Phoning Home

by Jacob M. Appel

Phoning Home is a collection of entertaining and thought-provoking essays featuring the author's quirky family, his Jewish heritage, and his New York City upbringing. Jacob M. Appel's recollections and insights, informed and filtered by his advanced degrees in medicine, law, and ethics, not only inspire nostalgic feelings but also offer insight into contemporary medical and ethical issues.

At times sardonic and at others self-deprecating, Appel lays bare the most private aspects of his emotional life. "We'd just visited my grandaunt in Miami Beach, the last time we would ever see her. I had my two travel companions, Fat and Thin, securely buckled into the backseat of my mother's foul-tempered Dodge Dart," writes Appel of his family vacation with his two favorite rubber cat toys. Shortly thereafter Fat and Thin were lost forever―beginning, when Appel was just six years old, what he calls his "private apocalypse."

Both erudite and full-hearted, Appel recounts storylines ranging from a bout of unrequited love gone awry to the poignant romance of his grandparents. We learn of the crank phone calls he made to his own family, the conspicuous absence of Jell-O at his grandaunt's house, and family secrets long believed buried. The stories capture the author's distinctive voice―a blend of a physician's compassion and an ethicist's constant questioning.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Memoir, Short Stories

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

**Please note: A limited number of complimentary electronic copies of several of my books are available for review. Please email me directly if you are interested**

Jacob M. Appel's first novel, The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up, won the Dundee International Book Award in 2012. His short story collection, Scouting for the Reaper, won the 2012 Hudson Prize. He has published short fiction in more than two hundred literary journals including Agni, Conjunctions, Gettysburg Review, Southwest Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and West Branch. His work has been short listed for the O. Henry Award (2001), Best American Short Stories (2007, 2008), Best American Essays (2011, 2012), and received "special mention" for the Pushcart Prize in 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2013.

Jacob holds a B.A. and an M.A. from Brown University, an M.A. and an M.Phil. from Columbia University, an M.S. in bioethics from the Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical College, an M.D. from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, an M.F.A. in creative writing from New York University, an M.F.A. in playwriting from Queens College, an M.P.H. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He currently practices psychiatry in New York City.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing."
~ Euripides

This is a superb collection of essays by Jacob Appel, physician, attorney, bioethicist, Huff-Po commentator and, some might say, over-achiever.

Appel writes beautifully on everything from childhood obsessions to unrequited love to medical ethics. The first several essays are about the author's family, particularly his grandparents. There are complete stories of life and death, yearning, love and loss contained in a few pages. These are lovely, but my favorite works were the final few essays on bioethics, mortality, patients' rights and the poignant problems relating to end-of-life care.

One of the essays, Our Incredible Shrinking Discourse, deals with the lack of civility and impatience with the opinions of others that the internet has unfortunately helped bring about. Appel poses the interesting point that whenever unpopular and controversial opinions are removed from public debate, we lose the intellectual and moral vigor that would have come with refuting them. It may be difficult to engage with ideas that we do not like, but by employing censorship, we silence not only our enemies, but ourselves as well.

See how much smarter I've become since reading this book!?!

I can't remember ever reading essays that posed so many questions and delivered so few answers. The answers are all left up to me, to mull over, ponder and discuss with family and friends. The author trusts his readers to think and participate and ask questions of our own.

And I find that downright exhilarating!

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

5++++++ STARS!!! The most fascinating -thought-provoking-emotionally heartwarming exciting --critical thinking -(relevant themes - life and death issues), small book of essasy's I've ever read!!!!! ....in less than 200 pages!

Jacob M. Appel is an extraordinary author! He is also a Physician! He's an attorney! He's a Bioethicist! He has taught literature classes at Brown University. He has taught ethic classes.
He writes about the nexus of law and medicine, contributing to many publications including the New York Times, S.F. Chronicle, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and Detroit Free Press.
He has been nominated for the O. Henry Award, Best American Short Stories, Best American Non-required Reading, Best American Essays, and Pushcart Prize anthology on many occasions.

Jacob M. Appel is 38 years old.... The guy is frickin "Superman"!!!!!

"Phoning Home" is an exceptional-entertaining-page turning-special book.... that will have you cheering -debating -moved to tears. What makes this book so exciting --is that while the reader is reflecting and questioning -and debating on issues (and YOU WILL) -- you'll be excited at the 'freshness' of this authors vulnerable 'full-self-expression'...the type of self-expression that is difference making in the world!

EACH of these stories is TERRIFIC!!!! You begin to savor them...(I didn't want this book to end)

If you 'think' you know what this little GEM is about ...(YOU DON'T)...
I wanted to read this book because I am Jewish--(it sounded charming-which it is)... but I got ten times more than what I was expecting!!!!

This is 'not' just another 'fun-quirky' book (like the blurb indicates) -- Which might be great too ---
This little book will knock-your-socks off with questions to ponder -ethical questions...
Moral questions...(My husband and I talked about one of the stories already for an hour)....

The contributions Jacob M. Appel has made with just 'this' little book is ridiculously phenomenal!!!! Heart --love -Roots -and real Thinking about life and death! ....'wow'!!!

I'm a fan of this Superman!!!!

I can't recommend this book Highly enough!!!! You'll be in 'aw'!


NOTE: The Hard Copy is 'BEAUTIFUL'. Lovely to touch!!!!

[Lisa (NY) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of smart, funny and thought-provoking essays - especially those on bioethics. Appel is a writer that I will read more of - apparently, he has several collections of essays and short stories.

[Jennifer Ochoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous collection of essays that balances humor and difficult topics beautifully. The essays are filled with insight and stick with you long after you've read them. I actually struggled to *not* read the book so quickly, so that I would have time to savor the thoughts of each essay, but I enjoyed it so much that I couldn't put the book down.

The organization of the essays loosely follows the author's life, starting with a simpler time, when crank calls and lost toys were the basis for his biggest anxieties. While on the surface these things may seem trivial, the author intuits some deeper truths about himself from these events. Moving on to discussions about grandparents, their pasts and deaths, and how we are formed by those who bring us into the world, the author then starts to turn his gaze to himself and his adult anxieties (personal health concerns, unrequited love). The last few essays of the book get into some heavy topics, mainly centered around death and how we choose (or should have the choice) to die. His compassion comes through with each subject, particularly the elderly in his care who are struggling at the end of their lives. Lots of things to think about, especially when you have just passed your "half life" as I have.

