What do you think?
Rate this book
The Letter
The Letter™ by Jerry Yellin confronts that quality in a novel in which two men are destined for conflict from their first meeting at age 13, continuing as one accepts his personal vision of a peaceful and inclusive God to become a rabbi while the other pursues a life of political and personal conquest that seems at first to be impossible to reconcile with his Protestant Christian faith. Religion is a comfort, if not a beacon, for Yellin's rabbi, Mark Davidson; it is a tool rather than a philosophy for Adam Flowers, a shallow politician and American Talibaptist.
"As a WWII fighter pilot Jerry Yellin knows a few things about threats to humanity, and this nation. In The Letter he uses his considerable insight to strike a major blow against religious bigotry, hatred, and intolerance. If you are not concerned about the invasion of American politics by religious extremists, you will be when you finish this intriguing novel. I love the book!"
-- Troy Evans
Author Jerry Yellin was a WW 2 fighter pilot from Hillside, NJ. He flew P-51's over Japan from Iwo Jima. Married to Helene for 60 years, they have four sons and six grandchildren, three in America and three born and raised in Japan. Jerry is the author of the award winning historical fiction book The Blackened Canteen and his memoir Of War and Weddings.
For More Info perform a Video Search
"World War Jerry Yellin"
These videos will bring Jerry's true story to life.
"The hint of violence is always on the back burner, and kept me turning the page. My favorite line in the "This is where grown men come to cry." A deep compelling story that will keep you awake at night, wondering about the future of this planet, the human family and where we came from. I highly recommend this book. Five stars!!!"
-- Kathleen Rogers, MWSA Reviewer
"In his novel The Letter, Jerry Yellin tells the story of an American family divided by religion and politics, love and hate, old and new. By exposing the ramifications of one-way thinking he makes the case for religious tolerance in a personal and convincing way. A consummate storyteller, Jerry keeps us turning the pages through myriad plot twists and masterful plotting. A must read for everyone."
-- Linda Egenes, author of Visits with the Impressions of the Plain Life
"Most human beings have the bad habit of defining themselves by nationality, religion, or both-divisions which can lead to violent disagreements and, ultimately, death. In The Letter a powerful U.S. Senator who considers himself a Christian fundamentalist learns, after reading The Letter, that his bloodline is quite different-that he may, in fact, be just what he hates. Highly recommended for those who believe in the ultimate brotherhood of man, and for those who seek to exorcise their own demons."
-- Neal Author of Now and Then, the Movies Get it Right
"The playing field that is Mark Davidson's life is be-sodded when he receives a letter from an attorney that reveals that his boyhood adversary who has grown up to become a hawkish politician is indeed his half-brother. His enemy has become his family. Does he have a duty to his brother? Does he have a duty to those who are the victims of his brother's brutal hatreds? The Letter is the novel you would expect when both religion and brotherhood engage in full combat for peace and for primacy, and yet, both must find a way to survive."
A rare find with real-life messages.
-- Jack Woodville London, Author of French Letters
"As a WWII fighter pilot Jerry Yellin knows a few things about threats to humanity, and this nation. In The Letter he uses his considerable insight to strike a major blow against religious bigotry, hatred, and intolerance. If you are not concerned about the invasion of American politics by religious extremists, you will be when you finish this intriguing novel. I love the book!"
-- Troy Evans
Author Jerry Yellin was a WW 2 fighter pilot from Hillside, NJ. He flew P-51's over Japan from Iwo Jima. Married to Helene for 60 years, they have four sons and six grandchildren, three in America and three born and raised in Japan. Jerry is the author of the award winning historical fiction book The Blackened Canteen and his memoir Of War and Weddings.
For More Info perform a Video Search
"World War Jerry Yellin"
These videos will bring Jerry's true story to life.
"The hint of violence is always on the back burner, and kept me turning the page. My favorite line in the "This is where grown men come to cry." A deep compelling story that will keep you awake at night, wondering about the future of this planet, the human family and where we came from. I highly recommend this book. Five stars!!!"
