"Summer Storm" (1944) with Everett Edward Horton

Disregard this misleading movie poster. The film takes place in 1919 and is a film version of Anton Chekov's 1884 novel "The Shooting Party", with the screenplay written by Rowland Leigh.

The trick with this film was how to convey Chekov's 1884 beliefs in Justice, and it's meaning, in pre Revolutionary Russia, with the plight of it's main characters in a post Revolutionary Soviet Union 35 years later. And to make it work.

When all is said and done Rowland Leigh did the remarkable  with a screenplay based on an adaptation by Michael O'Hara. The message i got from the film is the same i took away from the novel.

The question is clear to me; is justice truly blind, or is it just blind to the facts? Or, is the only pure justice one's own conscience; the verdict which one never evades or truly escapes?

With stars George Sanders, Linda Darnell, and a brilliantly nuanced performance by Edward Everett Horton, that question is posed beauifully, and in the end is answered perfectly.

The film is available for free, without commercials, on you tube. The link is as follows: https://youtu.be/7xZOZmoWEag But disregard that bizarre poster! 
 

Roman Vishniac - Photographer (1897-1990)

This artist is new to me. I say artist instead of photographer to call attention to the way he framed his shots.  Born in Russia he moved to Berlin in 1920 to escape the rising tide of anti-Semitism in his native country.  Maybe it wasn't the best of choices but had he not relocated when he did the world would have been cheated out of one of the best collections of photographs chronicling Jewish life in Germany before the Holocaust.

His 1983 book “A Vanished World” gave us only a glimpse of his vast collection of images. But now; through the International Center of Photography, the entity to which these images belong; all of his thousands of photos have been digitized and are available for viewing on line.

The importance of this project cannot be overstated. Millions of Jews were wiped out by the Nazi’s; and along with them all of the personal effects and photographs of a generation disappeared. But for the work of photographers such as Vishniac there would be no record of those lives left at all; which was the aim of the Holocaust in the first place. You could say that without these photographs Hitler would have scored a partial victory of sorts.

This collection encompasses all aspects of life in Germany before the Second World War; not just Jews. But that is the very beauty of the whole collection. The Jews pictured here are represented as having been a part of something larger than being Jews in Germany. They are shown as being an integral part of German culture.

Among the images of Rabbis and traditionally clad Jewish children there are pictures of the Nuns, the churches, the train station, the zoo; and just about everything else which together form a more clear picture of what life was like in the multi-cultural environment which was Germany before the Holocaust. It all looks so normal.

And that’s the point; abnormal horrors are often born quietly amidst the normalcy of daily living. We are often lulled into a state of apathy and unawareness, enjoying our lives without giving thought to the evils which lurk just beneath the surface.

These photos were digitized by Ardon Bar-Hama who was the man tasked with preserving the Dead Sea Scrolls in a like manner. But these photos; the importance of the Scrolls notwithstanding;  may be more relevant to our daily lives.

For more of these amazing photos go to the Roman Vishniac exhibition at;

http://vishniac.icp.org/

"A Cruel and Shocking Act" by Philip Shenon (2013)

If you believe that President Kennedy was killed by a lone assassin named Lee Harvey Oswald, then this is the book you have been waiting for. On the other hand, if you believe that President Kennedy was a victim of a conspiracy, then this is the book for you. Author Philip Shenon has gathered the memories of all the surviving staff members who assisted the Warren Commission in compiling its report, and in doing so has only bolstered the beliefs of both sides.

The Warren Commission Report was initiated by President Johnson, who later opined to Walter Cronkite that he believed there was a conspiracy to kill Kennedy, and therefore did not believe in the findings of the commission he himself had created. It was never signed by the man who chaired it; Chief Justice Earl Warren, who suppressed evidence in order to wrap things up neatly. And, finally, it was signed reluctantly by the man who would, 11 years later become the first unelected President of the United States, Gerald Ford.

If you ever want to explain why Americans don’t really trust their government, and embrace conspiracy theories in the first place, you have only to look at the dysfunction of the Warren Commission to prove your point. The infighting between the various agencies; such as the FBI and the CIA to withhold evidence and sources from one another, as well as the commission, are perfect examples.

The book goes into detail about the connection of Oswald’s supposed Mexican visit, which produced no known photos of him at either of the embassies he supposedly visited, raising the possibility of a double agent. His relationship with Silvia Duran, of the Cuban Embassy is also explored.

Of particular interest are the deals made by Marina Oswald in the days immediately surrounding her husband’s death at the hands of Jack Ruby. She sold her husband’s diary without even telling the police that there was one. She also burned what she thought to be the only copies of the now iconic photos of her husband posing with a rifle, handgun and a Communist newspaper. The fact that there were so many other copies floating about in the days before digital scanning, etc. makes me wonder. Who else had copies of these photos and why?

