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84 Featured Titles

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Exam Copy
Rome and Jerusalem
The Clash of Ancient Civilizations
Written by Martin Goodman


Format: Hardcover, 624 pages
Publisher: Knopf
On Sale: October 23, 2007
Price: $35.00
ISBN: 978-0-375-41185-4 (0-375-41185-2)

A magisterial history of the titanic struggle between the Roman and Jewish worlds that led to the destruction of Jerusalem.

In 70 C.E., after a four-year war, three Roman legions besieged and eventually devastated Jerusalem, destroying Herod’s magnificent Temple. Sixty years later, after further violent rebellions and the city’s final destruction, Hadrian... Read more >
Also available as an eBook and a trade paperback.

Exam Copy
Letter and Spirit
From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy
Written by Scott Hahn


Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
Publisher: Doubleday Religion
On Sale: November 8, 2005
Price: $22.95
ISBN: 978-0-385-50933-6 (0-385-50933-2)

The bestselling author of The Lamb’s Supper continues his thoughtful exploration of the complex relationship between the Bible and the Catholic liturgy in a revelatory work that will appeal to all readers.

Scott Hahn has inspired millions of readers with his perceptive and unique view of Catholic theology and worship, becoming one... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
The Kuzari
An Argument for the Faith of Israel
Written by Jehuda Halevi


Format: Trade Paperback, 324 pages
Publisher: Schocken
On Sale: September 13, 1987
Price: $20.00
ISBN: 978-0-8052-0075-1 (0-8052-0075-4)

The Kuzari is one of the basic books of Jewish literature, a required text in the library of every educated Jew—and of every educated Christian who would understand the religion of Israel. The author, foremost poet and thinker of the Jewish Middle Ages, offers clear and usable delineations of the religion... Read more >

Exam Copy
Yehuda Halevi

Written by Hillel Halkin


Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Publisher: Schocken
On Sale: February 16, 2010
Price: $25.00
ISBN: 978-0-8052-4206-5 (0-8052-4206-6)

A masterly biography of Yehuda Halevi, one of the greatest of Hebrew poets and a shining example of the synthesis of religion and culture that defined the golden age of medieval Spanish Jewry.

Like Maimonides, with whom he contrasts sharply, Yehuda Halevi spanned multiple worlds. Poet, philosopher, and physician, he is known... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
One People, Two Worlds
A Reform Rabbi and an Orthodox Rabbi Explore the Issues That Divide Them
Written by Ammiel Hirsch and Yaakov Yosef Reinman


Format: Trade Paperback, 336 pages
Publisher: Schocken
On Sale: August 26, 2003
Price: $19.95
ISBN: 978-0-8052-1140-5 (0-8052-1140-3)

After being introduced by a mutual friend in the winter of 2000, Reform Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch and Orthodox Rabbi Yosef Reinman embarked on an unprecedented eighteen-month e-mail correspondence on the fundamental principles of Jewish faith and practice. What resulted is this book: an honest, intelligent, no-holds-barred discussion of virtually every “hot... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
You Don't Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right
Finding Faith Without Fanaticism
Written by Brad Hirschfield


Format: Trade Paperback, 288 pages
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
On Sale: March 10, 2009
Price: $14.95
ISBN: 978-0-307-38298-6 (0-307-38298-2)

Conflict is an opportunity to learn and grow–and often to grow closer to one another.

Brad Hirschfield knows what it means to be a fanatic; he was one. A former activist in the West Bank, he was committed to reconstructing the Jewish state within its biblical borders. Now he is devoted to... Read more >

Exam Copy
Sacred Trash
The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza
Written by Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole


Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Publisher: Schocken
On Sale: April 5, 2011
Price: $26.95
ISBN: 978-0-8052-4258-4 (0-8052-4258-9)

One May day in 1896, at a dining room table in Cam­bridge, England, a meeting took place between a Romanian-born maverick Jewish intellectual and twin learned Presbyterian Scotswomen, who had assembled to inspect several pieces of rag-paper and parchment. It was the unlikely start to what would prove a remark­able, continent-hopping... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
The Kabbalah Reader
A Sourcebook of Visionary Judaism
Written by Edward Hoffman
Foreword by Arthur Kurzweil


Format: Trade Paperback, 272 pages
Publisher: Trumpeter
On Sale: April 13, 2010
Price: $17.95
ISBN: 978-1-59030-656-7 (1-59030-656-2)

This comprehensive and accessible entrée into the world of Kabbalah covers 1,600 years of Jewish mystical thought, and features a variety of thinkers–from the renowned to the obscure–unavailable in any other volume. It’s a fresh and contemporary take on an ancient tradition compiled by a clinical psychologist who is also a... Read more >

