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November’s selection — Measure of a Man: From Auschwitz Survivor to Presidents’ Tailor , by Martin Greenfield with Wynton Hall He’s been called “America’s greatest living tailor” and “the most interesting man in the world.” Now, for the first time, Holocaust survivor Martin Greenfield tells his incredible life story. Taken from his Czechoslovak home at age fifteen and transported to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz with his family, Greenfield came face to face with “Angel of Death” Dr.
Joseph Mengele and was divided forever from his parents, sisters, and baby brother. In haunting, powerful prose, Greenfield remembers his desperation and fear as a teenager alone in the death camp and how an SS soldier’s shirt dramatically altered the course of his life. He learned how to sew; and when he began wearing the shirt under his prisoner uniform, he learned that clothes possess great power and could even help save his life.
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Measure of a Man is the story of a man who suffered unimaginable horror and emerged with a dream of success. From sweeping floors at a New York clothing factory to founding America’s premier custom suit company, Greenfield built a fashion empire. Now 86 years old and working with his sons, Greenfield has dressed the famous and powerful of D.C. and Hollywood, including Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, celebrities Paul Newman, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jimmy Fallon, and the stars of Martin Scorsese’s films.
Written with soul-baring honesty and, at times, a wry sense of humor, Measure of a Man is a memoir unlike any other that will inspire hope and renew faith in the resilience of man. About the Book Club Moderator: Steve Pederson is an UW Eau Claire graduate with a history major and a Scandinavian studies minor. He taught U.S. history, economics, and advanced placement American history in two Wisconsin high schools.
Living in Iowa for the past 19 years, Steve is currently employed as a tour guide for the Walter’s Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian home at Cedar Rock State Park in rural Buchanan County. Cost: Free Czech ‘Em Out Book Club meets on the third Monday of each month with NCSML volunteer Steve Pederson in the Skala Bartizal Library following the reading of each month’s selected book. You can purchase this month’s book from the Museum Store.
People are welcome to attend as many or as few book club meetings as they wish. Join the book club for the final 2026 pick: December 21 — Prague Stories , by Richard Bassett Would you like to join from afar to take part in this book club? Please join us on Zoom at the following link! https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85795134158?pwd=7F3mh0daxQME2pzxbxpDUIzhL6L96P.1 Meeting ID: 857 9513 4158 Passcode: 2222 By Phone: One tap smart phone: +16469313860,,85795134158#,,,,*2222# US
Description from National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library.
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