Her take from the various book deals and magazine articles amounted to about $300,000 in today’s dollars. She fired her business manager, James Martin, after having a brief affair with him while living in his home. She ended the affair by calling his wife and telling her that her husband was no longer employed as her manager, or lover.

Marina Oswald wasn’t the only widow taking in some immediate cash. Jackie Kennedy began work on her book with Arthur Schlesinger before the Warren Commission was even done with their report. The commission was not even going to call upon her for her testimony; wishing to spare her the ordeal; until they got wind of the book. If she could talk about it for money, then she could appear before the Commission. Still, when it came time to depose her, they went to her home in Georgetown, where she was living at the time.

Robert Kennedy would only appear before the Commission by a series of letters; ones which he wrote himself. The first one was a request from Chief Justice Earl Warren to him; written by RFK asking him to submit a reply. The Chief Justice signed that request and sent it back to RFK. A pre-approved reply was then sent to the Chief Justice.

The portion of the investigation dealing with Jack Ruby is a true riddle. The man had the opportunity to kill Oswald on Friday night at the infamous “news conference” at the City Jail, where he was paraded before the press. Ruby even took part in that event when he corrected DA Henry Wade on the correct name of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. He was that well known to the local police, yet no one noticed him entering the building on Sunday morning when he was finally able to kill Oswald.

Ruby ended up deranged before and during his trial for killing Oswald. He believed that since he had murdered Oswald the Jews of America were being tortured in retaliation. He was clearly insane; even judged to be so; yet he was still sentenced to death for his crime. He died before the sentence could be carried out. His chapter remains one of the most controversial among conspiracy theorists.

Arlen Specter, the architect of the “magic bullet” theory; which says that one pristine bullet caused 7 wounds to both Kennedy and Governor Connally before landing underneath a rubber mat on the gurney at Parkland hospital; is portrayed as an adequate investigator. His theory was doubted by just about everyone on the Commission. It has been the subject of numerous recreations using the latest technology to prove its validity. But think about this; if you intentionally set out to prove a theory correct, you must first start out by accepting that theory to be true. If you believe it to be false it is just as easy to prove that as well.

One of the most interesting events to come out of the Warren Commission’s investigation occurred when William Coleman; the lone African-American working for the Committee; went to a secret rendezvous off of Cuba to meet Castro and ask him; face to face; whether or not he, or the Russians, had anything to do with the President’s murder.

Castro had told the press in October of 1963 that the American government was targeting him for assassination; which they were under Operation Mongoose a black op being run by the CIA. He also promised to retaliate in kind; which many people think is actually what happened; Operation Mongoose got reversed by right wing factions within the United Sates, making Kennedy the target instead.

The most interesting thing about Coleman’s encounter is that he already knew Castro from the Cuban leader’s visits to New York, which had begun as early as the 1940’s. Apparently Coleman had met him in Harlem at the jazz clubs when Castro was on his honeymoon in 1948. They were both jazz fans. When they met again in 1964 aboard a Cuban navy boat, they discussed that visit and music before getting down to business. Castro denied any involvement in the murder, and Mr. Coleman took him at face value.

The investigators themselves; along with the 7 Committee members themselves, were often at odds over the direction and progress of the Commission. Some wanted to focus on the foreign conspiracy aspect of the crime more than others. As a result of the pre-determined outcome of the report; it must sate that Oswald acted alone, this was understood by all; any leads not leading back to Oswald as the sole shooter, were given short shrift.

Commission investigator Jim Liebeler was a hard working staff member. But he still found time to attempt the seduction of both Marina Oswald and Silvia Odio; the Cuban woman in Texas who claimed to have seen Oswald in the company of 2 other Latino men prior to the assassination. Silvia Odio is a possible key to the unexplored portions of Oswald’s Mexico City trip.

The other Silvia in this story is Silvia Duran, who was taken into custody within hours of the assassination by Mexican police at the request of the CIA. She was beaten and tortured in an effort to find out what she knew about Oswald and his activities there in Mexico.

All of these loose ends are what have Mr. Shenon concerned; and rightfully so; that there are still unexplored leads to the murder of President Kennedy in 1963. The latest ones involve Elena and Helena Garro, a mother daughter team who claim to have attended a party at which Oswald was present in Mexico prior to the assassination.

Whatever your beliefs about the Kennedy assassination may be, this book delivers all of the excitement you have come to expect from the crime which just won’t be solved. Mr. Shenon has done his homework well, and as a result has delivered an exciting book about the scenes behind the Warren Commission and the men who served on it.

In the end, it is also the story of the Warren Commission Report; a report which the Chief Justice for whom it was named refused to sign; and was only signed by Gerald Ford, who never believed it to be correct. And 11 years later he would become the first un-elected President of the United States.

