Skip to content Skip to footer
0 items - $0.00 0
Close
Cover - City of Light

The City of Light

$16.95

Following Kristallnacht, ‘The Night of Broken Glass.’ A young Theo Bikel strolls through Vienna and witnesses acts of Anti-Semitism and Antisemitic violence during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. At night he dreams of a superhero, Judah Maccabee, defending Vienna’s Jews. When he awakes, he knows there will be no Maccabean rescue and he weeps. Years pass, the boy, now an old man, returns to Vienna and sees the Jewish community and the Temple have been restored. He looks for the eternal light in his Temple and can’t find it. Then suddenly it becomes clear to him: ‘The light was there all the time! it was in his own heart. First appearing as a story in Moment Magazine, it was read aloud on NPR’s Hanukkah Lights by hosts Susan Stamberg and Murray Horwitz. It can now be read and appreciated by all readers, ages 10 and up in a new and expanded version with a foreword, Postscript. Recipe, glossary, and sheet-music of Theo’s favorite Hanukkah song (with link to sites where you can hear Theo singing it).

Additional information

Free shipping on all book orders limited to the United States. Customers in Canada should place orders with indigo.ca

SKU: 9781942134619 Category: Tag: Product ID: 250

Description

About the Authors & Illustrator

Theodore Bikel, Hollywood and Broadways actor, was known for his roles in My Fair Lady, The Defiant Ones, and a guest star on many popular television series such as Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Wagon Train, Hawaii Five-O, Columbo, Charlie’s Angels, Little House on the Prairie, Gunsmoke, Dynasty, and All in the Family. He received many awards in his life including an Academy Award Nomination and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, a writer, journalist, public speaker, and community organizer, served as the senior correspondent in India for Israel’s daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, for 17 years. As director of the Theodore Bikel Legacy Project she is active in causes that were close to her and Theo’s heart: social justice, peace and Jewish folk culture.

Noah Phillips, a Brooklyn-based writer and illustrator, his artwork has appeared in magazines, newspapers and a book of children’s stories called The Three Chickens and Five Other Stories.

Reviews

In a Letter from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Aimee Bikel dated Nov. 15, 2019, she wrote: “Dear Aimee: City of Light just arrived. I set aside Court work and read it immediately. It is a story beautifully told, one important for today’s children to know, a warning against letting darkness take hold.”

Similarly, longtime friend of Theo and Aimee, Peter Yarrow of the famous Folk Singing Group, Peter, Paul, and Mary after reading this book wrote: “Aimee Ginsburg Bikel’s shaping and sharing of her beloved late husband, Theo Bikel’s tale of what he experienced as a little boy during the rise, and then explosion, of hatred that preceded the Holocaust, is a beautiful, painfully powerful and great gift. It is particularly meaningful in this time of mushrooming anti-Semitism, hatred and bigotry of every sort, worldwide. It is a riveting tale, made even more meaningful by the shocking rise of anti-Semitism, in all forms of bigotry, right here and right now.”

And reviewer Aaron Leibel wrote in The Jerusalem Post: “If in the past I have ever called a book beautiful, I realize after reading The City of Lights that I may have been too profligate with my praise. This work for children may be the realization of that often-overused word; it is a very moving story, an excellent way to introduce youngsters to the Holocaust.

Awards

Foreword Reviews Indie Book Award for Juvenile Nonfiction

 

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “The City of Light”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay in Touch with Our Updates

Mandel Vilar Press © 2026. All Rights Reserved.