| MODERN _ | HEBREW __ | PROSE and __ | POETRY _| BEHRMAN HOUSEn the thirty-five years of my teaching I have never encountered a Hebrew literature text which met the demands of the student: an anthology which would be sophisticated yet engaging, one which would help the student make the transition from a controlled textbook vocabulary to the sophistication of literary passages. My constant annoyance at the lack of such a book prompted my wife’s suggestion that I should write the book myself. Well aware of the time, energy, and commitment that would be involved in the creation of such a book, I defensively countered that perhaps she, the author of a successful Hebrew language series, should do it herself. After all, she had been teaching at precisely that level with great success for many years and had developed both the proper guiding concepts and specific materials for her classes. Taking up the challenge, she assembled, refined and repeatedly tested her teaching materials in the classroom. The result is the reader at hand. READER: Modern Hebrew Prose and Poetry fills a crucial lacuna in teaching modern Hebrew. Able to be introduced in any second or third-year class of college-level Hebrew, the Reader provides selections at an intermediate level of linguistic proficiency whose content speaks to the adult mind. The Reader is arranged around a number of general topics: love, loneliness, the Holocaust, childhood, parents and children, Israel, and humor. Selections include verse by some of Israel’s finest poets—Yehudah Amichai, Leah Goldberg, Dan Pagis, Nathan Zach, and others—and a wide variety of prose selections including stories by S.Y. Agnon, Meged, and Efraim Kishon. Also included are selections from Pirke Avot and Buber's Hidden Light. Thought provoking questions are presented after every selection as well as a vocabulary list of unfamiliar words, terms, and cultural expressions. The book also includes, in English, brief biographical sketches of the authors and a comprehensive dictionary covering all the vocabulary listed after each selection. With the creation of the Reader, a new generation of Hebrew students will be welcomed into the world of Hebrew literature with an ease and excitement previously unattainable from one book. Arnold J. Band University of California, Los Angelesmay napa ny? Benrman House