"I Am Malala" by Malala Yousafzai (2013)

What a remarkable book this is! I was expecting; and not looking forward to; a lengthy tome about Malala Yousafzai’s shooting at the hands of the Taliban in Pakistan. Her crime was two- fold; she was a woman, and she wanted to be educated. There are very few people who haven’t heard of this brave young woman with the idealistic father. Her accomplishments in the area of Women’s Rights are already legendary, and she is just barely 18 years old.

What makes this book a standout is that she has written a seamless history of contemporary Pakistan; from its birth as a nation in 1947; through the troubled early years, and the turmoil which has made Pakistan an ally of both the Eastern and Western powers at various times since. Even more remarkable about it all is that she seems to grasp the significance of that history as it relates to the Pakistan in which she was raised. How many Americans, of any age, can make that claim about our own nation?

After a few pages at the beginning, in which she describes the immediate event of being shot on a bus coming home from school, she moves backward in time, describing both her parent’s history as well as the political strife in which they were born. She examines how those times shaped both her parents in different ways.

Her father became an outspoken advocate of education for both boys and girls; which put him in the crosshairs of radical Islamists early on. Her mother, on the other hand, became more concerned with not rocking the boat and keeping all around her happy.

After a few false starts in opening a school in the Swat Valley; that area on the Pakistan/Afghan border which became a hotbed of violence during the American-Iraq War after 9/11; her father manages to found a school which eventually had 3 buildings and 100 students; both boys and girls. He teaches them in a secular way; everything from science to mathematics and even literature. He firmly believes that the future well-being of any society lies in the education of its youngest members.

Malala begins to fall in step with her father from an early age; delighting in pleasing him by winning contests in school for speaking in public. Ate age 11 she was already speaking on issues such as the right of girls to receive an education. By age 12 she was questioning why women were considered to be less than equal to men. She was already disputing the claims of Radical Islamists that the Quran mandated such treatment.

Encouraged by her father she began to amass a collection of prizes; some even monetary; for her work. This was all happening as the war in Iraq was heating up and spilling over to Pakistan, where the Taliban were hiding from our forces in Afghanistan. As the war progressed the Taliban were making more and more incursions into the Swat Valley, disrupting life there. This is the same area as the one where the Taliban were blowing up the ancient statues of Buddha. Malala used to play amongst those statues; a fact which served to make more real something which, for most people, had only been an abstract item in the press. That perception changes when you hear how it affected someone else’s life, especially a child’s.

The author vividly recounts the confusion attendant to living in Pakistan at the time after 9/11. As the Taliban ramped up their efforts against the “Great Satan” of the United States, they used religion as a means to extract money from the Pakistani people. Often these contributions took the form of women donating their precious wedding bangles. Those pieces of gold became bullets used in battles from which many of their own men never returned while fighting Jihad.

Malala was 16 when she was shot. Her story might have ended that day with her death. The fact that it didn’t has a lot to do with politics, as well as people who were committed to not letting this young woman die. She became a symbol of the contempt in which most of the world holds the Taliban.

Her description of life in England, where she was relocated for medical reasons, is interesting in that with all that has happened to her at such a young age, she still wants to go home. She still wants to fight for justice for her fellow Pakistani’s and women in particular. She still considers herself a good Muslim and wants to help Islamic people everywhere reclaim their religion from the fanatics who have; for the most part; hijacked it. 

This is a remarkable book written by a remarkable young woman, caught up in extraordinary circumstances. And, more than that, it is the story of the triumph of the human spirit over the forces of darkness; which would swallow us whole if we let them.

"The Shoes of The Fisherman" with Anthony Quinn, Oskar Werner and David Janssen (1968)

One of the main reasons I took this film out was to simply watch, and listen to, Oskar Werner, who plays a conflicted Priest in this high drama set in Rome during the 1980's. The film was made in 1968, and therefore assumes a lot about the direction of global affairs over the next 20 years. Notwithstanding, this is a very well made film, with many things to be said about world politics and religion. Who really drives the train?

Archbishop Kiril Lakota, played by Anthony Quinn, a Priest from the Ukraine, is freed after 20 years in Siberia, imprisoned for his religious beliefs. He is freed at the request of the Vatican, and on the verge of a nuclear confrontation between China and Russia, resulting from a widespread famine in China. This famine was caused by trade restrictions imposed by the United States. Once he arrives in Rome he meets the troubled Priest David Telemond. Father Telemond is undergoing an investigation into his beliefs, which at times seem to be at odds with church doctrine. His real crime, of course, is his expression of these beliefs. They pose a threat to those in power.