-- Kathleen Rogers, MWSA Reviewer
"In his novel The Letter, Jerry Yellin tells the story of an American family divided by religion and politics, love and hate, old and new. By exposing the ramifications of one-way thinking he makes the case for religious tolerance in a personal and convincing way. A consummate storyteller, Jerry keeps us turning the pages through myriad plot twists and masterful plotting. A must read for everyone."
-- Linda Egenes, author of Visits with the Impressions of the Plain Life
"Most human beings have the bad habit of defining themselves by nationality, religion, or both-divisions which can lead to violent disagreements and, ultimately, death. In The Letter a powerful U.S. Senator who considers himself a Christian fundamentalist learns, after reading The Letter, that his bloodline is quite different-that he may, in fact, be just what he hates. Highly recommended for those who believe in the ultimate brotherhood of man, and for those who seek to exorcise their own demons."
-- Neal Author of Now and Then, the Movies Get it Right
"The playing field that is Mark Davidson's life is be-sodded when he receives a letter from an attorney that reveals that his boyhood adversary who has grown up to become a hawkish politician is indeed his half-brother. His enemy has become his family. Does he have a duty to his brother? Does he have a duty to those who are the victims of his brother's brutal hatreds? The Letter is the novel you would expect when both religion and brotherhood engage in full combat for peace and for primacy, and yet, both must find a way to survive."
A rare find with real-life messages.
-- Jack Woodville London, Author of French Letters
252 pages, Hardcover
First published July 6, 2010
1 person is currently reading
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 14, 2017
Speaking as a Christian, this was a disturbing novel to read on a number of levels. The Christ I believe in is benevolent and inclusive. There are no power plays, no superiority, no desire to control my nation.
I kept reminding myself that this was a novel—a place where writers have free rein to create any world we desire in order to share a story to provoke discussion and encourage readers to think.
The Letter will do that for you.
My copy of the paperback, as happens with books that stir my mind, is dog-eared and notated throughout.
The premise is a letter delivered upon the death of a woman where she tells an elderly man that he has a son—a son raised with a Christian fervor that excludes every other religion as inferior and requiring elimination.
The catch? The elderly man is Jewish.
Page 6: “If we cannot support any person of goodwill regardless of his personal beliefs, religious or otherwise, we will not find men of passion or good will to fill the elected offices in our country.”
Page 72: “Don’t you think that the teaching and preaching of the [Catholic] Church led to the Holocaust?” This was the moment that I started to wonder if all Jewish people think that Christian people in any way supported what Hitler did.
When I was an adolescent and first learned about the Holocaust, I asked my Catholic mom why anyone would do that to Jewish people. She said that some people blamed the Jews for Christ’s death. I looked at her, pondered a moment and said, ‘That was thousands of years ago.” She said, “Yes, it was,” and that she didn’t understand it either. Jump forward to my forties when I had a German friend and I asked him about Hitler. He said that he was angry that Hitler had made it hard for him to be proud to be a German. He is also one of the least prejudiced people I have ever known—open to knowing anyone, no matter where they grew up, what their religion might be, or the color of their skin. We are taught the lessons of our parents and our peers. I always hope they are good lessons.
Page 87: The priest, Peter Carmody, says, “…no human being has the right to sit in absolute judgment of another. The role of religion in our life and our relationship to God, and to each other, must be forgiveness.”
On page 98, Carmody states something people seem to forget, “He [Jesus] never stopped preaching as a Jew.”
Page 140: offended me when a Rabbi said, “The word should be ‘crucifiction,’ for the story has never been true but it sold well.” Christ’s crucifixion is the basis for my religion and beliefs.
With the president we have in office and my recent disappointment in a local congressman who professed to being a strong Christian and then resigned when it came out that he’d been having an affair, this paragraph was potent:
Page 208: The Christian wife of the narrow-minded politician is speaking to him: “As for me, well, I just hope that this [news of his split religion] will open your heart and mind to the qualities that Jesus was born with, came to us with and died with and stop following the quest for fundamental Christian domination of the world. Our country needs to reconnect, stop the internecine struggle for domination and control.”
