Over the past sev­er­al years, the Jew­ish Book Coun­cil has received an influx of titles con­cern­ing the plight of Jews out­side the bound­aries of Europe. No longer are our shelves dom­i­nat­ed by the Euro­pean Jew­ish expe­ri­ence, as we see an increas­ing num­ber of books that con­vey sto­ries of the Jew­ish expe­ri­ence in Iran, Iraq, India, and Egypt, among oth­er places. As the Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ties of these regions shrink, it’s impor­tant that we encour­age the pub­li­ca­tion of these gems of his­to­ry that cap­ture the vibran­cy and unique qual­i­ties these cul­tures hold. With Win­ter at our door, what bet­ter time to stay inside and expand your under­stand­ing of the Jew­ish experience.

A few sug­ges­tions to you get you going…

My Father’s Par­adise: A Son’s Search for his Jew­ish Past in Kur­dish Iraq, Ariel Sabar

The Man in the White Shark­skin Suit: My Family’s Exo­dus from Old Cairo to the New World, Lucette Lagnado

The Sep­tem­bers of Shi­raz, Dalia Sofer

The Last Jews of Ker­ala: The Two Thou­sand Year His­to­ry of India’s For­got­ten Jew­ish Com­mu­ni­ty, Edna Fernandes

Dropped From Heav­en, Sophie Judah

The Girl from For­eign: A Search for Ship­wrecked Ances­tors, For­got­ten His­to­ries, and a Sense of Home, Sadia Shepard

Farewell, Baby­lon: Com­ing of Age in Jew­ish Bagh­dad, Naim Kattan

Have anoth­er rec­om­men­da­tion? Please com­ment and let us know!