Exam Copy
Keep Your Wives Away from Them
Orthodox Women, Unorthodox Desires
Edited by Miryam Kabakov


Format: Trade Paperback, 192 pages
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
On Sale: May 11, 2010
Price: $16.95
ISBN: 978-1-55643-879-0 (1-55643-879-6)

Reconciling queerness with religion has always been an enormous challenge. When the religion is Orthodox Judaism, the task is even more daunting. This anthology takes on that challenge by giving voice to genderqueer Jewish women who were once silenced–and effectively rendered invisible–by their faith. Keep Your Wives Away from Them tells... Read more >

Exam Copy
Jewish Meditation
A Practical Guide
Written by Aryeh Kaplan


Format: Trade Paperback, 176 pages
Publisher: Schocken
On Sale: March 14, 1995
Price: $14.95
ISBN: 978-0-8052-1037-8 (0-8052-1037-7)

Kaplan shows that meditation is consistent with traditional Jewish thought and practice. The book presents a variety of meditative techniques to help make the reader a better person, and develop a closer relationship to God.

“[This is] the first book to read on the subject. It is a gentle, clear introduction and... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
By Fire, By Water

Written by Mitchell James Kaplan


Format: Trade Paperback, 320 pages
Publisher: Other Press
On Sale: May 18, 2010
Price: $15.95
ISBN: 978-1-59051-352-1 (1-59051-352-5)

Luis de Santángel, chancellor to the court and longtime friend of the lusty King Ferdinand, has had enough of the Spanish Inquisition. As the power of Inquisitor General Tomás de Torquemada grows, so does the brutality of the Spanish church and the suspicion and paranoia it inspires. When a dear friend’s... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
King David
The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel
Written by Jonathan Kirsch


Format: Trade Paperback, 400 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
On Sale: August 28, 2001
Price: $17.00
ISBN: 978-0-345-43505-7 (0-345-43505-2)

Weaving together biblical texts with centuries of interpretation and commentary, Jonathan Kirsch examines the life of King David with an extraordinary freshness to clarity of detail. In a taut, dramatic narrative, Kirsch brings new depth and psychological complexity to the familiar events of David's life-his slaying of the giant Goliath and... Read more >
Also available as an unabridged audiobook download and an eBook.

Exam Copy
The Discovery of God
Abraham and the Birth of Monotheism
Written by David Klinghoffer


Format: Trade Paperback, 384 pages
Publisher: Three Leaves
On Sale: September 21, 2004
Price: $14.95
ISBN: 978-0-385-49974-3 (0-385-49974-4)

Fifty-three percent of the world’s population practices Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, religions that all trace their lineage to the towering, quasi-mythological figure of Abraham. In this reverent biography of the man who invented–or discovered–God, David Klinghoffer disentangles history from myth and uncovers the profound impact of Abraham’s message on his time... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
The Jewish Body

Written by Melvin Konner


Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Publisher: Schocken
On Sale: January 13, 2009
Price: $22.00
ISBN: 978-0-8052-4236-2 (0-8052-4236-8)

A history of the Jewish people from bris to burial, from “muscle Jews” to nose jobs.

Melvin Konner, a renowned doctor and anthropologist, takes the measure of the “Jewish body,” considering sex, circumcision, menstruation, and even those most elusive and controversial of microscopic markers–Jewish genes. But this is not only a book... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
Maimonides
The Life and World of One of Civilization's Greatest Minds
Written by Joel L. Kraemer


Format: Trade Paperback, 640 pages
Publisher: Doubleday Religion
On Sale: February 9, 2010
Price: $18.00
ISBN: 978-0-385-51200-8 (0-385-51200-7)

This authoritative biography of Moses Maimonides, one of the most influential minds in all of human history, illuminates his life as a philosopher, physician, and lawgiver. A biography on a grand scale, it brilliantly explicates one man’s life against the background of the social, religious, and political issues of his time.

Maimonides... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights?
"The Four Questions" Around the World
Written by Ilana Kurshan


Format: Hardcover, 160 pages
Publisher: Schocken
On Sale: March 4, 2008
Price: $16.00
ISBN: 978-0-8052-4252-2 (0-8052-4252-X)

This fascinating, informative, and beautifully illustrated books translates the Passover seder's Four Questions into twenty-three languages and provides capsule histories of the Jews in the countries where the languages are spoken.

The recitation of the Four Questions at the beginning of the Passover seder by the youngest participant is one of the... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
The Book of Job
When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person
Written by Harold S. Kushner


Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
Publisher: Schocken
On Sale: October 2, 2012
Price: $24.00
ISBN: 978-0-8052-4292-8 (0-8052-4292-9)

From one of our most trusted spiritual advisers, a thoughtful, illuminating guide to that most fascinating of biblical texts, the book of Job, and what it can teach us about living in a troubled world.

