Hungary | Hungary
Nov.14.2012
Alan Furst’s MISSION TO PARIS has all the qualities-- but perhaps a little more optimism --that usually mark his novels. The setting primarily is pre-WWII Paris, and the focus is on Germany’s attempt to co-opt Fredric Stahl (a lower-level Hollywood movie star born in Vienna) into...
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Mar.16.2012
But then, it seems that Kafka inspires a number of bizarre interpretations. Why anyone thinks that Kafka is bizarre is itself odd. He just looks at reality with a certain penetrating depth.
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András Vinnai - Viktor...
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Oct.26.2011
The use of multiple names is a Hebrew tradition. Jews blended common German names with Hebrew names. Hebrew names were important for legal contracts but the ancestors that we are looking for were probably long past writing up Hebrew contracts. They were hiding their Hebrew origins and at what point...
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Oct.20.2011
Her subjects loved her. She was Elizabeth (1837-1898), Queen of Hungary, Empress of Austria and daughter of the Bavarian King. Elizabeth saw that the etiquette of the Imperial Court was too strict so against the opposition of other Nobles, she tried to change it. Her only son died under “tragic...
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Dec.20.2010
In my last essay, I wrote about class diversity. From an intensely personal perspective, I questioned the practice—just as prevalent in our national discourse as in the realm of family secrets—of entering into tacit agreements to normalize what should never be considered acceptable. I said that it...
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Oct.03.2010
The movie star Tony Curtis died this past week at 85.
Curtis occupies a special place in my mental pantheon, as the embodiment of Hollywood's shrewd and cynical rendering of cultural identity during the middle years of the last century. In the milieu I came up in, a much-loved pastime was...
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Aug.19.2010
Have you heard of Indie GoGo or the concept of collective fundraising? With a few clicks, folks can contribute a very small amount of money, say the cost of a latte, to accomplish a much larger goal, say sending a Cool Jew to Hungary. Wanna take part? We've got 10 days to make it happen!
Here's...
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Jun.21.2009
The Budapest Protocol, by Adam Lebor(Reportage Press)
Sometimes a journalist comes across something so powerful that it seems bigger than the project he’s researching. Usually it’s put aside to serve as the basis for a future project, a magazine article or another nonfiction book.
Sometimes it...
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Jun.09.2009
I fell off the radar temporarily last week. Lost all communication. It was a combination of the end of school, huge trip, and finishing my WIP, Pelorus Jack.
Most of all, though, I was an emotional wreck. My kids left on Friday with my husband for Germany. I stayed at home in the empty nest.
My...
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Apr.19.2009
On Oct. 8, 1970, I got a surprise call at home from a man named Cornell Hawkridge.
“This is Cornell Hawkridge,” a blunt voice demanded, without any introduction. “Mr. Seagrave told me to call you. I need your help.”
If Sterling sent him, I was ready to talk. “Well Mr. Hawkridge,...
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