Jacob Silverman

For the Los Angeles Review of Books, I wrote about Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Salzberger’s Jews and Words. 

Perhaps no religion has as much existential uncertainty baked into the product as Judaism. Who, or what, is a Jew? The question remains Jewishness’s most persistent quandary. In modern times, this has not only been a theological or anthropological question but also a political and military one: leaders as diverse as Adolf Hitler and David Ben-Gurion have sought to develop criteria that may nail down Jewishness as something discrete, distinctive, and susceptible to legislation. But still some confusion persists, some hazy aura around the edges of Jewish identity, evident in the thousand and one sects and offshoots and private credos that, collectively, constitute “the Jewish people.”

The rest is here.

Also, here’s my recent ode to Jean-Ralphio.

For the Poetry Foundation, I wrote about the short life and career of poet Samuel Greenberg and the critical debate over his influence.

I also contributed to Slate’s list of the overlooked books of 2012.

For Bookforum, I reviewed David Nutt’s Drugs Without the Hot Air, a stellar primer on drugs policy and pharmacology. Nutt is a British scientist and former drugs policy advisor who was sacked for publishing an article claiming that ecstasy was safer than horseback riding, as well as for advocating for a more empirically minded drugs policy. (For example, he thought that cannabis should classified as Class C, the least restrictive category for illegal drugs, but his recommendations were disregarded.) His book can be a touch dry, but it’s rigorously empirical and without the usual hysteria or emotionalism that accompanies writing about drugs. Very much recommended.

For Capital, I talked to Ben Acker and Paul F. Tompkins about the Thrilling Adventure Hour, a stage show and podcast that’s about to make its NYC debut.

I also recently reviewed the documentary Tears of Gaza, which raises some interesting questions about foregoing context and trying to wring as much pathos as possible out of a political tragedy.