This is the story of Sol Schwartz, the youngest of three children born to Sam and Rose Schwartz, Romanian immigrants, who migrated to America in the early part of the twentieth century. Sol, born in 1925, relates about his stressful life growing up in Brooklyn as part of a somewhat fractured family. He relates his struggles with education, jobs, and business ventures and his battles with cancer throughout most of his life that was constantly attacking members of his extended family as well as himself. Being widowed twice forced Sol to cope with the problems of raising three children in a home environment with different mother images. Sols business responsibilities necessitated his being away from home frequently on foreign trips, complicating matters that at times were so stressful he considered suicide. Then a third relationship found its way into his life and gave him cause to want to go on living.
EB is a love-song to a time and a place. A wonderful place of neighborhoods and parishes and consistency and constancy; a place of well-used front stoops, second-home candy stores and club-like saloons; a place of time honored values and life-long friendships; a contrarily sophisticated but endearingly innocent place; the biggest small town in America...Brooklyn, NY. At a magical moment in time...the 1940s and '50s. "...an evocative coming-of-age story...an honest and engaging tale of a feisty Catholic Irish kid growing up in the 1940s and 1950s East Flatbush. Kemp describes his world in meticulous detail, painting a vivid picture that those who have never set foot in Brooklyn can easily envision." —Sharon Seitz; USA TODAY
"Just a Kid from Brooklyn" was initially written to provide my children and their children with a family history before it was forever lost. I also wanted to leave behind a smooth glide path through life for generations not yet born. This is my story, but it may be everyman's story. It is a story about meeting head-on the challenges and struggles that we face every day and the choices that we make when we are faced with them. Some people use adversity as an excuse for failure-always the victim. For others, failure is an opportunity to try again; you always have another chance. My story is meant to inspire readers to exercise their inalienable right to the "pursuit of happiness," as cited in the Declaration of Independence, whether it's discovery, adventure, achievement, or even money.
This book came into this world October 18, 2014. It was a difficult story to tell because of the shifting moods of the characters and situations. To go from And there was my grandmother, the very definition of misery. The apartment she lived in was given to her by my uncle, her son, but she took us in when we had no place to live. She had her own story: To go to; Because we were so poor there was no money for toys. My uncle Jess bought me a red fire truck, the kind you sit in and peddle. I was not allowed to take it into the street so I drove it on the roof of that garage next door, our private playground going round and round. I loved that truck as it was the only toy I had. Boy, poverty sucks but has its advantages: you learn to live without things and it makes you strive for more, willing to do anything to get out of poverty. Everything this book is, is to relay the total experience of the piece, the happiness, the sadness, and most of all the fear. With situations like; When they got to me they wrapped me up in a quilt and hung me out of the window with only the pressure of the window holding me up. Erics family lived on the eighth floor of their building so if I fell I would most assuredly be dead from the fall. I could see down as my head was partially hanging out of the quilt, a crowd started to gather below. It is also meant to be a tribute to the Brave men and women in the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement. I try to bombard your senses with strong feelings of what life was like for these people with involvements such as; I thought to myself this is a murder assignment and I was right! We were there for one reason and one reason only: to eliminate the enemy, to win this war by attrition. The book is for the reader to get completely involved with each situations gravity. Thank You Adrien Martin Watch now The Boy From Brooklyn's book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu1UGCK4h90&feature=youtu.be
"[A] gripping, emotional story set in the part of history we’ll never forget." - New York Daily News On the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first twin tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows, covered in ash, and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California and unable to reach his father, a NYC detective likely on his way to the disaster, Kyle makes the split-second decision to bring the girl home. What follows is their story, told in alternating points of view, as Kyle tries to unravel the mystery of the girl so he can return her to her family. But what if the girl has forgotten everything, even her own name? And what if the more Kyle gets to know her, the less he wants her to go home? The Memory of Things tells a stunning story of friendship and first love and of carrying on with our day-to-day living in the midst of world-changing tragedy and unforgettable pain—it tells a story of hope.
