Thought this would be of interest to the list. I very much enjoyed reading the English version. Memories of Eden is one woman's moving account of daily life for the Jews of Babylon and an exposé of the disaster that befell the oldest community in the Diaspora - but until now a great many have been unable to enjoy the promise made in the book's subtitle: A Journey Through Jewish Baghdad. The work, first published in London (2008) , was later published by Northwestern University Press later for distribution in the US. It is now available in Hebrew from Gvanim publishing house in Israel. The book is based on 20 years' worth of short essays, notes, and messages sent by Violette Shamash to her daughter, Mira, with the intention of being a family keepsake for her children and grandchildren for whom, she says by way of introduction, "I feel as if I am telling you a dream and it will be very hard for you to join the pieces together." Mira and her journalist husband Tony (ex London Sunday Times) did just that and realised the result was worthy of a wider audience. "We've been asked so many times whether a version in Hebrew might be possible," says Mira. "It should be in Israeli bookstores now and is also available directly via the Israeli website." The translation was a labor of love by Moshe Shemesh (no relation), an Israeli who read the first edition and undertook to organise publication via the Gvanim publishing house. www.memoriesofeden.com<http://www.memoriesofeden.com/> http://www.jewishbaghdad.co.il
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