PositiveJewish Book CouncilThere’s not much for a biographer to work with, so Fox gives us Mrs. Mandelbaum’s world instead — which is very entertaining. The problem comes at the end, when Fox asks the big question: how did Mrs. Mandelbaum go from struggling immigrant in the 1850s to New York City crime boss twenty years later? ... It’s a tribute to Fox’s storytelling talents that this unique and mysterious woman has come to life.
Stephen Koch
PositiveThe Jewish Book CouncilIt is a real tribute to Stephen Koch’s storytelling talent that he manages not only to draw readers into the young man’s story, but to leave everyone asking why they haven’t heard about him before ... Koch masterfully unfolds the boy’s complicated plans. He also highlights the rise of fascism in the Nazi period—the opportunists and their power plays, the crafting of the \'big lie\', the staging of mass pageantry—in such a way that readers can’t help but think about the parallels to today’s world politics. By avoiding explicit comparisons, Koch wisely allows readers to make these connections themselves.
