laurence Urdang.

This is an amazing book on public health of Native Americans which nobody else but a Native American could have written. It introduces the reader to the complexity of health, environment, spirituality and survival of one of the most disadvanted people living on Mother Earth. Breast cancer among women, we assume, is a lifestyle disease among affluent westernized women. Lori Colomeda tells a different, a frightening story from the Arctic Circle. Remember? Fresh, clean air, fresh water, fresh seafood? Forget about it. Colomeda leads you into an area of human and medical ecology you wouldn't have thought it existed. The Circumpolar regions are currently the regions of the world with one of the highest prevalences of cancer, and of breast cancer among women in particular. Why? Well, one of the causes is the fallout of pollution hitting these areas via climate and atmospheric streams. We may not inhale the pollutants in New York City or London, because they travel up North. "Through the Northern Looking Glass" leaves us pretty ugly people destroying the fundaments of our life and most of all: Mother Earth. This is an excellent study on environment, public health and culture. If you only want to read one book shaking up your westernized mind as regards public health, why don't you try Lori Colomeda. This is strong medicine.

What a wonderful cookbook! We got it as a gift from parents who make regular trips to wine country in New York and have been delighted with it ever since.

Recipes are clearly laid out and the "degree of difficulty" ratings are accurate (unlike lots of cookbooks that seem to assume the reader is already a master chef!) "Grapevine" also does an excellent job of indicating which items can be made ahead of time and frozen (or refrigerated) and which need to be prepared immediately before. There's a good blend of recipes that can be made from stuff that we all have in our kitchens and those that require a special trip to the grocery store. The sample menues in front of the book are also a hoot and are a real help in putting together meals for two or for a party. Our favorites include the Glen Iris Spinach Salad, the Spinach Squares, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and the Heath Bar Crunch Cake!

Thymes Remembered: A Lifetime Of Treasured Recipes is a very special cookbook assimilated from the memories and traditions of the American Southern lifestyle. An award-winning cookbook featured in "Better Homes And Gardens", Thymes Remembered includes menus for a romantic dinner for two, weddings, and/or vineyard cocktails. The straightforward instructions for dishes such as Creole Shrimp Salad; Southern Style Creamed Corn; Florida Fresh Fruit Cobbler, and more, make for a truly memorable collection of recipes to treasure. An included "Finding Thyme" CD-ROM for Windows 95 uniquely enhances this delightful and very highly recommended recipe collection.

I have purchased and given as gifts over a dozen copies of this book. My husband purchased it as a present in 1987. Getting one of these books from me is a family "welcoming" tradition. There is not one recipe that hasn't been great. I had to retire my first book as it was spattered with "ingredents".

I am writing this review as this wonderful book, with many subsequent printings, did not have one review. Grab up the remaining copies and give as Christmas presents to all the cooks in the family.

I collect cookbooks and have almost every kind imaginable. This cookbook is very easy to understand and the recipes are wonderful. No matter what I try out of this book - the results are fantastic everytime. I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone.

OK, full disclosure, I was on the cookbook committee, so I am biased. But, we worked very hard and tested each one of these recipes, and they are all excellent! Over 800 recipes were submitted, and only 300 made it.

Here's why I love this cookbook (and why over 10,000 have been sold so far!): I love to cook, and I love my hometown of Omaha - this cookbook combines the best of both worlds. It includes wonderful tidbits about famous (and not-so-famous) Omaha restaurants, plus the recipes are truly gourmet, without being too stuffy. Many current restaurants contributed recipes, which have been fun to try. The photographs and menus from long-closed restaurants have been an interesting look inside Omaha's history. And I've solved the only problem the cookbook presents (display on the coffee table or on my cookbook shelf?) by buying two!

This is a great book! Not only are the recipes one of a kind, the book is beautiful, and proceeds benefit a worthy cause.

The editors have put together chapters from several different authors to share perspectives on how to help families reunify when children have been removed to foster care. This book should be most beneficial to persons who are attempting to implement or improve the delivery of family reunification programs. However, there are "jewels" throughout the book that should help anyone working in the foster care setting.

The various authors not only explain why it is important to reunify families when possible, but methods and programs are shared to give case workers ideas of how to improve their services. A great bonus with this book is that it is well-edited so that the chapters are actually enjoyable and easy to read.

Highly recommended.