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March 2017—5777 JCV Newsletter Volume 37 Number 3

Jewish Congregation of Venice

Rabbi Harold’s Jewish Humor Miniseries

Page 3

Visit us at www.JewishCongregationofVenice.org or email us at [email protected] 2

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T he story is told of the son of the

famous Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of

Dinov, Dovidl, who was himself a

Chassidic rabbi and had many ardent

disciples. On every Sabbath and also

on Holy Days, Rabbi Dovidl refrained

from the time-honored custom of ex-

pounding the Torah as he sat in the

midst of his disciples. Instead, he di-

verted them with merry tales and

jokes, and everybody, even the gray-

beards, would laugh heartily.

Once, the esteemed Rabbi Yehez-

kel Halberstam was paying him a visit,

and he was amazed at Rabbi Dovidl’s

odd carryings-on.

“Who ever heard,” he began indig-

nantly, “that a tzaddik (righteous man)

and his disciples should behave in such

an outrageous way? A fine thing to

celebrate God’s Sabbath with non-

sense, funny stories and jests! Really,

Rabbi Dovidl, you ought to feel

ashamed of yourself! Come now – ex-

pound a bit of Torah for us!”

“Torah!” exclaimed Rabbi

Dovidl. “And what do you suppose

I’ve been expounding all this time?

Believe me, Rabbi, there is God’s holy

truth in all stories and jests!,” accord-

ing to A Treasury of Jewish Folklore,

edited by Nathan Ausubel.

There is great truth in the stories

and jokes told by the Jewish people.

And we LOVE to tell jokes. There are

jokes about our families, our commu-

nities, our leaders and our enemies.

There are many about our enemies.

There are many reasons that we

have a rich history of joking. First, we

have a very self-critical tradition. We

are constantly looking at our actions,

finding our faults and working to

change them (or do teshuvah). You can

call it personal growth or you can call

it a proclivity to criticize. We are hard

on ourselves and we are hard on our

community. Second, we have had a

difficult history, and the hallmark of

the Jewish people has been our ability

to balance our sober realism with our

joyful celebrating. We approach the

chaos of life with “laughter through

tears” as the Yiddish expression goes.

We are survivors and one of the ways

we retain our resiliency is through

laughter. And last, our experience as

the minority brings with it anxieties.

That which we fear and about which

we are most anxious we laugh about:

antisemitism, financial success, and

assimilation. As Rabbi Joseph Telush-

kin writes in his book on Jewish Hu-

mor: “Anything which can be mocked

immediately seems less threatening.

The greater the anxiety a particular

subject produces, the more jokes will

be made about it.”

One of Rabbi Telushkin’s most

interesting findings in his study of

Jewish jokes was the small amount of

Jewish humor coming out of Israel.

“Because people in power are able to

deal with their problems directly, they

have no need to settle for the personal

gratification of a sharp put-down or

witticism. Israelis, for example, don’t

joke much about their Arab opponents;

they fight them.” Rabbi Telushkin

found that the jokes that were coming

out of Israel have to do with the as-

pects of Israeli life over which Israelis

DO feel powerless, such as the econ-

omy, the horrible drivers, the endless

bureaucracy, and yerida, emigration

from Israel.

One example: “How do you make

a small fortune in Israel? Come with a

large one.”

Another example: An Israeli bus

driver and a pious rabbi die on the

same day. They are brought before the

heavenly tribunal, and the bus driver is

immediately admitted to heaven. The

rabbi is told to wait; his case must be

examined more carefully. The rabbi is

outraged: “I know that that bus driver

was a totally irreligious Jew, while I

have a lesson in Talmud every day.”

“That is all true,” the heavenly

angel tells him. “But when you taught

Talmud you caused many people to

sleep. When that driver drove his bus,

everybody prayed.”

I began with a story from a branch

of Chassidism that values jokes and

laughter so much they see them as

forms of prayer. Just think about that!

Celebrating God’s creation so thor-

oughly that we can laugh at life’s foi-

bles and hardships can be a form of

worship. Our ability to look at our-

selves with brutal honesty and not take

ourselves too seriously can be a form

of prayer. Laughter with such force

that we have tears in our eyes can be a

holy act. We are enjoying our life, in

all of its fullness. We are celebrating

God’s gifts and rejoicing in our short-

comings.