On a personal note, Appel's explanation of the ApoE gene variants was the most straight-forward I've come across and had me checking the results of my own genetic tests I had done awhile back. So I now know exactly what my ApoE results are (rather than just the percentages the dumbed-down summary gave).

[Jason Pettus · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

Jacob M. Appel's Phoning Home is the type of essay collection I really love, which made it a welcome sight when arriving in my mailbox earlier this year. A doctor, lawyer, and ethics professor based out of New York, as well as a veteran fiction writer (both of novels and short stories) and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, he puts all of these experiences to good use in this newest book, penning personal yet analytical non-fiction pieces on such varied subjects as his Jewish upbringing, the morality of playing pranks, and a lot more, combining the flair and style of a creative writer with the fastidiousness and attention to detail that you would expect from such an academe. Always entertaining while often also being quite thought-provoking, this is a book for those who like their literature smart, compelling, yet not too terribly dense, and it comes enthusiastically recommended today for a general audience, and especially those interested in Jewish-American history and the practical complications of theoretical ethical decisions.

Out of 10: 9.3

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!! This is the second book I have read by Jacob Appel and I will be reading ALL of his books because his writing is addictive.

[Maple · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nomadic SA Chick's Book Reviews

Summary
Filled with personal essays, Appel shares stories of his off-beat family, his heritage, and educational experiences.

Review
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

I really loved the idea of this book, especially being someone that has moved nearly 5,000 miles away from family, I felt a little connection to the premise.

In theory I enjoyed the book, but in reality I was bored. It was like sitting next to a stranger on a tram, and having them tell you their complete life story of people you don't know. At some point, I think around the chapter "An Absence of Jello", my eyes started to glaze over. However, I pushed through with a hope that things would get better. Oh, how I hoped things would get better. I'm still hoping and waiting (I've finished the book, BTW).

Though the book is incredibly dull, I have to give Appel credit for his beautiful prose. His writing is flawless and smooth, something I wish all authors had. Though I feel like I've found a dud in Phoning Home, I want to check out other pieces of his work, because of his quality of writing.

Thank you for the free copy. I plan to donate my copy to my local library in hopes that others will take a chance to read this and enjoy it more than I did.
​
Ratings (based on a 10 point scale)
Quality of Writing - 8
Pace - 5
Plot Development - 3
Characters - 2
Enjoyability - 2
Insightfulness - 3
Ease of Reading - 4
Photos/Illustrations - N/A
Overall Rating - 2 out of 5 stars

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a book of personal essays by an author you've never read before is a bit like going on a first (maybe blind) date. The book (date) is presenting the best version of himself, which may (actually, should) include some witty self-deprecation and admittance of embarrassing but not horrifying admissions. He's telling his best stories, which are all brand new to you, you're both open-minded and optimistic, and in general giving it your best.

Phoning Home, for me, was probably the best - if not, at least the most engaging - first date I've ever been on. Mr. Appel is not everyone's flavor: some of my best friends, on a "date" with this book, would not be interested personally, but they'd immediately think I'm the right girl. Mr. Appel is incredibly talented, bright, well-educated (maybe over-educated), and strongly principled but never comes across as condescending, patronizing, or close-minded. He has his own strong convictions and knows that some are controversial, but rather than disrespect those who disagree, he has the confidence that he's comfortable with his point of view (likely because he's done the research, soul-searching, etc. to come to it - it isn't a half-formed pose taken on for the purpose of being seen as some wunderkind revolutionary).

He's also, or at least the book represents "Jacob Appel", a guy who has a similar idiosyncratic habit of quoting, alluding to, and referencing a whole lot in normal conversation. I've been known to refer to a Grateful Dead lyric, a minor Greek God (as a reference-within-an-allusion to Ulysses), and a Simpsons episode in, if not 1 sentence, then 2. He's the male super-sized version of me in that aspect, and another reason he's not going to be everyone's flavor. The truth is, I'm also well-read and well-educated (although compared to Mr. Appel there's no contest) and I understood his references and allusions (which take place in the earlier essays, so if this isn't your jam, you'll know immediately). If his aside in the "Mr. Fat and Mr. Thin" essay regarding his English teacher referencing "King Lear" - as if he'd ever get that reference at his age - is a moment of meta-narrativity, it's pure ecstasy and a moment which identifies Mr. Appel as a huge talent to watch. It's that perfect. (It comes after 1 and 1/2 essays FULL of references and allusions that only the incredibly well-read and well-educated would get.)

And then there's the tri-state area upper middle class Jewish guy who can be kind of odd, slightly nerdy in his interests, and confused, hopeful, and convinced (incorrectly, as we all are) that his family, although maybe a little different, isn't all that eccentric. That what he's growing up in is what is normal. I'm a contemporary, and from the same geographical and religious type of background, and although female, can relate and/or find him endearing. He has NO IDEA why he prank-called his parents: neither how or why it started or continued. That fantastic. When he thinks a stalker who's been threatening him via the internet because of his position on a topic has left a bomb in front of his apartment door, rather than call 911, he brings the bomb into his apartment and throws it against the wall. Seriously. In "Mr. Fat and Mr. Thin" the fact that his being sent to the school counselor to discuss his stating he had nothing of meaning in his life devolved into a iterative conversation regarding whether or not his aunt was his aunt or - in fact - his great-aunt, is not only hysterically funny, depressing-as-hell in terms of what passes for emotional support provided by school systems, and also a conversation I've literally had.

And finally, to make it a complete grand slam, there are the moments, in several essays, when his overwhelming humanity and empathy and care for others make you catch your breath. His essays about his patients do so, but the most affecting moment comes in an essay about his grandfather, who'd escaped Eastern Europe and who - as a retiree - spent several months in Spain each year. His watch breaks, and he insists on getting it fixed rather than buying a $10 Timex. It turns out there's only ONE person in all of Spain that can fix it. His grandparents travel a few hours and the watchmaker turns out to be one of his grandfather's childhood friends. Small world, beautiful moment. What makes you utterly ache, however, is Mr. Appel's realization that, for years, he'd been asking his grandfather what his friends' names when he was a young watchmaker in Europe and his grandfather would always say he didn't remember. When told this story of the surprise reunion in Spain, Mr. Appel - and the reader - finally realize that the grandfather didn't forget, he just knew that not one of them made it out of Europe alive. The shock of seeing his old friend in Spain a half century later made it clear that they were likely the only two that escaped. The loss of those men's lives - not of their names - is why his grandfather never spoke about his early years. The realization, for Mr. Appel and the reader alike, is humbling and devastating and touching and overwhelming with respect and empathy for his grandfather.

