"Live and be Well", a Celebration of Yiddish Culture in America, is a must read for Jews and Non-Jews alike. Personally, I loved the book and recommend it highly for the following reasons: The alphabetical fashion in which the content is arranged makes it so easy to read and reminisce,particularly as an elderly person (85) who remembers seeing so many of these extraordinary people in vaudeville,on the theatre stage, on the screen, in community centers, and hearing some on the radio. Performers like Fanny Brice to Sophie Tucker, writers like Sholem Asch to Clifford Odets, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Social Workers like Lilian Wald,Editors like Abraham Cahan,and so on and so on, become more than famous persons of Jewish heritage. All of these people came to America struggled and contributed every conceivable talent to this country of opportunity. The writers Shepard and Levi, with their wonderful photographs, accurate facts,clarity of descriptions of people and events makes the reader feel proud of being an American!

While the subject matter of this book is quite intriguing, the writing style of Ms. D'Amato leaves a great deal to be desired. Quite frequently the text goes off on a tangent, then quickly returns to the subject at hand, and the reader is left scratching their head, wondering why the author even brought up the "sidebar".

As it is probably the only book available (to my knowledge) on Mr. Johnson and Mr. D'Amato, I can recommend it from a subject perspective. Just be prepared to have to go back and re-read sections trying to make some sense of them.

Being a native New Jerseyan, I really appreciated this book. the author makes you feel as if you have a front row seat at the "Queen of Resorts" a.k.a. Atlantic City, New Jersey! The reader will get a close up view of the "Rat Pack" boys,Frank Sinatra and Dean Martine..and the close relationship they had to "Skinny" D'Amato. This wonderful book is packed with photos of life Atlantic City back in the 40's and 50's...how different life was then in the "nightclub" era..when people dressed up and went out in search of entertainment..how different we live now with cable TV, computers, etc. This book can almost be an historical document..into the past..and what a contrast between the Atlantic City of today with her towering casinos, and the Atlantic City of yesterday!