Rabbi Harold’s Adult Learning Miniseries

The World of Jewish Humor Tuesdays March 7, 14 and 28 at 7:30

in the Sanctuary.

Topics include: Family, God, Bible, Assimilation, Anti-Semitism, Financial Success, Rabbis and Cantors, Love


There was much ahead for the Kohnstam family when

they fled on their year-long journey from Holland,

across Belgium and France and then on to Spain and

Argentina. Their harrowing escape was filled with life-

threatening events, but also with people whose kindness

helped them survive along the way.

And recently, when Pieter and his family returned

to his childhood home of Amsterdam to celebrate the

publication of a German translation of his book, there

were many people who also helped them find their way

back home. Among them was Helmut Schwarz, transla-

tor of the book, which has more content than the Eng-

lish version because it also includes a history of Pieter’s

family lineage.

Pieter, his wife, children and grandchildren were

also welcomed by representatives of his publishing

company, arranged by Schwarz, who was also director

and historian of the Nuremberg Toy Museum. This was

especially significant because Pieter’s father, Hans, was

a Bauhaus-trained artist whose family owned a toy fac-

tory before World War Two. In addition, The Jewish

Museum, in Furth, Germany, held a ceremony celebrat-

ing the publication of the book.

The Kohnstam family was welcomed and took a

personal tour of the house where Pieter’s great grandfa-

ther and grandfather and had their toy factory, now an

upscale restaurant. They also visited an ancient syna-

gogue, where his great grandparents were married, al-

lowing them to find out more about their family’s heri-

tage.

In addition, to give the trip closure, there was a

private tour of the Jewish cemetery in Memmelsdorf,

Germany. To preserve the tombstones, the cemetery

remains locked and viewing is by appointment only.

There were gravestones of Pieter’s ancestors that were

still intact from the devastation of the war. Pieter’s

grandchildren and family accompanied him and they

were able to get a more in depth understanding of the

time period and what Jewish families had to endure.

“It was a very emotional experience, but now my

family has come full circle,” said Kohnstam. “The abil-

ity to have your grandchildren place a stone on the

gravesite of their ancestors was something that I never

dreamt was possible.”

While he was visiting Germany, Pieter was inter-

viewed by a radio show, the local newspapers, and had

a speaking engagement at a German high school.

Discovering his roots

Pieter Kohnstam’s Journey Home

I n Pieter Kohnstam’s book, A Chance to Live, the reader is captured by the story

of how his family escaped from the Nazis in 1942.

The cover art on the German translation of Pieter Kohnstam’s book, A Chance to Live, is by his father Hans, whose family owned a toy

An early Kohnstam residence became the family’s toy busi-ness and factory. Later, it was converted into a

The Ehemalige Synagogue, where Pieter’s great-great-great grandparents were married, was built in 1778 and destroyed during Kristall-nacht in 1938

A gravestone of one of Pieter’s ancestors in the old Jewish cemetery in Memmelsdorf, Germany, where his family was able to place stones marking their visit last summer.


Technology

The Era of Smart Gadgets By Dr. Jack Rapaport

T he debate regarding the

pros and cons of technol-

ogy has been part of our lives

for many years, but it has now

increased in passion with the

advent of gadgets with artificial

intelligence (AI) or in more gen-

eral terms what we call smart

gadgets.

The development of faster

and smaller computers has brought us all sort of games in

our iPhones, but more recently these games are becoming

smarter and learning how to beat human opponents, such

as when Deep Blue beat the world’s best chess cham-

pion.

These “smart” features are being added to almost

everything. At the recent Computer Electronics Show,

products with “smart” features were shown that a few

years ago no one dreamed about. From cosmetics, such

the HairCoach from L’Oreal’s Kerastase brand that uses

a microphone, gyroscope and other sensors to monitor

how fast and hard you’re brushing, to fashion with jeans

that vibrate on your right or left hip to direct you to your

destination (like a gps), or a bikini that buzzes when you

are too long in the sun.

And if you are not into cosmetics or fashion, what

about asking your fridge what is missing? Voice enabled

products using Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa were

also unveiled at the last CE Show. Whirlpool, Samsung

and other manufacturers are using voice services to con-

trol laundry machines, refrigerators, stoves, and other

home systems. Simplehuman has a voice-activated trash

can and soap dispenser, while GE Lighting has a table

lamp using Alexa voice control.

So, what does the future hold? Should we be afraid

of “smart” robots that eventually may overpower us?