Around the corner. The next block. Across the At the end of the line. Borough Park. Gowanus. Flatbush. Canarsie. Ridgewood. Greenpoint. Brownsville. Bay Ridge. Bensonhurst. City Line. What was the place called Brooklyn really like back then... when Brooklyn was the world? Elliot Willensky, born in Brooklyn and now official Borough Historian, takes us back to a sweeter time when a trip on the new BMT subway was a delightful adventure, when summer days were a picnic on the sand and evenings were Nathan's hotdogs at Coney Island and a whirl of lights, spills, and chills at dazzling Luna Park. Remembering Brooklyn, it's the neighborhoods you think of first -- or maybe it's your own block, the one you were raised on. In those days, the street was a more animated, more colorful place. Jacks and jump rope, hit-the-stick, double-dutch and skelly or potsy (hopscotch to you) were played everywhere. The street was a natural amphitheater, and the stoop was the perfect place for grown-ups to sit and watch and visit with neighbors. Stores-on-wheels selling fruit, baked goods, and the old standby, seltzer, rolled right down the block, and the Fuller Brush man and Electrolux vacuum-cleaner salesmen worked door to door, saving housewives countless shopping trips. For many, a big night out was dinner at a Chinese restaurant, where 99 percent of the patrons were non-Chinese, and you could get mysterious-sounding dishes like moo goo gai pan and subgum chow mein -- "One from column A, two from column B." If you could afford to go somewhere really classy, the Marine Roof of the Bossert Hotel was one of the hottest nightspots. A hot date on Saturday night featured big bands at the clubs on TheStrip (Flatbush Avenue below Prospect Park) -- the Patio, the Parakeet Club, the Circus Lounge -- or gala stage shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music or the enormous Paramount Theatre. Still, for family entertainment you couldn't beat a day at the beach and a night on Surf Avenue, taking in the sideshows and the penny arcades. For Brooklyn, the years between 1920 and 1957 were a special time. It was in 1920 that the subway system reached to Brooklyn's outer edge -- linking the entire borough with Manhattan and making it an ideal spot for millions of new families to build their homes. The end of the era came in 1957 -- the last year that Brooklyn's beloved Dodgers played at Ebbets Field before moving to sunny California. For many loyal fans the fate of "Dem Bums" represents the fate of Brooklyn. With a brilliant, entertaining text and hundreds of exciting, nostalgic photographs (many never before published), When Brooklyn Was the World recovers the history of this lively city, as remembered by the millions of people who knew Brooklyn in its golden era.
A Boy Grows in Brooklyn is an educational and spiritual memoir that recounts stories from life in the Midwood interfaith neighborhood during the fifties and sixties. It shares spiritual lessons for living today that are applicable to readers of all ages who yearn for the joy, humor, and challenge discovered in everyday urban life. Memories of the Brooklyn Dodgers, neighborhood encounters, family roots, public and Sunday school teachers, pastors' modeling, and scouting ventures are woven together in vibrant stories to enlighten the hearts, souls, and minds of readers across every stage of life.
Ken Fischman takes us on an intoxicating romp through a childhood--his--navigating the travails of "coming of age" during a couple of turbulent decades in Brooklyn. As one of the few Jewish kids in the neighborhood, he struggles with constant bullying and the pining after the treasures and glitter of Christmas celebrations that surrounded him, but do not include him. Whether clamoring after his first pre-teen kiss from his crush, or awkwardly discovering his own awaking sexuality, Ken's rollicking writing style propels us through the 1930s and '40s as he finds his balance through the beginning of WWII, Franklin Roosevelt's death, basketball thrills at Madison Square Garden, and his years at the historic Erasmus High School. "'Shut your mouth up or I'll shut it for you.'" I looked around, perhaps in amazement to see who had said that, but no one around me had spoken. It dawned on me that voice was all too familiar. It was mine. Somewhere, in absolute rage, that voice had risen from perhaps the depths of my soul. I was as shocked by it as anyone else." Blacky turned toward me as though seeing me for the first time-ever! He slowly pointed his bony index finger at me. 'I'm going to get you after school. But good! I'll see you down at the school yard. 'There were three hours until the end of school. These were the longest three hours of my life...
Step into a world filled with the magical kidhood and enchanting charm of Brooklyn through the eyes of Art Shulman in his captivating memoir, "A Kid Grows in Brooklyn." This isn't just any memoir - Art Shulman, author, and lively octogenarian, creates a time capsule that transports you to the most magical time and place to grow up in. Whether you're a Brooklyn native or just curious about its legendary allure, Art's journey from childhood to 18 is an adventure you can't miss. His tales are a delightful blend of humor and poignancy, crafted to keep you turning pages with a smile. Join Art as he revisits iconic landmarks like Coney Island and savors childhood flavors, from egg creams to the joyous game of punchball to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Each chapter unfolds a new facet of Brooklyn life, painting a vivid picture of family, friends, and the simple pleasures of a bygone era. "A Kid Grows in Brooklyn" is a treasure trove of memories. It's more than a memoir; it's a celebration of life's small moments and big adventures. Grab your copy of "A Kid Grows in Brooklyn" and embark on an unforgettable journey through Brooklyn that will leave you laughing, reflecting, and cherishing every page. Art, a proud native Brooklynite, has written a bunch of books, all very different from this one, including the previously published: I'm Wrong, I'm Sorry, I Love You!, Tyrus Carson's Ride, and Barnaby Brain. He's also known for his plays, over 100, including 26 produced full-length plays and many one-acts. He writes comedies, dramas, and their hybrid - dramedies. Art graduated with a Ph.D. in Psychology and was called Professor for the 20 years he taught at California State University, Northridge. He has two daughters, three step-children, and three grandsons and lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife Rebecca. But a big part of his heart still resides in magical Brooklyn.
