Dr. Norman Prinsky
Humn. 2001 ; Engl. 2950/4950: Reading Biblical Literature; Jewish Literature

Section 8: Prinsky's Annotated Bibliography on Judaism

J1. Bibliographies

Cutter, Charles, and Micha Falk Oppenheim. Jewish Reference Sources: A Selective Annotated Guide. New York: Garland, 1982.

Frank, Ruth S., and William Wollheim. The Book of Jewish Books. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1986. [320 pp.; pb] [comments and synopses, as well as listings]

Holtz, Barry W., ed. Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts. New York: Summit Books, 1984. [448 pp.; hb and pb.] [short essays, comments, and synopses, as well as listings]

---. The Schocken Guide to Jewish Books. New York: Schocken, 1992. [357 pp.; hb and pb.] [short essays, comments, and synopses, as well as listings]

Koltun, Liz, and Arthur Kurzweil. "Creating a Jewish Library." Pp. 225-41 of The First Jewish Catalog. Eds. Richard Siegel, Michael Strassfeld, Sharon Strassfeld. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Pub. Soc. of America, 1973. [pb]

Wertheimer, Jack, ed. The Modern Jewish Experience: A Reader's Guide. New York: New York University Press, 1993. [392 pp.; pb; 35-chapter comprehensive survey, plus syllabi of study, by various experts.]

J2a. One-Volume Encyclopedias

The Blackwell Dictionary of Judaica. Ed. and comp., Dan Cohn-Sherbok. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992. [597 pp.; pb; short entries but comprehensive coverage in the number of entries--7,000; from a British scholar of the subject. Along with Wigoder and Roth, also in section 2a, a good choice for a one-volume encyclopedia.]

The Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion. Eds. R.J. Zwi Werblowsky and Geoffrey Wigoder. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965. [415 pp.; hb.]

The International Jewish Encyclopedia. [Eds.] [Rabbi] Ben Isaacson and Deborah Wigoder. Jerusalem and Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Massada Press and Prentice-Hall, 1973. [336 pp.; hb.]

The New Jewish Encyclopedia. Eds. David Bridger and [Rabbi] Samuel Wolk, eds. New York: Behrman House, 1976. [541 pp.; hb; affordable, often sold in sale catalogs; naturally, somewhat sketchier than a multi-volume encyclopedia]

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia. New Revised Edition. Eds. Geoffrey Wigoder and Cecil Roth. New York: Facts on File, 1992. [1001 pp.; hb; revised edition of The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia. Along with Cohn-Sherbok, also in section 2a of this bibliography, a good choice for a one-volume encyclopedia.]

The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia. Ed. Cecil Roth. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1959. [1978 columns; 986 pp.; hc; older edition of The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia.]

J2b. Multi-volume Encyclopedia

Roth, Cecil, gen. ed. Encyclopedia Judaica. 16 vols. Jerusalem and New York: Keter, 1972. [Definitive, magnificent accomplishment; has several one-volume supplements for updating]

J3. Omnibus Volumes

Finkelstein, Louis, ed. The Jews: Their History, Culture, and Religion. 3 vols. 4th ed. 1949; New York: Schocken, 1970. [hb and pb.] [authoritative articles on virtually every important component of the history, culture, and religion]

J4. Histories

Ben-Sasson, H.H., ed. A History of the Jewish People. 1969; Eng. trans., Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1976. [1170 pp.; pb; has bibliog.] [scholarly and comprehensive, from professors at Hebrew University in Jerusalem]

Blech, [Rabbi] Benjamin. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish History and Culture. Alpha Books, 1998. [352 pp.; pb]

Cantor, Norman F. The Sacred Chain: The History of the Jews. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. [480 pp.; pb; from an eminent historian, famous for studies of the middle ages; some careful historical appraisal from a historian with a Jewish heritage]

Cohn-Sherbok, Lavinia. A History of Jewish Civilization. Chartwell Books, 1997. [192 pp.; well illustrated but thin on text]

De Lange, Nicholas, ed. The Illustrated History of the Jewish People. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1997. [434 pp.; large-size pages; as per the title, many good illustrations, most in black and white; by a team of eight scholars, headed by the editor, a Cambridge University scholar of Judaism and premier translator of modern Israeli authors.]

