Memoirs of a Jew who was born in 1919 in Frankfurt to a wealthy family and renamed Otto after his father, who died young. First relates the stories of a number of Jews who contributed to German society; these accounts often end with brief details of deaths in concentration camps or by suicide. After the Koch family jewelry store was Aryanized, the extended family faced the dilemma of how and when to emigrate. In 1935 Otto went to study in England, returning home on holidays until 1938. Chs. 17-18 (pp. 91-103) are devoted to events of 1938, when his mother, who had returned to Frankfurt from Switzerland, succeeded in emigrating. Otto, who was studying at Cambridge, was arrested as an enemy alien by the British, interned, and then sent to Canada, where he and other Jews, along with Nazis and POWs, were imprisoned for over a year and a half. The policy of incarcerating Jews in Canada was not considered unreasonable by Koch and others. They attributed it to fear and obtuseness; antisemitism may have been a factor but not a major one. Koch gives a full account of the German Jews' incarceration in "Deemed Suspect: A Wartime Blunder".

Literary Nonfiction. FURTHER CONFESSIONS OF A SMALL PRESS RACKETEER is a continuation of the columns and essays that comprised Stuart's 2005 release, Confessions of a Small Press Racketeer. Again, equal parts literary memoir, reckless tirade, and unsolicited advice for the aspiring writer, FURTHER CONFESSIONS is drawn largely from Stuart Ross's notorious Hunkamooga column, his blog entries, essays for subTerrain magazine and other online venues. We bring them together here in their collected brilliance: alternately snarky, sincere, touching, honest, and always opinionated, Stuart's confessions are essential reading for any literary confessional. This volume offers its readers a roller-coaster journey into the mind of one of Canada's most committed small press activists. Praise for Stuart Ross: One of North America's most active and fiercely independent literary populists.--Another Chicago Magazine If Stuart Ross was living and working in the United States, and writing the exact same poetry he does now he would be rich and famous. Well, famous, at least.--The Globe and Mail Praise for CONFESSIONS OF A SMALL PRESS RACKETEER: For a quick and dirty breath of fresh air, it's difficult to beat renegade urban poet Stuart Ross's latest effort... Ross has the battle scars and knows poetry isn't about flowers and meadows, it's about blood and guts.--Steven Knight, Quill & Quire ...a wonderful book--funny, outrageous, and acute. I'll even say it's the best short-essay collection about the writing life that I've read in ages... Every aspiring writer should read CONFESSIONS OF A SMALL PRESS RACKETEER, just to find inspiration. And so should every established writer--just to keep humble.--Lynne Van Luven, Malahat Review

"Inspired by a search for the origin of his Lithuanian-immigrant grandfather's unlikely name - Charles Beresford Price - Stanley Price sets out to assemble his own identity from a multitude of fragments: rugby-playing, patriotic Irish; rebellious orthodox Jewish; Cambridge, anti-Establishment British; 1960s immigrant to America; not to mention, eventually, successful novelist and playwright." "Price introduces us to a varied, Woody Allen-esque cast: the eccentric grandfather who was once famously asked by a Dublin policeman whether he was 'a Catholic Jew or a Protestant Jew'; the ageing spinster aunts Minnie and Hilda, aka 'The Girls'; a wind-obsessed rabbi; and guest appearances from Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Marilyn Monroe." "Criss-crossing both the Irish Sea and the North Atlantic, this perfectly paced and witty memoir also tells a little-known story: that of the Jews of Ireland - their history, culture and contribution."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A frank and witty memoir of life at the Bar and on the Bench, from former High Court Judge The Hon. Sir Harry Ognall. For many years, Harry Ognall enjoyed a formidable reputation as an advocate at the criminal Bar. As counsel, and later as judge, he was involved in numerous high-profile trials, both in Britain and abroad. Among many cases as a QC, he prosecuted Peter Sutcliffe, the so-called 'Yorkshire Ripper'. He successfully defended six officers of the Air Force of Zimbabwe at their trial in Harare, where they faced a charge of treasonable sabotage. As a judge, he presided over the trial of Colin Stagg (the alleged 'Wimbledon Common murderer'), the trial arising from the Lyme Bay canoe tragedy and the trial for the first time in the United Kingdom of a doctor's alleged involvement in euthanasia. Thoughtful and provocative, Sir Harry has advice for the aspiring young advocate, and invests this penetrating memoir with warmth, humour and understanding. His frank portrait of a lifetime in the criminal law offers unique perspectives on some of the most notorious cases of the twentieth century, as well as fascinating insights into a colourful professional life and the burdens and responsibilities that come with the privilege of high judicial office.

