Synopses & Reviews
Is the Bible actually a love story between a deity and a people? And what does this love story have to do with the modern world? In With All Thine Heart distinguished cultural critic Ilan Stavans speaks to freelance writer Mordecai Drache about love in the Bible.
Presented in an engaging, conversational format and touched with striking artwork, the textured dialogue between Stavans and Drache is meant to show how the Bible is a multidimensional text and one that, when considered over the course of history, still has the power to shape our world. The theme of love provides the connective tissue that binds this work.
Addressing a wide range of topics, from biblical archaeology and fundamentalism to Hollywood movies, lexicography, and the act of praying, With All Thine Heart suggests that the Hebrew Bible is a novel worth decoding patiently, such as one does with classics like Don Quixote de la Mancha, In Search of Lost Time, and Anna Karenina.and#160; Similar to the protagonists in these tales, biblical characters, although not shaped with the artistic nuance of modern literature, allow for astonishing insight. This exploration of love through the pages of the Bibleandmdash;organized chronologically from Genesis to Exodus and followed by insightful meditations on the Song of Songs and the Book of Jobandmdash;is aand#160; delightful intellectual and spiritual treat . . . Shema Ysrael!
Review
andquot;Ilan Stavans bites into the apple and invites us to share the fruit of his knowledge. The perfect guide to the Biblical universe, he spins brilliant metaphors that help us re-envision not only the timeless tales but also our own time-bound world.
andquot;
Review
"An essential topic, scrutinized with profound knowledge, insight, and acuity. A wonderful, precious book."Norman Manea, Francis Flournoy Professor of European Culture and Writer in Residence, Bard College
Review
"Stavans's thoughts flow freely in response to a question and overall the form is delightfully jazzy. The brilliant Stavans redeems the culturally maligned term 'humanist'."Publishers Weekly
Review
andquot;In these fascinating conversations, a brilliant literary scholar turns his meticulous attention to familiar texts of the Jewish Bible that speak of love and human emotion. What results is a uniqueness of perception, as well as a transforming experience for the reader.
andquot;
Review
andquot;An essential topic, scrutinized with profound knowledge, insight, and acuity. A wonderful, precious book.
andquot;
Review
andquot;Stavan's thoughts flow freely in response to a question and overall the form is delightfully jazzy. The brilliant Stavans redeems the culturally maligned term 'humanist'. With all Thine Heart twists and turns between Stavans's views of God, descriptions of works of art, psychological analyses, and etymological explanations. It can be dizzying at times, yet the exercise is as fascinating as the topic itself.andquot;
Review
andquot;Ilan Stavans is dedicated to understanding the World, Latin America, Latino culture, Mexicoandhellip; In this new bookandndash;intelligent, penetrating and informed as everandndash;he continues to do so, tenaciously seeking to understand himself.andquot;
Review
andquot;A hypnotic, moving exploration of history and identity, wry and entertaining and wise. In this dialogue with a lifetime of photos, Ilan Stavans creates and recreates a world rarely seen.andquot;
Review
andquot;Essential, seminal reading, Return to Centro Histandoacute;rico is more than a fascinating weaving of personal and familial history. It is a thought-provoking story of how a boy who wanted to be a magician turned instead into one of our very best writers. Ilan Stavans conjures up his life with candor and an ample heart for family and community.andquot;
Review
andquot;A sweet reading of a little-known face of Mexico.andquot;
Review
andldquo;In this endearing Proustian journey, old photographs become the madeleines that spark vivid memories and imaginings of the diverse Jewish dreamers who have made Mexico their home. No one but Ilan Stavans could have told this beautiful and haunting story with such affection, wit, and grace.andrdquo;
Review
andquot;A moving meditation on photographs where memory and history collide. Ilan Stavans illuminates a Jewish penchant for picturing time, life, and family in Mexico City in the 20th century.andquot;
Synopsis
In With All Thine Heart distinguished cultural critic Ilan Stavans speaks to freelance writer Mordecai Drache about love in the Bible. Organized chronologically from Genesis to Exodus and followed by insightful meditations on the Song of Songs and the Book of Job, this book is presented in an engaging, conversational format and touched with striking artwork. The textured dialogue is meant to show how the Bible is a multidimensional text and one that, when considered over the course of history, still has the power to shape our world.
Synopsis
Inspired by a stirring e-mail exchange with his father, award-winning essayist and cultural commentator , Ilan Stavans decided to do something bizarre: revisit his hometown, Mexico City, accompanied by a tour guide.and#160; With the same linguistic verve and insight that has made him one of the most distinguished voices in American literature today, Ilan Stavans invites readers along for a personal journey that is not only his own, but that of an entire culture. Return to Centro Histandoacute;rico makes it possible for readers to understand the intimate role that Jews have played in the devleopment of Hispanic civilzation.
Synopsis
After a stirring e-mail exchange with his father, awardwinning essayist and cultural commentator Ilan Stavans decided to do something bizarre: revisit his hometown, Mexico City, accompanied by a tourist guide. But rather than seeking his roots in the neighborhood where he grew up, he headed to the Centro Histandoacute;rico, the downtown area at the heart of the worldandrsquo;s largest metropolis. It was there that conversos, the hidden Jews escaping the might of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, were burned at the stake. And, centuries later, it was the same section where Jewish immigrants, both Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazim and Sephardim from the Ottoman Empire, made their homes as peddlers. In a sense, Centro Histandoacute;rico is to Mexico what the Lower East Side is to the United States: a platform for reinventing oneandrsquo;s self in the New World.
With the same linguistic verve and insight that has made him one of the most distinguished voices in American literature today, Ilan Stavans invites readers along for a personal journey that is not only his own, but that of an entire culture. In Return to Centro Histandoacute;rico he makes it possible to understand the intimate role that Jews have played in the development of Hispanic civilization.
and#160;
About the Author
ILAN STAVANSand#160; is Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. He is an award-winning author and editor of many books, including Love and Language, Resurrecting Hebrew, Gabriel Garcandiacute;a Mandaacute;rquez: The Early Years, and The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories.
MORDECAI DRACHE is a freelance writer, poet, and contributing editor to Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture.