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rEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR (Continued from page 9) Paul Fortheim-Cohen Hr has distilled the spirit of countries and digested the history of centuries. mergence of several novels dealing with American Jewish life. But they are so stereotyped, so superficial as to cause em- I'arrasMnent to any intelligent Jew who knows of their existence. "Solal” is the visualization of the doubts within every Jew. It reveals a CTOS'.-sect ion of the complexes and the motives which dominate the action of the modern Jew. Solal, the Greek Jewish »on of a patriarchal rabbi, is a perma nent part of literature. He is not merely an individual who finds his counterpart among Christians as well as Jews. He is authentic, typical, recognizable. Albert ("hen may be compared to his fellow- countrymen and co-religionists, Jean Richard-Bloch, who covered almost the *ame territory, though not with quite as much imagination, in his “— & Co.” 1 he nearest approach to Cohen that America has produced is Ludwig Lewi- H>hn. although even the latter’s Jewish emancipation occurred in France and not in the Cnited States. Devoting himself 10 the study of Hebrew in all its phases and delving into the historic lore of the Jewish folk, Lew'isohn has equipped him- ' f;t with a Jewish background that is m °re extensive than that of any of his contemporaries, although at times Jiis real iusness exceeds discretion. 1 his People,” a collection of short • ones is not of a quality with Lewisohn’s mger Jewish novels. But these novel- ettfs marred occasionally by naivete and Prudishness, approach Jewish problems, of the race and the individual, with feel- :i K and understanding. His study of the f w;sh Bolshevik, although written before Ibtl* r came to power in Germany, is larkable commentary on the self- veness of the German Jew, even as a brilliant biography of the mis- n » pauperized Jew w'ho seeks salva- rom his bitter obscurity in strange al doctrines. Lewisohn may have Jewish” with a vengeance, but he treats of Jewish life he hides none of its garnishness, its vulgar is self-destructiveness, most important book of the year, non-fiction field, is Josef Kastein’s >r y and Destiny of the Jews.” Is- 'cveral years ago in Germany, it *traordinary timeliness in view of evolution in the Reich. One must hvastein as a Jew and not merely a delu it i. 'ha; tion poli l?on fro: itv T in r “H sue has the re a THS SOUTHERN ISRAELITE a as a literary scalpelist. Kastein writes as a Jew rather than as an historian. It cannot be said, however, that he has ever sacrificed historiography to his Jew ishness. As he interprets the record of Jewish people, his conclusions are jus tified, inevitable. His book is that of an interpreter rather than a narrator. The mere chronicle is unimportant; the les sons to be learned from the facts are significant, as far as he is concerned. In view of what is happening in Ger many today, that method of judging his tory is logical and necessary. Kastein feels that the history of the Jews, a model of eternal recurrence, indicates that survival is possible only through empha sis on those characteristics which inten sify rather than dilute Jewishness. As similation has been discredited. Even in difference has been repudiated. Without intending to, Kastein has written a hom ily that is the most reasonable and con vincing that has ever issued from a mod ern Jewish historian. The other five books that stand out in the non-fiction field are: ‘‘History of the Russian Revolution” (Volume II and III), by Leon Trotzky; “A World Passed By,” by Marvin Lowenthal; “The Discovery of Europe,” by Paul Portheim-Cohen; ‘‘Marie Antoinette," by Stefan Zweig, and “Arctic Village,” by Robert Marshall. The two concluding columns of Trot- zky’s account of the origin and events of the Russian revolution constitute the most impressive account of the over throw of the Czar. A participant in the actual events, the former Russian War Lord has not overemphasized his share in the proceedings. Being an historian, he has, for the most part, judged the ac tivity of others objectively. No one who has yet described the greatest social over turn in history compares with Trotzky in the vividness and authenticity of his account. No one can pretend to know modern Russia without reading Trotzky. “A World Passed By” brings within the covers of a book many parts of the running narrative which Marvin Lowen- thal used to contribute to the Menorah Journal, in the days when he preferred anonymity under the cloak of Ben- Shahar. Lowenthal is, in a sense, Amer ica’s Nahum Slousch. But Lowenthal has imagination and poetic gifts where Slousch has only the equipment of an or dinary observer. But Lowenthal'* de scription of the departed Jew in Europe and North Africa is more than enter taining; it is historically important. Not particularly because he has done original research work, but because he has trans formed the work of others into a docu ment of enduring interest. Lowenthal’* flair for the curious and the bizarre has enabled him to see what the casual tour ist unfailingly overlooks. Reading “A World Passed By” is not solely an ad venture in travel; it should become a re quirement for Jewish historical research. “A World Passed By” is written with that easy informality which has made Marvin Lowenthal one of the very few who write intelligibly and entertainingly on Jewish subjects. In “The Discovery of Europe,” Paul Portheim-Cohen has done for the Con tinent what he did for "England, the In- known Isle.” He has distilled the spirit of countries and digested the history of centuries. Political institutions, literary prejudices, social manners, artistic schools are summarized and intepreted with clar ity and conciseness by this Austrian Jew who was imprisoned during the VV ar in a British internment camp and there began (Please turn to page 16)