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Doughby Mort Zachter |
Judy Stanton: I volunteered at the Jewish Book Festival this year; having arrived before my assigned program, I slipped in to hear Mort Zachter talk about his book Dough. The good part is that he was entertaining, funny and caught my interest. The bad part is that he told most of the story in the book. Still, I enjoyed reading this memoir, completing it in one day. (173 pages)
The story is about Mort s family, mainly his bachelor uncles,
who lived on Manhattan s Lower East Side and ran their parents day-old bread store,
with help from Mort's mother. Their frugal lifestyle -- living in a tenement,
working every day, never vacationing, and not providing financial support to
family in need belied the fact, which he later uncovered,
that they were actually multi-millionaires.
I could relate to some of my parents beliefs in Mort's family and to
how difficult it was for him, even as he inherited this fortune,
to change his work ethic and lifestyle.
Rating: ****
