Penn Convoy Press, an imprint of Papers Please, is the publishing arm for our creative nonfiction oral-history books based largely on first-person family interviews conducted 1979-85. These richly illustrated books include documents, photographs or other images collected then and since.  In addition to illustrated 32-pageTwo Pianos Exhibit brochures in English and German, they currently include:

A Border Town in  Poland: A 20th Century Memoir, Hirsch Bieler as told to Nora Jean and Michael H. Levin (2021), 385 pages with color images, timelines, historical context inserts, maps and supporting end-notes.  

 

To order click:

https://www.politics-prose.com/book/9781624293290  

 

The book launched with a recorded Zoom call attended by an audience around the world.  A second recorded presentation hosted by the Los Angeles Jewish Genealogical Society is also on YouTube. 

 

A Border Town in Poland is listed on the Jewish Book Council's 2022-23 Network Authors speaking tour.

 

"Couldn't put it down.  An amazing and wonderful book.  What an essential contribution to history! -- defies superlatives."

-- Hon. Andrew Maguire

Former Congressman, D-NJ

 

“An important addition to twentieth century history. . .very carefully researched with terrific visuals of maps and family photos rendered by the editors, to carry along a vivid and energising oral history, now published in its full glory."

-- Quad (formerly Oxford Today), Alumni Newsletter of Oxford University (U.K.) (January 2022)

 

Firebird: The Musical Life & Times of Rebecca Burstein-Arber, as told to Nora Jean and Michael H. Levin (2023), 302 pages with images, timelines, maps, historical context inserts, a Who's Who appendix and supporting end-notes.

 

To order click:

https://www.politics-prose.com/book/9781624294594

 

"What a wonderful book! To be reading it during the current Russian invasion of Ukraine is quite an experience. Altogether the book is a triumph. You have brought Rebecca to life. I feel that if I ran into her we could start a conversation at once. No wonder everyone fell in love with her — and after they heard her play, even more so. She was a star."

-- Sandra Herbert

Professor of History Emeritus, University of Maryland

Author, Charles Darwin, Geologist

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"A remarkable history of Jean’s formidable aunt Rebecca (1894-1993), who, age 87, shared memories of Tsarist pogroms, command performances in Imperial Germany, a perilous cross-border passage during WW1, concerts in freezing halls for Red Army soldiers during the Russian Revolution, and other events that shaped the 20th Century and still resonate today."

-- Quad (Oxford University Alumni Magazine), July 2023

 

“An evocative biography that breathes life into the remarkable tale of classical pianist Rebecca Burstein-Arber, through whose performances we witness European antisemitism, revolutions, wars, economic crises, political tensions, and personal tribulations interwoven with pivotal 20th-century events. From Odessa to Petrograd, Bucharest, and finally Israel, she remained resolute, establishing herself as one of the most highly regarded musicians and teachers of music in Europe. A tribute to a remarkable musician, a recognition of the contributions of Jewish musicians to classical music traditions, and a celebration of the deep connections between music and the invincible human spirit.”

-- [Capitol] Hill Rag, July 2023

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