<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Great History of NYC, Great Stories About the World!
Review: I absolutely loved this book, and I'm not normally a memoir reader, but it's so colorful and full of action that I got hooked. It starts out with a brief history of New York City, as seen through the eyes of a child growing up there and watching the city change for nearly a century. It then moves on to tell the story of Leonard's astonishingly wide travels through the world, and the many bits of history in which he was involved. Leonard writes the way that people who have lived long, interesting lives often speak: in anecdotes. Long passages about his own travels are often interrupted to tell interesting stories about the people he meets and their work. It is incredible just how many landmark moments in international history that Leonard had a hand in: everything from the creation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the first independent election in Zimbabwe to first visit of the Dalai Lama to the U.S. The book is divided into chapters about the people he has met, but really, the book is about the expansion of human freedom and the many people, including Leonard, who have dedicated their lives to making that expansion possible. Truly a remarkable book.(full disclosure: the author is a respected colleague of mine, so I may be biased in his favor, but I do think that anyone interested in human rights or New York history will really enjoy this book)
Rating:
Summary: Great History of NYC, Great Stories About the World!
Review: I absolutely loved this book, and I'm not normally a memoir reader, but it's so colorful and full of action that I got hooked. It starts out with a brief history of New York City, as seen through the eyes of a child growing up there and watching the city change for nearly a century. It then moves on to tell the story of Leonard's astonishingly wide travels through the world, and the many bits of history in which he was involved. Leonard writes the way that people who have lived long, interesting lives often speak: in anecdotes. Long passages about his own travels are often interrupted to tell interesting stories about the people he meets and their work. It is incredible just how many landmark moments in international history that Leonard had a hand in: everything from the creation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the first independent election in Zimbabwe to first visit of the Dalai Lama to the U.S. The book is divided into chapters about the people he has met, but really, the book is about the expansion of human freedom and the many people, including Leonard, who have dedicated their lives to making that expansion possible. Truly a remarkable book. (full disclosure: the author is a respected colleague of mine, so I may be biased in his favor, but I do think that anyone interested in human rights or New York history will really enjoy this book)
Rating: 
Summary: fascinating reading
Review: this memoir of a native New Yorker, writer, and advocate for human rights and the rights of journalists around the world, is truly a page-turner! I recommend it for anyone interested in the details and complexity of the history of American Judaism, in particular its secular side, and in Cold War history generally.
<< 1 >>
| 
