President Grant and the Chabadnik

 by JONATHAN D. SARNA

In 1869, President Grant received an unexpected visitor at the White House: Haim Zvi Sneersohn, a flamboyant and eccentric Chabad emmisary from Jerusalem. Bedecked in what The New York Times described as an "Oriental costume" consisting of a "rich robe of silk, a white damask surplice, a fez, and a splendid Persian shawl fastened about his waist," he strode self-confidently toward the president. Grant instinctively rose to greet him.

Diaspora Divided

 by JORDAN CHANDLER HIRSCH

In his new book, Peter Beinart leads a full-court press against the current state of Zionism. Expanding on his now (in)famous article, "The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment," Beinart sets out to convince young liberal Jews to join the battle for Israel's soul. Noble but misguided, his crusade is sure to backfire.

Comes the Comer

 by LEON WIESELTIER

The New American Haggadah boasts a high-profile cast of contributors—Jonathan Safran Foer, Nathan Englander, Nathaniel Deutsch, Jeffrey Goldberg, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, and Lemony Snicket. But it also features a series of unfortunate translations and commentaries.

A Heretic in the Truth

 by ZACHARY MICAH GARTENBERG

A new book points out just how elusive Spinoza's ideas on politics were, and raises serious questions about his "secularism."

Questioning in the Darkness

 by BENJAMIN NATHANS

A century ago, S. Ansky (Shloyme-Zanvl Rappoport) assembled thousands of questions for a survey directed at shtetl residents in the Russian Empire's Pale of Settlement. A new book examines this fascinating survey.

The Statesman

 by YIFTACH OFEK

Israel's president writes a biography of that country's first prime minister.

New Thinkers, Old Stereotypes

 by STEVEN E. ASCHHEIM

Moshe Idel is heavy on melancholy, not to mention surprising claims about the scholars of Western Europe.

Leon's Roar

 by HOWARD TZVI ADELMAN

A new book explores Leon Modena's crusade against Kabbalah in 17th-century Italy.

In Brief

Baseball, Beats, and Scandals in Satmar.

Chasing Death

 by ADAM KIRSCH

The director of the landmark documentary Shoah, Claude Lanzmann, has written a memoir, which sheds new light on his death-defying life.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

 by PAULA FREDRIKSEN

A new crop of books about Jesus, by Jews and for Jews.

Frogs, Griffins, and Jews Without Hats: How My Children Illuminated the Haggadah

 by MARC MICHAEL EPSTEIN

The illustrated haggadahs of medieval Europe contain more than just rich, colorful depictions of the Exodus story. The closer you look, and with innocent eyes, the more sophistacted the artistic commentary becomes. There are drawings of rabbinic midrash and not a small amount of political satire an polemic.

Singing Gentile Songs: A Ladino Memoir by Sa'adi Besalel a-Levi

 by ARON RODRIGUE, SARAH ABREVAYA STEIN

Sa'adi Besalel a-Levi's memoir of life in 19^th-century Salonica provides a rare and intimate glimpse into a lost Ottoman Jewish world. Sa'adi was an accomplished singer and composer and a printer who helped to found modern Ladino print culture. He was also a rebel who accused the leaders of the Jewish community of being corrupt, abusive, and fanatical. In response, they excommunicated him—frequently, capriciously, and, in the end, definitively—though with imperfect success.

The Lost Textual Treasures of a Hasidic Community

 by YITZHAK Y. MELAMED

The Regensburg Library at the University of Chicago contains a catalogue of markings and stamps from books saved from Nazi destruction. One such stamp comes from the library of the Karlin-Stolin Hasidim, a collection that might contain the most valuable manuscript for understanding the roots of Hasidism. But where is it?

Letters

The Bimah Takes Center Stage and Chutzpah or Khezbh'n hane'fesh?

Karl Marx, the Jews of Jerusalem, and UNESCO

 by SHLOMO AVINERI

Some revolutionary quotations from Marx and the People's Republic of China.