<div>From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a meditation on the deeply Jewish and surprisingly spiritual roots of Stan Lee and Marvel Comics Few artists have had as much of an impact on American popular culture as Stan Lee. The characters he created--Spider-Man and Iron Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four--occupy Hollywood's imagination and production schedules, generate billions at the box office, and come as close as anything we have to a shared American mythology. This illuminating biography focuses as much on Lee's ideas as it does on his unlikely rise to stardom. It surveys his cultural and religious upbringing and draws surprising connections between celebrated comic book heroes and the ancient tales of the Bible, the Talmud, and Jewish mysticism. Was Spider-Man just a reincarnation of Cain? Is the Incredible Hulk simply Adam by another name? From close readings of Lee's work to little-known anecdotes from Marvel's history, the book paints a portrait of Lee that goes much deeper than one of his signature onscreen cameos. About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award. More praise for Jewish Lives: "Excellent." - New York times "Exemplary." - Wall St. Journal "Distinguished." - New Yorker "Superb." - The Guardian</div>

Stan Lee: A Life in Comics (Jewish Lives)

Biographies & Memoirs

Leibovitz, Liel

Arts & Literature

Yale University Press

Aliya: Three Generations of American-Jewish Immigration to Israel

a·li·ya, n., also aliyah. pl. aliyas or aliyot. The immigration of Jews into Israel. Why would American Jews---not just materially successful in this country but perhaps for the first time in the two-thousand-year Jewish Diaspora truly socially accepted and at home---choose to leave the material comforts, safety, and peace of the United States for the uncertainty and violence of Israel? Still, aliya is a phenomenon that affects all American Jews. Understanding this phenomenon means understanding what is arguably the fundamental question of American Jewry; it is that question that Liel Leibovitz sets out to answer in Aliya. Leibovitz focuses on the stories of three generations of immigrants. Marlin and Betty Levin, searching for excitement and ideology, traveled to Palestine before Israel was even created. There, with Marlin working as a reporter and Betty volunteering with the Jewish underground movement, the two witnessed the bloody birth of the Jewish state. Two decades later, Mike Ginsberg, overcome with awe at the heroic Jews who fought for their country in the l967 war, immigrated as well and was involved in much of Israel's tumultuous history, including the Yom Kippur War. He was a member of Kibbutz Misgav Am during the famous terrorist attach on the infants' nursery there, and he helped repel numerous waves of terrorists attacks on his kibbutz. Finally, Danny and Sharon Kalker and their children left their home in Queens, New York, to move to a West Bank settlement in 2001, during one of the most unsettled phases in Israel's existence. With a keen writer's eye and unfeigned passion for his subject, Leibovitz explores the fears, hopes, and dreams of the American-Jewish immigrants to Israel and the journey they undertook, a journey that lies at the very heart of what it means to be a Jew.

History

Middle East

St.Martin's Press

Why would American Jews---not just materially successful in this country but, perhaps for the first time in the entire 2000-year Jewish Diaspora, truly socially accepted and at home---choose to leave the material comforts, safety, and peace of the United States for the uncertainty and violence of Israel? In his search to understand the phenomenon of aliya, Leibovitz focuses on the stories of three sets of immigrants: Marlin and Betty Levin, who came to Palestine before Israel was even created, and were present through its violent birth; Mike Ginsberg, who was overcome with awe at the heroic Jews who fought for their country and was involved in much of Israel's tumultuous history, including the Yom Kippur War; and Danny and Sharon Kalker who actually made aliya in 2001, during the most recent unsettled phase of Israel's existence. With a keen writer's eye and unfeigned passion for his subject, Leibovitz explores the fears, hopes, and dreams of the Israeli immigrants, and the journey they undertook, a journey that lies at the very heart of what it means to be a Jew.

St. Martin's: Griffin

The dramatic story of an iconic love song, its three creators, and their lives under the Nazis. "Lili Marlene," the unlikely anthem of World War II, cut across front lines and ideological divides, uniting soldiers across the globe. This love song, telling the story of a young woman waiting for her lover to return from the battlefield, began as a poem written by a German solider during World War I. The soldier-poet's words found their way to Berlin's decadent cabaret scene in the 1930s, where they were set to music by one of Hitler's favored composers. The song's singer, however, soon found herself torn between her desire for fame and a personal hatred of the Nazi regime. In a gripping and suspenseful narrative, the three artists' remarkable stories of arrests and close calls intertwine with the recollections of soldiers on all sides who fought their way through deserts and towns, seeking solace and finding hope in "Lili Marlene." 13

Lili Marlene: The Soldiers' Song of World War II

Arts & Photography

MILLER, MATTHEW

Music

W.W.Norton&Company

The epic story of the American-educated boys who changed China forever. At the twilight of the nineteenth century, China sent a detachment of boys to America in order to learn the ways of the West, modernize the antiquated empire, and defend it from foreigners invading its shores. After spending a decade in New England’s finest schools, the boys re-turned home, driven by a pioneering spirit of progress and reform. Their lives in America influenced not only their thinking but also their nation’s endeavor to become a contemporary world power, an endeavor that resonates powerfully today. Drawing on diaries, letters, and other first-person accounts, Fortunate Sons tells a remarkable tale, weaving together the dramas of personal lives with the momentous thrust of a nation reborn. Shedding light on a crucial yet largely unknown period in China’s history, Fortunate Sons provides insight into the issues concerning that nation today, from its struggle toward economic supremacy to its fraught relationship with the United States. 40 black-and-white illustrations

Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization

Asia

A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen

Brings to life a passionate poet-turned-musician and what compels him and his work. Why is it that Leonard Cohen receives the sort of reverence we reserve for a precious few living artists? Why are his songs, three or four decades after their original release, suddenly gracing the charts, blockbuster movie sound tracks, and television singing competitions? And why is it that while most of his contemporaries are either long dead or engaged in uninspired nostalgia tours, Cohen is at the peak of his powers and popularity? These are the questions at the heart of A Broken Hallelujah, a meditation on the singer, his music, and the ideas and beliefs at its core. Granted extraordinary access to Cohen’s personal papers, Liel Leibovitz examines the intricacies of the man whose performing career began with a crippling bout of stage fright, yet who, only a few years later, tamed a rowdy crowd on the Isle of Wight, preventing further violence; the artist who had gone from a successful world tour and a movie star girlfriend to a long residency in a remote Zen retreat; and the rare spiritual seeker for whom the principles of traditional Judaism, the tenets of Zen Buddhism, and the iconography of Christianity all align. The portrait that emerges is that of an artist attuned to notions of justice, lust, longing, loneliness, and redemption, and possessing the sort of voice and vision commonly reserved only for the prophets.
More than just an account of Cohen’s life, A Broken Hallelujah is an intimate look at the artist that is as emotionally astute as it is philosophically observant. Delving into the sources and meaning of Cohen’s work, Leibovitz beautifully illuminates what Cohen is telling us and why we listen so intensely. 10 illustrations

"With its surging storyline, extraordinary events, and depth of character, this gripping tale of 120 Chinese boys sent to America…reads more like a novel than an obscure slice of history." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review
In 1872, China―ravaged by poverty, population growth, and aggressive European armies―sent 120 boys to America to learn the secrets of Western innovation. They studied at New England’s finest schools and were driven by a desire for progress and reform. When anti-Chinese fervor forced them back home, the young men had to overcome a suspicious imperial court and a country deeply resistant to change in technology and culture. Fortunate Sons tells a remarkable story, weaving together the dramas of personal lives with the fascinating tale of a nation’s endeavor to become a world power. 40 illustrations

Humor & Entertainment

How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book

An extraordinary work of Jewish ethics, law, and tradition, the Talmud, compels readers to engage with its abundance of ideas on living a good life. Full of folk legends, bawdy tales, and rabbinical back-and-forth over centuries, it is inspiring, demanding, confounding, and thousands of pages long. And, as Liel Leibovitz enthusiastically explores, the Talmud is humanity's first self-help book, with sage advice on an unparalleled scope of topics, including dealing with grief, choosing friends, and communicating with your partner. Weaving together psychology, philosophy, and history with examples from Weight Watchers and the lives of Billie Holiday and Aristotle, Leibovitz makes the Talmud's insights reverberate for our modern age. Each chapter is focused on a fundamental human experience--the mind-body problem, business, love--to illuminate how the Talmud speaks to daily existence. Explaining the Talmud's origins and its pertinence today, Leibovitz shows how one of the world's oldest books can, indeed, change your life.

Self-Help

Relationships

For numerous centuries, the Talmud--an extraordinary work of Jewish ethics, law, and tradition--has compelled readers to grapple with how to live a good life. Full of folk legends, bawdy tales, and rabbinical repartee, it is inspiring, demanding, confounding, and thousands of pages long. As Liel Leibovitz enthusiastically explores the Talmud, what has sometimes been misunderstood as a dusty and arcane volume becomes humanity's first self-help book. How the Talmud Can Change Your Life contains sage advice on an unparalleled scope of topics, which includes communicating with your partner, dealing with grief, and being a friend. Leibovitz guides readers through the sprawling text with all its humor, rich insights, compulsively readable stories, and multilayered conversations. Contemporary discussions framed by Talmudic philosophy and psychology draw on subjects ranging from Weight Watchers and the Dewey decimal system to the lives of Billie Holiday and C. S. Lewis. Chapters focus on fundamental human experiences--the mind-body problem, the power of community, the challenges of love--to illuminate how the Talmud speaks to our daily existence. As Leibovitz explores some of life's greatest questions, he also delivers a concise history of the Talmud itself, explaining the process of its lengthy compilation and organization. With infectious passion and candor, Leibovitz brilliantly displays how the Talmud's wisdom reverberates for the modern age and how it can, indeed, change your life.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Leibovitz, Liel. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Leibovitz, Liel

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Leibovitz, Liel. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Stan Lee: A Life in Comics (Jewish Lives)

Aliya: Three Generations of American-Jewish Immigration to Israel

Aliya: Three Generations of American-Jewish Immigration to Israel

Lili Marlene: The Soldiers' Song of World War II

Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization

A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen

Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization

A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen

How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book

How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book