Collections
Collections make perfect gifts, or additions to any bookshelf
The Complete Jewish Lives Collection includes all 70 books published in the series to date.*
It’s the perfect gift for your synagogue, home, or office. It will be the highlight of your library.
Antiquity
Rabbi Akiva: Sage of the Talmud, by Barry W. Holtz
David: The Divided Heart, by David Wolpe
Becoming Elijah: Prophet of Transformation, by Daniel C. Matt
Herod the Great: Jewish King in a Roman World, by Martin Goodman
Jacob: Unexpected Patriarch, by Yair Zakovitch
Moses: A Human Life, by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg
Ruth: A Migrants Tale, by Ilana Pardes
Solomon: The Lure of Wisdom, by Steven Weitzman
Arts / Culture
Bernard Berenson: A Life in the Picture Trade,by Rachel Cohen
Irving Berlin: New York Genius, by James Kaplan
Leonard Bernstein: An American Musician,by Allen Shawn
Peggy Guggenheim: The Shock of the Modern,by Francine Prose
Man Ray: The Artist and His Shadows, by Arthur Lubow
Jerome Robbins: A Life in Dance, by Wendy Lesser
Mark Rothko: Toward the Light in the Chapel,by Annie Cohen-Solal
Alfred Stieglitz: Taking Pictures, Making Painters, by Phyllis Rose
Business
Julius Rosenwald: Repairing the World, by Hasia R. Diner
Entertainment
Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt, by Robert Gottlieb
Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew, by Jeremy Dauber
Hank Greenberg: The Hero Who Didn’t Want to Be One, by Mark Kurlansky
Ben Hecht: Fighting Words, Moving Pictures, by Adina Hoffman
Houdini: The Elusive American, by Adam Begley
Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker, by David Mikics
Stan Lee: A Life in Comics, by Liel Leibovitz
Groucho Marx: The Comedy of Existence, by Lee Siegel
Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films, by Molly Haskell
Barbra Streisand: Redefining Beauty, Femininity, and Power,by Neal Gabler
Warner Bros: The Making of an American Movie Studio, by David Thomson
Law / Politics
Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel, by Anita Shapira
Judah Benjamin: Counselor to the Confederacy, by James Traub
Léon Blum: Prime Minister, Socialist, Zionist, by Pierre Birnbaum
Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet, by Jeffrey Rosen
Moshe Dayan: Israel’s Controversial Hero, by Mordechai Bar-On
Disraeli: The Novel Politician, by David Cesarani
Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair, by Maurice Samuels
Emma Goldman: Revolution as a Way of Life, by Vivian Gornick
Theodor Herzl: The Charismatic Leader, by Derek Penslar
Jabotinsky: A Life, by Hillel Halkin
Golda Meir: Israel’s Matriarch, by Deborah E. Lipstadt
Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death, by Lillian Faderman
Yitzhak Rabin: Soldier, Leader, Statesman, by Itamar Rabinovich
Walther Rathenau: Weimar’s Fallen Statesman, by Shulamit Volkov
Henrietta Szold: Hadassah and the Zionist Dream, by Francine Klagsbrun
Leon Trotsky: A Revolutionary’s Life, by Joshua Rubenstein
Literary Arts
Hayim Nahman Bialik: Poet of Hebrew, by Avner Holtzman
Betty Friedan: Magnificent Disrupter, by Rachel Shteir
Heinrich Heine: Writing the Revolution, by George Prochnick
Lillian Hellman: An Imperious Life, by Dorothy Gallagher
Franz Kafka: The Poet of Shame and Guilt, by Saul Friedländer
Primo Levi: The Matter of a Life, by Berel Lang
Arthur Miller: American Witness, by John Lahr
Amos Oz: Writer, Activist, Icon, by Robert Alter
Proust: The Search, by Benjamin Taylor
Ayn Rand: Writing a Gospel of Success, by Alexandra Popoff
Elie Wiesel: Confronting the Silence, by Joseph Berger
Philosophy / Religion
Maimonides: Faith in Reason, by Alberto Manguel
Menasseh ben Israel: Rabbi of Amsterdam, by Steven Nadler
Martin Buber: A Life of Faith and Dissent, by Paul Mendes-Flohr
Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement, by Julian E. Zelizer
Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution, by Yehudah Mirsky
Karl Marx: Philosophy and Revolution, by Shlomo Avineri
Moses Mendelssohn: Sage of Modernity, by Shmuel Feiner
Menachem Mendel Schneerson: Becoming the Messiah, by Ezra Glinter
Gershom Scholem: Master of the Kabbalah, by David Biale
Spinoza: Freedom’s Messiah, by Ian Buruma
Rogues
Sidney Reilly: Master Spy, by Benny Morris
Bugsy Siegel: The Dark Side of the American Dream, by Michael Shnayerson
Science
Einstein: His Space and Times, by Steven Gimbel
Becoming Freud: The Making of a Psychoanalyst, by Adam Phillips
Admiral Hyman Rickover: Engineer of Power, by Marc Wortman
*Jewish Lives publishes 6-8 titles each year. For a list of forthcoming titles, view books coming soon.
