Notes From the Lampert Library
Some readers avoid nonfiction because they think it’s dull, pedantic and too detailed. True, there are lots of books, both fiction and nonfiction, that are dull and boring.
But don’t tell that to Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the brilliant new hip-hop musical Hamilton. The musical, continues the saga of the Founding Fathers that began with 1776, the 1969 musical by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone. Creatively- but most respectfully-it revolutionizes the American musical and rescues the talented Alexander Hamilton from general obscurity except as the face on the 10 dollar bill. Miranda’s inspiration for Hamilton came from Alexander Hamilton (2004), Ron Chernow’s 818-page biography of the nation’s first secretary of the treasury. Chernow, whose books are known for their insight and readability, was the recipient of the George Washington Book Prize, awarded annually to the best book on the founding era of the United States, especially those that have the potential to advance broad public understanding of American history.
Among other outstanding biographies, Chernow has authored is The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family (1993), an account of the Warburg family, who immigrated to the US from Germany in 1938. The book was awarded the Columbia Business School’s George S. Eccles Prize for Excellence in Economic Writing. In addition, the American Library Association named it as one of the year’s ten best works. It was also acclaimed as a Notable Book by The New York Times.
But every book, so the saying goes, has its reader or readers.
The key is to find topics and styles that each reader likes. Some of us want to know EVERYTHING about a topic; other want just the facts, ma’am. And there are those want to be astounded by new information or have what they already know or feel corroborated.
What follows is an eclectic list of books to help you find your nonfiction niche.
Carvagel, The Forgetting River: A Modern Tale of Survival, Identity and the Inquisition is the author’s tale of the search for her Jewish roots in Spain.
Chernow, The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family is the story of the banking family known for its accomplishments in physics, classical music, art history, pharmacology, physiology, finance, private equity and philanthropy.
Collins, O Jerusalem is the classic story of the fight for Jerusalem during the Israeli War of Independence.
Elon, Founder: A Portrait of the first Rothschild and His Time provides an account of Rothschild’s life that is rich in character development, offering insight into the kind of man he was and details of the era and Jewish life. Illustrations add flavor and insight to the readable text.
Feldman, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots is an engaging and at times gripping look into Brooklyn’s Hasidic community written by a young woman whose curious mind led her to rebel against the community’s restraints.
Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible attempts to answer the question with clarity and engaging style, turning a potentially dry scholarly inquiry into a lively detective story.
Ladin, Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders is a nuanced, wide-ranging memoir on gender, fear, and loss arising from Ladin’s struggle to find life worthwhile 
and to live authentically in the transition from male to female. This is a timely story as increasing attention is paid to the LGBT community.
Larson, In the Garden of the Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin chillingly portrays the terror and oppression that slowly settled over Germany in 1933 through the eyes of the American ambassador and his family.
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