Mendelsohn, Daniel Adam

"When eighty-one-year-old Jay Mendelsohn decides to enroll in the undergraduate Odyssey seminar his son teaches at Bard College, the two find themselves on an adventure as ... emotional as it is intellectual. For Jay, a retired research scientist who sees the world through a mathematician's unforgiving eyes, this return to the classroom is his 'one last chance' to learn the great literature he'd neglected in his youth--and, even more, a final opportunity to more fully understand his son, a writer and classicist."--Provided by publisher.

The twenty-four essays in this collection explore links between classical literature and popular culture.

The author shares the story of his quest to learn the fate of six relatives who died in the Holocaust, telling of his discovery of a cache of letters that chronicled his great uncle Shmiel's desperate attempts to get himself, his wife, and four daughters out of Poland prior to World War II, and discussing the effects of the investigation on his relationships with his family and religion.

The author shares the story of his quest to learn the fate of six relatives who died in the Holocaust, telling of his discovery of a cache of letters that chronicled his great uncle Shmiel's desperate attempts to get himself, his wife, and four daughters out of Poland prior to World War II, and discussing the effects of the investigation on his relationships with his family and religion.

In this narrative, Daniel Mendelsohn searches for his family's tragic past in World War II, and in so doing explores the nature of time, memory, family, and history.