The story of Job is one of unjust things happening to a good man. Yet after losing... Read more >

Exam Copy
Conquering Fear
Living Boldly in an Uncertain World
Written by Harold S. Kushner


Format: Trade Paperback, 192 pages
Publisher: Anchor
On Sale: October 8, 2010
Price: $14.95
ISBN: 978-0-307-38589-5 (0-307-38589-2)

From the best-selling author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, an illuminating book about fear—and what we can do to overcome it.

An inescapable component of our lives, fear comes in many guises. In uncertain times, coping with these fears can be especially challenging, but in this indispensable book, Harold... Read more >

Exam Copy
The Lord Is My Shepherd

Written by Harold S. Kushner


Format: Trade Paperback, 192 pages
Publisher: Anchor
On Sale: August 24, 2004
Price: $14.00
ISBN: 978-1-4000-3335-5 (1-4000-3335-7)

From the author of the best-selling When Bad Things Happen to Good People and Living a Life That Matters—a new book of practical spirituality, of inspiration and encouragement gleaned from what may be the best-known and best-loved chapter in the Bible: the Twenty-third Psalm.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall... Read more >
Also available as an eBook and a hardcover.

Exam Copy
The Lord Is My Shepherd
Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm
Written by Harold S. Kushner


Format: Hardcover, 192 pages
Publisher: Knopf
On Sale: August 26, 2003
Price: $19.95
ISBN: 978-1-4000-4056-8 (1-4000-4056-6)

From the author of the best-selling When Bad Things Happen to Good People and Living a Life That Matters—a new book of practical spirituality, of inspiration and encouragement gleaned from what may be the best-known and best-loved chapter in the Bible: the Twenty-third Psalm.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not... Read more >
Also available as an eBook and a trade paperback.

Exam Copy
Overcoming Life's Disappointments

Written by Harold S. Kushner


Format: Trade Paperback, 192 pages
Publisher: Anchor
On Sale: August 21, 2007
Price: $12.95
ISBN: 978-1-4000-3336-2 (1-4000-3336-5)

From Harold S. Kushner, author of the inspirational #1 bestseller When Bad Things Happen to Good People, comes a book that shows us how to be our best selves even when things don’t turn out as we had hoped.

Kushner turns to the experience of Moses to find the requisite lessons of... Read more >

Exam Copy
When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Written by Harold S. Kushner


Format: Trade Paperback, 176 pages
Publisher: Anchor
On Sale: August 24, 2004
Price: $12.95
ISBN: 978-1-4000-3472-7 (1-4000-3472-8)

As a young theology student, Harold Kushner puzzled over the Book of Job. As a small-town rabbi he counseled other people through pain and grief. But not until he learned that his three-year-old son, Aaron, would die in his early teens of a rare disease did he confront one of life's... Read more >

Exam Copy
Five Cities of Refuge
Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy
Written by Lawrence Kushner and David Mamet


Format: Hardcover, 192 pages
Publisher: Schocken
On Sale: August 26, 2003
Price: $21.00
ISBN: 978-0-8052-4220-1 (0-8052-4220-1)

In the ancient Jewish practice of the kavannah (a meditation designed to focus one’s heart on its spiritual goal), Lawrence Kushner and David Mamet offer their own reactions to key verses from each week’s Torah portion, opening the biblical text to new layers of understanding.

Here is a fascinating glimpse into two... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
Jews in Britain

Written by Michael Leventhal


Format: Trade Paperback, 70 pages
Publisher: Shire
On Sale: May 21, 2013
Price: $12.95
ISBN: 978-0-7478-1230-2 (0-7478-1230-6)

The Jewish community is the oldest ethnic minority in the country. This book tells the epic story of Jews in Britain over a thousand years. Many came as wealthy traders - others as desperate refugees. Sometimes they were feared and had to lead secret lives. At other times they stood shoulder... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.

Exam Copy
The Wicked Son
Anti-Semitism, Self-hatred, and the Jews
Written by David Mamet


Format: Trade Paperback, 208 pages
Publisher: Schocken
On Sale: September 15, 2009
Price: $12.95
ISBN: 978-0-8052-1157-3 (0-8052-1157-8)

David Mamet's interest in anti-Semitism is not limited to the modern face of an ancient hatred but encompasses as well the ways in which many Jews have internalized that hatred. Using the metaphor of the Wicked Son at the Passover seder (the child who asks, "What does this story mean to... Read more >
Also available as an eBook.
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