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Howard Freedman

Howard Freedman

Howard Freedman is the director of the Jewish Community Library in San Francisco. All books mentioned in his column may be borrowed from the library.

Detail from the cover of "Porcupines," a new novel by Fran Fabriczky.
Posted inOff the Shelf

‘Porcupines’ bristles with a Hungarian Jewish family’s need for secrets

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman June 10, 2026June 10, 2026

The title of Fran Fabriczki’s debut novel, “Porcupines,” is taken from a parable from the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer in which porcupines cope with freezing weather by huddling together for […]

Daniela Gerson is the author of "The Wanderers: A Story of Exile, Survival, and Unexpected Love in the Shadow of World War II." (Kait Lavo)
Posted inOff the Shelf

Her memoir tells story of two families, one Polish town, and decades of survival

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman April 23, 2026April 24, 2026
“The Seventh Plague” by John Martin, 1823
Posted inOff the Shelf

New book offers unconventional look at the 10 plagues

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman March 24, 2026March 25, 2026
“Always Carry Salt” author Samantha Ellis’ mother at the arch of Ctesiphon near Baghdad in the 1960s. (Courtesy Samantha Ellis)
Posted inOff the Shelf

In memoir, author yearns for an Iraqi Jewish culture just out of reach

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman December 17, 2025December 17, 2025
A memorial to those who died in the pogrom in Kishinev (Chisinau, Moldova). (Wikicommons/Duesseljan)
Posted inOff the Shelf

Modern ‘erasure poetry’ and 1904 Bialik poem are reverberations of Jewish past

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman October 30, 2025October 31, 2025
art of a headcovering
Posted inOff the Shelf

Book follows Jewish mother’s work to find her ‘disappeared’ family in Argentina

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman August 5, 2025August 5, 2025
1943 ad for Soviet event in San Francisco
Posted inFrom the Archives

When the USSR sent Jewish comrades to rally San Franciscans

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman July 2, 2025July 2, 2025
The seawall and beach in Galveston, Texas, ca. 1910-1920. (Detroit Publishing Company photograph collection at the Library of Congress)
Posted inOff the Shelf

‘Melting Point’: When Zionists turned to Texas

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman June 10, 2025June 11, 2025
Detail from the cover of “The Anatomy of Exile” by Zeeva Bukai
Posted inOff the Shelf

‘Anatomy of Exile’ by Zeeva Bukai reflects on elusive nature of ‘home’

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman April 9, 2025April 10, 2025
a very rough line sketch of a pig on a parchment-like background
Posted inOff the Shelf

Award-winning book on Jews and pigs roots through ancient taboo

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman February 19, 2025February 19, 2025

Posts pagination

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