About the Author

ABIGAIL POGREBIN has been a producer for Charlie Rose, Bill Moyers, and60 Minutes-for Mike Wallace and Ed Bradley. She was a senior correspondent for Brill's Content, a contributing writer for Talk magazine, andis now afree-lance journalist whose work has appeared in many magazines and newspapers. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.

Reviews

Pogrebin not only succeeded in securing access to dozens of celebrities, but also managed the difficult task of getting them to open up about a facet of their very public lives that generally has remained private.” —The Forward

*** —People Magazine

Journalist Pogrebin interviewed 61 successful Americans to elicit their thoughts on being Jewish and how-if at all-this heritage influences their lives. The profiles are engaging, intimate, brief (ranging from two to 14 pages), and frequently surprising and insightful. Interviewees include actors, directors, business tycoons, writers, politicians, journalists, designers, Supreme Court justices Ginsburg and Breyer, athletes Shawn Green and Mark Spitz, and architect Richard Meier. While Pogrebin explicitly does not draw conclusions about the state of Judaism in America, even just among the rich and famous, it is striking how rarely God is mentioned across the dozens of interviews. The subjects differ on such packed issues as Israel, intermarriage, and anti-Semitism. The personal importance of their Jewishness also varies widely. But while many are passionate about the culture and history of the Jewish people, few are particularly observant and fewer still involved with theological Judaism. In a thoughtful epilog, Pogrebin notes that this widespread lack of religiousness actually inspired her to return to synagogue and study the Torah. Altogether, this is a provocative and enjoyable book for Jews and gentiles alike.-Janet Ingraham Dwyer, Worthington Libs., OH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.