For more than 35 years, the Weinstein JCC has celebrated Jewish books and authors at its annual Book Fair. The goal of this event is to educate the community about Jewish literature and to stimulate discussion and thought regarding current Jewish issues, history, philosophy, literature and poetry.
In celebration of National Jewish Book Month, the Fife-Davis Family Annual Jewish Book Fair will host nine incredibly interesting and diverse author events from Nov. 1-29.
Through its partnership with the Jewish Book Council and with the input of the Weinstein JCC’s book fair committee, co-chaired by Claudia Biegler and Gail Werner, these select authors have been invited to share their compelling stories with our community.
All authors will be presenting virtually.
For more information and to register, visit: www.weinsteinjcc.org/.
Tracy Walder, The Unexpected Spy
Co-hosted by 5400 Club
Monday, Nov. 1 at 12:30 p.m.
Tracy Walder, a Jewish-American woman, was recruited by the CIA out of college. With the events of 9/11, Walder found herself tracking terrorists with President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell looking over her shoulder.
She successfully earned the trust of al-Qaeda’s top men, Jihadists who swore they’d never speak to a woman. The Unexpected Spy is a powerful memoir about a woman who made a career in a male-dominated field and what she’s taken away from it now.
Free and open to the community.
Rebecca Frankel, Into the Forest
Co-hosted by 5400 Club
Monday, Nov. 8 at 12:30 p.m.
Into the Forest is a gripping novel of love, escape and survival from wartime Poland to a wedding in Connecticut. It traces the true story of the Jewish Rabinowitz family who fled to the Bialowieza Forest to escape the Nazi killing squad that had terrorized their hometown. The story leads the reader through a 65-year journey, marked by a series of remarkable twists of fate.
Free and open to the community.
Ira Rosen, Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes
Thursday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Ira Rosen, two-time Peabody Award-winning writer and producer, reveals the intimate, untold stories of his decades spent at America’s most iconic news show. It’s a 60 Minutes story about the show, 60 Minutes.
$10 per person; $18 per household
Judy Batalion, The Light of Days
Sunday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
One of the most important untold stories of World War II, The Light of Days, is a soaring landmark history that brings to light the extraordinary accomplishments of brave Jewish women who helped weaponize Poland’s Jewish youth groups to resist the Nazis.
$10 per person; $18 per household
Jennifer Anne Moses, The Man Who Loved His Wife
Co-hosted by Jewish Woman’s Club
Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 11 a.m.
Jews being Jewish: that is the subject of Jennifer Anne Moses’ new collection of short stories. Whether in Tel Aviv, suburban New Jersey, or the Deep South, the characters who populate the pages of The Man Who Loved His Wife grapple with God, their loved ones, fate, death, hope, Hitler, transcendence and the 4000-year history of Judaism.
Free and open to the community.
Anne Sebba, Ethel Rosenberg
Co-hosted by 5400 Club
Monday, Nov. 15 at 12:30 p.m.
On June 19, 1953, Ethel Rosenberg became the first woman in the U.S. to be executed for a crime other than murder. She was 37-years old and the mother of two small children.
Yet even today, at a time when the Cold War seems all too resonant, Ethel’s conviction for conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union makes her story still controversial.
Anne Sebba’s biography uses the dramatic prison letters Ethel exchanged with her husband, lawyer and psychotherapist over a three-year period.
Ethel Rosenberg’s story has been called America’s Dreyfus Affair: a catastrophic failure of humanity and justice that continues to haunt the national conscience.
Free and open to the community.
Tovah Feldshuh, Lilyville
Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.
In this insightful, compelling, often hilarious and always illuminating memoir, Lilyville, six-time Emmy and Tony nominee, Tovah Feldshuh, shares the highs and lows of a remarkable career.
And the lessons she’s learned about how to live a life in the spotlight, strive for excellence, and most importantly, how to still get along with your mother!
$10 per person; $18 per household
Wayne Federman,
The History of Stand-Up
Co-hosted by 5400 Club
Monday, Nov. 22 at 12:30 p.m.
Today’s top stand-up comedians sell out arenas, generate millions of dollars, tour the world, and help shape our social discourse.
So, how did this all happen? The History of Stand-Up chronicles the evolution of this American art form – from its earliest pre-vaudeville practitioners like Artemus Ward and Mark Twain to present-day comedians of HBO and Netflix.
Drawing on his acclaimed 35-years in comedy, including appearances on The Tonight Show, Emmy-nominated stand-up, actor, author, professor and podcaster, Wayne Federman guides us on this fascinating journey.
Free and open to the community
Joshua Greene, Unstoppable
Co-hosted by 5400 Club
Monday, Nov. 29 at 12:30 p.m.
Unstoppable: Siggi B. Wilzig’s Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor and Penniless Immigrant to Wall Street Legend is the true-life story of how an American immigrant and Holocaust Survivor went from selling neckties out of the trunk of his car to become CEO of both a publicly traded oil company and a bank with assets in excess of $4 billion.
Unstoppable is a riveting narrative of grit, cunning, luck and determination to live.
Free and open to the community
Books make a great gift! Stop by the Annual Jewish Book Fair and Gift Shop between Nov. 8 and Dec. 2 to shop for everyone on your gift list (and don’t forget yourself)!
