When I was in second grade my mother told me to read upside down. “You’re reading too fast,” she said, “it’s upsetting the teacher.” She had been instructed to do this as a child, and it was only natural for her to pass this wisdom on to me. Even now, I occasionally flip the book over in order to savor the story.
As the end of 2017 approaches, take a look back at Moment’s most-read stories this year:
Profile Simon Schama Steals the Show The effusive British historian and master storyteller returns for part two of the history
Culture Who’s Afraid of Dorit Rabinyan? The Israeli author became a literary superstar when Israel’s Education Minister called her novel
May/June 2017 Table of Contents FEATURES Interview Yuval Harari: of Cyborgs and
When I left off writing in our last issue, anti-Semitism had made a startling comeback in the United States, and Steve Bannon, the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, was about to be installed as chief strategist to the new man in the White House.
This summer we lost Elie Wiesel, a great and kind man who was an inspiration to me. Moment has now lost both of its founders, and I, two friends. Without Elie and Leibel—Leonard Fein—it is more important than ever that Moment continue its work and carry on their legacies.
Not long ago, I visited dear old friends for dinner and, over dessert, fell into a conversation with their daughter, whom I have known since she was born. She recently graduated from college and is an artist and activist who participated in the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after the death of Michael Brown.
uring the Rwanda genocide, I thought about taking in a Tutsi family or adopting an orphan. But I had a
We live in disquieting times. It seems we make progress in creating a better world, and then some of what we achieve slips away. We overcome prejudice, only to find it has metastasized into new forms. That is the story of anti-Semitism today, and it is also the story of other deeply ingrained prejudices.
Leib’s brother was named Michael, after Michael Faraday, creator of the balloon and author of the work The Chemical History of the Candle. Faraday was a prominent chemist and physicist during the mid-1800s, and Leib’s father—a balloonist during the week, an aspiring inventor on weekends—found Mr. Faraday’s biography and rubbery inventions encouraging in both his personal and professional life.