I haven't touched on all of the essays - they explore his medical beliefs, his romantic life, and can be a little uneven but overall great, but to summarize with the simile I've used throughout, I'd absolutely be hoping for a second date. And because it's a book, I don't have to do the old-fashioned coquettish thing and wait for him to call me (because I'm the girl and don't want to give the wrong impression), I get to read his other works and look forward to when new books are published.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

`When one includes the possibility of posthumous influence, no human being ever reaches his or her half-life.'

Once reading one of the Appel novels/books an addiction occurs. That Jacob M Appel is such an extraordinarily fine writer, certainly among the top rung of serious authors in America at present, seems foremost in a resume of his achievements - this coming of course from an admitted devotee of his books such as THE BIOLOGY OF LUCK and SCOUTING FOR THE REAPER - until the extent of his life's work to date is surveyed. Thus the following from a previous review written in response to the mentioned novels:

Jacob M Appel is an American author, bioethicist (Bioethics, the study of typically controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine, is also moral discernment as it relates to medical policy, practice, and research. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy), physician, lawyer and social critic. He couples his fame for his short stories and his plays with his writing in the fields of reproductive ethics, organ donation, neuroethics and euthanasia. Appel is an advocate for the decriminalization of assisted suicide, raising the possibility that this might be made available to both the terminally ill and those with intractable, long-term mental illness. He has written in favor of abortion rights and fertility treatment for homosexuals, as well as against electronic medical records, which he sees as poorly secured against hacking. He has also argued in favor of the legalization of prostitution, polygamy and incest between consenting adults and bestiality when the animal is not forced or harmed. He has raised concerns regarding the possibility that employers will require their employees to use pharmaceuticals for cognitive enhancement and has urged that death row inmates be eligible to receive kidney transplants. He generated considerable controversy for endorsing the mandatory use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis as part of the in vitro fertilization process to prevent the implantation of embryos carrying severe genetic defects. Appel has also written in support of an "open border" immigration policy. Among the causes that Appel has embraced is opposition to the forcible feeding of hunger strikers, both in domestic prisons and at Guantanamo Bay. He has taught medical ethics at New York University, Columbia University, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Brown University's Alpert Medical School.

In PHONING HOME Appel offers yet another aspect to his plethora of information to share - stories (labeled essays) that among other things relate his experiences growing up in a New York Jewish family, The thirteen stories are wry, at times hilarious, insightful, respectful, embarrassed, philosophical and examples of English as a creative language. From pranks of being an anonymous caller to his own parents, to the mysteries of promises of lime Jell-o from an Alzheimer aunt, experiences as a physician with strange patients, the pros and cons of sudden death, tales from the past about the genealogy of the author, favored toys - so many moments of memories and how time and becoming an adult alters them.

But it is not only the fascination with the individual stories that entertain and marvel: Appel's gifts as a wordsmith deserve a few quotes. `When under stress, my mother has a voice that could tarnish copper.' `That is the horror of the past: that it is so expansive, and remote, and each day it expands exponentially, tearing through the emotional threads that bind it to the present.' `So Mozart lives not three and a half decades, but three and half centuries. Keats may have died at twenty-six, but a Keats poem remains a joy forever. And that is the miracle that separates us from the mourning glories and the mayflies and the uranium; an utterly irrational with that our contribution will leave the world a better place, even after we no longer remain to reap the benefits.' Jacob M Appel is now secure in the highest echelon of American writers.

[Tamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent collection of essays - smart, witty, thought provoking and relevant. I would read one, thoroughly enjoy it, and then read the next one and enjoy it even more. The essays dealing with bioethics and medicine were especially heart breaking and provocative, and Appel is not afraid to ask those questions that are scary and somewhat taboo in everyday society - is it better for an elderly person to spend the last days of their life locked up in a nursing home for fear of breaking a hip or to let them live independently and die of something that could have been avoided? Should we tell people if they have a terminal illness? What are the criteria used to determine whether or not to force medical treatment upon someone? Appel discusses it all.

Note: I received this book through Goodreads' First Reads Program.

[Katie Harder-schauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly the type of book my college writing professor would have had us read for class. It's a collection of interesting, well constructed essays drawing on the life experiences of the author and his close relatives. I found many of the essays quite humorous and at least mildly educational, but furthermore, they've made me interested in seeking out more work by Mr. Appel. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes non-fiction for sure, and college writing professors may want to give it a look as well.


Copy received through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.

[Barbara White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phoning Home runs the gamut of situations that can occur in anyone's family. To know that others have the same things happening in their family is heartwarming and sometimes funny. I felt as though I were having a personal conversation with Jacob Appel. Thank-you to Goodreads First Reads for a copy of this book. I enjoy all of Jacob Appel's books, and look forward to reading each new one that he writes.

[The East Bay Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

When read together, each of the thirteen pieces in Jacob Appel’s Phoning Home build upon the next, resulting in a multifaceted glimpse into the mind of Appel as he explores the ways in which identity can be consumed by illness and eroded by modern society’s response to approaching death. He is uniquely qualified to tackle these questions as he is both a physician and a bioethicist. Each essay is crafted to invite the reader into the author’s mind. The title essay introduces us to seven year old Jacob. His parents are being tormented by a crank caller who is never caught. Appel employs this experience to reflect on deceit, secrets and how little we know about ourselves or others. He manages to slip in and out of his past, admitting about his childhood self, “I still have no idea what made this creature tick,” peeling back the layers of time—as a grown man—sitting across from his aging parents wondering if he should confess the truth. He decides against it as he looks at them, “What they have gained in happiness, they have lost in joy.” He riffs on how confession reveals what strangers we are even to those close to us and that misbehavior is not always a predictor of pathology.

