Set in Kiev in 1911 during a period of heightened anti-Semitism, the novel tells the story of Yakov Bok, a Jewish handyman blamed for the brutal murder of a young Russian boy. Arrested and imprisoned, Bok refuses to confess to a crime that he did not commit.

"This is the story of Moses Herzog, a great sufferer, joker, mourner, charmer. Although his life steadily disintegrates around him -- he has failed as a writer and teacher, as a father, and has lost affection for his wife to his best friend -- Herzog sees himself as a survivor, both of his private disasters and those of the age. He writes unsent letters to friends and enemies, colleagues and famous people, revealing his wry perception of the world...

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

Presents Mary Antin's 1912 account of her experiences as a Jewish immigrant who came to America from a Russian village in 1894, when she was twelve.

"In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a T�atowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for more than two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism--but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion....

Presents the text of "The Merchant of Venice," in which a creditor demands a pound of flesh as payment for a debt, and a lover must choose among three caskets to win the hand of a wealthy lady, and includes introductory and textual notes, character lists and studies, a synopsis, teaching tools and suggestions, historical background, and biographical information about the Shakespeare.

History of the Jewish people is set forth in nearly a thousand detailed and accurate maps, drawings, photographs plus chronologies and commentaries by leading experts.

From the Publisher: A Short History of the Jews is the story of the Jewish people told in a sweeping and powerful historical narrative. Michael Brenner chronicles the Jewish experience from Biblical times to today, tracing what is at heart a drama of migration and change, yet one that is also deeply rooted in tradition. He surveys the latest scholarly perspectives in Jewish history, making this short history the most learned yet broadly accessible...

First-class pool shark and all-around hustler Jaeckie Zucker is up to his ears in debt, again. He faces jail, divorce and general ruin. When word comes that his mother has died, leaving an inheritance, it's a stroke of luck. But according to his mother's will, before he can cash in Zucker must first reconcile with his long-estranged, Orthodox brother Samuel, who is arriving the next day, family in tow, expecting to sit shiva for seven days. Can Zucker,...