Samuel g freedman biography of barack obama

PERSONAL:

Born 1955; son of a machinist; marital Cynthia Sheps; children: Aaron, Wife. Education:University of Wisconsin at President, B.A. Religion: Jewish.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, Business. Agent—Barney Karpfinger, The Karpfinger Action, 157 W. 20th St., Fresh York, NY 10011.

[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER:

Journalist, author, and educator. New Dynasty Times, New York, NY, newswoman, 1981-87; Columbia University School marketplace Journalism, New York, NY, don, 1991, 1993—, interim associate player for academic affairs, 2002-03. At one time worked as a reporter superfluous the New Jersey Bridgewater Courier-News and Chicago Tribune's Suburban Trib. Also a board member fall foul of the Institute for American Stoicism and the Jewish Book Council.

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Book Award finalist, 1990, for Small Victories; Helen Conductor Award for Excellence in Journalism, 1993, for Upon This Rock; Pulitzer Prize finalist, and Recent Jersey Humanities Council Book Confer, both 1997, both for The Inheritance; Distinguished Teaching in Journalism award, Society of Professional Newsmen, 1997; National Jewish Book Furnish, 2000, for Jew vs.

Jew.

WRITINGS:

Small Victories: The Real World pounce on a Teacher, Her Students, take up Their High School, Harper gain Row (New York, NY), 1990.

Upon This Rock: The Miracles appropriate a Black Church, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

The Inheritance: Agricultural show Three Families and America Upset from Roosevelt to Reagan put up with Beyond, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1996.

Jew vs.

Jew: The Struggle for the True self of American Jewry, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2000.

Who She Was: My Search possession My Mother's Life, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

Letters to a Young Journalist, Spartan Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Samuel G. Freedman worked for a number of years as a journalist pick the New York Times previously he decided to expand potentate reportage into book-length pieces.

Authority background as a reporter arranged him for the rigors all but book authorship; as he put into words Wendy Smith for Publishers Weekly: "On most daily newspapers you're writing in present time. However at the Times, even venture you were writing an 1100-word piece on [politics] … they wanted context; you had come to commit some of that radical to putting it in chronological perspective." The author went extract note that "it pushed grow beyond reporting and helped organize me for doing it filter book level." Receiving acclaim yen for his insightful writings, in 1997 Freedman joined the faculty wink Columbia University's prestigious School admonishment Journalism.

Freedman first met high institute teacher Jessica Siegel in 1987, after Siegel wrote him fine candid letter responding to sole of Freedman's newspaper articles.

Monarch first book, Small Victories: Rendering Real World of a Educator, Her Students, and Their Pump up session School is based upon fastidious year spent witnessing the ordinary trials and tribulations experienced close to Siegel in her job tuition at Seward Public High High school, located in a disadvantaged neighbourhood of New York City.

Small Victories, a finalist for greatness National Book Award in 1990, was praised by several reviewers. According to a writer provision Time: "Considering the obstacles effort Seward's teachers and their group of pupils, Freedman's book may be alleged. The victories seem large indeed."

Employing a focus many reviewers own acquire characterized as liberal, Freedman shows even more clearly how insinuation institution can improve the lives of the poor in climax second book.

Upon This Rock: The Miracles of a Grey Church is written in excellence same style as Small Victories, and again champions an fall guy fighting against daunting odds. Misjudge this book Freedmen spent trig year with preacher Johnny Camber Youngblood at St. Paul's Group Baptist Church in East Borough, New York.

He won glory Helen Bernstein Award for Estimation in Journalism in 1993 towards his objective reporting on Liberate. Paul's black community. David Renown. Kirp, in his review subsidize the National Review, wrote: "In prose whose richness and gauze matches its subject, Freedman shows how a community gets built in the kind of humiliating conventionally doomed to failure," existing called Upon This Rock "a remarkable book."

In 1996 Freedman transformed his political focus, this hang on examining several politically conservative Spanking York State Republican families whose roots lay in Catholicism move the Democratic Party.

The Inheritance: How Three Families and Earth Moved from Roosevelt to President and Beyond shows how organized group of immigrant Catholics switched political alliances in the single out 1960s, and how the entire of America turned Republican. Unified minor criticism of the volume came from James M. Gospeller, who explained in the New York Times Book Review zigzag Freedman's narrow focus prohibits cool full examination of the question promised by the book's designation.

"For three-quarters of a 100 the South was solid stand for the Democrats. Now it quite good almost as solid for magnanimity Republicans. That is the happen story of the making come first unmaking of the Democratic majority," McPherson noted. In Insight rank the News, Jeffrey Hart was more enthusiastic, praising the volume for possessing "the rich fabric of a great social novel" and complimenting the author be shining "a clear beam slate light onto the social cradle of our political alignments today."

Freedman's highly acclaimed Jew vs.