We follow him as he explores assumptions and beliefs about his own identity, those of his family members, and by extension each of us. He is a storyteller, a man full of important questions. In “The Man Who Was Not My Grandfather,” he reveals his grandmother Lillian’s refusal to marry a distant cousin, thereby denying her family their only opportunity to leave Latvia and come to America, a chance to escape the Nazis. This story is untold until an aunt tries to track down Lillian’s genealogy, finding an old photo of this handsome unnamed cousin with all his sisters. There is also a group portrait of three rows of the extended family taken at a wedding, rows of young children, many of them toddlers, unknown cousins, staring at the camera. They were among 16,000 Jews who lived in that region of Latvia before World War II. Less than one hundred survived. All the rest murdered, likely shot or starved, many before the end of 1942.

When asked about the man in the photo, Lillian admits he was the man her father wanted her to marry. “Why should I marry a man I’d never met?” This is a story Lillian doesn’t want to remember. She reminds Appel that if she had made the choice to marry that cousin, there would be no Jacob Appel to ask these questions. Instead, an entire branch of the family tree was destroyed. Who could predict such evil? Who can acknowledge its meaning, even now? A young girl’s decision, reflected back in time, can never answer these questions.

Another essay, “Caesura—Antwerp, 1938,” is a story about Grandpa Leo and a broken watch. Leo had emigrated with his parents from Belgium before the Nazi invasion. He met Lillian in the U.S. and they married. Decades later while in Spain on vacation, his prized watch stops working. The watch is old, and after asking around he is given the name of one man who possesses the skill to repair it. When Leo enters the shop he recognizes the man as a childhood friend from Antwerp. Their meeting is brief and they part without any promises to keep in touch. This man is one of the only survivors from their neighborhood. “Each had assumed the other was dead.”

Leo had told many stories about his life in New York but rarely discussed his early years in Antwerp or his boyhood friends. Appel finally realizes, “For my grandfather, time had stopped like a broken watch in 1938 Antwerp—and when it restarted in Manhattan, after a seven-day voyage across the Atlantic, it did so in a different continuum, its hours and minutes both identical to and, entirely unlike, the hours and minutes preceding his escape.” Appel reads a letter written to his grandfather at the end of 1945, “Alas, the news from the East is not good. We have heard nothing from the following relatives, and we can only assume the worst.” The rest of the letter contains a handwritten list over two pages long of names of another branch of the family murdered in the Holocaust. Name after name, all memory of them erased. These two essays linger, acting as a refrain throughout the collection.

In “An Absence of Jell-O,” Appel draws us in by humorously describing a child’s anticipation of tasting his grandaunt’s Lime Jell-O, “a weapon of torture,” a forbidden treat secretly promised to him if he behaves himself while visiting his elderly great aunt. He uses humor to convey his overwhelming, childish disappointment as visit after visit, no matter how hard he tries to be good, he fails to secure any Jell-O. Looking back as an adult he realizes there never was any Jell-O. He sees her bizarre behavior and peculiar eccentricities as a form of dementia, often undiagnosed in those days. He concludes she may have suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Appel’s disarming use of humor nudges us past our fears and into examining the pros and cons of undergoing DNA testing to determine the presence of genes linked to Alzheimer’s disease. He presents facts in a conversational tone, and poses moral dilemmas in a personal framework. Appel makes the decision to get tested.

Appel’s voice is engaging and compassionate. We meet real people in his essays, people losing the battle with age and disease and losing the right to decide their fate, patients in hospitals and mental wards. We meet doctors who cannot heal them. In “Dropping Dead—A Eulogy,” he makes a solid argument for dying with dignity instead of enduring the suffering a prolonged death imposes on us by advances in medicine. Many diseases which proved fatal not so long ago can now be managed and the mortality risk reduced. For Americans, sudden or swift death is now the exception rather than the rule.

Appel reminds us that the added years of life are not always a positive experience. Sometimes, surviving one illness leaves us vulnerable to developing other chronic diseases that rob us of our independence and prevent us from enjoying those extra years. It is an important discussion as technology and scientific discoveries rush far ahead in the ability to extend the length of our lives but often at the cost of significantly reducing its quality. Whether discussing lost toys, lost loves, lost minds or lost lives he reminds us that our individual voice needs to be heard. It is rare when a collection of essays written and separately published over a span of almost a decade reads like cohesive chapters of a tightly constructed book. Phoning Home gives us that experience.

[Nikoleta · Rating 4 out of 5]

On Phoning Home

This one, I received for a review. And a review it shall get. To go a bit off-tangent, I usually judge books by their covers. It’s bad but it happens. This little one (it’s a cute little book) has a cute pastel cover that I liked since I opened it, thus moving up my TBR list. I know it’s shallow, I know it’s bad but that is how it works in my world.

If you are unaware, this is a collection of non-fiction essays from Jacob M. Appel’s life. I have always wanted to read something of the sort but never really had the heart to spend the money on a non-fiction work. I haven’t gone through too much non-fiction, so you can imagine why I’m so stingy on the subject. And judging from this book alone, I have been wrong. I found most of the topics he addressed relatable and conveyed in a thoughtful way; meant for you to feel and ponder on it. By the end, I was so deep into thought of how one day, the grandmother that is the most precious person to me, might be gone. I don’t think I can imagine my life after that day but this book showed that it is going to happen and I should appreciate every moment we have. A common theme with Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything is how short-lived we really are. We are on the Earth around eighty years, if you’re generous. That is really not a lot of time. You can see how this made me think, made me sad and made me feel insecure about the future. But that is why I liked it – it was not an empty book, it was not only Mr. Appel, it was about me the reader as well. Even though we are all different religions and races and whatever else you can come up with, we all end up in the same place, along with our families. It’s a sad reality.

Final word: Hard-hitting.
Date finished: 2014.11.01
Rating: 4 | 5

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

*I won a copy of this book though Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review.*

Initial Review: Appel is an excellent writer. Less talented authors, of which there are many, should take lessons. And, yet, I couldn't finish this book. I found the content of his first few essays to be dull. I easily put the book down, and I hardly looked forward to picking it back up. However, because I did appreciate his writing style, I'll be adding one of Appel's novels to my To Read list.

