Bernie Sanders' tilt at the US presidency has come under fire from an establishment that derides his social democratic policies as alien to the American way. But, as Ted Hamm reveals in this engaging and concise history, the sort of socialism Bernie advocates was commonplace in the Brooklyn where he grew up in the 1940s and 50s. Policies like free college tuition, rent control, and infrastructure projects including extensive public housing, parks and swimming pools were part of the New Deal city run by a progressive Mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, and supported by FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt. While Arthur Miller, resident in Brooklyn Heights, was staging Death of a Salesman, a play with which Bernie's dad closely identified, Woody Guthrie was penning his paeans to the American worker in Coney Island and Jackie Robinson was breaking the color bar on Ebbets Field in a Dodgers team yet to be relocated in California. Drawing deeply on interviews with his brother and friends, and delving skillfully into the history of the borough, Bernie's Brooklyn shows how, far from being an anomaly in US politics, Sanders' 2020 platform is rooted firmly in the progressivism of the New Deal.
In 1960 Brooklyn, the Muscolinos have raised three proud and passionate daughters. But as the girls come of age in a rapidly changing world, their paths diverge—in drastic and devastating ways—from their parents’ deeply traditional values. Despite their fierce love, each young woman harbors a secret longing that, if revealed, could tear the family apart. When an earth-shattering event rocks their Park Slope neighborhood, life comes to a screeching halt and the Muscolino sisters are forced to confront their conflicting visions for the future in this gripping, provocative portrait of love in all its danger and beauty.
North America’s most beloved regions are artfully celebrated in our board book series, which is designed to soothe children before bedtime while instilling an early appreciation for the continent’s natural and cultural wonders. This board book celebrates the unique New York City borough of Brooklyn with rhythmic language that guides children through the passage of both a single day and the four seasons. A multicultural group of people visit Brooklyn’s attractions while saluting the iconic aspects of each place, including Coney Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, Prospect Park, the Prospect Park Zoo, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the New York Transit Museum, the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Islanders, the Brooklyn Public Library, and much more.
From days on the stoop, playing hopscotch and watching fireworks from the rooftops, to school field trips into the city, where zoos and museums await, Michelle introduces readers to her favorite places and things to do. Mari Takabayashi’s diminutive scenes, busy with cheerful detail, bring the beauty and bustle of New York City to life for children all around the world.
Martin H. Levinson lived in Brooklyn from his birth in 1946 to 1962, the height of the baby boom following World War II. He grew up two blocks from Ebbets Field, the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and attended Erasmus Hall High School, which boasts alums such as Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, and chess-wiz Bobby Fischer. The author's personal recollections of his middle-class childhood in Brooklyn during the 1950s alternate with chapters detailing seminal cultural events of that era including the advent of television, fast-food restaurants, big cars with fins; desegregation and the white flight to the suburbs; rock and roll, beatniks, hula hoops, The Kinsey Reports, the Cold War, McCarthyism, Playboy, and much more. Part memoir, part social history, Brooklyn Boomer offers a captivating portrait of Brooklyn and America in the mid-twentieth Century.
Judge Queenan tells a very human story of his life, family and travels, withholding no family secrets. Included is an account of his diverse and evolving career as a lawyer who handled business transactions, drafted estate plans, tried cases and, at the end, found greatest satisfaction in representing corporations reorganizing under chapter 11. He tells of the losing party in one case sending a bomb in the mail to his client. We also learn of the disastrous results of a Ponzi scheme that used ruses similar to those of Bernard Madoff. Judge Queenans high values and commitment to due process of law are apparent throughout. He is still troubled by the prejudicial effect of the press conferences held by the district attorney in the Brinks armed robbery case, which came before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts when he was a young law clerk with the court. In giving an account of his years on the bench, a time when he was also teaching in law school, Judge Queenan makes law and trials understandable to the layman. He rejects the notion that bankruptcy is a refuge for the dishonest and lazy, and he decries the countrys toxic fascination with debt, taking special aim at abusive leveraged buy-outs of corporations. He recalls memorable witnesses and lawyers, tells how he determined who was lying and explains what he did to reduce the length of trials. Perhaps most informative of all, he describes how a judge makes law rather than just grabbing a rule off the shelf. A former campaign worker for Robert Kennedy, Judge Queenan shows his passion for politics. He gives a critique of the Supreme Courts 2000 decision in Bush v. Gore, which handed the presidency to George W. Bush. As one who demonstrated against the war in Iraq before the war began, he examines the wars terrible consequences and traces its long political fallout that contributed to the election of Barack Obama, for whom the judge delivers a unique panegyric.
Major league baseball has a long, rich history in Brooklyn. From the time Brooklyn started play in 1884 until their move west to Los Angeles following the 1957 season, the Dodgers and their predecessors were the emotional center of the borough's diverse population. But Brooklyn would be without a professional team until June of 2001, when the Cyclones took the field in Coney Island as the Mets' affiliate for the New York-Penn League. This work follows the rookie-level club from its formation through it first season. Brooklyn Dodgers Carl Erskine, Duke Snider, Clem Labine, Johnny Podres, Ralph Branca, Joe Pignatano and Clyde King comment on their own minor league days, and their days in Brooklyn. Also included are interviews of Cyclones players and fans of both teams.