Boston Boy

There are well-etched scenes, amusing episodes and even some surprises in this evocative memoir of growing up Jewish in the Boston of the 1930s and '40s. From the moment he eats a salami sandwich on Yom Kippur in defiance of his Orthodox neighbors, to organizing a union among the boys in a candy store, and later earning his stripes as a journalist, the author deftly recalls the events and people that influenced him. Hentoff, known variously for his Village Voice column, his novels and books about politics, civil liberties and jazz, here looks at his youth and the forces that shaped his views as a staunch libertarian, including a crusading woman publisher and the jazzmen he came to admire. Told with frankness and gently self-deprecating wit, Hentoff's recollections pleasantly define a very particular place in time and how that place formed this interesting man. (April 15)