Update: For several reasons, I decided to give this book another try. First, I consider it a failure to not finish a book. I've only not finished three others. Second, I realized that it was entirely unfair to start this book immediately after finishing with the Harry Potter series. Very few works could compare. Third, Appel truly is a gifted author and worthy of a second chance. Nevertheless, after only a few pages of one of the short stories, I knew that I would never be able to finish the book. I again lost interest quickly, not caring about the story's outcome.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought-provoking A wonderfully written collection of essays about life, death and everything in between. Mr Appel writes with a scholarly voice, but never talks down to his readers, as he takes on a journey through his life and career, unrequited love, obsessions, and medical ethics. It made me laugh out loud in places, and educated me in others, but never bored me, or made me feel stupid.
Among the topics, 'Our Incredible Shrinking Discourse' is a very good luck at the impatience and lack of civility towards opinions that don't agree with our own, whatever they might be, that occurs via the internet, and the stifling of intelligent debate that might have followed if it hadn't been censored.
Very witty, full of funny, sad, bittersweet, riveting anecdotes, there should be something for everyone.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Put on your thinking cap to read this book. Everyone has family secrets.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. 13 different very well written delightful Jewish family historical stories (essays; book). It was very easy to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. No grammar errors, repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. A very easy rating of 5 stars for all of them.

Thank you for the free book (Story Cartel)
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Laddie Tabor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am now and forever, I think, a fan of Jacob Appel. I absolutely loved this collection of short essays. They are written with feeling and familiarity - personal experiences. It is easy for the reader to identify with many of the situations detailed. It was easy to feel close to those individuals who struggled and to the few who seemed to defy others expectations. I highly recommend this collection of essays to those who have any desire to feel happy, sad or simply want an occasional laugh (sometimes with a touch of sarcasm. Write on Jacob Appel!!

[Nikki Haug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacob Appel is an interesting character, at least as he comes across in this book of essays. Honest and forthright with his (often unconventional)thoughts and opinions, Appel's voice is captivating.

So is his subject matter. Pieces in this book can generally be divided into two topics: 1) How much do we really know about the people closest to us? and 2) Death - and when and where it ought to happen.

Each essay was thought-provoking and poignant.

[Penny lurkykitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of essays. They are well written, thought and emotion provoking, and at times wickedly funny. The author has quite a unique background with both a degree in law and medicine. And he has an interesting family to write about. I would love to attend his lectures, and be at any dinner party he is invited to. The conversation would be very stimulating.
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks!

[Clifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of essays because so many of them, in my opinion, miss the mark. They're too narrow, often, and maybe tell a funny/sad story that happened in the author's life. A really good essay, though, one that takes that story and expands it, is a real joy. And that's what I found in this collection. Highly recommended.

My review is here: Review of Phoning Home by Jacob M. Appel

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads and have to say that I am the better for it. Phoning Home may be small but it packs a wonderful punch. It's comprised of 13 essays that will have you thinking and wanting more and more. It's one of those books that even after you finish it you will want to pick it up and read it again and again. Great job Mr. Appel! I look forward to more of you work in the future.

[Carolynn (Molly.Groot) Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come... for now: Amazing, genuine, heartfelt. I've read it half a dozen times since receiving it, and I keep changing my mind about which bit is my favorite. Each story is honest and hits honest emotion. Well-written, grammatically and otherwise. Beautifully sewn together.

Overall, it makes me wish for a cuppa with the author.

[Traa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dealing with subjects from childhood to senility and much of what falls between, Jacob Appel's witty and passionate essays are a thought-provoking and enjoyable read.

I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was incredible. The author has beautiful writing and is also extremely intelligent, creating moving essays that I found very relatable. I am definitely going to read more of his work in the future.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally reviewed in The Provo Canyon Review: http://theprovocanyonreview.net/larry...

Why do we read? In first grade, Mrs. Sudweeks taught me how to read with: Run Dick, Run Jane, see Jane stop, see Dick stop, see Dick and Jane pet Spot. Actions converted to words. Interactions between living beings and other stuff, the big stew of life, that’s my primary reason for reading: For the physics of it.

And the joy.

Jacob Appel’s collection of essays, titled “Phoning Home,” provides a shortcut for the study of the physics of life. True, it is his life, his own simmering stew, but Appel has experienced a broad existence in his mere four decades and a few years on earth. His Wikipedia page credits him as an “American author, bioethicist, physician, lawyer, and social critic.” And that’s just the first sentence. Go here and see for yourself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_M...

Now, click over there. I’ll be here when you return thinking about just how much time I waste in a day. You probably will be, too.

You learn from reading. That’s what I’ve always told my kids, anyway. All sorts of reading—history, fiction, non-fiction, science, even grocery lists. Knowledge seeps in from the sides of Appel’s essays:

"Since a child inherits one allele from each parent, an adult’s DNA can contain any of six different combinations at the ApoE site: E-2/E-2, E-2/E-3, E-2/E-4, E-3/E-3, E-3/E-4, or E-4/E-4."

OK. So maybe that kind of knowledge doesn’t seep in so easily. Appel is explaining how our genes and chromosomes are a chief indicator of whether or not an individual is more or less susceptible to Alzheimer’s. In the essay, titled, “An Absence of Jell-O,” among many other heady subjects like DNA and the efficacy—not to mention legality—of genetic testing we are introduced to the Jewish prohibition of Jell-O. “My parents kept a strictly kosher home. They didn’t distinguish between the trace of porcine collagen in gelatin-based desserts and procuring a ham-and-cheese sandwich or a suckling pig.” Appel’s grandaunt Shirley would secretly entreaty him to behave when his family visited for a spoonful of the “slurpy, sugary reward.”

But he never got the reward of the promised lime Jello-O on those visits to Aunt Shirley’s, even if he behaved. Turns out old Grandaunt Shirley had been making the same promises for generations. Appel’s mother explains to him late in life that Aunt Shirley “was always confused and forgetful, even when [she] was a little girl.” It was not likely that Aunt Shirley had Alzheimer’s at all but some other mental disorder or another. Unfortunately, Appel doesn’t learn this until after he has spent $200, circumvented New York state law, and stressed for weeks over the results of the DNA test he has set in motion to determine the likelihood of his genetic chances of getting Alzheimer’s. His results are revealed in the course of the book, by the way.

Young Appel, as we learn from nearly every essay in this collection, grew up surrounded by colorful relatives and the stories that accompanied them. An estranged uncle. Parents, cousins, long lost aunts, even a family terrorist.

