Just Kids from the Bronx is an interesting compilation of oral accounts from a select group of people who are from the Bronx. Sometimes funny, sometime tragic, sometimes inspiring, we are granted a slice of insight into many childhoods, many beginnings, many perceptions, and many reflections of how their journeys evolved from this dynamic New York borough. ( )

I bought this book because Arlene and Alan Alda were in my neighborhood as part of an annual Jewish book festival. In full disclosure, I have been deeply in love with Alan Alda since I was seven years old. So, there's was no doubt when I heard the Alda's were scheduled to speak that I wouldn't immediately buy my ticket and show up at the venue two hours early so I could get a front row seat.

What an evening!

Let me begin by reiterating that I continue to be deeply in love with Mr. Alda. Truly. People do not understand my attraction, but they do not have to. What I know is that while I was growing up there was this sort of goofy smart-ass on M*A*S*H (who's character morphed from the sexist Hawkeye of the book and movie to the enlightened, caring, politically engaged, and authentic character I enjoyed so much), who was in the news publicly advocating for the passage of something called the ERA that he claimed was needed for the women of the United States; who produced and directed a great movie, The Four Seasons, starring Carol Burnett and Rita Moreno among other talented actors, about middle-age and long-time friendships; and who had this visibly deep, passionate love of learning as host for Scientific America. Never did I see him or read about him being arrogant or rude, but rather he was always engaged, motivated, and kind. AND, he has remained in love and married to the same woman for over 50 years having met Arlene when they were both in their early 20s. That is the kind of man for me. I've read his books and seen most, if not all, of his movies. Nearly in his 80s, he remains to me one of the sexiest men alive.

So, take that Mrs. Kersh! (my junior high English-Lit teacher who would use up nearly whole class periods in a verbal scourge of criticism against Mr. Alda)! I stick my tongue out at you!

I am thrilled I finally got the opportunity to see Mr. Alda and his brilliantly talented wife, Arlene Alda, in person. Mrs. Alda is an accomplished musician, educator, and now, author. The book does not do justice to the delight she has in this collection of stories. To hear her speak about her interviews with these kids from the Bronx, you knew she had a sincere affinity for the tales they shared with her. All the stories in the book are the exact words of the interviewees. Mrs. Alda did the editing to form the coherent, lively, memorable vignettes. This project took her four years. The book begins with those of her generation extending to the generation of the 21st century. You get to hear the evolution of the Bronx from the rather segregated hamlets inhabited by the immigrants of the 1940s and 1950s working toward the American Dream, to the crumbling and burning realities of the 1970s, to the up-and-coming borough it is today. She did a beautiful job.

However, I am going to recommend that if you have the opportunity, the best way to experience the book is in a live session with Mrs. Alda. The audio book may (I hope) give you a similar experience. Mrs. Alda as a tempo to the way she tells these stories about her beloved Bronx. She continues the same delight in reiteration of the book's tales you've no doubt she had the first time hearing the lives and anecdotes of the various individuals included in her volume (who I'm confident are now her friends). If you get lucky enough to see Mrs. Alda being interviewed about her book by her husband, all the better. Mr. Alda is sincerely interested in his wife's work and questions her authentically. At the event I attended, the Alda's were asked how they met. I'll let you ask them for yourselves (you'll love the story, trust me); however, they concluded their story saying, "And, a great friendship was born. We were inseparable." That friendship is still there − heartfelt and honest. They make a wonderful team. ( )

My dad grew up in the Bronx, initially on Hoe Ave then later in Grand Ave. He was a child star on vaudeville, and later in the silent movies. Played stickball on the street, and broke his leg one day when he slipped because he was wearing new leather shoes. Went to Townsend, and graduated City College at the ripe old age of 14. In 1932, when he went for his interview for Medical School, he looked so young that the dean at Long Island School of Medicine told him to "come back when you're wearing long pants." He did. He also fell in love with a girl from another country, one called "Brooklyn". He was afraid to tell his folks he was dating a girl from so far away, and when he got home late from seeing her safely home, would to tell them he'd fallen asleep on the subway, and missed is stop. Most of my memories from childhood visits to New York center on the more boisterous Brooklyn clan. My father's family was wounded, and we spent much less time there. I've been going through old papers of my dad's and wanted to find out more about his world, so picked up this book.

It's a good collection of oral histories, progressing from people born in my father's era to the 1990's. I was more drawn to the earlier ones, and wished my dad, who died in 1981, could have been around to contribute. I'd probably read anything that included excerpts from Carl Reiner, Mary Higgins Clark, Jules Feiffer, andNeil degrasse Tyson, though.

Favorite quote: This is my life. Art chooses you. You don't choose art. You become possessed. This is my commitment and I've never deviated from that. Milton Glaser in "Just Kids from the Bronx: Telling It the Way it Was, An Oral History: By Arlene Alda ( )

I love the Early Reviewers program! Being a California girl I really enjoyed the stories and have already passed it forward to a friend of mine from there. Definitely worth the time! ( )

I am something of a rarity in the Bronx. I'm the 4th generation of my family to live here. I raised my kids here, and still live here. And as a Community Organizer, I'm proud to have been part of the Bronx' rebirth. I love the place. So I was anxious to get my hands on Just Kids from the Bronx.

Happily, it did not disappoint. The stories told are like those told by my mom, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Like the time my uncle fell through the ice while skating on the Bronx River. A cousin pulled him out and flagged down a stranger who put him in his car and drove him home.

The sense of growing up in a richly diverse community where people took care of each others, is very much what I've known and lived, and its such an antidote to what people usually hear about the Bronx.

Thank you, Arlene Alda for telling the truth. I hope everyone reads this. ( )