A wide-ranging collective biography of 101 Jewish changemakers, across time (though the emphasis is modern), geography, movements (from secular to Orthodox), racial identity, age, and more. Each person profiled gets a one-page biography and image.
There are rabbis, of course, but also scientists, singers, actors, artists, activists, athletes, writers, politicians, and Jews of many other professions and accomplishments. Some are iconic figures; others are lesser-known but have still had an impact in their field or in the world. The book also takes a broad view of who is Jewish, and includes people whose only Jewish parent is their father. (In traditional Jewish law, Judaism passes through the mother, although some Jewish movements now recognize descent from any parent.)
What I particularly like is how authors Kerry Olitzky and Deborah Boden Cohen connect each biography to the next, with the last sentence of each one speaking to some point of commonality with the one that follows, e.g., “Ralph Lauren has been photographed by … Annie Liebovitz” or “Judy Blume graduated from New York University. So did … Idina Menzel” or “Randi Weingarten campaigned for … Bernie Sanders.” This approach is more engaging than a more standard alphabetical or chronological listing, and feels more likely to keep readers reading, while also showing the web of Jewish connections across time and around the world.
And yes, there are queer folks aplenty. The ones I spotted because their queer identity is mentioned in their bios are Sue Bird, Eytan Fox, Amichai Lau-Lavie, Annie Leibowitz, Harvey Milk, Isaac Mizrahi, Becky Silverstein, Abby Stein, Michael Twitty, and Randi Weingarten. Additionally, three others (at least) are queer but their queer identity is not mentioned: Debbie Friedman, Frida Kahlo, and Maurice Sendak. Even those familiar with some of these people from reading LGBTQ-focused collective biographies or histories may be interested in the Jewish lens here. For example, the page about Harvey Milk here not only discusses his importance as “one of the nation’s first openly gay elected officials”—but also notes that he hung his bar mitzvah photo in his camera shop on Castro Street, and that when a gay and lesbian synagogue opened in San Francisco in 1977, he went and attended High Holiday services for the first time since childhood.
The informative and inspiring book has obvious appeal for Jewish families and synagogues, but feels like a good volume for schools and libraries serving broader populations, too.
