At times inspiring, at times heartbreaking, this account of a small Jewish community is always engrossing.
One man’s road to Judaism in Peru.
Journalist and educator Mochkofsky, a contributing writer for the New Yorker, chronicles the inspiring, sometimes astonishing tale of Segundo Villanueva (1927-2008), whose spiritual journey and personal magnetism made him the center of an extremely dedicated group of followers from the 1960s until his death. Finding a Bible in a trunk he had inherited, at a time when the Catholic Church deeply discouraged Bible use by laity, Villanueva read the book with fervor, finding great inconsistencies between what the church taught and what the Scriptures presented. His conversational and questioning nature caused a small group of family and friends to follow his leadership in looking for a church home that would more closely align with their findings in Scripture. Initially called the Assemblyists, they aligned with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church for a time but eventually parted ways. Pushing deep into the Amazonian jungle, they set up a village where they could live in community without the oversight of outside religious leaders. As he continued to immerse himself in biblical study, Villanueva rejected Christian teachings altogether and decided that he and his followers were, in fact, Jews, a decision that led to splintering within the community. In 1986, “they drafted the new organization’s founding document” and changed their name to Children of Moses (Bnei Moshe). They embarked on the lengthy process of being officially recognized as converted Jews and moving to Israel. Though some members of the organization managed to immigrate, they found life in Israel to be fraught with problems of its own. Readers will be swept up in this story of one man’s unshakeable quest for truth and the people who followed him through every obstacle, from poverty to jungle predators to Israeli bureaucracy.
At times inspiring, at times heartbreaking, this account of a small Jewish community is always engrossing.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-101-87518-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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