Salute to my maternal grandfather
By Fredric Price
November 1 would have been the 130th birthday of my maternal grandfather, Bill Hirshberg. He was born in the States in 1890, and was a major presence in my life. So much so that when I adopted a pseudonym as an author, I chose his last name. (I use the first name of my father-in-law, […]
2 Books that are Must Reads During these Troubling Times
By Fredric Price
During these very troubling times, with a president who, in my opinion, is acting in dangerous and dare I say unhinged ways, it’s worthwhile to note that we’ve been through this before. Seriously. Annette Gordon-Reed gives us an up-close look into Andrew Johnson, a vile, stubborn man whose admiration for the antebellum southern white way […]
Outside for the Holidays — Reconnecting with nature on Rosh Hashanah
By Fredric Price
Guest Blog By Lisa Trank For some, Rosh Hashanah means davening in synagogue. For me, this time of year has come to signify something else: stepping outside the confines of the synagogue, and reconnecting to the natural world. I grew up in an observant Reform Jewish household in Southern California in the 1960s. This translated […]
Free Speech
By Fredric Price
Jews have historically been at the forefront of the Free Speech Movement in the United States. Indeed, it was Jewish lawyers, working at the ACLU, who defended the right of neo-Nazis to assemble and march in Skokie, Illinois in 1977. That case became a signature statement of the free speech priorities of the United States. […]
Brief review of Tightrope
By Fredric Price
What to know how the other half lives? Why there’s a big divide in the U.S.? How we got to where we are in terms of a disappearing middle class and a sense of hopelessness? You may be shocked into doing something after you’ve read this excellent book. Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas […]
About my father-in-law … and the connections to writing
By Fredric Price
Tomorrow marks the 21st anniversary of the death of David Streger, my father-in-law, a man who exemplified what is meant by a person of The Greatest Generation. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1939 — Phi Beta Kappa — and served in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer in WWII. Shot several times, he […]
Brief Review of A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz
By Fredric Price
Take a look at Amos Oz’ A Tale of Love and Darkness (amzn.to/3fpn8mc). Step out of the current cultural and political wars in Israel and get real insight into what life was like just before and the War of Independence. The stories he tells place you in the heart of Jerusalem, where you can practically […]
Why are so many North American Jews ignorant about the Israel-Palestine situation?
By Fredric Price
Peter Beinart’s article in The New York Times of July 8, 2020 (https://nyti.ms/3h6MaZa) lit up the Internet with comments, and sucked in people such as the actor Seth Rogen to chime in with remarks that I can only characterize as silly and immature. I’m not going to dwell on Beinart’s premise — that there should […]
Fig Tree Lit – our monthly newsletter
By Fredric Price
One of the best parts of running Fig Tree Books is publishing Fig Tree Lit – our monthly newsletter. Sign up and look at our back issues here: https://figtreebooks.net/fig-tree-lit/. Fig Tree Lit includes essays, D’Var Torahs, short stories, book reviews, videos, audio interviews, links to websites, and book promotions. Typical topics include: OLDIE BUT GOODIE […]
Black and White in the U.S.A
By Fredric Price
I posted the following four paragraphs on Facebook during the last four weeks that I think are worth seeing together. They include references to 2 books, 1 video trailer for a movie, 1 music video, 1 link to a Facebook account, and 1 article. July 4: During these very troubling times, with a president who, in […]