Square One; A Memoir
New York: Donald I. Fine, Inc., 1988. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. 24 cm. 422, [2] pages. Illustrations. Index. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Inscribed to Jared Blum on second fep. Foreword by Elie Wiesel. Arnold Forster was an American Jewish leader, lawyer and writer who was a longtime executive of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai Werth. Associated with the Anti-Defamation League for nearly six decades, Mr. Forster was its general counsel from 1946 to 2003. He helped document and combat myriad forms of anti-Semitism in the United States and overseas. His books, many of which began as league reports, include “The Trouble-Makers” (Doubleday, 1952), “ and “The New Anti-Semitism” (McGraw-Hill, 1974), all written with Benjamin R. Epstein. Mr. Forster was also the author of a memoir, “Square One”, which has a foreword by Elie Wiesel. Mr. Forster wrote the screenplays of several documentary films including “The Avenue of the Just”, about Gentiles who saved Jews during the Holocaust, and “Zubin and the I.P.O.”, about Zubin Mehta, the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Forster recounted his decades-long campaign against bigotry. Reviewing the memoir in The New York Times Book Review, Marlene Sanders called it “an earnest chronicle of the useful life of a dedicated man.” Ms. Sanders continued: “The work of Mr. Forster and the league over the years has contributed to eliminating many institutionalized forms of prejudice.” She added, “We may not be back to ‘Square One’ in solving the problem, but this book is a reminder that there is still work to be done.”. Arnold Forster was general counsel of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. He covered the Adolf Eichmann trial firsthand, and interviewed Israeli leaders such as Golda Meir. Derived from a Kirkus review: A tightly focused memoir of a one-track career--for 46 years, Forster has been the chief attorney for the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. Fifty years ago, the US was by no means sheltered from the more ugly anti-Semitic displays that saw their nadir in Hitler's Germany. Anti-Jewish commentary was rife in the 30's and 40's here, too, perpetrated by such popular figures as Father Coughlin, Gerald L.K. Smith, and Fulton Lewis, Jr. Forster concludes that subconscious prejudice against Jews remains just as virulent today as it was 50 years ago. His new volume is a more personal work reflecting his many experiences and confrontations with some of the famous (and infamous) people of our times. One of the more touching vignettes involves Forster's high-school chum Julie Garfinkel, who later became famed actor John Garfield. Meeting in later years, when Garfield was smeared during the HUAC hearings, Forster attempted to clear the actor's name while Garfield pretended that they never knew each other in the past. Another poignant episode has Forster interceding on behalf of Walter Winchell to find out the truth behind a rumor that Dore Schary was on the verge of converting to Catholicism. Schary explodes at Forster for the invasion of privacy, then is humbled when he realizes Forster was only attempting to save him from the gossip mill. An important memoir from a man who has worked hard to render fallow the ripe fields of bigotry. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Anti-Defamation, Anti-Semitism, Antiboycott, Adolf Eichmann, Ariel Sharon, B'nai B'rith, Ben-Gurion, Ethnic Relations, Golda Meir, B'nai B'rith, Antiboycott, Blacklisting, Charles Coughlin, Eichmann trial, John Garfield, Holocaust, Jews, Palestine, P
ISBN: 1556111045
[Book #73979]
Price: $50.00