What do you think?
Rate this book
So how come a nice Jewish boy became a Mormon
Book by Rothman, Norman
Paperback
Published January 1, 1986
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 19, 2021
I was a missionary back in 1999 when Brother Rothman came to Illinois to share his book. He held a missionary fireside in the Wilmette church building and gave each companionship a copy of it.
It had been on my mission that I got really fascinated with Judaism. We'd met a lot of Jewish people and I would always ask them about their faith and traditions. My companions teased me about it, but enjoyed Challah bread and one even visited a synagogue with me.
I really wanted to read this book and,since I didn't have time to read it on mission, I took it home with me. It only took me 20 odd years to finally get round to reading it and overall I think reading it was worth it. If only for sentimental reasons.
It is very obvious that the author was not a professional writer and the book cries out for an editor. There is no sensible structure to it and the style is poor. Moreover, there are big chunks of it that are taken straight from sources and the sources are not properly referenced (though they are mentioned in acknowledgements).
I also have had some problems with Rothman's life choices, more the business ones than personal, because matters of the heart are more difficult to control, though I think he should have prayed and fasted as much about both as he prayed and fasted for other people. It struck me as strange that he would say how unimportant riches are and still follow one get rich scheme after another.
However, I've learned a bit I didn't know, especially about the atrocities committed against the Jews long before Hitler. Being Polish it made me ashamed that my compatriots had part in it, though this feeling of shame hasn't been anything new.
I enjoyed Brother Rothman's testimony, which has strengthed mine, so reading his book wasn't time wastedm
It had been on my mission that I got really fascinated with Judaism. We'd met a lot of Jewish people and I would always ask them about their faith and traditions. My companions teased me about it, but enjoyed Challah bread and one even visited a synagogue with me.
I really wanted to read this book and,since I didn't have time to read it on mission, I took it home with me. It only took me 20 odd years to finally get round to reading it and overall I think reading it was worth it. If only for sentimental reasons.
It is very obvious that the author was not a professional writer and the book cries out for an editor. There is no sensible structure to it and the style is poor. Moreover, there are big chunks of it that are taken straight from sources and the sources are not properly referenced (though they are mentioned in acknowledgements).
I also have had some problems with Rothman's life choices, more the business ones than personal, because matters of the heart are more difficult to control, though I think he should have prayed and fasted as much about both as he prayed and fasted for other people. It struck me as strange that he would say how unimportant riches are and still follow one get rich scheme after another.
However, I've learned a bit I didn't know, especially about the atrocities committed against the Jews long before Hitler. Being Polish it made me ashamed that my compatriots had part in it, though this feeling of shame hasn't been anything new.
I enjoyed Brother Rothman's testimony, which has strengthed mine, so reading his book wasn't time wastedm
February 15, 2008
Norman Rothman died the same evening as President Gordon B. Hinckley, January 27, 2008. The touching story of Norman's friendship with Pres. Hinckley and how they came to journey home on the same day was published in the Deseret Morning News the following evening. I heard this story the next morning on the radio while driving in to work and determined to learn more about Norman Rothman. It turns out he made that easier by publishing this auto-biography in 1986. I located an autographed, first edition copy of his book in downtown Salt Lake the same day (Tuesday) and spent the next two weeks devouring his story in the evenings. It's a long book with small print, but well worth the read.
It appears to be an unedited, self-published book. This makes it difficult to read at first. In fact I complained about this to my wife over the first 30 pages. Norman loves to go off on frequent tangents, one of them a 95 page chapter unto itself! He also likes to throw in any moral teaching moment that presents itself. After thirty or so pages I was completely hooked on his story and his message. And there is definitely a purpose and a message to the book. You learn about his personal life which includes four failed marriages, his career which never quite gets there (I couldn't have lived it), and his religious life which goes from Jewish by birth to discovering the Messiah Jesus Christ in the Methodist faith to baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). What you don't get in the book is how he came to know and love Pres. Hinckley. The last 23 years of his life from 1985 to 2008 aren't covered.
