Great Jews In Sports [Hardcover]

Robert Slater (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005

Replete with facts, figures, and statistics, this revised and updated edition of Great Jews in Sports documents the contribution of Jewish athletes to the world of sports over the past two centuries. From home-run king Hank Greenberg, star of the 1930s and 1940s, to figure skater Sarah Hughes, surprise winner of the gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics, this new edition of a perennial favorite presents intriguing portraits of sports stars from around the globe.

Bestselling author Robert Slater’s more than 150 major profiles and thumbnail sketches include such a fascinating and diverse mix as gymnast Kerri Strug, gold-medal winner at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics; Daniel Mendoza, the father of modern boxing; Esther Roth, the first Israeli to reach the Olympic finals; Sidney Franklin, the first Jewish bullfighter; Sandy Koufax, the youngest player ever to be admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame; Hungarian gymnast Agnes Keleti, who earned an impressive five gold medals in the 1930s and 1940s; and power swimmer Lenny Krayzelburg, who won two gold medals for the United States at the 1998 World Championships in Perth, Australia.

For those particularly interested in the Israeli sports scene, Slater devotes an entire section of biographies to outstanding Israeli sports figures, including pole vaulter Alex Averbukh, figure-skating couple Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski, tennis player Anna Smashnova Pistolesi, and track and field stars Zehava Shmueli and Uri Zohar. Also included are lists of the winners of the Maccabiah Games and of members of the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

First published in 1983, Robert Slater’s new edition of the classic Great Jews in Sports will continue to delight seasoned sports lovers while introducing a whole new generation to some of the finest athletes of all time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Guaranteed to provide many hours of entertainment for sports enthusiasts and trivia collectors of all ages. -- Jewish Books in Review

I loved Robert Slater’s new book, Great Jews in Sports! -- Larry King, USA Today

This is the bar/bat mitzvah gift everyone has been asking for! -- Orange County Jewish Heritage

About the Author

Robert Slater was born in the United States in 1943. In 1971 he and his wife, Elinor, moved to Jerusalem, where they continue to make their home. Robert Slater was a reporter in the Time magazine Jerusalem Bureau from 1976 to 1996. He is the author of many biographical works, including Rabin of Israel and Golda: The Uncrowned Queen of Israel. Together, the Slaters have authored the highly popular Great Jewish Women, Great Jewish Men, and Great Moments in Jewish History.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Jonathan David Publishers, Inc.; Rev&Updtd edition (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824604539
• ISBN-13: 978-0824604530
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #516,014 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Slater was born in New York City on October 1, 1943, and grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. He graduated from Columbia High School in 1962 and graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966, where he majored in political science. He received a masters of science degree in international relations from the London School of Economics in 1967. He worked for UPI and Time Magazine for many years, in both the United States and the Middle East.
Slater has written 16 books about major business personalities before his new book on Donald Trump:
' The Titans of Takeover (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1987).
' Portraits in Silicon (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1987).
' This ... .Is CBS: A Chronicle of 60 Years (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988).
' The New GE: How Jack Welch Revived an American Institution (Homewood, IL: Business One Irwin, 1993).
' Get Better or Get Beaten! 31 Leadership Secrets from GE's Jack Welch (Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin Professional Publishing, 1994). This book made the business best-seller list in Japan.
' SOROS: The Life, Times, and Trading Secrets of the World's Greatest Investor (Chicago, IL: Irwin Professional Publishing, 1996). This book profiles superinvestor George Soros, and it appeared on the Business Week best-seller list.
' Invest First, Investigate Later: And 23 Other Trading Secrets of George Soros, the Legendary Investor (Chicago, IL: Irwin Professional Publishing, 1996).
' John Bogle and the Vanguard Experiment: One Man's Quest to Transform the Mutual Fund Industry (Chicago, IL: Irwin Professional Publishing, 1996). This book profiles the most important business figure in the mutual fund field.
' Ovitz: The Inside Story of Hollywood's Most Controversial Power Broker (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1997). This book made the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times business best-seller lists.
' Jack Welch and the GE Way: Management Insights and Leadership Secrets of the Legendary CEO (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1998). This is an updated look at the business secrets of General Electric's chairman and chief executive officer. It made the Business Week and The Wall Street Journal best-seller lists.
' Saving Big Blue: Leadership Lessons & Turnaround Tactics of IBM's Lou Gerstner (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1999).
' The GE Way Fieldbook: Jack Welch's Battle Plan for Corporate Revolution (New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 1999).
' The Eye of the Storm: How John Chambers Steered Cisco Systems Through the Technology Collapse (New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 2003).
' Magic Cancer Bullet: How a Tiny Orange Capsule May Rewrite Medical History (New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 2003), co-authored with Novartis CEO, Dan Vasella.
' The Wal-Mart Decade: How a New Generation of Leaders Turned Sam Walton's Legacy into the World's #1 Company (New York, NY: Portfolio, 2003). A paperback version was published in June 2004.
' Microsoft Rebooted: How Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer Re-Invented Their Company (New York, NY: Portfolio, 2004
' No Such Thing as Over-Exposure: Inside the Life and Celebrity of Donald Trump (New Jersey, Pearson, Prentice Hall, February 2005)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Encyclopedic!, May 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Jews in Sports (Hardcover)

Outside the names of Sandy Koufax and Mark Spitz, it's hard to rattle off a list of great Jewish athletes. For me, this encyclopedia of Jewish athletes (complete with photos) offered encouragement in the field of athletics, and I think this can be a very empowering book for aspiring Jewish athletes in any sport. It's fun to flip each page and learn about another exciting career!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GOOD COLLECTION OF STORIES, December 23, 2005

By 

COOL JEWEL (MACEDONIA, OHIO USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Great Jews in Sports (Hardcover)

THIS IS A GREAT COLLECTION OF STORIES COVERING JEWISH ATHLETES. FROM MARK SPITZ TO SANDY KOUFAX, EACH PERSON IS COVERED IN NICE DETAIL TELLING A BIT OF THEIR LIFE AND WHAT THEY CONTRIBUTED TO THEIR SPORT. I REALLY FOUND THIS ENTERTAINING AND INTERESTING. A RECOMMENDED READ.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars gift well received, September 3, 2005

By 

Amy Lourenco "Ymabear" (Leesburg, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Great Jews In Sports (Hardcover)

I gave this as a Bat Mitzvah gift to a young woman who is into sports. Her mother reported that she really enjoyed it!