I didn’t know Christians were trying to take over the world, but it’s an interesting perspective.
On page 216, the wife brilliantly winds things up when talking to her husband and his Jewish half brother, “Life is not a tennis match, gentlemen. One does not live for rewards or winning records. One lives to fulfill God’s gift to humanity, to do what is right for everyone, not just for your own religion or political part. If the two of you can’t understand and accept that then what hope can we have for the future?”
Near the end, on page 222, the father of the two above is discussing the cataclysmic things that men have done, such as the dropping of the atomic bomb. He says, “Their [the Japanese] belief system was shattered into reality. They learned that all Humans are the same. Today the belief system of countries, individuals, political parties and the worship of deities that separate us will lead to the delivery of the next pebble that will destroy humanity.”
A truly provoking novel, The Letter will leave an impression on you—whether you want it to or not.
I kept reminding myself that this was a novel—a place where writers have free rein to create any world we desire in order to share a story to provoke discussion and encourage readers to think.
The Letter will do that for you.
My copy of the paperback, as happens with books that stir my mind, is dog-eared and notated throughout.
The premise is a letter delivered upon the death of a woman where she tells an elderly man that he has a son—a son raised with a Christian fervor that excludes every other religion as inferior and requiring elimination.
The catch? The elderly man is Jewish.
Page 6: “If we cannot support any person of goodwill regardless of his personal beliefs, religious or otherwise, we will not find men of passion or good will to fill the elected offices in our country.”
Page 72: “Don’t you think that the teaching and preaching of the [Catholic] Church led to the Holocaust?” This was the moment that I started to wonder if all Jewish people think that Christian people in any way supported what Hitler did.
When I was an adolescent and first learned about the Holocaust, I asked my Catholic mom why anyone would do that to Jewish people. She said that some people blamed the Jews for Christ’s death. I looked at her, pondered a moment and said, ‘That was thousands of years ago.” She said, “Yes, it was,” and that she didn’t understand it either. Jump forward to my forties when I had a German friend and I asked him about Hitler. He said that he was angry that Hitler had made it hard for him to be proud to be a German. He is also one of the least prejudiced people I have ever known—open to knowing anyone, no matter where they grew up, what their religion might be, or the color of their skin. We are taught the lessons of our parents and our peers. I always hope they are good lessons.
Page 87: The priest, Peter Carmody, says, “…no human being has the right to sit in absolute judgment of another. The role of religion in our life and our relationship to God, and to each other, must be forgiveness.”
On page 98, Carmody states something people seem to forget, “He [Jesus] never stopped preaching as a Jew.”
Page 140: offended me when a Rabbi said, “The word should be ‘crucifiction,’ for the story has never been true but it sold well.” Christ’s crucifixion is the basis for my religion and beliefs.
With the president we have in office and my recent disappointment in a local congressman who professed to being a strong Christian and then resigned when it came out that he’d been having an affair, this paragraph was potent:
Page 208: The Christian wife of the narrow-minded politician is speaking to him: “As for me, well, I just hope that this [news of his split religion] will open your heart and mind to the qualities that Jesus was born with, came to us with and died with and stop following the quest for fundamental Christian domination of the world. Our country needs to reconnect, stop the internecine struggle for domination and control.”
I didn’t know Christians were trying to take over the world, but it’s an interesting perspective.
On page 216, the wife brilliantly winds things up when talking to her husband and his Jewish half brother, “Life is not a tennis match, gentlemen. One does not live for rewards or winning records. One lives to fulfill God’s gift to humanity, to do what is right for everyone, not just for your own religion or political part. If the two of you can’t understand and accept that then what hope can we have for the future?”
Near the end, on page 222, the father of the two above is discussing the cataclysmic things that men have done, such as the dropping of the atomic bomb. He says, “Their [the Japanese] belief system was shattered into reality. They learned that all Humans are the same. Today the belief system of countries, individuals, political parties and the worship of deities that separate us will lead to the delivery of the next pebble that will destroy humanity.”
A truly provoking novel, The Letter will leave an impression on you—whether you want it to or not.
Displaying 1 of 1 review