This Is My God

In addition to being a novelist (he was awarded the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for his novel THE CAINE MUTINY), Herman Wouk was an observant Jew who attended synagogue and kept a kosher home where Hebrew was spoken. In THIS IS MY GOD, at the suggestion of a rabbi friend, Wouk, the son of Russian immigrants, wrote about his Jewish heritage and its importance in his life. Here Wouk tells what it means for him to be a Jew, and also writes about his family background, particularly his father and his grandfather. He explains Jewish practice and ritual from his own perspective, including the history and the holidays, and provides his assessment of Jewish life in America. First published in 1959 after a long gestation process, the book became a bestseller.