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The Jewish News of Northern California

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biography

Rita Semel at home in San Francisco, where she has devoted herself to public service for decades. (Photo/Norm Levin)
Posted inBooks

At 100 years old, local Jewish legend Rita Semel gets a young adult biography

by Dan Pine August 15, 2022August 19, 2022

J.’s coverage of books is supported by a generous grant from The Milton and Sophie Meyer Fund. Jennifer Kaufman and Rita Semel don’t exactly go way back. They didn’t meet […]

Alan Shipnuck (left, holding mic) asks Phil Mickelson a question at his 2022 U.S. Open press conference, which was his return to championship golf after going into exile because of Shipnuck's book excerpt. (Photo/Courtesy Shipnuck)
Posted inSports

Bay Area sportswriter Alan Shipnuck’s new biography blows open the life of golf great Phil Mickelson

Gabe Fisher by Gabe Fisher July 21, 2022July 26, 2022
Ethel Rosenberg under arrest
Posted inOff the Shelf

70 years later, Ethel Rosenberg reemerges in a new biography and novel

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman August 17, 2021August 17, 2021
Stanford professor Steven Zipperstein (left) is working on a biography of Philip Roth (right).
Posted inBooks

‘It deserves to exist’: Stanford prof who knew Philip Roth weighs in on biography controversy

Andrew Esensten by Andrew Esensten June 7, 2021June 9, 2021
Philip Roth with Allegra the cat, Manhattan, 1959. (Photo/Courtesy W.W. Norton & Company)
Posted inBooks

Highly anticipated Philip Roth biography delivers the goods

Andrew Esensten by Andrew Esensten March 31, 2021March 31, 2021
Stan Lee with racks of Marvel comics in New York, June 15, 1978. (Photo/JTA-Santi Visalli-Getty Images)
Posted inBooks, Culture, Comics, History

Stan Lee’s complex legacy gets even more complex in new biography

Julian Voloj by Julian Voloj and JTA February 22, 2021
a black and white picture of a man and a woman sitting on a bench. she is holding flowers which have been artificially colored bright purple
Posted inBooks

A harrowing tale of survival wrapped around a love story 

Laura Pall by Laura Paull December 15, 2020December 16, 2020
The covers of “The Lives of Isaac Stern” and “Life Isn't Everything: Mike Nichols, As Remembered by 150 of His Closest Friends,” both of which feature pensive black and white photos of their subjects
Posted inOff the Shelf

New biographies paint portraits of two Jewish luminaries (one with S.F. ties)

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman July 9, 2020July 9, 2020
From the cover of "Memories After My Death," Yair Lapid's new biography of his father
Posted inColumns

New biographies tell the stories of Jews who aren’t as famous as they should be

Howard Freedman by Howard Freedman January 30, 2018August 20, 2018

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