Dimont, Max. The Indestructible Jews: An Action-Packed Journey Through 4,000 Years of History. 2nd ed. New York: Signet-NAL, 1973. [482 pp.; pb; has bibliog.] [as indicated by the subtitle, entertainingly written, fascinating, and not difficult--but profound, nevertheless]

---. Jews, God, and History. New York: Signet-NAL, 1962. [472 pp.; pb; has bibliog.] [entertaining, not difficult reading, but comprehensive and profound--plus some original ideas not shared by all students of Judaism and its history]

Grayzel, Solomon. A History of the Jews: From the Babylonian Exile to the Present, 5728-1968. 2nd ed. 1947; New York: Mentor-NAL, 1968. [768 pp.; pb; has bibliog.] [thorough and pious]

Johnson, Paul. A History of the Jews. New York: Harper, 1987. [644 pp; hb and pb.] [the only item in this category by a non-Jew; some new views and new facts, plus attractive and not too heavy style]

Potok, Chaim. Wanderings: Chaim Potok's History of the Jews. 1978; rpt. New York: Fawcett-Crest, 1984. [576 pp; hb and pb.; has bibliog.] [Potok makes history read like the plot of one of his novels--themselves highly recommended for giving a picture of Jews and Jewish life--with compelling characters and narration, not heavy or plodding]

Roth, Cecil. A History of the Jews: From Earliest Times Through the Six Day War. 2nd ed. 1961; New York: Schocken Books, 1970. [452 pp.; pb; has bibliog.] [the author is one of the deans of Judaic learning; to cover this much in a short book, most points aren't covered with the depth of other books in this section]

Sachar, Howard M. The Course of Modern Jewish History. 3rd ed. 1958, 1977; New York: Vintage Books - Random House, 1990. [891 pp; pb; from one of the foremost historians of modern Israel and the diaspora]

Scheindlin, Raymond. Chronicles of the Jewish People. Smithmark, 1996; Jonathan David, 1996. [176 pp.; well illustrated but thin on text.]

J5. Histories of Jews in America

Hertzberg, Arthur. The Jews in America: Four Centuries of an Uneasy Encounter--A History. New York: Touchstone - Simon and Schuster, 1990. [428 pp.; pb]

Howe, Irving, and Kenneth Libo. World of Our Fathers. 1976; New York: Bantam, 1980. [664 pp. in abridged pb edition; emphasis on early history, including photos]

Sachar, Howard M. A History of Jews in America. New York: Knopf, 1992. [1050 pp; hb; extensive bibliography; by one of the most authoritative experts and writers on matters of Jewish history]

Silberman, Charles. A Certain People: American Jews and Their Lives Today. New York: Summit Books - Simon and Schuster, 1985. [458 pp.; pb; emphasis on the contemporary period]

J6. History of Modern Israel

Sachar, Howard M. A History of Israel [, Vol. 1]: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time. 2nd ed. 1976; New York: Knopf, 1996. [1153 pp; pb; authoritative and detailed.]

---. A History of Israel, Vol. 2: From the Aftermath of the Yom Kippur War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.

J7. Histories of Religion and Religious Practice (see also sec. 8)

Bamberger, Bernard J. The Story of Judaism. 3rd ed. 1957; New York: Schocken, 1970. [484 pp.; pb.] [scholarly]

Sigal, [Rabbi] Phillip. Judaism: The Evolution of a Faith. Ed. Lillian Sigal. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1988. [326 pp.; hb; condensation of the author's 5-volume work on the subject; overlaps with categories 4 and 8 of this bibliography]

Knobel, Peter S., ed. Gates of the Seasons: A Guide to the Jewish Year. New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1983. [208 pp.; pb; Reform discussion of the holidays]

Schauss, Hayyim. The Jewish Festivals: History and Observance. 1938; rpt., New York: Schocken Books, 1962 and ff. [316 pp.; pb.] [scholarly]

J8. Religious Philosophy, Practice, and Observance (see also sec. 7)

Blech, [Rabbi] Benjamin. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Judaism. Alpha Books, 1999. [352 pp.; pb]

---. Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aaronson, 1991. [350 pp.] [Examination of Judaism's tenets and practices through the 613 Mitzvot, 'commandments, teachings,' the Rabbis inferred from the Torah or pentateuch]

Cohn-Lipman, [Rabbi] David E. The Book of Jewish Knowledge: 613 Basic Facts About Judaism. Northvale, NJ: Aaronson, 1991. [ 451 pp.; hb; brief discussions, the number based on the 613 Mitzvot, 'commandments, teachings,' the Rabbis inferred from the Torah or pentateuch]

De Lange, Nicholas. An Introduction to Judaism. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000. [266 pp.]

--. Judaism. Oxford Univ. Press, 19uu.

Donin, [Rabbi] Hayim Halevy. To Pray As a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service. New York: Basic Books, 1980. [384 pp.; hb; has bibliog.] [probably the most articulate spokesman for the Orthodox denomination--clear, profound, and persuasive]

---. To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life (Selected and Compiled from the "Shulhan Arukh" and "Responsa" Literature and Providing a Rationale for the Laws and Tradition). New York: Basic Books, 1972. [336 pp.; hb; has bibliog.] [same comments as for To Pray As a Jew]

Falcon, Ted, and David Blatner. Judaism for Dummies. Hungry Minds, Inc., 2001. [432 pp.; pb]

Fishbane, Michael A. Judaism: Revelation and Traditions. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987. [149 pp.; pb; in the "Religious Traditions of the World" series; an original and penetrating little book that explores history, philosophy, and practice by an astute analyst of Biblical literature who is also a professor at Brandeis University]

Gaer, Joseph, and Rabbi Alfred Wolf. Our Jewish Heritage. New York: Holt, 1957. [242 pp.; hb and pb; Ch. 7 = "The Jewish Bookshelf."] [blend of Conservative and Reform, though Orthodox point of view is consistently mentioned; Gaer is a good popularizing writer, and he and Wolf work to keep the book from becoming heavy reading; Rabbi Wolf, one of the three chief Rabbis of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, exerted profound impact on the compiler of this bibliography; Ruth Prinsky, the compiler's mother, typed the manuscript of the Gaer and Wolf book]

Kertzer, [Rabbi] Morris N. What Is a Jew? 4th ed. 1953; New York: Collier-Macmillan, 1978. [249 pp.; pb; has bibliog.] [consistent coverage of all major denominations of Judaism, with some emphasis on the Reform; question-and-answer format and other features of style to keep the book from becoming too heavy]

Kertzer, Rabbi Morris M., and Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman. What Is a Jew? New and Completely Revised [5th] Edition. New York: Collier - Macmillan, 1993. [306 pp.; pb; updated to cover the forty years since the 4th ed.]

Kolatch, [Rabbi] Alfred J. The Jewish Book of Why. Middle Village, NY: Jonathan David Publishers, 1981. [324 pp.; question-and-answer format, within chapters on general subjects like marriage and divorce, death and mourning, the dietary laws, the synagogue, the sabbath]

---. The Second Jewish Book of Why. NY: Jonathan David Publishers, 1985. [432 pp.]

---. This Is the Torah. NY: Jonathan David Publishers, 19uu.

Rosenberg, [Rabbi] Roy A. The Concise Guide to Judaism: History, Practice, Faith. New York: Mentor/New American Library, 1991. [255 pp.; pb; has brief bibliog.; overlaps with sections 4 and 7 of this bibliography]

Steinberg, [Rabbi] Milton. Basic Judaism. New York: Harvest-Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1947 (and frequently rptd.). [172 pp.; pb.] [along with Kertzer, the most popular introduction--short and to the point; treatment of both Orthodox/Conservative and Reform, though avoiding these names to avoid controversialism; comprehensive table of contents but no index or bibliography]

Telushkin, [Rabbi] Joseph. Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History. New York: Morrow, 1991. [688 pp.] [As suggested by the book's length, one of the most comprehensive treatments, broken up into many short, readable sections, with many short bibliographies. The author often mentions anecdotes from his own childhood and family experiences bearing on various points.]