Against the Stream is the latest volume of Frederic Raphael's acclaimed memoirs Personal Terms , an unrivalled parade of the author's eventful and provocative life, opinions and times drawn from his living and breathing cahiers and journals. "Shrewd, funny, gossipy and elegantly written," as Jeremy Lewis said in the Literary Review , these writings are as unguarded, sardonic and tactless as they are candid. This seventh volume relives Margaret Thatcher's first years in office. Raphael's wide acquaintance in the world of politics, literature, journalism and the movies gives him rare access to the character of those, in England and America, who dominated the times. The unintended result is a Proustian parade of people, famous and otherwise forgotten, and events momentous and strictly personal, presented by an unabashedly partisan, unblinking eye-witness. There is nothing else quite like this unfolding project in English or American literature. "I am not a camera, but--as these carnets prove--I am a pen. The moving finger writes differently from the clicking keys."

A memoir of Charles Brasch - poet, editor and partron of the arts.

"Friends in the World reminds us how much we need each other to truly be ourselves."--L.A. Reader¶". . . a thoughtful self-depiction of a budding writer of the sixties as well as sympathetic portraits of fellow literary figures such as Ted Berrigan, Allen Ginsberg, and Tom Clark."--Library Journal

Memoirs of an American Reform rabbi from Phoenix, Arizona. Pp. 121-126 deal with antisemitism in the past and in the present. Mentions several public statements against Judaism and the State of Israel made recently by some American clergymen. Calls for dialogue between Jews and Christians.

The captivating memoirs of a Political heavyweight, detailing more than 40 years in government. Sir Malcolm Rifkind's political career has been as glittering as it has been long-lived. Indeed, he served as a minister for eighteen years, longer uninterrupted service than anyone since Lord Palmerston in the nineteenth century. Informed and stimulating, but also more relaxed, amusing and readable than most books of this genre, Rifkind's memoirs include his battles with Margaret Thatcher over Scotland, explain how he helped change Polish history during the Cold War, describe his presence at the Gorbachev-Thatcher summit and tell how he served as both Defence Minister and Foreign Secretary during some of the most turbulent years of the late twentieth century.The book also covers Rifkind's five pivotal years as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, working with MI6, the CIA and both spies and those spied upon. For his robustness, he is currently banned from Russia by President Putin. Rifkind's memoir is serious and funny, wise and self-deprecatory. This is a book about the past and the future.

An illustrated memoir of war, peace and art, which recalls how the author narrowly escaped Danzig as a child, and went on to be educated in England where he discovered his true vocation as a sculptor.

Memoirs of a Jewish journalist from Russia who settled in Turkey and who lived in Israel.

A Memoir of Creativity chronicles one woman's life journey as she derives a theory, revealing meaning in abstract painting, from varied personal and professional experiences, and tells how she locates this theory within a broader social context. In 1966, Piri Halasz became the first woman within living memory to write a cover story for Time (and not just any cover story, either: the notorious one on "Swinging London"). With wit and wisdom, she provides a glimpse into her "red-diaper" childhood, as well as reporting on her climb at Time from research to the writing staff. Vividly, she describes her controversial career as a female journalist during the sixties, offering an inside view of newsweekly rivalries during that tempestuous decade. Halasz then moves on to her initiation into the art world, her lively interaction with some of its most distinguished denizens and her immersion in graduate school. She concludes with what she has learned about art, art history, and history itself since the early eighties, applying that knowledge to better understand the twenty-first century. Through sharing her life story, Halasz encourages others to remain open to new experiences, to try different ways of seeing, and to use creativity to tackle hurdles.

