It is one of the curiosities of history that the most remarkable novel about Jews and Judaism, predicting the establishment of the Jewish state, should have been written in 1876 by a non-Jew - a Victorian woman and a formidable intellectual, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest of English novelists. And it is still more curious that Daniel Deronda , George Eliot's last novel, should have been dismissed, by many of her admirers at the time and by some critics since, as something of an anomaly, an inexplicable and unfortunate turn in her life and work. Yet Eliot herself was passionately committed to that novel, having prepared herself for it by an extraordinary feat of scholarly research in five languages (including Hebrew), exploring the ancient, medieval, and modern sources of Jewish history. Three years later, to reenforce that commitment, she wrote an essay, the very last of her writing, reaffirming the heritage of the Jewish "nation" and the desirability of a Jewish state - this well before the founders of Zionism had conceived of that mission. Why did this Victorian novelist, born a Christian and an early convert to agnosticism, write a book so respectful of Judaism and so prescient about Zionism? And why at a time when there were no pogroms or persecutions to provoke her? What was the general conception of the "Jewish question," and how did Eliot reinterpret that "question," for her time as well as ours? Gertrude Himmelfarb, a leading Victorian scholar, has undertaken to unravel the mysteries of Daniel Deronda . And the mysteries of Eliot herself: a novelist who deliberately wrote a book she knew would bewilder many of her readers, a distinguished woman who opposed the enfranchisement of women, a moralist who flouted the most venerable of marital conventions - above all, the author of a novel that is still an inspiration or provocation to readers and critics alike.

Just months before her death, Marilyn Monroe gave a young photographer his big break, and this is his story "You're already famous, now you're going to make me famous," photographer Lawrence Schiller said to Marilyn Monroe as they discussed the photos he was about to shoot of her. "Don't be so cocky," Marilyn replied, "photographers can be easily replaced." The year was 1962, and Schiller, 25, was on assignment for Paris Match magazine. He already knew Marilyn -- they had met on the set of Let's Make Love -- but nothing could have prepared him for the day she appeared nude during a swimming pool scene for the motion picture Something's Got to Give . Marilyn & Me is an intimate story of a legend before her fall and a young photographer on his way to the top. Schiller's original text and extraordinary photographs--over two thirds of which have never or rarely been published --take us back to that time, and to the surprising connection that allowed Marilyn to bond with a kid from Brooklyn, a kid with a lot of ambition but very little experience. Now, 50 years later, TASCHEN is publishing Lawrence Schiller's story as a signed, numbered monograph limited to 1,962 copies, for the year of Monroe's untimely death. Schiller's is a story that has never been told before, and he tells it with tact, humor, and compassion. The result is a real and unexpected portrait that captures the star in the midst of her final struggle. Collector's Edition of 1,712 numbered copies (books numbered No. 251-1,962) signed by the photographer. Also available in two Art Editions of 125 copies , each with an original photograph The book and clamshell box are covered in a custom woven duchesse silk from one of the world's most distinguished silk mills, Taroni , of Como, Italy Printed on archival paper Four foldouts, with one gatefold measuring a full 110 cm (44 in.) across Translation booklet of the text available in German, French and Spanish with purchase upon request

Arnold Beichman's comprehensive study of the writings of Herman Wouk, one of America's leading writers, shows how Wouk's plays and novels exemplify an extraordinary and often highly perceptive preoccupation with American society in war and in peace. Situating Wouk in the same literary tradition as Cervantes, Richardson, Balzac, and Dickens, Beichman demonstrates that Wouk's novels have strong plots, moralist outcomes, and active--essentially positive--characters. The new introduction serves to bring Wouk's work over the past two decades into the reckoning. Making extensive use of Wouk's personal papers and manuscripts as well as personal interviews with him, Beichman's focus is on the social and literary qualities of Wouk's work. In particular, he examines eight novels including War and Remembrance and The Winds of War; The Traitor, one of his three plays; and two moral tracts on Judaism. Wouk has written four more novels, including his latest, A Hole in Texas, his twelfth. Beichman portrays Wouk as one of the few living novelists concerned with virtue, and sees his work as against the mainstream of contemporary American novelists. These, he argues, have eschewed such elements of the traditional novel as invention, coincidences, surprises, suspense, and a moral perspective more presumed than examined.

Mendelson Joe was born in Toronto at the Western Hospital less than a year before Canada joined the Allies in ending World War II. Although Joe grew up in Maple, a feedmill town twenty miles north of Toronto, the city of Toronto was always his home - even during his itinerant years in London and Los Angeles as an electric troubadour. When Joe fe...

John G. Paton was an evangelist for Jesus Christ among the South Sea cannibals. Since beginning Vision Forum, we have made it our goal to urge fathers to turn their hearts to home and to rise up with courage to address the issues of the age. When I share this message before an audience, I usually begin by quoting at length an autobiographical account, penned by John G. Paton in the 19th century, describing how his father's love and training prepared him to endure bitter hardship, to persevere against unspeakably difficult circumstances, and to resist sin. This may be the most important narrative of missionary work you will ever read. The book touched me on the deepest level and has become an important part of my life and personal vision. We have republished it because it contains the finest testimony of multi-generational love and devotion between a father and son that I have ever read outside the Scriptures. Paton, a descendant of the Scottish Covenanters, was able to love and lead to Christ the very people who tried to eat his wife and child. One of the most important books you will ever read to your children. An Autobiography.