I’ve learned quite a bit about the Holocaust, between day school, university, and my own reading. So when I heard about a book called The Holocaust: An Unfinished Story, by Dan Stone, it piqued my curiosity – what could be unfinished in this story almost 80 years later? It turns out, quite a bit. Especially…
Saving Our Kids – A Reflection on the Tikvah Foundation’s Jewish Schools and Technology Summit
I love being able to come home from a conference feeling full from having learned so much! Sunday and Monday I was joined by Daniella Greenspan (President of the Board) and Orly Rachamim (VP and Director of Educational Technology) at the Tikvah Foundation’s Jewish Schools and Technology Summit. Over 50 schools and 200 lay and…
The Winners – Fredrik Backman
I’ve been a Fredrik Backman fan for some years and have written about many of his books in this space. His first Beartown book was my favourite without question. And because I loved the first, I read the second, which was very enjoyable, but not as good as the first. And once I was that…
Mesilat Yesharim – Ramchal
Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto is one of the most interesting figures of Jewish modernity. Born in Italy in 1707, he was broadly educated, a prolific author who wrote not only Torah, but plays, and was deeply controversial. At the age of 20 he was exiled from his native land because he claimed to learn Torah…
Kids Books – March 2024
One of the rules in our family is that you aren’t allowed to watch a movie based on a book until you have read the book first. As such, I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t read the book Holes, by Louis Sachar, but I did see the movie (years ago), which was great. However,…
Best Team Ever: The Surprising Science of High Performing Teams – David Burkus
I must admit that the title Best Team Ever, by David Burkus, sounds more like a book for middle school kids than professionals. Once you add the subtitle, The Surprising Science of High Performing Teams, it does work a bit better. That said, it’s quite a good guide for how teams can maximize their work…
Talking Sense by Barry Jentz
There are two experiences in my life that have helped me see how difficult communication can be. One is marriage, and the second is school leadership. No matter how clear I think I’m being when I speak or write (and anyone who’s sent an email to our parent community knows this is true), it’s never…
Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land – Jacob Mikanowski
I was completely enthralled by Jacob Mikanowski’s interview on the podcast Conversations With Tyler, which I recommended some months back. So, of course, I bought his book! Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land is an expansive look at Eastern Europe from a person who has spent most of his adult life…
Exhalation by Michael Chiang
There are some books that I fall into, where the story draws me and I feel emotionally connected to the narrative. Exhalation, by Michael Chiang, was of a different sort. More than almost any other work of fiction I can remember, it was intellectually challenging, not in the sense of being hard to read, but…
Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, Michael Lewis
I’m a long time fan of Michael Lewis, and so was eager to read his new book about Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon. Like many of Lewis’ books, being uninterested in the subject matter he addresses (baseball, finance, organizational psychology, crypto currency) is no impediment to reading…