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WT Sharpe · 03-08-2010, 12:24 PM

I just finished reading Jew Boy by Alan Kaufman. It is a work that is frequently dark, occasionally hopeful, and always thoroughly readable. James Sullivan of the San Francisco Chronicle Book Review calls it “a classic, if wholly unconventional, American coming-of-age story."

Most folks here at MobileRead will remember Mr. Kaufman from his heated exchanges with several of us over his remarks in an article he wrote for Evergreen Review #120 entitled “The Electronic Book Burning.” Comments in that article such as “All physical books must go up the chimney stack. Such was the methodology of the SS,” “Hi-tech propagandists [sic] tell us that...society would simply be better-off altogether if we euthanized it even as we begin to carry around, like good little Aryans, whole libraries in our pockets, downloaded on the Uber-Kindle,” and “the bookstore…is like the synagogue under Hitler,” did little to endear him to folks here at MobileRead. He personally told MobileRead members that the ebook revolution represented not a Gutenberg moment but a “Nuremberg moment,” referred to us as “a generatiton [sic] of machine-addicted barbarians,” and said that the “efforts of techno-fascists to make the Book into the reviled Jew of our culture is no less insidious then the campaign waged in WWII by Nazi Germany.”

Although we learned in those exchanges that he is the son of a woman who survived the Holocaust, we didn’t hear of his undeserved beatings by her as a child, his youthful attempts to deny his heritage, his nervous breakdown in the midst of an Israeli war zone, his failed marriages, his battles with alcoholism, or his current sobriety. His has not been an easy life, and certainly not always an honorable one, but he has written a riveting and unblinkingly honest account of it in Jew Boy.

In Corinne (1807), Madame de Staël wrote “To understand all makes one tolerant." ("Tout comprendre rend trés indulgent.") I’m not sure that’s always true, and I’m far from certain that its true in this particular case; but if you’re curious to find out what makes someone like Kaufman tick, you could hardly do better than read this amazing autobiographical account.

For obvious reasons, the book is not available as an ebook.

One thing I believe is undeniable. Whatever your personal feelings about Kaufman, he is a remarkably talented writer and poet with an incredible talent for expression. I highly recommend Jew Boy

And Alan Kaufman, if you’re still monitoring our posts here, I have a personal message. To paraphrase what an insightful author once wrote,

MobileRead members are wonderful and gifted people. We are not Nazis. We are not the enemy. We are only people who like reading, and have discovered the joys and convenience of doing it on dedicated electronic devices.

Sir, I wish you happiness, success, and fulfillment.

— Tom

03-08-2010, 12:24 PM	#4094
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	I just finished reading Jew Boy by Alan Kaufman. It is a work that is frequently dark, occasionally hopeful, and always thoroughly readable. James Sullivan of the San Francisco Chronicle Book Review calls it “a classic, if wholly unconventional, American coming-of-age story." Most folks here at MobileRead will remember Mr. Kaufman from his heated exchanges with several of us over his remarks in an article he wrote for Evergreen Review #120 entitled “The Electronic Book Burning.” Comments in that article such as “All physical books must go up the chimney stack. Such was the methodology of the SS,” “Hi-tech propagandists [sic] tell us that...society would simply be better-off altogether if we euthanized it even as we begin to carry around, like good little Aryans, whole libraries in our pockets, downloaded on the Uber-Kindle,” and “the bookstore…is like the synagogue under Hitler,” did little to endear him to folks here at MobileRead. He personally told MobileRead members that the ebook revolution represented not a Gutenberg moment but a “Nuremberg moment,” referred to us as “a generatiton [sic] of machine-addicted barbarians,” and said that the “efforts of techno-fascists to make the Book into the reviled Jew of our culture is no less insidious then the campaign waged in WWII by Nazi Germany.” Although we learned in those exchanges that he is the son of a woman who survived the Holocaust, we didn’t hear of his undeserved beatings by her as a child, his youthful attempts to deny his heritage, his nervous breakdown in the midst of an Israeli war zone, his failed marriages, his battles with alcoholism, or his current sobriety. His has not been an easy life, and certainly not always an honorable one, but he has written a riveting and unblinkingly honest account of it in Jew Boy. In Corinne (1807), Madame de Staël wrote “To understand all makes one tolerant." ("Tout comprendre rend trés indulgent.") I’m not sure that’s always true, and I’m far from certain that its true in this particular case; but if you’re curious to find out what makes someone like Kaufman tick, you could hardly do better than read this amazing autobiographical account. For obvious reasons, the book is not available as an ebook. One thing I believe is undeniable. Whatever your personal feelings about Kaufman, he is a remarkably talented writer and poet with an incredible talent for expression. I highly recommend Jew Boy And Alan Kaufman, if you’re still monitoring our posts here, I have a personal message. To paraphrase what an insightful author once wrote, MobileRead members are wonderful and gifted people. We are not Nazis. We are not the enemy. We are only people who like reading, and have discovered the joys and convenience of doing it on dedicated electronic devices. Sir, I wish you happiness, success, and fulfillment. — Tom Last edited by WT Sharpe; 03-08-2010 at 12:29 PM.