On February 3, in the frigid winter of 1923, the Lituania arrives in Boston without announcement or fanfare on the deck. Among the immigrants on board are brothers Jacov and Reuven Sidowitz and their mother, Ida. With the help of older brothers Natan and Lable, Jacov and Reuven (now Jack and Rubin), secure jobs in the shoe industry. They embrace union politics and enjoy girls, burlesque, and bagels. Ida, on the other hand, has difficulty adjusting to life in the East Bronx and is constantly praying for the safety of her oldest son and his family who stayed behind in volatile Russia. After a decade of romance, celebrations, and prosperity, the Depressionfollowed by World War IIchanges everything. Jack is drafted, trained to be an interpreter, and parachuted into Europe. Exposed to hundreds of maimed, hungry survivors and corpses, he continues searching for his brother in the former labor/concentration camps in Germany as he had promised Mama Ida. When WWII ends, Jack is discharged, but he is discontent. A passionate reunion with his wife, running a business, his dream of going to college, even the joy of his young son all leave him unfulfilled. He joins the Jewish fleet, financed by the Mafia, and helps smuggle survivors into Palestine. Could Yehuda, the brother left behind, or one of his children, be one of those survivors?

Hello Golden Gate is the epic generational saga of a family that was forced to flee their mother country and spent the rest of their lives looking for a place to call home. When author O1ga Valcoff s grandparents left behind everything they cared for while fleeing from the Russian Revolution of 1917, they became part of Asias White Russian community, where a diaspora of stateless refugees found comfort as they tried to rebuild their lives. Two generations later, Olga was born in Japan and moved to Shanghai with her parents, always on the run from war, Communism and political oppression. Hello Golden Gate is a factual record of Russian refugees in the Far East from the early 1920s through World War II and Chinese Communist takeover of China. At the heart of Olgas story is a strong family bond that endured hardships, enjoyed good times and never gave up hope. From illness, imprisonment and wartime destitution to beautiful Japanese festivals and opulent Russian religious holidays. The vignettes in Hello Golden Gate let readers see what life was like in another time and place

A collection of whimsical true encounters between famous and infamous individuals describes the unlikely meetings of Marilyn Monroe with Frank Lloyd Wright, Michael Jackson with Nancy Reagan, and Sigmund Freud with Gustav Mahler.

This book gathers examples of the author's criticism from the span of his writing career, each of which demonstrates his passion for the way we view movies, as well as how we write about them.

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Titled after perhaps Stephen Sondheim's most autobiographical song, from Sunday in the Park with George—Finishing the Hat not only collects his lyrics for the first time, it offers readers a rare personal look into his life as well as his remarkable productions. Stephen Sondheim’s career spanned more than half a century; his lyrics are synonymous with musical theater and popular culture. Sondheim—the winner of seven Tonys, an Academy Award, seven Grammys, a Pulitzer Prize and more—treats us to never-before-published songs from each show, songs that were cut or discarded before seeing the light of day, along with the lyrics for all of his musicals from 1954 to 1981, including West Side Story, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd. He discusses his relationship with his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, and his collaborations with extraordinary talents such as Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Ethel Merman, Richard Rodgers, Angela Lansbury, Harold Prince and a panoply of others. The anecdotes—filled with history, pointed observations and intimate details—transport us back to a time when theater was a major pillar of American culture. Best of all, Sondheim appraises his work and dissects his lyrics, as well as those of others, offering unparalleled insights into songwriting that will be studied by fans and aspiring songwriters for years to come. Accompanying Sondheim’s sparkling writing are behind-the-scenes photographs from each production, along with handwritten music and lyrics from the songwriter’s personal collection. Penetrating and surprising, poignant, funny and sometimes provocative, Finishing the Hat is not only an informative look at the art and craft of lyric writing, it is a history of the theater that belongs on the same literary shelf as Moss Hart’s Act One and Arthur Miller’s Timebends. It is also a book that will leave you humming the final bars of Merrily We Roll Along, while eagerly anticipating the next volume.

The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers Soon to be a Showtime/Paramount+ series starring Ewan McGregor as Count Alexander Rostov From the number one New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Rules of Civility, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel 'A wonderful book' - Tana French 'This novel is astonishing, uplifting and wise. Don't miss it' - Chris Cleave 'No historical novel this year was more witty, insightful or original' - Sunday Times, Books of the Year '[A] supremely uplifting novel ... It's elegant, witty and delightful - much like the Count himself.' - Mail on Sunday, Books of the Year 'Charming ... shows that not all books about Russian aristocrats have to be full of doom and nihilism' - The Times, Books of the Year On 21 June 1922, Count Alexander Rostov - recipient of the Order of Saint Andrew, member of the Jockey Club, Master of the Hunt - is escorted out of the Kremlin, across Red Square and through the elegant revolving doors of the Hotel Metropol. Deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the Count has been sentenced to house arrest indefinitely. But instead of his usual suite, he must now live in an attic room while Russia undergoes decades of tumultuous upheaval. Can a life without luxury be the richest of all? A BOOK OF THE DECADE, 2010-2020 (INDEPENDENT) THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 A MAIL ON SUNDAY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 A DAILY EXPRESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2017 ONE OF BILL GATES'S SUMMER READS OF 2019 NOMINATED FOR THE 2018 INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS WEEK AWARD

Azure-colored oceans blending into bright turquoise at the shores, undulating hills of green surrounding crystal clear lakes, and rolling sand dunes brushed with light blue...man-made monuments that have withstood the march of time from the pyramids to Hadrian's Wall--are rich memories of Ellen and Stephen Williams' adventures. Eating brik in Tunisia and churchkhela in Tblisi! Drinking kvas in Ukraine! Passing up lavabread in Wales—all were adventures that nearly didn't happen. Ellen did not want to leave her comfortable home in Texas. Content with their rural life but forced to relocate due to her husband's job she reluctantly began her move to Germany. She was a foot-dragging-don't-want-to-move-wife. Determined to make the best of a challenging situation she and her husband soon embarked on a plan--to experience as much of the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea as possible. Within months Ellen and Stephen developed a passion for touring. Faced with language barriers, clashes of culture and cuisine they followed their plan with a vengeance visiting over 30 countries in the space of three years. Their frequent trips within a short period of time gave them a unique overview of the region. They could spot historical and cultural linkages between people and their respective countries. They saw the crossovers and mingling of traditions and languages. Soon they became the consummate travelers. Many friends began asking for recommendations of their favorite locale. Chronicled here are their adventures, misadventures, faux pas and joys as they grow from fledgling sightseers to consummate travelers. Journey with them as they realized the more you discover about other people and cultures, the more you ultimately learn about yourself. After reading the book perhaps you, too, will also learn to say in French Bon Voyage, in Spanish Buen Viaje, and in German Gute Reiser—In short, Happy Travels!

The main goal to this book is put the idea of author to show that any person in extreme living conditions of financial and moral character always must stay by the HUMAN BEING; And besides in base of this book by author was underlined the essential principle that advantageously the education ,classical music, art and contact with Nature make the relations between people more humane and loyal to each other to any society; Author of this book ,as the witness of Soviet-Jewish immigration thinks that degree of complexity of any emigration submits to exponential distribution with function in view of f(x)=e -x,i.e with beginning process immigration the complexity has maximum and the end- minimum values.