Shapiro has overlaid her story with the slightly implausible tale of the fictional Alizée Benoit, a promising French-born Jewish artist who mysteriously disappears.

As Philippe Sands writes in this indispensable book, “international law offered few constraints on the majority’s treatment of minorities and no rights for individuals."

Friedman argues that the morass Israel encountered in Lebanon was a precursor to the struggles Western societies now face.

"It is critically important for Israel to educate young generations of Israelis to believe in the ongoing dream of peace," Gordis relates.

In his masterful work, Gordis sought to honor “Israel’s extraordinary accomplishments” while being honest about “many of its failings."

“I have stuck to facts except when facts refused to conform with memory, narrative purpose or the truth as I prefer to understand it,” Chabon says.

Don’t just buy books for your kids. Read with them about Leonard Nimoy, a 2,000-year old olive tree and Hanukkah in 1971.

Shepard, an Italian Catholic whose wife’s father was Jewish, spent more than two years conducting exhaustive research for his latest book, culminating in a trip to Warsaw.