NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.

Book Review: The Battle of the Generation, by Hillel S.

The Battle of the Generation, by Hillel S., is a bit difficult to review. There is so much psychology employed by the author in making his assumptions and building his thesis upon, that I have no idea whether it is right or wrong, based on reality or assumptions. I also don't know his qualifications, considering the author is relatively anonymous - something I normally do not like, even though the ideas he presents should always be based on their merits.

The Battle of the Generation is a book dealing with the challenges of modern society, specifically leading up to the issue of shmirat eynayim - guarding the eyes - avoiding improper and inappropriate sexuality. I think much of what he says in the lead up to that, if it works, can be applied to many other challenges as well. Much of what the author builds upon is how to build up one's willpower and how to recognize what our true purpose in life is and to strengthen ourselves so as to be able to withstand the temptations and challenges when we meet them.

The Battle of the Generation is sort of a self-help book, and it often sounds like a cheerleader rooting for, and encouraging, the reader to succeed via positive reinforcement. The book is written in an easy to read format - a lot of small chapter each making a cogent point, though it took me more time than I expected to read as I discovered reading too much at once was difficult to absorb the ideas he presented, but also it made me think that there is too much there and the task is impossible. When I cut it down a bit and read just a few small chapters at a time, I found it more palatable.

I think The Battle of the Generation is really going to be most appreciated by somebody already looking to grow and improve in that area. It is like a mussar shmuess given by the mashgiach in the yeshiva that will only be absorbed by people already looking to improve in those areas. Other people might read it and be inspired by it to work on these issues as well, but I think the people to benefit the most from it are people already looking for ways to deal with this issue.