Upon his arrival at the Vatican, Archbishop Kiril is made Cardinal Priest by the Pope himself, which places Kiril in the line of succession, should anything happen to the Pope. When the Pope, played by Sir John Gielgud, does pass away, the College of Cardinals vote, seven times, to name a new Pope. When they become deadlocked in their decision, the Cardinals elect Kiril as the new leader of one of the world's largest religious denominations. He will be called Pope Kiril I.

Serving as a guide throughout the movie is David Janssen, who plays a news reporter, plagued by his own self-doubts, and a troubled marriage. His doubts and questions mirror those of Pope Kiril, as the Pontiff struggles with a world crisis and the investigation of Father Telemond. Somehow he must find a way to bring these separate, but equally important issues, into harmony.

The best scenes in this movie are all concerned with religious doctrine as Father Telemond is questioned about his faith. Oskar Werner is brilliant in his role as the beleaguered Priest. This may be one of his best performances ever, almost eclipsing his role as the East German Prosecutor in the film "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold."

Great performances by all, especially Oskar Werner and Anthony Quinn, with a multi-layered storyline, make this a film worth watching.

"Lincoln for the Ages" Edited by Ralph G. Newman

The "stacks" of a local library hold more forgotten history than can be learned in a lifetime. History moves so quickly that often much of it is left behind. And many of these "lost" pieces of the great puzzle can often be found in the "stacks." I go there often.

In this long forgotten and obscure book, published in 1960, are the views and anecdotes relating to President Lincoln, written by 76 distinguished Americans of the time. Many of the stories told here, as in the instances of his law partnership with William Herndon, cast more light on the character of Abraham Lincoln than anything written about him since.

His legal expertise has never been questioned, as in the Patterson case, a murder trial. Lincoln was able to show the innocence of his client through the use of an almanac, proving that the Prosecution's witness was lying when he said he observed the killing in the light of the moon. The almanac showed that there was no moon that night, thus freeing his client.

The Lincoln-Douglas debates, which arose out of the Kansas Nebraska Act debates show his uncanny ability to turn the tables on the most cunning of opponents. Lincoln had previously argued both sides of the Fugitive Slave Act, winning for both sides in different trials of the same charge. Out of the fierce debate roiling the country concerning the Kansas Nebraska Act, Lincoln was able to rise to national prominence with his scathing oratory and homespun appearance, both of which he used like scapels.

The plot to kidnap him enroute to Washington, D.C. on the eve of his inaguaration is more fully explained here in 3 pages than anywhere else. The plan was to hold him for ransom, the release of the Southern States from re-joining the Union would be the price. The plot was uncoverd in Philadelphia, and folied in Baltimore.

During his Presidency, Lincoln learned to use the press to his advantage, encouraging them to visit with him often. He would usually greet them with a hearty, "What news have you?" He would then go on to grill them, and in the process gave out far less information than he received. His relationship with the press would become the launching pad for the Presidential news conferences, which were first held by his sucessor to the Presidency, Andrew Johnson.

Lincoln's foreign policy is largely ignored in light of the Civil War, but on that frontier he was most active, and astute. Knowing that England could easily ally itself with the South posed a tricky situation for Lincoln. He could not afford to fight them, which would haved tied up the naval resources necessary to fight the Confederacy, as well as run the blockade against privateers. Yet, when 2 Southern envoys were being transported via an English ship to London for a conference with the Queen, the United States Navy, without the President's authorization, seized the ship and imprisoned the men. Lincoln took this situation and turned it to his advantage. He released the ship, and later the men, with a word to the British that we would brook no meddling in the ongoing conflict. He then issued his controversial Emancipation Proclamation, turning our own Civil War into a moral cause which Britian already supported, thus turning them into an ally. Prior to this, Britian had already shipped 8,000 troops to Canada for insertion in the Civil War, intending to fight for the South. After the Proclamation these troops were withdrawn.

France was posing a problem as well. They had invaded Mexico, with promises from the Confederacy that they could gain a foothold in America if they would support the South. Lincoln solved that one as craftily as he did the British problem.

We have all been taught about "Seward's Folly", the seemingly silly purchase of Alaska from Russia. But what we weren't taught was the relationship of Russia at the time to France and England, with which Russia had just lost a war. She needed two things badly; the first was cash, hence the sale of Alaska. The second thing they needed was to get their navy into a safe harbor. Lincoln allowed them to moor their fleets off San Francisco and Norfolk, thus covering two perimeters with a seemingly neutral force at no expense to ourselves. The mere presence of the Russian fleet made certain that no country would attempt to intervene on behalf of the Confederacy.

In politics Lincoln had no equal. Confronted by men such as Salmon Chase, William Seward, Edward Bates, and Simon Cameron as rivals, he made them all members of his cabinet, where he could keep an eye on their political ambitions.