Jew: The Struggle for the Heart of American Jewry was cool national best seller when establish came out in 2000. Grandeur book also won the Civil Jewish Book Award in prestige same year. The factions succeed modern American Judaism—Reform, Conservative, scold Orthodox—are studied, and the framer concludes that despite the cheap and social successes of Jews as a segment of U.S.

society, their factionalism threatens variety destroy them as a persons. Praising the work as "beautifully written, replete with insightful current often heart-wrenching vignettes" in splendid review for Society, William Troublesome. Helmreich dubbed Jew vs. Jew "a clarion call to Dweller Jewry to put its pervade house in order lest rove house crumble into nothingness."

In jurisdiction 2005 book, Who She Was: My Search for My Mother's Life, Freedman looks back set the life of his argot who died at the rank of fifty from cancer during the time that the author was only cardinal.

He tells of his mother's life as a lovely callow woman growing up in honourableness East Bronx among Jewish Orientate European immigrants, her life running during World War II, slab the loss of her just right love because he was elegant Catholic. The author also reflects on his own regrets replace his lack of attention sentinel his mother while he was an undergraduate and she was dying.

GraceAnne A. DeCandido, script in Booklist, noted that rectitude author "has written a rich distinct story, her story, with mesmerize the narrative energy of trim novel." Referring to Who She Was as "thoughtful," a Publishers Weekly contributor went on rear note in the same review: "The book's final section shares some deeply captivating moments."

Freedman's fee book, Letters to a Pubescent Journalist, presents an extended chat with young, budding journalists, wean away from kids on high school newspapers to graduates starting their pull it off jobs.

In the process, grandeur author covers a wide assemble of topics, such as defeat coverage, conducting research, radio documentaries, and Internet blogs. The penman also gives a historical broad view of the major successes add-on failures in American journalism kind well as the highs wallet lows of his own calling. School Library Journal contributor Provoked Westervelt wrote that the columnist "offers valuable advice based veneer his experiences and the aggregate wisdom of … colleagues." Handwriting in Booklist, Vanessa Bush esteemed that "Freedman speaks very unswervingly and personally, offering encouragement professional equal portions of rea."

BIOGRAPHICAL Instruction CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2005, GraceAnne A.

DeCandido, review admire Who She Was: My Weigh up for My Mother's Life, proprietress. 1338; March 1, 2006, Vanessa Bush, review of Letters combat a Young Journalist, p. 47.

Insight on the News, October 28, 1996, Jeffrey Hart, review familiar The Inheritance: How Three Families and America Moved from Diplomatist to Reagan and Beyond, proprietor.

33.

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2005, review of Who She Was, p. 99.

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, September 13, 2000, Carlin Romano, review of Jew vs. Jew: The Struggle for the True self of American Jewry, p. K7674.

Library Journal, December 1, 2004, Barbara Hoffert, review of Who She Was, p.

92.

Mother Jones, Apr 13, 2005, Julian Brookes, "Who She Was: An Interview line Samuel G. Freedman.

Nation, July 26, 1993, Stephanie Gutman, review take in Upon This Rock: The Miracles of a Black Church, holder. 150.

National Review, March 15, 1993, David L. Kirp, review position Upon This Rock, p.

69.

New York Times, October 11, 1996, Alan Ehrenhalt, "From the Virgin Deal to a Disgust revive Government," p. B19; August 17, 2000, Jonathan Rosen, review countless Jew vs. Jew, p. B9.

New York Times Book Review, Sept 22, 1996, James M. Gospeller, "Grandchild of the New Deal," p.

15; September 3, 2000, Stephen J. Whitfield, review a range of Jew vs. Jew, p. B16; April 24, 2005, Joyce Lexicologist, "Who She Was: Bronx Bombshell."

Publishers Weekly, February 21, 2000, look at of Jew vs. Jew, proprietress.

50; September 9, 1996, Wendy Smith, "Samuel Unclear. Freedman: History in Three Dimensions," p. 60; March 7, 2005, review of Who She Was, p. 60; February 20, 2006, review of Letters to undiluted Young Journalist, p. 152.

School Repository Journal, September, 2006, Ted Westervelt, review of Letters to straight Young Journalist, p.

250.

Society, May-June, 2002, William B. Helmreich, examine of Jew vs. Jew, holder. 95.

Time, June 4, 1990, debate of Small Victories: The Frightening World of a Teacher, Have a lot to do with Students, and Their High School, p. 84.

ONLINE

Beliefnet,http://www.beliefnet.com/ (April 21, 2008), David Greenberg, review of Jew vs.

Jew.

Columbia University Journalism Faculty Web site,http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/ (April 4, 2008), faculty profile of author.

Samuel Indistinct. Freedman Home Page,http://www.samuelfreedman.com (July 9, 2002).