The Arts and Culture Collection features illustrious contributors to the arts and cultural scenes of the 19th-21st centuries.
Bernard Berenson: A Life in the Picture Trade
By Rachel Cohen
“Irresistibly readable” —ARTnews
An illuminating new biography of the connoisseur who changed the art world and the way we see art
Leonard Bernstein: An American Musician
By Allen Shawn
“A page-turner" —Symphony Magazine
A fresh appreciation of the great musical figure that gives him his due as composer as well as conductor
Peggy Guggenheim: The Shock of the Modern
By Francine Prose
“Lively, complex, and inclined to shock.” —Publishers Weekly
A spirited portrait of the colorful, irrepressible, and iconoclastic American collector who fearlessly advanced the cause of modern art
Mark Rothko: Toward the Light in the Chapel
By Annie Cohen-Solal
“Illuminating. Sublime.” —The Washington Times
A fascinating exploration of the life and work of one of America’s most famous and enigmatic postwar visual artists
The Entertainment Collection includes biographies of world-renowned luminaries of the stage and silver screen.
Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt
By Robert Gottlieb
“A terrific book" —NPR
A captivating exploration of the trajectory of the daughter of a courtesan who transformed herself into the most famous actress who ever lived
Groucho Marx: The Comedy of Existence
By Lee Siegel
“Delightfully perverse” —The New York Times Book Review
A trenchant examination of an iconic American figure that explores the cultural and psychological roots of his comic genius
Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films
By Molly Haskell
“Uncommonly absorbing” —The New Republic
A film-centric portrait of the extraordinarily gifted movie director whose decades-long influence on American popular culture is unprecedented
Barbra Streisand: Redefining Beauty, Femininity, and Power
By Neal Gabler
“Fascinating and insightful” —The Wall Street Journal
An enthralling appreciation of the monumentally gifted popular artist and cultural icon who challenged Hollywood’s standards of beauty and glamour
The Law and Politics Collection pulls together notable political and legal thinkers of the modern age.
Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel
By Anita Shapira
“A beautiful portrayal” —Shimon Peres, President of Israel (2007-2014)
An insightful study of the inner life of the Zionist leader responsible for the creation of the state of Israel
Léon Blum: Prime Minister, Socialist, Zionist
By Pierre Birnbaum
“Illuminating” —Foreign Affairs
A new appreciation of the extraordinary life and legacy of Léon Blum, the first Jewish prime minister of France
Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet
By Jeffrey Rosen
“Compelling” —LA Review of Books
A riveting new examination of the leading progressive justice of his era, published in the centennial year of his confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court
Yitzhak Rabin: Soldier, Leader, Statesman
By Itamar Rabinovich
“[A] fresh perspective” —Kirkus Reviews
An insider’s perspective on the life and influence of Israel’s first native-born prime minister, his bold peace initiatives, and his tragic assassination
Explore the great minds that continue to impact our world.
Becoming Freud: The Making of a Psychoanalyst
By Adam Phillips
“An audacious book” —The New Yorker
From one of the world’s foremost authorities on Sigmund Freud comes a strikingly original biography of the father of psychoanalysis
Einstein: His Space and Times
By Steven Gimbel
“Worthwhile” —The Sunday Times
A revealing new portrait of Albert Einstein, the world’s first scientific “superstar”
Karl Marx: Philosophy and Revolution
By Shlomo Avineri
“A pleasure to read” —Michael Walzer, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ
A new exploration of Karl Marx's life through his intellectual contributions to modern thought