Stan Levenson was a poor, fatherless kid with few aspirations during the Great Depression and World War II aside from getting into trouble. So it might come as a big surprise that this self-described goof-off went on to make an international name for himself helping school districts around the world reap millions of dollars. When Brooklyn Was Heaven lovingly chronicles a 30-year (1931-61) journey through Brooklyn neighborhoods rich in history and culture, the Borscht Belt of the Catskills, small college towns in upstate New York, military duty in the United States Navy, and a lifestyle that crisscrossed a continent and the globe. Through determination and chutzpah, Levenson graduated from one of the roughest vocational high schools in New York City, attended college, earned advanced degrees including a Ph.D., and transformed fundraising in the public schools. But not before playing the lead in a number of memorable misadventures. A vividly detailed portrait of stickball games, scrap-metal drives, Coney Island capers, Catskill mountain highs, college classics, awkward gropes, Naval adventures, L.A. dreaming, and sheer grit. When Brooklyn Was Heaven is a must read for anyone with a New York connection, those who are fascinated by this joyful place, and all others who are intrigued by the places in-between.
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