There is no question that these “smart” gadgets are al-

most 100% efficient.

At the touch of a button we turn on 250 “smart”

horses that can drive your car and take you where you

want to go. These devices are not distracted by anything

in the road or by worry about whether you left the stove

on when you drove off. They just drive and they do that

with 100% efficiency. This is just one example of how

technology and humans can interact beneficially. Simi-

larly, the future will be not a confrontation between

gadgets with AI and humans, but a collaborative effort

between them. The best medical diagnostician will not be

a human, but a team of a human and an AI gadget.

If we look back 25-30 years we didn’t have “smart”

A Good Deed

The Nurse

One day a young woman student came into my office visi-

bly upset. I calmed her down and asked what was so terri-

ble. She told me that she had just graduated from our one-

year nursing program and had passed her exams for the

LPN. She had applied for the extended two-year program

leading to RN licensure but was denied entry.

The problem was that that our nursing program ac-

cepted the top 14 students as determined by their grades and

she had come in fifteenth. She was heartbroken. After she

left I called the head of my nursing program and asked as a

personal favor to me that we admit 15 students that year

instead of the usual 14. The nursing chief was a personal

friend, and she agreed.

Six years later I was being prepared for outpatient sur-

gery for cataract removal at the local hospital. As the nurse

was preparing me, we recognized each other immediately. I

asked her what had happened. She told me, “ Because of

you, I was admitted into the RN program and I graduated

and now have this wonderful job. I am making enough

money so that my husband was able to go back to school

and is graduating next month with a degree in technology.”

She looked down at me lying on the gurney and said,

“You changed my whole life. I owe you everything.”

I smiled and told her that all I did was open a door and

that she had done it all by herself. I told her she owed me

nothing. A few minutes later as they were getting ready to

wheel me into surgery she walked over to me and asked,

“Would you mind if I gave you a great big hug?” I lifted up

my shoulders and she hugged me.

Ongoing Events Sisterhood

Thursday, March 2, 10:30 am Presenting the Venice Chief of Police.

Men’s Club

Sunday, March 12, 9:30 am Jewish Life as Reflected in Yiddish Song.

David Berman examines conflicting attitudes towards

secular Yiddish song, using CDs and a live performance

with his wife, Alice. The audience will have song sheets

with the lyrics in transliterated Yiddish and in English

translation, including songs of love, holidays, lullabies,

work, hunger, pride, nostalgia aging, the Holocaust, and

Chassidic yearning. Includes full breakfast. Everyone wel-

come. $7 donation.

Reel Fun

Tuesday, March 21, 7 pm Seven Psychopaths delivers sly cinematic commentary

while serving up a heaping helping of sharp dialogue and


We need seven to nine hours of sleep a

night. However, if you experience

stress, that number may diminish. You

may be observing an anniversary of a

loved one’s death, for example, and

suddenly, you can find yourself wak-

ing up a few hours a night as your

sleep pattern is upset.

But even something happy like a

long awaited trip abroad may upset

your sleep schedule. And your sleep

may be affected because there is no

way to catch up on rest. Sleep sched-

ules are sensitive and can become up-

set for many reasons. And when we

can’t sleep, we tend to force it by toss-

ing and turning, thus creating an en-

emy of the one thing we want to be-

friend, our bed. So make your bed your

friend and have crisp sheets and pillow

cases waiting for your sleep. Perhaps

some lavender essential oil drops

sprinkled on the sheets or your favorite

teddy bear may work wonders.

Sacrificing an hour or two of rest

in order to get more done for whatever

your life demands can sound like a

reasonable trade-off. But the truth is

that even minimal sleep loss takes a

toll on your mood, energy, mental

sharpness and ability to handle stress.

And over the long term, chronic sleep

loss wreaks havoc on your health.

By understanding your nightly

sleep needs and what you can do to

bounce back from sleep loss, you can

finally get on a healthy sleep schedule.

And while some can survive on less

sleep, the truth is sleep is not a luxury,

it is a necessity. Without restorative

sleep, there is no way to have a healthy

normal life. And while you sleep, even

though your body is at rest, your brain

still continues to work. There is main-

tenance work that needs to be done and

service to your body for a wakeful and

energetic life.

The quality of your sleep directly

affects the quality of your everyday

life, including your emotional and

physical balance, creativity, vitality,

and even your weight. No other activ-

ity brings about so many benefits

with so little effort!