Lincoln never considered the South to have left the Union, so there simply was no provision in the Constitution for punative action against the Southern states after the war had ended. Thus, his last directive was to "Let 'em down easy." Evidently no one was listening, and the next 100 years would see the South mired in racial discontent and constant upheaval. Had Lincoln lived, this may not have happened.

This is a wonderfully enriching book for any Lincoln scholars to sink their teeth into. Remember, the only thing new is the history you don't know.

Conrad Schumann - Cold War Icon

This photograph is one that has been ingrained in my mind since I first saw it in August of 1961. It is of Conrad Schumann, an East German soldier who was standing guard on the Eastern side of the newly laid barbed wire, which would shortly after become the Berlin Wall. As all of the educated people of East Berlin began leaving East Germany in the years previous to this photograph, the Soviets decided to partition Berlin.

Schumann, who was only 19 at the time this photo was taken, made his decision to defect to the West based on two things. The first thing that he saw that morning was a young girl handing flowers across the wire to her mother, whom had been stranded in the Eastern section. The second, and deciding factor in his leap to freedom, were the people on the other side of the fence shouting to him in German, "Come over, come over!"

So, he did, and was immortalized in this photograph taken by Peter Leibing. Schumann quickly became a symbol of Communist oppression in the Cold War. He remained in West Germany even after the wall had come down in 1989. In 1998, suffering from depression, he killed himelf. He was only 56 years old.

Whether feelings that he had betrayed his homeland were responsible for his suicide, or not, will never really be known. But the gift he left behind is this image of a man, caught in circumstances beyond his control, making a split second decision to join the forces of light, leaving the darkness of oppression behind him.

This decision would affect him, and the lives of the scores of people who followed later, some in tunnels beneath the wall, for the rest of their lives.

"Bridge of Spies" by Giles Whittell

This is the true story of 3 men, poised at the center of the Cold War, and whose actions, although not intended to do so, changed the direction of that conflict. Their story is the beginning of both Russia and the United States making a committment to what later became known as detente. That they did so out of a confluence of events which were designed to produce results of the opposite nature makes this incredible story even more so. This also marked the beginning of both the CIA and the KGB in the administration of govermental policy. President Eisenhower, as well as Premier Kruschev, have acknowledged that they both felt "not in control" of the situation as it unfolded.

President Eisenhower knew of, and condoned the high altitude U-2 flights. But not this one. Officially, the existence of these flights were denied by the United States. On May 1st, 1960 just months before a summit between Eisenhower and Kruschev in Moscow, one of the U-2's, carrying pilot Gary Powers, was shot down over Russia. This is precisely the incident which Eisenhower was trying to avoid in the months leading up to the summit.

The U-2's mission was to photograph the last remaining area of Russia that had not been searched for nuclear missles, or, as we call them today, WMD's. Lee Harvey Oswald, a US Marine, working radar out of Atsugi Air Base in Japan, was later implicated as having provided some of the intelligence necessary for the shoot down of Gary Powers' U-2 to have taken place.

Powers was flying a defective plane that day. It was known throughout the unit as a "dog." When the Soviets got lucky and downed the plane with one missle, Gary Powers had plenty of time to think as he fell from 70,000 feet. He was able to climb out of the plane rather than eject. He decided not to use the poison needle with which he had been provided, saving it for future use if needed.

As all of this was happening, an American student, Frederic Pryor, who had taken advantage of a summer program allowing foreign students to take a rare look inside Russia, was arrested and charged with espionage. He had been unwittingly recruited by the CIA in "tourist" style espionage, taking pictures of bridges and buildings, some of which were of military significance.

Powers and the American youth would both be eventually exchanged for the biggest Soviet Spy ever caught in America, William Fisher, aka, Rudolf Abel. He had resided in deep cover in the United States for years, and such was his value to the Soviets, that he would later be exchanged for both Pryor and Powers. That this exchange would later take place during the same week as John Glenn successfully orbited the earth aboard Friendship 7 was no coincidence. But that was still 2 years away. First would come the trial, and imprisonment of Gary Powers for espionage. He was faced with life imprisonment, or possibly death.

The trial took place in the waning days of the Eisenhower administration, just after the Soviet-American summit, which had been scheduled for the same time, had been cancelled. Powers received 10 years imprisonment, as a sign of Soviet humanity. He would not have to serve the entire sentence, as the Soviets wanted Rudolf Abel returned.

The exchange was to take place at two locations, and at the same time. The first was to be at the so-called "Bridge of Spies", actually named the Glienicke Bridge, in Berlin. This was the "other" check point used during the cold war for transfer between East and West Germany. The most famous one was "Check Point Charlie", located only a few miles away. It is recreated in exact detail in the film version of John LeCarre's novel "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold." That check point would be the location for the second exchange.

