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Shush!

Many years after coming to America from Odessa in Soviet Ukraine,Emil Draitser, realized that every time he uttered the word "Jewish"--even in casual conversation--he lowered his voice. In his memoir Shush! Growing Up Jewish Under Stalin he tells how this habit formed during his childhood in the anti-Semitic, post-Holocaust Soviet Union, and presents a sweeping panorama of two centuries of Jewish history in Russia.

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Dodging Baseball's Good Graces

Although Walter O'Malley has been dead for nearly 30 years his, the former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers owner is still one of the most controversial persons ever associated with the sport. Michael D’Antonio's exhaustive biography of O’Malley is called Forever Blue.

Event: Michael D'Antonio will be in conversation with Walter O'Malley's son Peter, moderated by Richard Sandomir of the New York Times
Saturday, March 21, at 1:00 pm
Brooklyn Historical Society
128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn

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The Secret Lives of Umpires

New York Times reporter Bruce Weber gives you an insider's look at the largely unknown world of professional umpires, the small group of men (and the very occasional woman) who make sure America's favorite pastime is conducted in a manner that is clean, crisp, and true. Weber not only interviewed dozens of professional umpires, but entered their world and trained to become an umpire for his book As They See 'Em.

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