The best way to figure out if

you're meeting your sleep needs is to

evaluate how you feel as you go

about your day. If you're logging

enough hours, you'll feel energetic

and alert all day long, from the mo-

ment you wake up until your regular

bedtime.

Signs you are not getting enough sleep If you’re getting less than eight

hours of sleep

each night,

chances are

you’re sleep

deprived.

What’s more,

you probably

have no idea

just how much

lack of sleep is

affecting you.

How is it possible to be sleep de-

prived without knowing it? Most of the

signs of sleep deprivation are much

more subtle than falling face first into

your dinner plate. Furthermore, if

you’ve made a habit of skimping on

sleep, you may not even remember

what it feels like to be wide-awake,

fully alert, and firing on all cylinders.

And while it may seem like losing

sleep isn't such a big deal, sleep depri-

vation has a wide range of negative

effects that go way beyond daytime

drowsiness. Lack of sleep affects your

judgment, coordination, and reaction

times. In fact, sleep deprivation can

affect you just as much as being drunk.

The effects include:

● Fatigue, lethargy, and lack of mo-

tivation; concentration and memory

problems

● Moodiness and irritability; inabil-

ity to cope with stress

● Reduced creativity and problem-

solving skills; difficulty making deci-

sions

● Inability to cope with stress

● Reduced immunity; frequent

colds and infections; weight gain

● Impaired motor skills and in-

Medical Matters

The Sleeping Mystique By Cynthia Fabian

S leep remains a mystery for many of us who have difficulty when it is time to

sleep. In graduate school I could not sleep well, because I not only had a full

time job, but the responsibilities of homework as well. Life was certainly difficult.

During the day I would deal with my responsibilities, but at night my worries

would be a very real enemy of my bedtime. I sought the help of a hypnotherapist

so I could quickly deal with my sleepless nights and handle my responsibilities


Behind the Footlights

Simply Being Alive In an article about actors and acting the film director

Wesley Morris wrote: “What is it about watching someone

become someone else that has been so mesmerizing for so

many people for so long? What is it about a person becom-

ing his or her ultimate self that we can’t resist? It’s all-

powerful, all-consuming stuff. In life, that consumption

can be dangerous. But in art, I want my mind controlled by

that power. I want an actor’s skill, intelligence, energy,

body and face to overtake me. I love that magic moment of

no longer seeing an actor but a person.”

Where and when does that magic power begin?

I don’t know if it’s inherent in actors, but I do know

that like anything else in life it takes work, work that be-

gins during the first rehearsal when the actors sit around a

table and read the script. In most cases they already have

done so, but they have only heard their own voices, not

those of the characters they portray. It really isn’t until you

have memorized your lines and, as the director instructs

“you are off script,” that your character starts to take shape

and becomes part of you.

I remember the first role I played at the Venice Thea-

tre. I was a father in the most difficult of all situations. The

Nazis had occupied my country and I, as the head of a

Jewish family, was trying, indeed hoping beyond hope,

that we could survive. But how could I put myself in that

person’s shoes?

For some reason, I thought of my mother’s father, my

grandfather who had come to this country from Hungary

and had married a wonderful woman. He had become a

successful butcher until the depression when his big heart

took over and he took credit rather than cash from his cus-

tomers. Life was never the same as he struggled to keep

his business and family above water.

The play was I Never Saw Another Butterfly, and the

next time I appeared in it as the Rabbi. I was marrying a

young couple in a concentration camp knowing the train

would be coming within minutes to take us all to our

death. For me that magic moment was the blessing I said

to the couple and looking at the real tears in the eyes of the

Traditions

Shabbat Zachor and Purim This year, March 10, 13 Adar, is

known as Shabbat Zachor,

named after the section to be

read from parsha Tetzaveh. On

the same evening we read the

Megilah.

Shabbat Zachor reminds us

of the Amalekite’s terrible attack

on the Jewish people, in a weak-

ened state as they were escaping

Egypt.

We are commanded to always remember this vicious

act committed by the Amalekites.

The haftarah portion for this Shabbat relates Adonai

ordering King Saul to avenge the Jewish people by mur-

dering every Amalekite man, woman and child. Unfortu-

nately, Saul decides to spare the life of the Amalekite king

Agag.