This is a fascinating book for serious students of the Cold War. There are so many layers to this story that it is possible to get lost in the myriad of secrecy. What is true? What is true, but misleading? The book also delves into the 1960 Presidential election between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy. Was there a connection between politics and the ill advised flight of the defective U-2? And what was the common link between news reporter Joe Alsop and John Kennedy in this operation? Why did they lie about a Soviet missle gap when there was none? Remember, there would have been no need for the U-2 flights had the truth of the missle gap been known.

Had Gary Powers been successful in his flight over Plesetk, he would have discovered the 4 operational ICBM's. This was the extent of the Soviet nuclear arsenal with which Premier Krushchev had threatened to "bury the West." It is also the nuclear stockpile which John Kennedy, along with the help of Joe Alsop, purported to exist.

With it's careful research, and a cast of real life characters, this is a gripping read of the Cold War, and three of its principal players.

"Transsiberian" with Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer and Ben Kingsley

An absolutely stunning movie. Everything, from the script to the direction, and the performances of each and every actor, make this a flawless film. Set in Russia along the route of the Trans Siberian Railway also makes this movie a visually brilliant thriller, which you do not want to miss.

Roy and his wife Jessie (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) are returning from China through Russia via the Trans Siberian Railway. They are traveling from Beijing, where they have been involved in a church outreach program for children, to Moscow, and then home to America. What is that old saying about "the best laid plans of mice and men?" It clearly applies here.

Roy is an avid fan of old trains and locomotives, which is what leads the couple to take the train, rather than flying home. Jessie is a photographer with a troubled past. Her marriage to Roy has turned her life around and she is thinking of publishing a book of her photos. This trip will give her ample opportunity to indulge that passion.

When Roy and Jessie meet Carlos and Abby (Eduardo Noriega and Kate Mara), a couple traveling through Russia on the way back to Spain, all is not what it appears to be. The couple is a bit secretive, and tension begins to mount between Carlos and Jessie, who is trying to live a clean life with her husband.

When the naive Roy gets off at a remote stop to look at the different train engines, Carlos deliberately loses him, and Roy is left behind. When Jessie discovers he is missing she leaves the train at the next stop to wait for him to catch up. Carlos and Abby stay with her.

Carlos manages to entice Jessie to accompany him alone to a remote, ruined Russian Orthodox Church, under the guise of taking photos. Once they arrive at the church, Carlos becomes physically attentive to Jessie, who at first rebuffs his advances. During the push and pull of the emotional struggle, Carlos becomes violent, attempting to rape Jessie, who then uses a wooden plank to kill him. She returns to the train and is rejoined by Roy. She says nothing of what has happened, or where Carlos might be.

Roy, on his journey to rejoin his wife, has met and befriended Russian Police Inspector Grinko (Ben Kingsley) who has been following the trail of Carlos, who is a drug smuggler. To complicate matters even further, Jessie was aware of the smuggling and is actually in possession of some heroin, disguised as Bubushka Dolls. Carlos placed the dolls in Jessie's baggage, without her knowledge, prior to the events at the church. She is now frantic as she attempts to dispose of the contraband while confined to a train, under the watchful eyes of Inspector Grinko.

What happens to Abby, and what Jessie chooses to do about it, are the key questions that keep you glued to this film. The interaction of the two women, filled with mysterious undercurrents, played against the irrepressible innocence of Roy, bring a high tension to this magnificent film.

With a climax that keeps you on edge until the credits begin to roll, you don't want to miss this film. Agatha Christie would be proud.

Shifting Borders In a Changing World

In a world of constantly shifting borders it is often difficult to trace family lineage back through the destruction of the two World Wars that marred the 20th Century, especially in Europe. Throw in Russia's 70 year foray into Communism, along with these shifting borders, and you can run into a real puzzle!

When William and Esther Marcus left Poland for America around 1911, they left Poland. When the Russian Revolution was over and the First World War had ended, the borders had shifted. The same thing happened in the Second World War and then again later, when the Soviet Union collapsed in the late 1980's.

So, over the years I have been descended from Poles/Russian/Poles. And that's just on that side of the family! My second cousin, Jana Marcus, has done a lot of research on this and come up with a new twist. We have another family member we were unaware of, who died in infancy back in Poland in 1902. Here is a part of the e-mail I received yesterday about this new discovery, with some other background info thrown in;

I wanted to share with you some new family history I have discovered.

As you know, William and Esther were from Kishinev (Chisinau), Moldava.

I did some extensive research in the Moldava marriage and birth
records through Jewishgen.org. I found three exciting things:

1. The name of the village they came from in Kishinev is Rashkov

2. William and Esther had a child we didn't know about! Rivka Marcus
was born in Kishinev in 1901, and died on June 8, 1902 of a cerebral
infection. She died a baby, but was born before Minnie and Sophie.

3. I found William and Esther's marriage record. Married in 1895 in
Kishinev, Esther's "old world" maiden name was Saganovskaya. Her
father was Yosef Saganovskaya. This led me to a search for
Saganovskaya, and I discovered the following:

Yosef Saganovskaya, son of Pinkos Saganovskaya, was born abt. 1848
in Gaysin, Vinnitsa, Ukraine. He had three children:

Avrum Saganovskaya
Jankel Saganovskaya
Esther Saganovskaya

Avrum Saganovskaya married Rakehl Edya and had the following children:

Pinkhos Saganovskaya ( b. 1894)
Yankel Saganovskaya (b. 1896)
Sura Sarah Saganovskaya ( b. 1899)
Sheyndlya Saganovskaya ( b.1904)
Yosef Saganovskaya (b. 1907)

Jankel Saganovskaya ( wife unnknown) had one child that I could find:

Shlioma Saganovskaya (b.1900)

Noticed how many children were named Pinkhos and Yankel or a variation of...interesting, uh? So, we have gone two more generations on Esther's side!

Happy trails to you all,
Jana
--
Jana Marcus Photography
www.janamarcus.com

With this new information, Jana has established my family tree as far back as the 1840's on the Marcus (maternal) side. The Henkin side of that tree is shrouded in mystery with no one left to tell the story. And anyway, I like the mystery better, as it probably trumps the reality.

On my paternal side, we have information and Census forms dating back to the 1850's for the Burke's (my Dad's maternal side), and on the Williams' side we can trace our roots to the mid 1800's in Wales and England.

I never get tired of this stuff. The past is where we all come from and a large piece of who we are and where we are headed. Eventually we are all going to come around to the realization that we are all related. That doesn't mean we are going to love one another in the blink of an eye. But it is the beginning of becoming aware that we are all truly connected in one way or another. So don't judge your neighbors too harshly - you just might be related...

"Defiance" with Daniel Craig

A movie as lavish as "Dr.Zhivago", with the all the sparse reality of "Schindler's List" would seem to be an impossible feat to pull off. And if that story were also true, as in the case of "Schindler's List", then you would have a movie very worth watching. "Defiance" meets all of these expectations, and more.

The true story of the Bielski brothers, who were farmers at the time of Hitler's invasion into Poland in 1939, is one of amazing courage and sacrifice. On the run from the Germans in the woods for over 2 years, the Bielski brothers find themselves up against not only the Nazi's, but also at odds with partisan Russians and Poles, who are anti-semetic, but still need the help the brothers offer.

Zusia, Asael and Tuvia Bielski were Jews. As the Germans bore down on the Jews of Poland, the brothers took to the woods, where they foraged for food while dodging German patrols. But as the German atrocities began to mount, the brothers soon found themselves joined by, and in charge of, a large group of Jewish refugees. Not only did they manage to survive the harsh winters and savage fighting, but they also lead this group through the frozen woods, towards safety, only to find their path blocked by a swamp. At this point the older brother is ready to give up, the situation is almost biblical. The Germans are like the Egyptian Army, poised and ready to strike a fatal blow. Only a miracle, such as a parting of the waters can save them. But with miracles in short supply, the brothers must find some other way to escape the Germans, and certain death. The younger brother provides the inspiration and solution to the problem, leading the whole group across the swamp tied together with rope and belts.

The movie also explores the anti-semetism that was rife amongst the Polish and Russian freedom fighters, who believed all Jews to be cowards. Zusia, along with his youngest brother Tuvia, believes that fighting the enemy would be suicidal. Instead they form a community in the woods, complete with a school, a hospital and a cookhouse. He welcomes any survivor into the camp.

Their brother, Asael, has a different idea, he wants to fight the Nazi's in an effort to prove that Jews are not cowards. In the end, as with most things, all three brothers are proven right, as the Russian and Polish resistance fighters finally accept them as equals in the fight against fascism. This is largely due to Asael's death in the fighting on the Russian front in 1944.

This is a gripping film, you can actually feel the cold and hunger as you watch this group of refugees struggle to survive. All the performers are exceptinal in this dramatic, moving and true story of what man will endure in order to survive.

"Daring Young Men" by Richard Reeves

The Berlin Airlift was one of the most heroic and campassionate undertakings in the history of mankind. If you are unfamiliar with this great episode, then this book is a wonderful place to start. Mr. Reeves has, as usual, bought history to life in this tale of the chess game that took place between the United States and Russia in the summer of 1948.