Edith Anderson left America for Berlin in 1947 to join her German husband - an exile from the Nazis - who had returned to his homeland to build a new country from Hitler's ruins. Max Schroeder had been a surrealist poet/playwright in his bohemian twenties, but when Edith Anderson met him in New York at the height of World War II, he was a seasoned, forty-three-year-old political activist editing an anti-facist periodical in English and German. Edith, a struggling young writer from the East Bronx, worked first at the The Daily Worker, and then as one of the first "American railroad girls."

In 1975, at the age of forty, Richard Raskind, a renowned eye surgeon and highly ranked amateur tennis player, "died," and Renée Richards was "born," in what was to become the most public and highly scrutinized sex reassignment to date. It was not until Renée Richards was discovered playing in an amateur tennis tournament that the world took notice. Extensive media coverage and criticism thrust Renée reluctantly into the spotlight, sparking an intense public debate over her private life. Now, at seventy-two, Richards looks back and speaks frankly about all aspects of her complicated and often notorious life in this eye-opening, thought-provoking memoir. Richards' honest and compelling narrative explores the dichotomy between the successful life she lived as Dr. Richard Raskind, who seemed to have everything (devoted friends, a beautiful wife and son, a stellar record of academic and professional achievement, and outstanding athletic ability), and a secret life of struggle with a drive that could not be suppressed, even by years of psychotherapy and the force of a considerable will. Richards takes readers through her difficult decision to undergo surgery and the complex mixture of relief and continued frustration that came with the realization of her new identity. Discussing life after her transformation, Richards candidly relates the details, trials, and pleasures of her romantic life as well as fascinating stories about her tennis career, including her experiences as Martina Navratilova's coach. She also provides an intimate account of her difficult but rewarding relationship with her rebellious son: runaway teenager, high-stakes Vegas gambler, karate champion, and entrepreneur. She describes the deterioration of a once-loving marriage and the challenges of reclaiming her place at the forefront of her demanding medical specialty. Having lived as a woman almost as long as she lived as a man, Richards draws on a personal history that illuminates thirty years of remarkable change in society's attitude toward gender issues. Her absorbing and inspiring story, at once heartbreaking and uplifting, is a testimony to how far we have progressed in our ability to discuss and accept sexuality in all its iterations, as well as a reminder of how far we still must travel.

"Jack Austin served as a cabinet minister in both the Trudeau and Martin governments and represented British Columbia for over three decades in the Senate. In the 1970s, he served as federal deputy minister of Energy, Mines, and Resources (during the oil crisis), and then Principal Secretary to Trudeau Sr., who later became a travelling companion. Since 2008, he has been an honorary professor at UBC's Institute of Asian Research. His memoir, Unlikely insider, is more than a personal journey; it ruminates on some of the most pressing political issues animating Canadian public life: the move away from a colonial relationship with First Nations peoples, Canada-China relations, bilateral relations with the US, economic security, and the defense of domestic sovereignty. Inclusion, at both the regional and demographic levels, is an import theme recurring throughout the chapters."--

Anshel Brusilow was born in 1928 and raised in Philadelphia by musical Russian Jewish parents in a neighborhood where practicing your instrument was as normal as hanging out the laundry. By the time he was sixteen he was appearing as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He also met Pierre Monteux at sixteen, when Monteux accepted him into his summer conducting school. Under George Szell, Brusilow was associate concertmaster at the Cleveland Orchestra until Ormandy snatched him away to make him concertmaster in Philadelphia, where he remained from 1959 to 1966. Ormandy and Brusilow had a father-son relationship, but Brusilow could not resist conducting, to Ormandy's great displeasure. By the time he was forty, Brusilow had sold his violin and formed his own chamber orchestra in Philadelphia with more than a hundred performances per year. For three years he was conductor of the Dallas Symphony, until he went on to shape the orchestral programs at Southern Methodist University and the University of North Texas. Brusilow played with or conducted many top-tier classical musicians, and he has opinions about each and every one. He also made many recordings. Co-written with Robin Underdahl, his memoir is a fascinating and unique view of American classical music during an important era, as well as an inspiring story of a working-class immigrant child making good in a tough arena.