It is a descendant of Agag, Haman, who plots to ex-

terminate the Jews. Megilat Esther recounts the story of

Haman’s plot to kill the Jews on the 14th of Adar, a date

chosen by lottery, purim.

It is only because of the efforts of the wise and vigi-

lant Mordechai and a cunning plan devised with his beau-

tiful niece Esther that the Jews were saved yet again.

A great celebration followed the repeal of the edict to

kill the Jews. It is this celebration that we observe every

year, and we also read the Megilah to remind us that we

Musical Scholar in Residence

Beth Hamon (left), this year’s scholar in residence, offered a weekend of music in January including a musical Shab-bat with Cantor Marci Vitkus and a post-Havdallah concert


Sunshine Support the JCV and save a trip to the card store! We have get well, condo-lences, simchas and friendship cards. Or-der them from Sun-shine Chair, Vicki Solomon, at [email protected] or at 941-492-5043 and then send a check for $5 each, marked "Sunshine Card," to the JCV.

Speedy Recovery To Bernice Yerich from Will and Joyce Lyons To Joan Canariato from Pieter and Susan Kohnstam and Will and Joyce Lyons To Irv Lyon from Jan and Norm Lowe, Will and Joyce Lyons, and Barbara and Ken Swartz To Dianne Bugash from Barbara and Ken Swartz

Condolences To Marge Goldberg family in memory of your mom from JCV Board and Members, Sheila Rosen, Dorothy Kardon, Bobbie and Jim Nolan, Susie Holleran, Arlene Stolnitz, Pieter and Susan Kohnstam, Sam and Peggy Gurian, and Barbara and Ken Swartz

Congratulations To Connie and Armin Sommer in honor of your 61st wedding anniversary from Pieter and Susan Kohnstam and Arlene Stolnitz To Bettye Buchman happy birthday from Sam and Peggy Gurian To Lou Jefko Happy Birthday from Sam and

On the Front Burner

From Cholent: Baked Beans Many years ago, one of our

daughters had a friend whose

dad was a "real" artist. He actu-

ally was paid for his work. I was

very impressed. The family in-

vited our family to dinner one

Saturday night. I was expecting

the type of dinner we served

when we had company. All of

the silver comes out, along with

Grandma's plates. The works.

We were served home cooked

baked beans and wine. I felt very

Bohemian.

Ever since then, I have had a love affair with home

baked beans. And now for the clincher. I just read from Gil

Mark's Encyclopedia of Jewish Food that Sephardic Jews

first cooked these sweet beans, which they picked up from

their travels through Holland, on their way to the new

world. The recipe began as a cholent, a casserole capable of

being cooked for a long period of time in a slow oven.

Since there was no cooking on Shabbat, this dish was a

mainstay of Jewish cooking, allowing the family to have a

hot dish on Shabbat.

Once these beans hit Plymouth Rock, the Pilgrims,

who also observed the Sabbath, embraced the recipe. The

beans took on the flavoring of what was available in New

England, pork and molasses.

For a more Kosher style baked beans, they can be

Finding Love Tell us how you met the person you fell in love with or

married. Do you have a special story of how you met the

person you love, past or present? L'Chaim would love,

no pun intended, to hear from you for an upcoming se-

ries called Love Stories. Please email your story to

[email protected]. .

Cynthia Fabian, Special Projects Editor

Milestones March Birthdays Carole Hoffman 1 Fredda Kanetsky 1 Susan Phillipes 1 Rona Jaffe 3 Bette Gordon 5 Sam Gurian 5 Richard Hyman 8

Madeline Lichtcsien 8 Murray Kanetsky 10 Susan Heitel 13 Sharon Betterton 16 Eleanor Albert 17 Stephen Weiss 18 Debbie Klein Park 21 Pamela Wilder 22 Ruby Levin 22 Arthur Firerster 23

Gerard Shapiro 24 Matthew Corn 24 Joseph Rosenthal 24 David Cook 24 Paul Bond 28 Joe Wright 28

March Anniversaries Bobbie and Jim Nolan 22 Lisa and Larry Plotkin 23

mailto:[email protected]


Welcome New Members Arlene and Bernie Lelling

Susan Litwer

David and Carole Metzger

Eli and Judy Rapaport

New Member Profiles Steve and Joan Atten-berg will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this coming June. They have two children. Their son, his wife and their granddaughter Isabel live in the Philadelphia area. Their daughter, a well-known author, lives in New Orleans and Brooklyn. Steve worked in retail/wholesale sales for many years, and with Joan ran a quilt shop for 21 years. Then Joan worked in the non-profit development field. The Attenbergs are avid bicy-cle riders and have cycled in Italy, France, Canada, and throughout the United States. They both work out at our local YMCA where Joan plays pickle ball. They both love our local live theater. The Attenbergs enjoy their therapy dog Charli who has retired from five years of comforting early Alzheimer's and assistant-living patients. They are happy to be here in Venice and getting involved in our JCV activities.

