(Enjoy the most comprehensive and hilariously entertaining...)
Enjoy the most comprehensive and hilariously entertaining lexicon of the colorful and deeply expressive language of Yiddish. With the recent renaissance of interest in Yiddish, and in keeping with a language that embodies the variety and vibrancy of life itself, The New Joys of Yiddish brings Leo Rosten’s masterful work up to date. Revised for the first time by Lawrence Bush, in close consultation with Rosten’s daughters, it retains the spirit of the original—with its wonderful jokes, tidbits of cultural history, Talmudic and biblical references—and is enhanced by hundreds of new entries and thoughtful commentary on how Yiddish has evolved over the years, as well as clever illustrations by R. O. Blechman. Did you know that cockamamy, bluffer, maven, and aha! are all Yiddish words? If you did, you’re a gaon, possessing a lot of seykhl.
(The humorous adventures of Hyman Kaplan, the irrepressibl...)
The humorous adventures of Hyman Kaplan, the irrepressible student at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults, and his personal war with the English language. A classic work of american humor. The humorous adventures of Hyman Kaplan, the irrepressible student at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults, and his personal war with the English language. A classic work of american humor.
(This fascinating new book reflects the results of the tur...)
This fascinating new book reflects the results of the turmoil and change in the religions of America since Leo Rosten first wrote about them. The first section consists of nineteen articles by distinguished men, each one a recognized authority on the creed for which he speaks, setting forth the clear and candid stories of our own faiths and those of our neighbors. All religions are covered, from the major established groups to the "charismatic" cults. There are also chapters about the agnostic, the non-churchgoer and what he believes, and the scientist. A multitude of questions are raised and answered, such as: What percent of ministers profess they no longer believe in God? In which leading church can homosexuals be married? How many priests condone birth control devices? Abortions? Which faiths feel what way about intermarriage? Divorce? Have churches that participated in social activism in the 1960s gained or lost in their membership and their finances? Have the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches significantly changed their 400-year-old schism? Part Two is the Almanac, a massive compendium that is more complete and far-ranging than any other existing one, with the statistics, public opinion polls, basic documents, sociological résumés and psychological analyses of the role, conflicts, influences and trends that characterize religion in the United States today. These basic authoritative facts and figures are accompanied by the author's own essays and comments on material that is rarely subjected to critical examination. There is also a Glossary of religious terminology. Those familiar with Leo Rosten's A Guide to the Religions of America (1955) and his Religions in America (1963) need not be told of the extraordinary reception both volumes received from the reviewers and the public. They were acclaimed by theologians of all faiths. Each book sold hundreds of thousands of copies. But this new Religions of America renders those two volumes entirely out of date. There is no other book even remotely comparable to it.
(Entries on Yiddish words, phrases, and sentence forms tha...)
Entries on Yiddish words, phrases, and sentence forms that have become, or are becoming, parts of the English language are accompanied by stories, jokes, parables, and Talmudic insights.
Leo Rosten was a highly acclaimed Polish-born American author of many books about the Jewish culture and language. He was also a political scientist interested especially in the relationship of politics and the media.
Background
Leo Calvin Rosten was born on April 11, 1908, in Lodz, Poland (Russian Empire then) into a Yiddish-speaking family, but emigrated to the United States with his family in 1911 when he was three. His parents were Samuel C. Rosenberg and Ida (Freundlich) Rosenberg, both trade unionists.
Raised in Chicago, Rosten and his younger sister grew up in a working-class Jewish milieu where both English and Yiddish were spoken. Books and language fascinated him since childhood, and he began writing stories when he was just nine.
Education
Rosten graduated from the University of Chicago in 1930 and received his doctorate in 1937. He also completed his post graduatу studies at the London School of Economics.
During the Great Depression, Rosten was unable to find any work, so he taught English for recent immigrants at night.
During the 1940s, Rosten served in World War II as the deputy director of the Office of War Information and as chief of the Motion Pictures Division of the Office of Facts and Figures. In 1945 he became a special consultant to the Secretary of War and was sent on missions to France, Germany and England.
After the war, Rosten worked for the Rand Corporation, a non-profit institution offering research and analysis to the United States armed forces.
In 1949, Rosten joined the staff of ‘Look’ magazine in New York where he worked till 1971. During his career, he also taught at several universities, including Yale University, Columbia and the New School of Social Research, New York City. He was also a visiting professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley in 1960.
Besides his career at Look magazine and teaching, Rosten worked as a freelance writer and scriptwriter. He produced a spate of novels and scripts.
Rosten was an inveterate Anglophile. He loved to rummage in English bookshops and wear English clothes - he contrived to display a subdued elegance - to go to the London theatres and entertain and be entertained in London clubs.
Quotations:
"The purpose of life is not to be happy—but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you lived at all."
"I learned that it is the weak who are cruel, and that gentleness is to be expected only from the strong."
"Anybody who hates dogs and babies can't be all bad."
"People say: idle curiosity. The one thing that curiosity cannot be is idle."
"If you're going to do something wrong, at least enjoy it."
"Words must surely be counted among the most powerful drugs man ever invented."
"Everyone, in some small sacred sanctuary of the self, is nuts."
"A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead."
"Happiness, in the ancient, noble sense, means self-fulfillment—and is given to those who use to the fullest whatever talents God … bestowed upon them."
Membership
Rosten was a member of the American Academy Political and Social Science, American Political Science Association, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Authors League American (board), Authors' Guild American, Roundtable and Phi Beta Kappa.
Connections
Rosten married Priscilla Ann ‘Pam’ Mead in March 1935. The marriage ended in divorce in 1959. He is survived by two daughters, one son from this marriage: Philip, Madeline and Margaret. On January 5, 1960, Rosten married again. His second wife's name was Gertrude Zimmerman.