For the past four years, photographer Gillian Laub has worked in Israel and Palestine, producing portraits of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Ramallah, Nablus and other locations in the region. This volume contains 50 of her portraits of Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, displaced Lebanese families and Palestinians--each personally affected by the geopolitical context in which they live, and each unveiling one more essential element in the puzzle of peace for the Middle East. In some of Laub's photographs, the traces of conflict are immediately observable--teenage boys without limbs; a young woman enveloped in scar tissue and a burn-recovery suit. Others are seemingly free from the disfigurements of violence. Yet in the interviews that accompany each portrait, a common thread of survival is revealed. Resilience, pride, defiance, vulnerability--and most astonishing of all, optimism--emerge from one statement to the next. The esteemed author, journalist and policy analyst, David Rieff, has said of Laub's work, "To consider [these] images is to be reminded not just of human cruelty and human stupidity but also of human tenacity." Two essays, one by the Palestinian-Israeli civil rights lawyer Raef Zreik, and one by the distinguished Israeli author Ariella Azoulay, underline the complexity of the work and the dialogue that Laub intends it to spark.

"Step into the extraordinary life of Samuel Adler, one of the most celebrated composers and conductors of our time. From a childhood marked by the horrors of Nazi Germany to a career spanning over six decades in music, teaching, and composition, Adler's journey is a testament to resilience, creativity, and the unifying power of music"--

An anniversary volume celebrating thirty years of Villa Aurora in Los Angeles as a symbol of exile, artistic freedom, and resilience. Miraculously, the historic artists' residence Villa Aurora withstood the devastating fire that swept through large parts of the Pacific Palisades in January 2025. Known in both Germany and the United States as a place of cultural memory, the Villa today stands more than ever for continuity and resilience. Since 1995, the former home-in-exile of Marta and Lion Feuchtwanger has served as a reminder of the artists and intellectuals who found refuge in California during the Nazi era and helped shape cultural life on the West Coast. As a residency for writers, composers, visual artists, and filmmakers, Villa Aurora brings together artistic practice and historical reflection―on exile and freedom, on language, responsibility, and the idea of home. This anniversary volume marking thirty years of the residence gathers voices from across all epochs―including contributions by James Conlon, Sharon Dodua Otoo, Donna Rifkind, Alex Ross, Sabine Scho, E. Randol Schoenberg, Karosh Taha, Lawrence Weschler, and Maryam Zaree. The book is enriched by archival material, architectural photography by Mike Kelley, a recent photo series by Todd Gray, and an introduction by editors Claudia Gordon and Jakob Scherer.