Chronicles the author's visit to a Jersusalem community where Arab and Jewish citizens coexist in peace: a journey that challenges his preconceptions and offers insight into the social dynamics of the region.

"A biography of perhaps Ontario's most important premier, who, despite having been out of public life for thirty years, is remembered fondly by many as the head of one of Ontario's most progressive, yet conservative, governments."--

From Publishers Weekly Sault Ste. Marie's Jewish community in the 1930s, where Torgov grew up, is evoked in this Canadian memoir. Containing many mirthful moments, the book is deeply moving as well. Holding center stage is the author's profane, choleric, intolerant father. There is little about the boy's mother, who died when he was only 10, or the stepmother whom Torgov Sr. wed and then quickly divorced. Most of the fun as well as the sadness arises from duels between father and son and the latter's childhood escapades, such as conniving with a sympathetic maid to feast on forbidden foods. Torgov also brings to life members of the insular town's Jewish and Christian communities in his endearing anecdotes. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Howard Engel has written the perfect parody of a present day Christmas in the suburbs. In his irreverant yet delightfully nostalgic style, Howard Engel tells a story of family, laughter and love. Engel's ear for the rhythm of Thomas' original book combined with his hilarious accounts of uncles, aunts and cousins stuffed into an overcrowded living room, draining the punch bowl and scavenging for presents, brilliantly captures the comic and nostalgic moments of the season.

"Red Diaper Baby is James Laxer's compelling and extraordinary memoir of growing up in a communist family during the height of the Cold War. When Jim was born in a Montreal hospital, his father was living in hiding under an assumed name. And when it came time to begin school in Ottawa, Jim was enrolled under a false birth date. Throughout his childhood he was repeatedly instructed not to tell anyone what his father did for work. Laxer's parents were dedicated members of the Communist Party, true believers in an ideology that was generally reviled and had been outlawed during much of World War II. From an early age, Laxer was collecting signatures on ban-the-bomb petitions, delivering Party flyers door to door, attending eccentric left-wing Camp Naivelt, and campaigning for the charismatic J. B. Salsberg, a Communist MPP in the Ontario legislature. Dramatic, humorous, and full of period detail, Red Diaper Baby offers a rare look at the McCarthy years through the eyes of a child. It also explains a great deal about Laxer's eventual and crucial role in the founding of the Waffle faction of the NDP, his continued engagement with the left, and his evolution into one of Canada's preeminent intellectuals."--

Beginning with the first Jewish settler, Moses David, the important role that Windsor Jews played in the development of Ontario's south is mirrored in this 200-year chronicle. the founding pioneer families transformed their Eastern European shtetl into a North American settlement; many individuals were involved in establishing synagogues, schools, and an organized communal structure in spite of divergent religious, political, and economic interests. Modernity and the growing influences of Zionism and Conservative/Reform Judaism challenged the traditional and leftist leanings of the community's founders. From the outset, Jews were represented in city council, actively involved in communal organizations, and appointed to judicial posts. While its Jewish population was small, Windsor boasted Canada's first Jewish Cabinet members, provincially and federally, in David Croll and Herb Gray. As the new millennium approached, jews faced shrinking numbers, forcing major consolidations in order to ensure their survival.