“Careful use of language is the key to effective therapy. And note that the therapist’s task is often not to take the question at face value but to change the question—as I am doing now—so it can be answered in a more... Read More

In ancient times, Jews counted up days from Passover to Shavuot by measuring out an “omer” of grain. When they had forty-nine omers, they knew Shavuot had arrived. The seven weeks between the holidays is still referred to as counting... Read More

Michael Smith works at the Kincaid Clinic, a hospital for the mentally ill that provides the setting for much of this novel. One of his patients explains that a riddle drove him insane: “What can go up a chimney down but not down a... Read More

A naive young Scottish doctor is assigned by the Allied army to a Russian-guarded refugee camp during World War II. No one seems to know why, but refugees are dying of a grotesque illness. The Russians are at a loss. Can the doctor... Read More

In the first volume of their stunning biography of the French author Colette (published November, 1998), Francis and Gontier not only showed the sensuality, talent and wide-ranging life of the ultimate libertine, but also her weaknesses,... Read More

In 1950 Ralph Bunche became the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As the director of the Trusteeship Division of the United Nations, Bunche shaped that organization’s role in peacekeeping efforts. At the March on... Read More

An old Yiddish proverb tells us “alleh shlosser ken men efenen mit a goldenem shlissel”: all locks can be opened with a golden key. What a surprising adventure to read Stella Suberman’s intimate book that unlocks an aspect of... Read More