Russia was essentially blockading Berlin in an effort to gain control of it. The Allies, led by the United States, were equally determined to keep at least half of Germany free and democratic. The story of what made the airlift necessary in the first place is carefully examined here.

The currency crisis, which came about when the German Reichsmark was replaced by the new currency, caused people to panic buy whatever was left on the shelves, whether it was edible or not wasn't the point. The fact that the money would be worthless made buying garbage an attractive proposal.

All of our seasoned combat troops had already been sent home, replaced by inexperienced 19 year olds who did not really want to be there. And the Russians knew this. They were counting on it. Truman was even advised by his Generals to abandon Berlin. His reply was a terse, "We are staying in Berlin. Period."

The resultant airlift had to feed 3 million people per day a diet of at least 1700 calories a day. How we did it is fascinating. Why we did it is inspiring today when we still have millions of peolple starving in portions of the world, even as we pay farmers to not grow food. Truman said something else that has always stuck with me, "The only thing new is the history you don't know." I wish the leaders of today's world would read this book.

"We Seven" by The Mercury Astronauts

If you were over 5 or 6 years old in 1960 you will remember the first Mercury flights that presaged our landing on the Moon in 1969. Theses were 1 man capsules designed solely to test whether man could break through the atmosphere, orbit the earth, perform various mechanical jobs outside the capsule and return safely. These were all the same elements required to land on the Moon.

The Russians had already beat us with the first man in space by some 6 months. We were bound and determined to catch up and pass them in the “Space Race.” The ultimate goal was a manned landing on the surface of the Moon before the end of the decade.

7 men were deemed qualified to undertake the rigorous training that would be required to perform these initial missions. They would work closely with the engineers and scientists who would develop the capsules and the gear required for them.

I remember the first blast off from Cape Canaveral, later Kennedy Space Center, by Alan B. Shepard in April of 1961. I was in 1st grade and on split sessions. So I got to watch the event on TV before heading off to school in the afternoon. That first flight was 15 minutes up and back down, just enough time to punch through the atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean. There the capsule and Shepard were both retrieved by an aircraft carrier. It was all so dramatic and scary. It was the unknown. And we got to watch it live.

The charm of this book is the telling of the story by the 7 men who lived it. They worked together to perfect the mission they would be tasked to perform. The stories they relate here are both anecdotal and scientific in nature. One moment you are learning about spacecraft attitude adjustments and the next you are reading about weightlessness and its’ effects on the human nervous system.

Everything had to be designed specifically for the mission. This was new ground being broken and there were no real rules.

The book is written in such a way that each astronaut takes his turn writing about a particular subject. This gives the reader a good overview of the subject from 7 different perspectives. The book traces the story of the 7 men from the selection process and on through to each of their individual flights.

It’s hard to write a book about such a complex subject and still have it remain “readable.” And these guys do a great job of it. Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton were 7 men whose extraordinary courage changed history. And now they have given us a superb, inside look at the work behind those achievements.

Mutiny by Boris Gindin with David Hagberg

This is the story of the real life events that inspired Tom Clancy’s “Hunt for Red October”. The only difference is that there is no submarine.

A Jew raised in the Soviet Union of the 1960’s had very little to look forward to in the way of career choices. Boris Gindin was an exception. His grades in school along with his mechanical abilities and the intervention of an interested teacher helped secure him a slot at the Naval Academy. From there Mr. Yeltsin embarks upon his naval career landing the coveted position as Chief Engineering Officer aboard the Russian FFG (Guided Missle Frigate) Storozhevoy.

The ship’s Zampolit (political officer) has some misgivings about the direction that Russia has taken in respects to the Cold War. The US and Soviet Union were heading toward a thermonuclear confrontation. The crew, composed of mainly young, apolitical men taken from the countryside and conscripted into service, wants no part of it. These misgivings soon boil over into the perceived failures of the Russian Revolution and the Zampolit hatches a plot to take the ship and broadcast his opinions to the world, using the ship as a stage.

When the mutiny finally does happen in the harbor at Riga it splits the officers as well as the men- with Mr. Gindin- despite his ill treatment as a Russian Jew- opting to do the duties he was assigned and in a gripping account recalls how the non mutinous officers were herded below and imprisoned along with the Captain.

Meantime the Soviet government is rushing to destroy the ship while Mr. Gindin, knowing every inch of the Storozhevoy, is able to escape the confinement and the ship is retaken.

If this seems an oversimplified version of the events it is by design. The tension that Mr. Gindin creates throughout the book and the insights he provides into life in the Soviet Union at the time are too complex to detail here- this is a book that simply must be read
in order to capture the real intensity and scope of the mutiny.

This book will lead you to see the analogies in the 1905 Mutiny aboard the Russian ship Potemkin. The reasons, aims and desires of that crew were the same as the Storozhevoy. But that is the next book….