Barney Ross

Part of the Jewish Encounter series Born Dov-Ber Rasofsky to Eastern European immigrant parents, Barney Ross grew up in a tough Chicago neighborhood and witnessed his father’s murder, his mother’s nervous breakdown, and the dispatching of his three younger siblings to an orphanage, all before he turned fourteen. To make enough money to reunite the family, Ross became a petty thief, a gambler, a messenger boy for Al Capone, and, eventually, an amateur boxer. Turning professional at nineteen, he would capture the lightweight, junior welterweight, and welterweight titles over the course of a ten-year career. Ross began his career as the scrappy “Jew kid,” ended it as an American sports icon, and went on to become a hero during World War II, earning a Silver Star for his heroic actions at Guadalcanal. While recovering from war wounds and malaria he became addicted to morphine, but with fierce effort he ultimately kicked his habit and then campaigned fervently against drug abuse. And the fighter who brought his father’s religious books to training camp also retained powerful ties to the world from which he came. Ross worked for the creation of a Jewish state, running guns to Palestine and offering to lead a brigade of Jewish American war veterans. This first biography of one of the most colorful boxers of the twentieth century is a galvanizing account of an emblematic life: a revelation of both an extraordinary athlete and a remarkable man.

A profile of one of the most colorful sports figures of the twentieth century follows the life and career of boxer Barney Ross, from his youth as the child of Eastern European immigrants in a tough Chicago neighborhood and his hardscrabble early life, to his successful boxing career, exploits as a combat Marine during World War II, campaign against drug abuse, and fervent support of a Jewish state. 25,000 first printing.

This book follows the lives and careers of two Jewish boxers, Max Baer and Barney Ross. Fighting in the 1920s and 1930s when anti-Semitism was rampant, American Jews found symbols of strength and courage in these two world champions. This book provides a vivid picture of Baer and Ross as they fought opponents in the ring and prejudice outside it.

Architect Carol Ross Barney founded her own firm in 1981. Throughout the past 25 years of Ross Barney Jankowski and now Ross Barney Architects, the office has grown to a 35-person firm that places special emphasis on the process of design. The team invol

This book strips away the myths and facile explanations to reaveal the real Kenesaw Mountain Landis—with all the subtleties and contradictions that made him not only czar of baseball, but also the most famous, popular, and controversial federal judge in America.

A dramatic, fascinating–and revisionist–narrative detailing how America’s first family was changed utterly during World War II. First-rate history grounded in scholarship and brought to life by a critically acclaimed author. From breathless hagiographies to scandal-mongering exposés, no family has generated more bestselling books than the Kennedys. None of them, however, has focused on the watershed period of World War II, when the course of the family and its individual members changed utterly. Now, in an engaging narrative grounded in impeccable scholarship, Edward J. Renehan, Jr., provides a dramatic portrait of years marked by family tensions, heartbreaks, and heroics. It was during this time that tragedy began to haunt the family–Joe Jr.’s death, the untimely widowhood of Kathleen (a.k.a. “Kick”), Rosemary’s lobotomy. But it was also the time in which John F. Kennedy rose above the strictures of the clan and became his own man. In the late 1930s, the Kennedys settled in London, where Joseph Kennedy, Sr., was serving as ambassador. A virulent anti-Semite and isolationist, Kennedy relentlessly and ruthlessly fought to keep America out of the war in Europe. His behavior as patriarch in many ways mirrored his public style. Though he was devoted to the family, he was also manipulative and autocratic. In re-creating the intense and tension-filled interactions among the family, Renehan offers riveting, often revisionist views of Joseph Sr.; heir apparent Joe Jr.; Kick, the beautiful socialite; and Jack, the complex charmer. He demonstrates that Joe Jr., although much like his father in opinion and character, was driven to volunteer for a deadly mission in large part because of his fury at Jack’s seemingly easy successes. Renehan also delves into why Kick, a good Catholic girl, chose to abandon her religion for the chance to enter the fairytale world of the British aristocracy, only to suffer a horrendous tragedy. It is Renehan’s reassessment of Jack, however, that is particularly striking. In subtly breaking away from his domineering father over the issue of World War II, Renehan argues, Jack began to forge the character that would eventually take him to the Oval Office. Going behind the familiar (and accurate) image of JFK as a reckless playboy, Renehan shows us a young man of great intelligence, moral courage, and truly astonishing physical bravery.

Israel Bodkin's journey began when he was a youngster and fled Lithuania just before the Nazis arrived. After fifty years in New York City he thinks he understands the boundaries of his life. But now his beloved wife is dead, and his family lives in Miami, a place Israel imagines as the New Babylon, a center of luxury, license, and wickedness. When his son insists he come to live with him, Israel reluctantly begins the next stage of his life's passage. He enters a world of bi-racial, tri-ethnic chaos he never bargained for. But all things are possible in the New Babylon. Israel discovers an unlikely new career as a radio talk show host and becomes a reluctant political activist. Interaction with a sometimes manic collection of new friends affirms what he already knows-that life is about making demands and fulfilling commitments. What you can't always predict are the consequences. Israel's story is as old as history and as new as today's headlines, and his adventures will move you to laughter and to tears.