One grandfather who goes by an alias: Jack Murphy, known to Appel as Grandpa Jimmy, and another named “Shmuel Aryeh, which translates into ‘Sammy the Lion’—a name fit for a Chasidic mobster.” Grandpa Jimmy, Appel depicts this way: “Everybody who speaks of my grandfather during this period describes him as extremely likeable and crazy. Or sometimes: likeable and extremely crazy.” Grandpa Leo, the lion, married into a family “who hailed from a good, quiet family that didn’t stick its neck out.” A family that was “neither too secular nor too religious. Goldilocks, if she’d sought a Jewish household, would have found the accommodations to her liking.”

Appel manages heavy subjects such as right-to-die assisted suicide with convincing alacrity, as in “Sudden Death—A Eulogy,” which begins:

"My great-grandfather Simon Litman, Latvian immigrant, secular Jew, inept businessman, gifted egg candler, doting father, cigar smoker, and pint-sized omnivore who (at least in family lore) could devour his own bodyweight in gribenes, holds the distinction of being the last of my forebears to drop dead."

Appel goes on to argue quality over quantity of life. He wonders if technology has cheapened the legacy of our lives, citing the sudden deaths of men in our culture locking in their sex appeal while still relatively young. Whereas those who hung on until they were mere mute shells of themselves like Reagan, Clark Gable, and Marlon Brando won’t chiefly be remembered for their younger exploits and beauty. Would it have been better for them to die suddenly rather than linger in a hospital bed, like his Grandpa Leo, hooked to all manner of advanced electronics and medicine yet still suffer the indignity of bedsores? All to eke out another year or two and spend untold dollars on care and medical costs.

"I fear the most subtle, yet most pernicious, consequence of a world in which people do not as often die suddenly is a world in which people do not appreciate life."

A handful of essays deal with Appel’s early work as in intern in a New York City Hospital. Here the line of eccentric characters in his life is extended to elderly patients. In “Livery” Appel is a junior practicing psychiatrist when he must help a ninety-four-year-old man who is held in a psych ward of the hospital after treatment for a fall. During this treatment Mr. Nimble “made his fatal mistake: he asked one of the medical residents if she would prescribe him what he called ‘a suicide pill’ so that, should his health ever fail him, he would have an immediate means of escape.” So, then, the ethical dilemma is in full swing.

Mr. Nimble explains that he would like to go home, because “at my age, every hour counts.” Appel conceives every possible way to allow Mr. Nimble to be released because Appel believes “the practice of involuntarily committing cognitively impaired patients to be unethical.” Though he believes Mr. Nimble is no danger to himself it is conceivable he could be a danger to neighbors: “The chilling reality was that Mr. Nimble was perfectly capable of forgetting to turn off a teapot or a faucet—only one memory lapse away from endangering unsuspecting strangers.”

These are the quandaries that Appel faces in the course of his day job. With this collection he brings us along beside him to the hospital beds, to the streets of Antwerp, to the synagogue, to his computer screen where he is confronted with death threats for some of the stances he takes and writes about. It is no easy course to be a doctor, psychiatrist, a lawyer, a bioethicist. A writer.

Perhaps an attribute of Appel’s not highlighted on his Wikipedia page is his penchant for being a hopeless romantic. In many of the essays he describes an unrequited love interest in a colleague or a fellow student as subplot. You begin to pull for the guy, that he might find love, a partner who he can team with and live out a long and evocative life, like so many of the other elderly characters we are introduced to in this collection. But yet maybe that is why Appel has had opportunity to learn and gain so many intellectual proficiencies that an average man or woman can only pine for. He has not been grounded by love as of yet.

"Soon my own medical training will be complete, and I will have to choose: do I pursue the secure life of a physician or the equally strenuous, but far more risky, profession of writing? I can hear Grandpa Leo warning me: Who raised you to stick out your neck? And if you try to do both, you could end up doing neither."

Fortunately for us Appel has as of yet not chosen to abandon one or the other profession. Appel grapples nimbly and humorously with many hard topics in these essays. Topics such as abortion, medical ethics, aging, religion, even the Holocaust. As a bioethicist he knows his arguments. As a writer he knows how to present them well. As a reader we absorb a little bit of what he has learned. And we are richer—and smarter—for that.

[Carlos Mock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phoning Home Essays by Jacob M. Appel

Phoning Home is composed of thirteen essays that range on various topics and are related to Mr. Appel's life. They start with mundane topics and progress to the philosophical and ethical themes of our times.

In "Phoning Home," we learn that when Mr. Appel was seven years old, and after his grandmother Ida moved home with them, he started to phone the family and hang up. He then speculate on what a prank is and how to deal with their consequences.

In "Two Cats, Fat and Thin," Mr. Appel narrates how his aunt Emma gave him two plastic cats and how they were lost on their trip back home. He then communicates the sense of loss that people have, whether it be for the cats he lost, or the loss of relatives.

In "Mr. Odd and Mr. Even," we are told of the lives of both of his grandparents. One went to Tulane School of Medicine and the other was a Jeweler in Manhattan. This is a personal tale on Mr. Appel's roots.

In "The Man who was not my Grandfather," we learn that Appel's grandmother, Lillian was supposed to marry her cousin so that he could escape the Germans, but she refuse to do so. This caused all of her relatives to be killed by Hitler and his army. Appel wonders as to whether it might have been worthy for him not to exist if it means that his relatives could survive.

In "Caesura-Antwerp 1938," Grandpa Leo's watch become a metaphor for how to many Jews time froze in Antwerp in 1938 because their lives were changed forever and most of the people they knew were lost.

In "Sudden death-A Eulogy," Appel talks about how we are prolonging life, but at life's expense. "I can accept death because i recognize it as a part of life. What I fear is a death that negates, as opposed to concludes, my life" He then narrates how his family tried to prolong his Grandpa Leo's life and how miserable he was at the end - not to mention the unnecessary costs.

In "An Absence of Jell-O," Appel touches the subject of Alzheimer's disease and how he struggled to diagnose himself on his chances of getting it (gene ApoE testing).

In "She Loves me Not," Appel discusses the concept of "unrequited love." After stating that Gabriel García Márquez exposed the concept in "Love and the time of Cholera" where Florentino Ariza waited fifty one years for Fermina Daza husband to die so that he may continue the interrupted romance of their youth, proposes the theory that: "we love unrequitedly because unrequited love 'always' meets our expectations." He concludes that is the reason he's still single: "As long as my dream girl keeps me at arm's length, I can still aspire to a perfect relationship."

