Publisher Description

Sure to resonate with Jewish and Gentile readers alike, How to Be a Mentsh (and Not a Shmuck) is a wise and witty self-help manual for pursuing happiness while still acting with integrity, honor, and compassion. Michael Wex, New York Times bestselling author of Born to Kvetch and Just Say Nu, draws on sources that range from the Talmud and Yiddish proverbs to contemporary music and movies in this insightful guide that explores not only human nature and psychology but our duties to ourselves and one another.

Back Cover

There are people out there, millions of them, who act as if they still believe everything that their mothers told them in the first six months of their life: they're the nicest, most beautiful, most promising and intelligent bags of flesh ever to walk the earth, and anybody who can't see it is a jealous fool. We call these people shmucks. In How to Be a Mentsh (and Not a Shmuck), bestselling author Michael Wex offers a wise and witty guide to being a good human being, regardless of your religion or beliefs--a blueprint for living a decent and moral life, acting with self-control instead of self-denial, and winning through cooperation rather than competition. But this is no dull manual about loving thy neighbor. It's a fast-paced and entertaining adventure in the wisdom of the ages, wherever that wisdom may be found: Yiddish proverbs, current events, Talmudic stories, movies, television, and more. Referencing pop culture and Jewish tradition with equal ease, Wex explores the strategies developed by an oppressed people to pursue happiness with their dignity--and sense of humor--intact.

Author Biography

Novelist, lecturer, and translator Michael Wex is one of the leading lights in the revival of Yiddish, and author of the New York Times bestseller Born to Kvetch and its follow-up, Just Say Nu.

Review

"Funny...astute and relevant." -- San Francisco Chronicle"...blessed with humor, grace and a well-developed sense of contemporary pop culture (references range from Genesis to Groundhog Day) ... a consistent pleasure: entertaining, educational...with more than a few thought-provoking suggestions for achieving mentsh-hood (or at least avoiding shmuck-itude)." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)"The Sneaky Chef of contemporary Jewish culture...Wex writes books that look and read like snacks, but he hides scholarly vegetables between the covers...Wex has achieved on the bookshelf what Hillel advised that we all do in life: In a place where there are no mentshn, try to be a mentsh." -- Forward"Just superb....The book is funny, too, and is certainly the finest explanation of the religious significance of The Apartment and Groundhog Day. Talmud, Torah, Jack Lemmon, Bill Murray--need I say more?" -- Mark Oppenheimer, author of Thirteen and a Day: The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Across America"[A]n often humorous and frequently provocative guide to being a good person, a mentsh....This book reflects extensive learning, serious thought, a sense of the absurd and the unfair, as well as an impish willingness to play the mazik (scamp)." -- Jewish Book World"[S]uperb...brilliant...[O]ne of the leading lights in the Yiddish revival, Michael Wex distills the age-old principles that have been the nucleus of Jewish survival...into some relevant lessons, delightful anecdotes, and real-world applications for not just Judaism but all faiths." -- Sacramento Book Review

Review Quote

"The Sneaky Chef of contemporary Jewish culture…Wex writes books that look and read like snacks, but he hides scholarly vegetables between the covers…Wex has achieved on the bookshelf what Hillel advised that we all do in life: In a place where there are no mentshn, try to be a mentsh."

Description for Teachers/Educators

There are people out there, millions of them, who act as if they still believe everything that their mothers told them in the first six months of their life: they're the nicest, most beautiful, most promising and intelligent beings ever to walk the earth, and anybody who can't see it is a jealous fool. These people are shmucks. How to Be a Mentsh (and Not a Shmuck) is a wise and witty self-help manual for pursuing happiness while still acting with integrity, honor, and compassion. Michael Wex, bestselling author of Born to Kvetch and Just Say Nu, draws on sources that range from the Talmud and Yiddish proverbs to contemporary music and movies, in this insightful guide that explores not only human nature and psychology but our duties to ourselves and one another. This non-religious guide is not only wise, but also laugh-out-loud funny. Michael Wex is a novelist, professor, translator (including the only Yiddish translation of "The Threepenny Opera"), and performer (of stand-up and one person shows). Wex has been hailed as "a Yiddish national treasure" and is one of the leading lights in the current revival of Yiddish, lecturing widely on Yiddish and Jewish culture. Best-known as the author of the New York Times bestseller Born to Kvetch and its follow-up, Just Say Nu, he has also published several novels. He writes a bi-weekly column for The Jewish Week in New York. "Funny ... astute and relevant." -- San Francisco Chronicle

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