Letters

As the Editorial Director of The Rosen Publishing Group’s Young Adult division, I am writing in response to the inaccurate letter from Rachel Kamin published in SLJ’s May 2005 issue. In this letter, Ms. Kamin rebuts a mostly positive SLJ review of two of the books in our “War and Conflict in the Middle East” series, The Six-Day War and The Yom Kippur War.

I do not have room to refute all of Ms. Kamin’s criticisms here, but I thought it important to demonstrate that she offers a slanted criticism of these books that does not acknowledge all of the information actually presented in the titles. For example, Ms. Kamin claims that Mr. Broyles’s reference to Jerusalem in 63 b.c. as Palestine is incorrect. However, this fact has different scholarly interpretations and perspectives, and she adheres to only one of them. Some scholars propose that the origin of the name Palestine can be traced to the fifth century b.c. to the Greek historian Herodotus. Other scholars allege other dates. The point that Ms. Kamin ignores is that these competing claims reflect the varied political ideologies and agendas of those who put them forth. Mr. Broyles attempts to remain neutral and seek consensus in what is often a fiercely partisan historical minefield.

In answer to Ms. Kamin’s criticism about our authors’ qualifications, I want to point out that both Broyles and Rosenberg are professional writers who have a unique skill in translating complex and controversial topics into balanced and reliable text that is accessible to the readership that Rosen serves. In addition, each manuscript we publish is thoroughly fact checked and vetted by an outside expert in the specific field. The two titles in question were reviewed by Dr. Itai Sneh, who has a Ph.D. in History from Columbia University, an M.A. in East European Jewish History from McGill University, and a B.A. in the History of the Jewish People from Hebrew University.

Ms. Kamin’s comment about the use of Web research and scholarship is also misleading. In addition to using books and primary-source materials, all Rosen authors use only reliable and accurate Web sites to support their research. Among the sites referenced by the authors are the University of Texas at Austin and the Anti-Defamation League. These are widely recognized as legitimate, scholarly sources of unquestioned integrity.

We vehemently refute Rachel Kamin’s misinformed findings on a high quality series invaluable to any reader with a commitment to or interest in Israel and the Middle East, or, more importantly, to any student who has not yet discovered why this subject is of such vital importance.

--Iris Rosoff, Editorial Director Young Adult Division The Rosen Publishing Group New York City, NY

After reading Rachel Kamin’s letter (May 2005, p. 13), I took a closer look at The Yom Kippur War. As Kamin states, there is no information about the Yom Kippur War provided by any of the recommended organizations. I took a look at three of the Web sites listed in the bibliography. I wouldn’t accept any of these Web sites on a bibliography for a middle school report.

Students are always asking me why they should believe books over what they read on the Internet. I tell them that anybody can publish on the Internet. I tell them that books go through a rigorous review process. I tell them that I choose books based on reviews from skilled professionals. It looks like the system failed us on this one.

My concern is that publishers are now hiring writers with the approach to research that we are trying so hard to fight. This is clearly the case for this book. Should I assume the same of all books published by Rosen? Are other publishers as careless?

--Kathy Noble, Librarian Langston Hughes Middle School Reston, VA