Guide to Jewish Literature - September/October 2025

This critically acclaimed bestseller presents the captivating story of Clara Prinz, a remarkable woman forced to leave her native Berlin in 1939. As Clara traveled alone on a voyage into the unknown, she turned to memories of her adolescence during La Belle Époque – the Beautiful Era filled with optimism and cultural transformation at the dawn of the twentieth century. Through Clara’s chance encounters with notable personalities of the period, Clara’s Secret weaves an unforgettable tapestry of personal and historic events. Clara’s Secret is ultimately a compelling story of the advancement of humankind and the survival of its decline. 

When Jews first arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654, Peter Stuyvesant tried but failed to deport them. As historian Pamela S. Nadell tells in Antisemitism, an American Tradition, this was only antisemitism’s beginning on our shores, as negative European stereotypes about Jews rooted into American soil. Antisemitism, an American Tradition investigates the depths of this fraught history and its recent manifestations. This momentous work reveals how antisemitism—and resistance to that hatred—endures, representing not a rupture from America’s history, but a centuries-old legacy.

Felice and Ira Zaslow’s love story spanned almost four decades, from the beaches of Far Rockaway to a comfortable suburban existence on the south shore of Long Island. Then came the morning of September 11, 2001. Through the days, weeks, and months that followed, Felice had to find her way through unfathomable trauma, on a path she had to forge herself, seeking guidance and role models along the way. This remarkable and inspiring memoir puts a very personal face on a national tragedy, facing down the darkness by looking for the light that is always present.

On a freezing 1809 Christmas Eve, orphan Abigail is rescued by David, a Jewish medical student. Welcomed into his family, she becomes a cherished daughter and gifted musician—but not David’s love. When his betrothed arrives, Abigail’s heart breaks. She hastily accepts another proposal and plans a double wedding, hiding her true intent. Can love and faith save her?

Evelyn Schwartz’s Hanukkah takes an unexpected turn when her ex-husband, David Adler, steps in as the studio doctor. As Evelyn faces “ghosts” of past heartbreaks and their undeniable chemistry reignites, the two must confront old wounds. With career pressures mounting and emotions running high, it’ll take a Hanukkah miracle to rekindle their love and find a future together.

Portrait of a Rabbi-Historian: How Did We Get Here? is an anthology of articles by Rabbi Lance J. Sussman, Ph.D., a renowned historian of the American Jewish experience. The Sussman trilogy includes Portrait of an American Rabbi (2023), Portrait of a Reform Rabbi (2024), and this, his most recent volume (2025), spanning Sussman’s career of forty years as a rabbi and a scholar. 

From the opening vignette in which a photograph is a silent witness to history to the powerful coda “Miracles,” a novella set against the vibrant panorama of the Yiddish theater in America, the fifteen memorable narratives in The Girls of Jerusalem and Other Stories span continents and eras as they chronicle love and loss, piety and heresy, mysticism and rationality to reinterpret ancient tropes of exile, dislocation, and profound change, revealing a new understanding of Jewish history and memory. “Luminous tales of exile and loss that bequeath new life” Kirkus Reviews (starred review). A best book of the year selection.

A musical story celebrating the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. This book features fresh lyrics and a toe-tapping melody. The colorful illustrations mirror the joy of this special bond. Use the QR code printed inside the book to download the song. Prepare to make memories to last a lifetime—listening, reading and singing together!

Journalist Jane Eisner traces Carole King’s extraordinary career, exploring her unique contribution to American music. Eisner places King’s life in historical and cultural context, revealing details of her humble beginnings in postwar Jewish Brooklyn, the roots of her musical genius, her four marriages, and her anguish about public life. Drawing on numerous interviews as well as historical and contemporary sources, this book brings to life King’s professional accomplishments, her personal challenges, and her lasting contributions to the great American songbook.