In "Opting Out," the right to refuse treatment is discussed. Mrs. Y has lung cancer with metastasis to bone and her daughter does not want to let her know of her diagnosis or her impending death. As a medical student in an ethics rotation Appel must decide whether it is the right thing to tell her.

In "Charming and Devoted," Appel discusses his experiences as an intern with end of life care and exposes the problems of two very old patients: Mr. Charming and Mr. Devoted. They are "much like tens of thousands of other mildly impaired elderly men and women who stumble into the health-care system each year, usually as a result of minor ailments, but are unfit to stumble back out."

In "Livery," Appel narrates an encounter with a patient: Mr. Nimble. A 94 y/o male who jokingly states he wants a "suicide pill" and ends up in the psych ward. "The underlying problem is that our society has never had a meaningful, collective conversation regarding how much risk a mildly impaired senior citizen must pose to his neighbors before we take away his freedom."

In "Our incredible Shrinking Discourse," Appel exposes the problem our society has with opposing views. "Our intellectual discourse is contracting...The most dangerous ideas are not those that challenge the status quo. The most dangerous ideas are those embedded in the status quo, so wrapped in a cloud of inevitability, that we forget they are ideas at all."

Finally, in "Divided Expectations," Appel struggles with his middle age and his mortality.

There has been a trend to publish actual stories by writers. Felice Picano published a set of books: "True Stories" and "True Stories Too" in which he narrates real experiences from his life. I myself published a similar narrative in "Historias." Where Mr. Picano and Dr. Appel stick to the facts, I have filled in the blanks with fiction, exaggerated the facts to fit my plot, and created an alternate reality.

Mr. Appel book is narrated from the first person point of view is influenced by his education in medicine, law, and bioethics. His prose is entertaining and thought-provoking filled with the author's quirky family, his Jewish heritage, and his New York City upbringing. The themes of love, family, sense of loss, the Holocaust, caring for the old, end of life decisions, society's struggles with opposing views and discourse, middle age and mortality are dealt gently, self-mockingly, and sometimes absurdly. In each essay, he reaches some sort of equilibrium, a kind of intellectual epiphany that doesn't come easily; instead, it feels raw and hard-earned. A must read.

[Jennifer Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Phoning Home: Essays” by Jacob M. Appel, a Review by Jennifer Benson
I received this as a GoodReads Giveaway.

“Phoning Home: Essays” by Jacob M. Appel is a collection of 13 thought provoking personal essays from the author’s life. His multiple careers of attorney, physician, bioethicist and award winning writer combine marvelously in these intimate tales of his life. He weaves family history and lore with humor and deeply philosophical questions that are sometimes difficult to answer, yet shows his vulnerability in facing them and allowing us, the readers, in as he does.

As I read these essays, I was stuck by the themes of dignity of each them. It took reading through the book twice to realize this. “Phoning Home” the first essay is about prank calls to the author’s home the summer he was 7 years old. Written with wit, he tells of how the various people in house handled the stress of the increasing prank phone calls. For me, the loss of privacy by stalking like this is a loss of dignity. “Confessions, after all, are fundamentally selfish.”

In the essay, “Two Cats, Fat and Thin” he writes of his loss of his beloved toys, due to what he suspects is theft. It colors his judgement and behavior into his adult life. Children, in my view, are very often underrated: their intelligence, their emotional needs, their skills. A parent’s view that, “It’s just toys. You have others,” is sending a message that a child’s dignity doesn’t matter.

“Mr. Odd and Mr. Even” is a study in two grandfathers. This essay in particular had me near tears and so very angry at the world that I had to put the book away for a day before coming back to it. The loss of dignity is so profound and shocking to me that I hated humanity for a short while. But it does end beautifully and prophetically.

“The Man Who Was Not My Grandfather” here is where an ethical question is posed and faced by our author and possibly to us as readers. What sacrifices did we not make, intentionally, to help others? “That is the horror of the past: that it is so expansive, and remote, and each day it expands exponentially, tearing through the emotional threads that bind it to the present.”

“Caesura-Antwerp, 1938” a story of his grandfather’s broken wristwatch leads to a childhood friend that survived WWII, when so many from that area did not. The realization for the author that time stopped for his grandfather when he left Antwerp and escaped the Nazi’s, and why his grandfather rarely spoke of those times in his youth. Dignity.

“Sudden Death-A Eulogy”, Jacob M. Appel’s great grandfather, Simon Litman dropped dead after uttering, in my opinion as a medical professional, the most infamous words in the profession, “I don’t feel so good.” The author’s two grandfathers each had phrases they had one was “We’re so lucky to be alive.” And “Where there’s life, there’s hope.” The question is posed whether a prolonged death is really something we should be striving for. A quality of life versus a quantity of life based on machines and dignity.

“The Absence of Jell-O” explores Alzheimer’s Disease and genetic testing. What happens if you open that can of worms and how does it affect those around you preserving their dignity? And did you behave well enough to earn the jell-o?
“She Loves Me Not” is about unrequited love. He explores how it is sometimes easier to be in love with someone that does not love you in return because there are no expectations. But is it painless and do you retain personal dignity?

“Opting Out” is about how we as Americans expect full disclosure from our medical community. But how do we preserve other cultures views of medicine in our full disclosure society thereby protecting their dignity.

“Charming and Devoted” is an essay about two elderly patients in a hospital ward who should have only been admitted for a few days, but wound up staying nearly 3 weeks. How we treat our society as it ages is becoming a concern. Dementia, forgetfulness, chronic illnesses, living alone, all of things need to be addressed with any hospital visit. Personal dignity must be maintained.

“Livery” is about a 94 year old man that twisted an ankle and made the mistake of asking the wrong question while in the emergency room. While this story is brilliantly written with humor, it is incredibly sad and frustrating. “Will you let me go home now? At my age every hour counts.”

“Our Incredibly Shrinking Discourse” is the author’s personal account on death threats he’s received for his work. “Unfortunately ideas are dangerous.” Free speech, no matter how ugly we think it is, should be defended and discussed intelligently. Simply because someday, it may be our speech that someone considers ugly and threatening and we will need someone to stand up for us. Dignity.

“Divided Expectations” here is a discourse on mortality and legacy. Keats left poetry, Mozart left symphonies. Jacob M. Appel will have left a treasure trove of intelligent, articulate written pieces for readers to devour with their eyes and minds.

