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Jewish Book Council’s Review
The Jewish Book Council reviewed Summons to Berlin. The full review can be read here: https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/summons-to-berlin-nazi-theft-and-a-daughters-quest-for-justice
Read MoreBook Launch at the Leo Baeck Institute
At the book launch for Summons to Berlin, Joanne speaks about the book’s contemporary relevance with LBI Executive Director Emeritus William H. Weitzer. The full talk can be viewed here: https://www.lbi.org/events/summons-to-berlin-nazi-theft-and-a-daughters-quest-for-justice/
Read MorePW Review of my Memoir
(My book’s cover, back and front) *** I am most pleased to note that the venerable PUBLISHERS WEEKLY has published a favorable review of my memoir SUMMONS TO BERLIN. PW relates some details of my Berlin restitution quest, then calls the book “a unique and memorable account of untangling inherited trauma.” I did endeavor to…
Read MorePATRICIA HIGHSMITH AND PSYCHOPATHS
In 1943, when she was 22 years old, Patricia Highsmith — self-aware — asked her diary, “Am I a psychopath? In a Psychology Today article at this link, I examine why Highsmith was so expert at creating vivid, disturbing, and believable characters. I’m interested to learn what you have to say, so please let…
Read MoreMY TRIP TO MITTE (BERLIN)
Last October, I had the honor of being invited to participate in the 2022 Berlin Mitte Festival. Experts in History, Urban Planning, and related disciplines gathered — and delivered public presentations — towards giving meaningful shape to further modern development of the very inner-most part of Berlin, the district known as Mitte. I spoke…
Read MoreMy view of Jeffrey Dahmer
A recent series on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is among Netflix’ most-watched programs ever. Actor Evan Peters, who plays Dahmer to chilling effect, won a Golden Globes award for his performance. We physicians by nature often eagerly study the sickest of people, because there is so much to be learned from their cases. In…
Read MoreBOOK REVIEW: THE BELIEVER
For my interview with Ralph Blumenthal about The Believer, go here. *** Ralph Blumenthal’s The Believer – a lively read – draws a poignant profile of the highly accomplished if controversial Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John E. Mack. Mack had already published very well-regarded books in the field of psychiatry by the time he was made Head of…
Read MoreA Tribute at 16 Wallstrasse
Recently, I had the delightful surprise of receiving an email from Günter Voss, Director of the Senioren Computer Club in Berlin-Mitte. Mr. Voss has won recognition for his work in bringing older Berliners up-to-speed with digital literacy. His club meets on Berlin’s Fischerinsel (Fisher Island) in view of 16 Wallstrasse, the building Nazis stole from…
Read MoreDAVID MARWELL’S OUTSTANDING BOOK ON MENGELE
This post is about David G. Marwell’s brilliant book MENGELE: UNMASKING THE “ANGEL OF DEATH”, which you may view on Amazon here. *** Hailed by the New York Times as “a leading American investigator of Nazi war crimes,” Dr. David G. Marwell trained as an historian and then put his training to superb use outside the…
Read MoreINTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR DEBORAH LIPSTADT
Author and educator Deborah Lipstadt counts among the contemporary public intellectuals I most admire. She is widely-known for her victory in a libel suit filed by Holocaust denier David Irving. Her superb book about that experience, HISTORY ON TRIAL: MY DAY IN COURT WITH A HOLOCAUST DENIER is the basis for the film DENIAL in which…
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