A Jewish Childhood - Hardcover

This anthology is a unique collection of childhood experiences and the editors have drawn together a varied selection of writings from fiction and autobiography. A Jewish Childhood offers memories, observations and impressions in both prose and verse. What is reflected is not only personal experience, but also a much wider chronicle of social conditions and historical events as they appeared to the contributors growing up in America, Britain, Canada, Russia and Israel. The book includes pieces from writers, among them Dannie Abse, Arthur Miller, Marcel Proust, Joseph Heller, Philip Roth and Isaac Bashevis Singer. There are also autobiographical extracts from actors and entertainers - Sarah Bernhardt, Sophie Tucker, Bud Flanagan, Groucho Marx and Sammy Davis Jnr - with many more from artists, musicians, scientists and statesmen. Among the seven writers and personalities who have contributed original pieces are Sir Roy Welensky, Frederic Raphael and Rabbi Julia Neuberger. This book is a celebration of social durability and cultural achievement; it gives us the opportunity to see, through children's eyes, the Jewish way of life, while also reflecting the Jewish talent for survival and for humour.