Trepp, [Rabbi] Leo. The Complete Book of Jewish Observance. New York: Berhman-Summit, 1980. [370 pp.; hb.; has bibliog.; often the discussions have more depth or breadth than in comparable books in this section--e.g., on Chanukkah]

J9. Talmud (Thoughts of the Rabbis down through the Middle Ages)

Abrams, Judith Z. The Talmud for Beginners. 2 vols. Northvale NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1993. [Vol. 1 is Prayer -- 202 pp.; pb; bibliography; Vol. 2 is Text -- 161 pp., pb, bibliogoraphy; emphasis on working through particular passages selected from the Talmud, showing how this kind of reading and study are done]

Cohen, Abraham. Everyman's Talmud: The Major Teachings of the Rabbinic Sages. New York: Schocken Books, 1949 and rpt. [405 pp.; pb; the great one-volume synthesis of Talmudic thought]

Steinsaltz, Adin. The Essential Talmud. Trans. Chaya Galai. 2nd ed. 1976; Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc. 1992. [Relatively heavy emphasis on the historical development, plus some synthesis of Talmudic thought, by the Talmud's foremost modern scholar and translator]

Neusner, Jacob. The Mishnah: An Introduction. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1989. [234 pp.; hb and pb; overview of this part of Talmud, by Judaism's most prolific scholar]

---. The Midrash: An Introduction. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1990. [234 pp.; pb; same comments as for the preceding item]

J10. The Reform Denomination

Borowitz, Eugene B. Liberal Judaism. Cincinnati: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1984. [With Borowitz's book, immediately below, regarded as the best treatment of the ideology of the Reform denomination.]

---. Reform Judaism Today. New York: Behrman House, 1983.

Stern, Rabbi Chaim, ed. Gates of Prayer: The New Union Prayerbook. New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1975. [The main prayerbook of the Reform denomination.]

---. Gates of Repentance: The New Union Prayerbook for the Days of Awe. New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1978. [The main Reform denomination prayerbook for the High Holy Days.]

Hoffman, Lawrence A., ed. Gates of Understanding: A Companion Volume to Shaarei Tefillah: Gates of Prayer. New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1977. [Notes about and explanations of Gates of Prayer: the various services, how and from where sources of liturgy were drawn, etc.]

J11. The Relation of Judaism to Other Faiths

Neusner, [Rabbi] Jacob. A Rabbi Talks with Jesus: An Intermillenial, Interfaith Exchange. New York: Doubleday, 1993. [154 pp.; hb; by probably the most prolific scholar- author of Judaica]

Sandmel, [Rabbi] Samuel. A Jewish Understanding of the New Testament. 2nd ed. 1956; New York: Ktav, 1974. [336 pp.; pb; has brief bibliog.; keen commentary from one of the world's leading Biblical scholars, as exemplified by his books The Hebrew Scriptures: An Introduction to Their Literature and Religious Ideas (New York: Knopf, 1963; 570 pp.), Enjoyment of Scripture (New York: Oxford UP, 1972; pb; 300 pp.), and The New English Bible with the Apocrypha: Oxford Study Edition (New York: Oxford UP, 1976; pb) (for which Rabbi Sandmel served as general editor)]

---. Judaism and Christian Beginnings. New York: Oxford UP, 1978. [510 pp; hb and pb; has bibliography; see comment on Sandmel, above]

---. We Jews and Jesus. 3rd ed. 1965; New York: Oxford UP, 1974. [164 pp.; see comment on Sandmel, above]

Silver, [Rabbi] Abba Hillel. Where Judaism Differed. New York: Macmillan, 1956; rpt. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1987. [318 pp.; impressive, though quite readable, in its scope, learning, and use of sources, including Old Testament, New Testament, and Rabbinical. Can be, and has been, used as a general introduction to Judaism.]

Weiss-Rosmarin, Trude. Judaism and Christianity: The Differences. New York: Jonathan David, 1943. [158 pp; still in print: its 14th printing was in 1993.]

J12. Antisemitism

Prager, Dennis, and Joseph Telushkin. Why the Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism. New York: Touchstone - Simon and Schuster, 1983. [238 pp.; pb; has bibliography]

Wistrich, Robert S. Antisemitism: The Longest Hatred. New York: Pantheon, 1991. [341 pp.; hb; has bibliography]

J13. The Holocaust

Davidowicz, Lucy. The War Against the Jews, 1933-1945. New York: Bantam Books, 1976. [610 pp.; pb; has bibliography; a modern authoritative history]

Langer, Lawrence, ed. Art from the Ashes: A Holocaust Anthology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. [693 pp.; pb and hb; tremendous breadth of literature, as well as some painting, with black and white reproductions]

Muffs, Judith H., and Dennis Klein, eds. The Holocaust in Books and Films: A Selected, Annotated List. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1986. [158 pp.; pb; very helpful division of the subject into areas; cf. books in section 1, above, in this bibliography]

Rosenberg, David, ed.. Testimony: Contemporary Writers Make the Holocaust Personal. New York: Times Books - Random House, 1989. [511 pp.; pb and hb; contemporary literature anthology]

Wyman, David. The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust, 1941-1945. New York: Pantheon, 1984. [444 pp.; pb; has brief bibliography]

J14. Anthologies of Jewish Literature and Humor

J14a. From Both the Old World and the New World

Ausubel, Nathan, ed. A Treasury of Jewish Humor. 1951; rpt. New York: Galahad Books, 1993. [735 pp.]

Bellow, Saul, ed. and comp. Great Jewish Short Stories. New York: Laurel - Dell, 1963. [414 pages; paperback; broad range]

Litvinoff, Emanuel, ed. and comp. The Penguin Book of Jewish Short Stories. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin Books, 1979. [352 pages; paperback; broad range]

Novak, William, and Moshe Waldoks, eds. The Big Book of Jewish Humor. New York: HarperCollins, 1981. [308 pp.; pb; wonderful in its scope, comments, and selections, including jokes and cartoons, as well as literary selections from screenplays, plays, fiction, and poetry]

Rothenberg, Jerome, and Harris Lenowitz, ed.s, A Big Jewish Book: Poems and Other Visions of the Jews from Tribal Times to the Present. New York: Anchor Press - Doubleday, 1978. [633 pages; selections from important prose, as well as poetry.]

Stavans, Ilan, ed. The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. [493 pp.; like almost books from this press, admirable.]

J14b. Yiddish Short Fiction in Translation

Howe, Irving, and Eliezer Greenberg, eds., comps., and trans. A Treasury of Yiddish Short Stories. Trans. Jacob Sloan et al. 1954; rpt. New York: Schocken Books, 1973. [630 pages; paperback; long and perceptive general introduction as well as introductions to broad range of individual writers]

J14c1. Collections of Jewish-American Literature

Chapman, Abraham, ed. and comp. Jewish-American Literature: An Anthology of Fiction, Poetry, Autobiography, and Criticism. New York: Mentor - New American Library, 1974. [727 pages; paperback; one of the most comprehensive collections of Jewish literature in all literary categories ever done, but unfortunately, out of print]

J14c2. Collections of Jewish-American Fiction

Howe, Irving, ed. and comp. Jewish-American Stories. New York: Mentor - New American Library, 1977. [470 pages; paperback; constantly referred to in the introduction by Ted Solotaroff, below, in this section, but, like Chapman (above, in this section), unfortunately, out of print; to give historical background and perspective, stories are also included from the late nineteenth-century Yiddish and also the early twentieth-century Russian traditions]

Solotaroff, Ted, and Nessa Rapoport, eds. and comps. Writing Our Way Home: Contemporary Stories by American Jewish Writers. New York: Schocken Books, 1992. 380 pages; rpt. in paperback, 1996, as The Schocken Book of Contemporary Jewish Fiction. [Excellent prefaces updating recent developments in Jewish American fiction]

J14c3. Collections of Jewish-American Poetry

Barron, Jonathan, and Erick Murphy Selinger, eds. Jewish American Poetry: Poems, Commentary, and Reflections. Hanover, NH: Brandeis Univ. Press - Univ. Press of New England, 2000. [416 pp.]

Rubin, Steven, ed. Telling and Remembering: A Century of American Jewish Poetry. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997. [499 pp.]

