where he has come across an orphan-
age under rebel attack. Krumlov saves
the children and takes over the
orphanage, using it both as his place
of refuge and base of negotiations.
And Krumlov certainly has the
goods with which to negotiate. He
knows the identity of a mole inside
the secret Israeli nuclear weapons pro-
gram. He promises AMAN he will
reveal the name of the spy — but
only if the Israelis agree to do three
things.
They must get Krumlov's girlfriend
out of war-ravaged Sarajevo and
arrange for her to be reunited with
him; they must deposit a million dol-
lars in Krumlov's name in a Swiss
bank account; and, lastly, they must
bring him to Israel. (We later discover
the reason why.)
Anyone who appreciates a good
cliffhanger will love The Devil's
Shepherd. It is an eminently entertain-
ing summer read.

— Reviewed by Marlena Thompson

NONFICTION

Groucho: The Life and Times of
Julius Henry Marx by Stefan Kanfer
(Knopf 465 pp.; $30)
The middle son -of a -ne'er-do-well
Jewish immigrant father from Alsace-
Lorraine and an ambitious German-
Jewish mother, Groucho Marx was
surely one of the oddest American
icons of the 20th century.
Born Julius Henry Marx in
Manhattan in 1890, Groucho was in
many ways the creation of his driven,
intense stage mother, Minnie
Schoenberg Marx, who, in biographer
Stefan Kanfer's apt words, vowed
quite early to "sculpt something sig-
nificant from the rawest of materials,"
her five sons.
She succeeded at least with the
three eldest, known to history as
Chico, Harpo and Groucho. (Zeppo
and Gummo, the two youngest,
played relatively minimal roles in the
Marx Brothers' varied entertain-
ments.)
The brothers' rise from a middling
vaudeville act to international fame
and fortune came after endless false
starts — and their period of glory
only embraced a decade or so, rough-
ly concurrent with the 1930s. _
Kanfer, an accomplished chronicler
of movies and popular culture, does a
masterful job of going beyond the
quips and the pratfalls — although
some of the dialogue from films like

Animal Crackers and Duck Soup is
almost worth the price of the book
alone. He does a fine job of placing
the brothers in their cultural context.
The '30s were the right moment
for Groucho, Kanfer points out,
because the Depression permanently
shook many Americans' faith in the
institutions of government, business
and society. As a result, "aggressive,
impertinent personalities like W.C.
Fields, Mae West and the Marx
Brothers — Groucho, in particular
— would flourish by assaulting the
powerful, anytime, anywhere."
Kanfer met the aged Groucho
Marx after the comedian had retired
but was still, in the biographer's
words, "responsive and amusing." He
conceived the idea of the biography
in the early 1970s but deferred it for
decades, well after Groucho's death in
1977 and the deaths of many of his
friends and acquaintances.
As a result, the book relies heavily
on published sources, many of them
quite obscure, and it's probably for
the better. Personal anecdotes about
Groucho Marx tend to be unreliable..
Kanfer has done a splendid job of
blending his interviews with the
remaining Mandan compatriots, all
sorts of archival material And dialogue
from the famous motion pictures into
a delightful, utterly readable product.

— Reviewed by Jonathan Groner

Koufax by Edward Gruver (Taylor
Publishing; 288 pp.; $24.95)
Sandy Koufax was not only the
best Jewish pitcher in baseball history.
He was, at least from 1962 to 1966,
according to countless fans, baseball
analysts, fellow players and sports-
writer Edward Gruver, simply the
best pitcher on earth.
This pronouncement is made
regardless of race, creed, national ori-
gin or any consideration other than
velocity and control of a hard, horse-
hide-covered sphere 9 inches in cir-
cumference.
To be sure, Koufax was a hero to
Jewish fans, especially when, like
Hank Greenberg, a similar icon of the
previous generation, he chose not to
play (even the World Series) on Yom
Kippur. This is a point made repeat-
edly by the author -- in fact one of
several points about Koufax's
admirable character, decency and
sense of principle that sometimes
make this book as much a public rela-
tions piece as it is a carefully docu-
mented biography.
What does add poignancy, drama

and empathy to
the intellect and the flair
Koufax's story is the
for introspection of Bill
fact that while he was
Bradley, as well as the
setting impressive
common touch and the
baseball records,
talent for infighting of his
including pitching
friend and fellow New
four no-hitters and
Democrat Bill Clinton.
winning virtually
What's more,
every top award the
Lieberman's denunciation
sport has to offer, the
of the president over the
pitcher was, in fact,
Monica Lewinsky scandal
experiencing severe,
has gained him the moral
often nearly unbear-
high ground, always a
able pain.
political asset.
The three-time Cy
So this book is well
Young Award winner
timed. Part-autobiography,
and National League
part-political credo, part-
Most Valuable Player
campaign resume, this is
experienced an
the story of a young man
increasingly deformed
from Stamford, Conn.,
arthritic left elbow, for
who went South in the
which he subjected
civil rights movement of
himself to painful
the 1960s, graduated from
remedies, including
Yale College and Yale Law
injections, ice treat-
and entered politics in his
ments and skin-searing
home state with at least
ointment.
some of his idealism
Despite some
intact. Through hard work
pedantic and cliched
and a little luck, he won a
writing — Gruver
Senate seat in 1988 that he
seems fixated on sim-
has made a safe one for the
ple, irrelevant details
Democrats.
of Koufax's clothes at
For Lieberman, poli-
various off-the-field
tics and morality are insep-
activities — the
arable — and, since he is a
author effectively
thoughtful Jew, his politi-
evokes a number of
cal stances are inevitably
"inside baseball" facts.
shaped by his beliefs and
He also elucidates the
by his understanding of
strikingly subdued,
Jewish tradition.
introspective, gentle-
In his denunciation
manly personal side of
of Clinton's behavior with
PI: I I
I:: lids \\
Sandy Koufax (includ-
Lewinsky, Lieberman said
WITH MICHAEL IYORSt)
ing his marriage to
on the Senate floor that
and divorce from the
the president "is a role
daughter of actor Richard Widmark).
model who, because of his promi-
Sandy Koufax never intended to
nence and the moral authority that
become a "Jewish sports hero."
emanates from his office, sets stan-
With his drive, sense of pride and
dards of behavior for the people he
ample talents, he sought only to be
serves." Lieberman places this in a
the best at what he tried. But as
Jewish context in -his book
Edward Gruver's light but well
"The greater the power a person
researched biography demonstrates,
holds in government, the greater is
Koufax was both.
his or her responsibility to behave
correctly because the worse are the
--- Reviewed by
effects
of personal misbehavior on
Alan M Schwartz
the government and the people he
or she serves.
In Praise of Public Life by Joseph I.
"That is certainly the lesson the
Lieberman with Michael D'Orso
Bible
teaches in many places, includ-
(Simon & Schuster; 174 pp.; $21)
ing, poignantly, God's refusal to allow
It is a fascinating political fact that
the great leader Moses to enter the
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an Orthodox
Promised
Land because of his single
Jew from Connecticut, is being men-
loss of faith and control when he
tioned as a possible running mate for
struck the rock to get water."
Al Gore.
This is only one of the memorable
Many observers see in Lieberman

.

6/23
2000