Thirteen essays, beautifully crafted, emotional all. Contemplative, philosophical, with themes of personal dignity underlying throughout, one does not have to share in these experiences to feel a part of them. This is a book to keep on the shelf and to be reread throughout one’s life.

[Lizzy Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phoning Home is a collection of entertaining and thought-provoking essays featuring the author’s quirky family, his Jewish heritage, and his New York City upbringing. Jacob M. Appel’s recollections and insights, informed and filtered by his advanced degrees in medicine, law, and ethics, not only inspire nostalgic feelings but also offer insight into contemporary medical and ethical issues. Both erudite and full-hearted, Appel recounts storylines ranging from a bout of unrequited love gone awry to the poignant romance of his grandparents. We learn of the crank phone calls he made to his own family, the conspicuous absence of Jell-O at his grandaunt’s house, and family secrets long believed buried. The stories capture the author’s distinctive voice–a blend of a physician’s compassion and an ethicist’s constant questioning.

Three words for this book; nostalgic, thoughtful and satirical. Those three words pretty much sum up my perfect writing style. Something a little witty, self-deprecating and emotional, this is a personal and private collection of events, snippets, and conversations, in Appel’s rather interesting life. This book is incredibly heartfelt and achingly beautiful, rather than focusing on the ‘big picture,’ the tales are tiny scraps that are woven together to create a beautiful book filled with wisdom. The first story describes Jacob’s family having trouble with a telephone joker (this will explain the cover of the book) calling up the phone at unsystematic times in the day, the family are at the end of their tether. We later find out that little seven year old Jacob is the culprit (sorry!) however, the real moral of the story is that these days as soon as little boys or girls do something out of the ordinary there is immediately something terribly wrong. Jacob notes that in his case this small instance of rebellion was never anything more than the casual interest of a little boy. The stories often take this format; explaining the events and then looking deeper, taking a philosophical view point. It leads to an incredibly heart-warming collection of short passages.

Two other stories (they are separated out into 13 essays as the title suggests) stick in my mind one desciribing the loss of two rubber cat toys. “We’d just visited my grandaunt in Miami Beach, the last time we would ever see her. I had my two travel companions, Fat and Thin, securely buckled into the backseat of my mother’s foul-tempered Dodge Dart.” However the beloved toys are stolen and never seen again, Appel struggles with what he calls a private apocalypse; even now there is a space for Fat and Thin on his shelf at home. The internal grapple with the loss at such a young age affects Appel even now although in a different way. The self-reflection is incredibly humbling. The second story (my favourite) describes a patient Mr Nimble a 94 year old male who falls and hurts himself. Once in the hospital he jokingly asks for a suicide pill. (Appel is a physician and ethicist.) Sending the doctors into a panic over his mentally stability, it turns out the last time Mr Nimble was sick such a thing still existed; as they realise he is without a telephone, family or friends, he is a danger to himself. The state is intervening, however the patient asks why? He has lived so long like this and yet now he is going to be kept against his will. “The underlying problem is that our society has never had a meaningful, collective conversation regarding how much risk a mildly impaired senior citizen must pose to his neighbours before we take away his freedom.”

Just a few technical bits; the writing is strong and unfaltering. Woven with beautifully deep descriptions I was completely submersed in Jacob’s world. Even though the essays are quite short the characters are full-bodied and spring from the page in an incredibly mature way. Additionally although the stories are told in first person, we get to learn a lot about the narrator’s personality which is lovely. It allows the stories to all consume the reader and drag them further into the authors life. I liked the length of the book too, although I did find myself wanting it to go on and on. I found myself needing time to reflect over all the stories and it has made me want to learn more about some of the themes discussed throughout.

Overall this is a witty book full of philosophical nuggets of wisdom. The writing is incredibly fluid and has an unsolicited feel, We really get an insight into the thoughts, hopes and fears of the author. I said last time that Appel was going on my list of authors to watch out for in the future and this book has helped him to shoot straight to the top of the list. Beautifully honest I found myself thinking about this book long after I turned the final page. The essays have a real mix, some talk about family, love, unrequited love (that’s another special story) hope, fear, friendship it constantly mixes and matches beautifully personal moments and discussions of society and the norms that we live by. Overall I loved this book; gorgeous, spectacular and humbling. PERFECT

*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

[Sandra Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of academic essays.

In “Phoning Home,” Appel evaluates the acts of misbehavior—what drives the act and the effect on a person’s character. He states that “past performance is no indication of future unreliability.” (11)

Author cleverly recounts childhood memories and the lessons—both joyful and cruel—that were bestowed upon him. He was like Kevin Arnold of The Wonder Years with a PhD. Full of humorous anecdotes.

In “The Man Who Was Not My Grandfather,” the author challenges his feeble grandmother to ponder what would have been had she gone through with the arranged marriage. His best theories were in “Sudden Death—A Eulogy,” an essay scrutinizing “sudden” death.” “Six decades after Great Grandpa Simon plunged off his mortal coil, sudden death now threatens to go the way of rotary telephones and passenger pigeons. The exact rate at which we are not dropping dead is difficult to calculate.” (63)

“I made the mistake of observing to my date that Ms. Hager was ‘drop dead gorgeous.’ My date replied, acidly, ‘in that case, keep staring.’ Needless to say, as forcefully as I ogled, my heart beat only faster; it did not stop. ‘Drop dead gorgeous,’ of course, means far less in a world where people don’t actually drop dead…We can speak figuratively about sudden death, trivialize it—even joke about it—because we do not actually expect to confront it. Not now, not soon, not until we’ve been afforded ample time to prepare.” (64)

“What we can do—and what we have not been doing—is paying closer attention to the complex ways in which how we die is transforming how we live. I fear the most subtle, yet pernicious, consequence of a world in which people do not as often die suddenly is a world in which people do not appreciate life.” (68)

Riveting and compelling, these compositions are witty and intelligent; they are thought-provoking and insightful. Appel eloquently writes with craft, logic, and reverence.

“What my students have never done, however, is reflect upon a life without toys. In a society where mass-produced plastic action figures cost ten dollars a piece and every middle-class family has a closet well-stocked with such wholesome board games as Monopoly and Risk, my students find ‘toylessness’ as alien as homelessness.” (20)

At times, the concepts were foreign and complex. I didn’t understand the Jewish terms, and not every story was interesting. Jacob Appel is a giant, walking brain (physicist, attorney, bioethicist, professor.) He will take you back to the school of Critical Thinking.