J14d. Translated Collections of Israeli Short Fiction

Abramson, Glenda, ed. The Oxford Book of Hebrew Short Stories. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. [412 pp.; pb; admirable, like almost all books from this publisher.]

Alter, Robert, ed. Modern Hebrew Literature. West Orange, NJ: Behrman House, 1975. [398 pp.; pb; insightful, with good bibliography, by one of the leading scholars of Bible, Judaism, and literary criticism in the U.S.]

Blocker, Joel, and Robert Alter, eds. Israeli Stories: A Selection of the Best Contemporary Hebrew Writing. Trans. Walter Lever et al. New York: Schocken Books, 1965. [256 pages; paperback; excellent general introduction as well as individual introductions to selections by important Israeli fiction writers]

Spicehandler, Ezra, ed. Modern Hebrew Stories [: A Bantam Dual-Language Book]. New York: Bantam, 1971. [341 pp.; pb; stories printed with English translation and Hebrew letters on facing pages.]

J14e. Best Article on a  Modern Israeli Fiction Writer in a Literature Reference Set

Prinsky, Norman. "Amos Oz." In Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition. Eds. Charles May and Frank Magill. 6 vols. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 2001. 5:1860-65.

J15a. The Best Modern-Translation One-Volume Study Bibles with a Strictly Jewish Perspective  (listed alphabetically by title) (for other recommended one-volume study Bibles, see Section 4 of my "Notes and Questions on the Bible, Genesis, and Psalms")

The Jewish Study Bible. Eds. Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler. Oxford UP, 2004. [2181 + xxiii + 14; color atlas; Tanakh (OT) only; has the defects of all the Oxford UP study Bibles, so far: good separate articles, but too little annotation; what passes as annotation is too often footnoted chapter heading or passage summary material.]

J15b. Bible Translation Done Exclusively by Jewish Scholars, and Most Closely of All Translations Adhering to the Masoretic Text

Tanakh: A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text. Eds. and Trans. Harry M. Orlinsky, H.L. Ginsberg, Moshe Greenberg, Jonas Greenfield, and Nahum Sarna. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1962-1982. [Unlike other Bible translations, makes little use of the Septuagint or Vulgate, subsequent ancient Greek and Latin translations of the Hebrew text; lacks introductions, annotations, etc.]

Tanach (The Torah / Prophets / Writings: The Twenty-Four Books of the Bible Newly Translated and Annotated; The Stone Edition). Gen. Ed. Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Mesorah Publications - ArtScroll Series, 1996; 1998; 2000. [Minimal annotation; facing pages have the Hebrew and the English translation.]

The Jewish Study Bible. Eds. Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler. Oxford UP, 2004. [Study edition of the above.] [2181 + xxiii + 14; color atlas; Tanakh (OT) only; has the defects of all the Oxford UP study Bibles, so far: good separate articles, but too little annotation; what passes as annotation is too often footnoted chapter heading or passage summary material.]

The Jerusalem Bible. Koren  Publishers, 1997. [Not to be confused with the  Roman Catholic translations entitled The Jerusalem Bible and The New Jerusalem Bible, from different publishers, other than Koren.]

Soncino Books of the Bible. Soncino Press, 1946-1984. 14 vols. Hebrew and English translation (from the 1917 JPSA version), plus commentary by Jewish scholars.

J16. Miscellaneous

Although lengthy, this bibliography omits many interesting books on special subjects. For example, there are fine recent books on Jewish mysticism (especially the Kabbala[h] and Zohar, showing up, along with the legend of the Golem), also showing up in television and the movies: e.g.,  the episode "Kaddish" on the X-Files, the 1967 British horror movie It! (starring Roddy McDowall), and the Melanie Griffith movie A Stranger Among Us. Also the subject appears in the bestselling novel Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco [author of the novel The Name of the Rose, on which the movie, starring Sean Connery, is based] and Marge Piercy's science fiction novel He, She, It.  There are books about the image or portrayal of Jews in movies, as well as the "Jewish mystique." A recommended film about the Orthodox community is The Chosen (based on a fine novel by Chaim Potok); a recommended film about modern Judaism, the Holocaust, and the Ukraine (based on a fine novel by Jonathan Safran Foer) is Everything Is Illuminated.