Norman H. Finkelstein

Norman H. Finkelstein is the author of twenty-two nonfiction books, mainly for young readers. He retired as a school librarian for the Brookline (Massachusetts) Public Schools and from the Prozdor Department of Hebrew College after 38 years of teaching history. Among his writing honors are two National Jewish Book Awards, the Golden Kite Honor Book Award for Nonfiction and a "highly recommended" award from the Boston Author's Club. His interest in history and biography developed early. "I was the only kid in the sixth grade who regularly read the New York Times," he said. His books reflect an eclectic view of his world. From his love of old-time radio came Sounds in the Air: The Golden Age of Radio and from his fascination with plastics came a social and cultural history called, simple enough, Plastics. He also served as the series editor for the Jewish Publication Society's JPS Guides. His most recent books are The Capture of Black Bart: Gentleman Bandit of the Old West, Union Made: Labor Leader Samuel Gompers and His Fight for Workers' Rights and The Shelter and the Fence: When 982 Holocaust Refugees Found Safe Haven in America. He is married to Rosalind who he calls "my first-line editor". They have three grown children and three grandchildren. Finkelstein lives in Framingham, Massachusetts.