Biographical note:

Pete Hamill is a novelist, journalist, editor, and screenwriter. He is the author of twenty-two books, including the bestselling novels Tabloid City, North River, Forever, and Snow in August, and the bestselling memoir A Drinking Life. He lives in New York City.

Main description:

Brooklyn, 1947. The war veterans have come home. Jackie Robinson is about to become a Dodger. And in one close-knit working-class neighborhood, an eleven-year-old Irish Catholic boy named Michael Devlin has just made friends with a lonely rabbi from Prague.

Snow in August is the story of that unlikely friendship -- and of how the neighborhood reacts to it. For Michael, the rabbi opens a window to ancient learning and lore that rival anything in Captain Marvel. For the rabbi, Michael illuminates the everyday mysteries of America, including the strange language of baseball. But like their hero Jackie Robinson, neither can entirely escape from the swirling prejudices of the time. Terrorized by a local gang of anti-Semitic Irish toughs, Michael and the rabbi are caught in an escalating spiral of hate for which there's only one way out -- a miracle....

Deeply affecting and wonderfully evocative of old New York, Snow in August is a brilliant fable for our time and all time -- and another triumphfor Pete Hamill.

Review quote:

"A tender novel....When it comes to evoking the sights and sounds of postwar Brooklyn streets Pete Hamill has no peer....When you finish that roller-coaster last chapter you'll wonder if the shade of Isaac Bashevis Singer whispered in his ear."

Review quote:

"Magic....This page-turner of a fable has universal appeal."

Review quote:

"Strong and soulful-a wonderful addition to a compelling body of work. Few are as good at evoking New York City's life and heart as Pete Hamill."