Yahrzeit Contributions Barry Bye in memory of his father Herman Bye

Bobbie Cohen Nolan in memory of her mother

Ruth Rubin Katz, father Jack Cohen and stepfather

Al Katz

Susan Kohnstam in memory of her father

Solomon Stieglitz

Pieter Kohnstam in memory of stepfather

Carlos Meerapfel

Judy Kreiss in memory of her father Leon Linsen

Judie Kreitman in memory of her mother Lucille Ware

and husband Sol Kreitman

Will Lyons in memory of his grandfather David Plotnick

Andrea Pilch in memory of her father Edward Pilch

Joel Reznick in memory of his father-in-law Louis Shain

Marilyn Schwartz in memory of her sister Ruth Thorner

Barbara Shapiro in memory of her mother Josephine

Singer and aunt Elsie Brown

Janet Wagman in memory of her husband

Jaime Wagman

Dedicated Donations Richard & Linda Diamond in support of the JCV

Martin & Jeanette Himmelfarb in support of the JCV

Sandy Crile & Bob Duray in honor of Buck &

Marlene Isenberg

Amy & John O'Keefe in memory of Greg Chiasson and

in honor of Lauren Chiasson

David and Linda Cook in honor of their 50th wedding

anniversary

Susie Holleran happy birthday to Rhoda Gross

Selma Blum get well to Sam Gurian

Susie Holleran, Susan & Bob Aaron, Alan & Shelly

Zelbow, and Barbara & Harvey Feltquate in

memory of Marge Goldberg

Thank you We want to thank the members of the JCV for all their

cards, calls, cards, prayers, and donations during our

very trying time. Your caring support and love is very

special to us. We feel blessed to be part of such a won-

derful extended family.


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017


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TO LIFE is published each month by The Jewish Congregation of Venice

600 N. Auburn Road Venice, FL 34292

Phone (941) 484-2022 FAX (941) 483-9043 Email [email protected]

Website www.jewishcongregationofvenice.org Copy is due before the 1st of the month for entry in the

following month’s issue.

EDITORS: Martin Himmelfarb & Jack Rapaport PHOTO EDITOR: Jeanette Himmelfarb

COPY EDITOR: Debbie Klein Park SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR: Cynthia Fabian FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Judith Zangwill

STAFF PSYCHOLOGIST: Dr. Irma Rapaport

The Jewish Congregation of Venice

600 N. Auburn Road Venice, FL 34292

Ex Libris Dr. Marty Wolf

Killing the Rising Sun, by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard For those of us who lived through the Pacific battles against

the Japanese, it has been more than 70 years, and yet there

are still things to be learned from that terrible destruction.

This book offers us some insights and also pays much at-

tention to the actual development and military application

of the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The authors describe the battles of Pelelieu, Okinawa

and Iwo Jima and leave you nauseated by the terrible waste

of life of both Japanese and American military fighters. The

Japanese followed the samurai code of Bushido which

stipulated that surrender was a form of dishonor, and as a

result, the destruction went on and on.

The book offers not only offers descriptions of the fi-

nal battles, but also peers into the decision-making proc-

esses of President Truman, who strongly believed that the

use of the atomic bomb was preferable

to an amphibious invasion of the Japa-

nese islands. The authors are critical of

General MacArthur, whom they be-

lieved was more interested in the glory

of leading such an invasion than he was

concerned about the loss of American

lives.

Insights into Dr. J. Robert Oppen-

heimer and his team of nuclear scien-

tists is provided as they worked in Chi-

cago and New Mexico.

As I read the book, I realized that even though I fol-

lowed the progress of the war on the radio and in the news-

papers, I had very little appreciation of the terrible waste of

human life, both Japanese and American, which eventually

resulted in millions of children who grew up later without

fathers and grandfathers. Many of us who served in later

wars loathe the idea that you can really “win” wars.