Norman Rothman is my friend. I never met him while he was alive. On the fly leaf of his book he mentions his "special" wife Annette, his fifth and last. She was at his side when he passed. I commented to my wife that I thought it odd that someone would use special to describe his wife. As the story progressed I began to pray with him for this special women to enter his life. Norman can drive you nuts getting his story told, but in the end I gained a friend and found myself on my knees asking forgiveness for having ever picked on him for his words. Norman's life speaks louder than words. He is a special man.
It appears to be an unedited, self-published book. This makes it difficult to read at first. In fact I complained about this to my wife over the first 30 pages. Norman loves to go off on frequent tangents, one of them a 95 page chapter unto itself! He also likes to throw in any moral teaching moment that presents itself. After thirty or so pages I was completely hooked on his story and his message. And there is definitely a purpose and a message to the book. You learn about his personal life which includes four failed marriages, his career which never quite gets there (I couldn't have lived it), and his religious life which goes from Jewish by birth to discovering the Messiah Jesus Christ in the Methodist faith to baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). What you don't get in the book is how he came to know and love Pres. Hinckley. The last 23 years of his life from 1985 to 2008 aren't covered.
Norman Rothman is my friend. I never met him while he was alive. On the fly leaf of his book he mentions his "special" wife Annette, his fifth and last. She was at his side when he passed. I commented to my wife that I thought it odd that someone would use special to describe his wife. As the story progressed I began to pray with him for this special women to enter his life. Norman can drive you nuts getting his story told, but in the end I gained a friend and found myself on my knees asking forgiveness for having ever picked on him for his words. Norman's life speaks louder than words. He is a special man.
December 5, 2013
In all honesty it was rough read. He bounces around all over the place. He will be talking about a particular event in his life only to interrupt himself and go on for page after page only to come back pages later.
The first third of the book was well put together and I enjoyed it (despite bouncing around) and is the only reason why I gave it two stars. But the last two thirds were really hard. I skimmed lots of pages because it just seemed irrelevant. For example, he had a good 30-40 pages of the history of the LDS church. While it was an accurate history, it had absolutely nothing to do with him becoming a Mormon. It just doesn't fit with the title and my understanding of what the book was supposed to be about - an autobiography and not a history book.
Towards the end I had to fight to not just stop reading it. I kept hoping he would return to the style of writing he had started with. But it never happened.
The first third of the book was well put together and I enjoyed it (despite bouncing around) and is the only reason why I gave it two stars. But the last two thirds were really hard. I skimmed lots of pages because it just seemed irrelevant. For example, he had a good 30-40 pages of the history of the LDS church. While it was an accurate history, it had absolutely nothing to do with him becoming a Mormon. It just doesn't fit with the title and my understanding of what the book was supposed to be about - an autobiography and not a history book.
Towards the end I had to fight to not just stop reading it. I kept hoping he would return to the style of writing he had started with. But it never happened.
May 27, 2009
I bought andread this outstandin g book way back in '78 when it first came out. A close friend of mine was mentioned in the book, which was an added plus, which was a surprise, as I hadn't known he knew Norman. Yesterday, a close friend sent me a Fireside that a former Jewish man had been a speaker for an d it brought this book to my mind, thinking ikt was this other guy, but it wasn't and since my original copy was damaged in a flood underneath our home, we lost a lot of our booksYEARS ago, so ordered a copy through amazon yesterday, so I can reread it, so I will do another review later.
January 8, 2009
This book was long at times, but I read it all the way through in a few days. If a book captures my interest enough to keep me reading all the way through, then it is good! I enjoyed reading the story of his life as a Jew and then a Mormon. It turns out he lived in Santa Ana and went to the Greenview (or whatever it is called) chapel that is near South Coast Plaza.
I learned some cool things about Jewish culture and beliefs. Some time i will elaborate if you are interested.
I learned some cool things about Jewish culture and beliefs. Some time i will elaborate if you are interested.
April 14, 2011
Well, I was hoping for a comparison of Judaism and the gospel, and why Judaism to Mormonism was an easy transition, and there was about a 20 page section of that in the 400 page book, and the rest was WAY too much of the author's personal information. I'll be honest I skimmed through most of it.
February 15, 2008
The Jewish beliefs as it corresponds to the LDS beliefs
February 23, 2010
I met the author when I was serving as a missionary on Temple Square. He was an endearing man. I really enjoyed this book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews