Dad was born in Boston to Jewish parents who spoke Yiddish and escaped the Nazis just before the Einsatzgruppen invaded Poland and Russia. Dorchester was a neighborhood in transition between the Irish and the Jews. Lottsa fights. He joined the Army and was given the option to work as a legal clerk for the court martial division in England or join the front line because of religion and the Nazis. He witnessed the Blitz.
After the war the GI bill enabled a choice to study journalism or poli sci. An opening in Syracuse for poli sci opened up over Chicago journalism. He sought a law degree as well in Denver but a family and teaching was a bridge too far. He got tenure in New York when I was old enough to glean some of his knowledge and ethics. He kept his head down during the McCarthy era while colleagues wrote books about the Military Industrial Complex. In his day he was in Who's Who but retired with a following of lawyers who studied Constitutional law with him in their youth. His books involved the Supreme Court in human terms and not a scientific analysis. That was considered old school. His standards were strict, however. We ate bacon and he was as reformed as one can get so teaching me religion in Hebrew school was forbidden. As a result I rarely saw the survivors in his side of the family. My dyslexia was not understood so my difficulty in school was attributed to laziness. I have educated my self and now have an affinity to Russel Brand.