China

Above All, We Are Jews: A Biography of Rabbi Alexander Schindler by Michael A. Meyer (China 1995-97) Published February 2025 Available from the Central Conference of American Rabbis Rabbi Alexander Schindler (1925-2000) was an extraordinarily influential leader in the history of Reform Judaism. From 1973 to 1996, he served as president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (today’s Union for Reform Judaism), where his charisma and vision raised the Reform Movement to unprecedented influence. Never afraid to be controversial, he argued for recognizing patrilineal descent, institutionalized outreach to interfaith families and non-Jews, and championed LGBTQ rights and racial equality. He was a tireless advocate for Israel while maintaining diaspora Jews’ right to speak out independently on the Jewish state. In this nuanced biography, historian Michael A. Meyer draws on extensive archival research and interviews to paint a definitive portrait of Schindler’s life. About the author Michael Meyer went to . . .

A new book —   Other Rivers: A Chinese Education By Peter Hessler (China 1996-98) Penguin Books July 2024 461 pages $16.99 (Kindle); $19.69 (AudioBook); $25.94 (Hardback)   An intimate and revelatory account of two generations of students in China’s heartland, by an author who has observed the country’s tumultuous changes over the past quarter century   More than two decades after teaching English during the early part of China’s economic boom, an experience chronicled in his book River Town, Peter Hessler returned to Sichuan Province to instruct students from the next generation. At the same time, Hessler and his wife enrolled their twin daughters in a local state-run elementary school, where they were the only Westerners. Over the years, Hessler had kept in close contact with many of the people he had taught in the 1990s. By reconnecting with these individuals — members of China’s “Reform generation,” now in their . . .