Daniel M. Friedenberg's Books

Tiberius Julius Alexander

A Historical Novel

By: Daniel M. Friedenberg

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Tiberius Julius Alexander

A Historical Novel

By: Daniel M. Friedenberg

Then came the successor of Fadus [for Judaea], Tiberius Alexander. He was the son of Alexander, the chief customs officer of Alexandria, one of the most influential men of his age, both for his family and wealth. He was also more eminent for his piety than his son Alexander, for the latter did not continue in the religion of his country.--Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 20. 100-103In this vividly told historical novel, author Daniel M. Friedenberg reconstructs the conflicted life of one of the most paradoxical figures of ancient Jewish history-Tiberius Julius Alexander. Tiberius was the nephew of the renowned neo-Platonist philosopher Philo Judaeus and the son of the wealthiest man in the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria. Unlike his father, who was a pious Jew and a generous contributor to the temple in Jerusalem, Tiberius showed little interest in his Jewish heritage and soon became an apostate. Pursuing military ambitions, he rose in the ranks of the Roman army and spent his career as a loyal Roman soldier in military and civil service. Ironically, he served as second in command to the future emperor Titus during one of the most catastrophic events of Jewish history-the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, when the Roman army destroyed the city and its magnificent temple.Piecing together the historical evidence for the life of Tiberius, Friedenberg creates a fictional memoir based on the facts known about the real historical figure. He skillfully brings to life Roman society in the Near East of the first century, with all its luxurious refinements, brutal realities, competing religious cults, and social unrest.Readers with an interest in ancient history, Jewish culture, and well-told stories will be fascinated by this page-turner.Daniel M. Friedenberg (New York, NY) is the author of seven books, including Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Land: The Plunder of Early America and Sold to the Highest Bidder: The Presidency from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush. The president of John-Platt Enterprises, Inc., Mr. Friedenberg was formerly a correspondent and feature writer for the New York Herald Tribune.

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Page Count

213

Publisher

Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1616143312

ISBN 13

9781616143312

Alabama's Frontiers and the Rise of the Old South

By: Daniel Dupre

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Alabama's Frontiers and the Rise of the Old South

By: Daniel Dupre

“A well-written, nicely comprehensive, and inclusive social history of Alabama before and immediately after statehood.”—H-AmIndian Alabama endured warfare, slave trading, squatting, and speculating on its path to becoming America’s twenty-second state, and Daniel S. Dupre brings its captivating frontier history to life in Alabama’s Frontiers and the Rise of the Old South. Dupre’s vivid narrative begins when Hernando de Soto first led hundreds of armed Europeans into the region during the fall of 1540. Although this early invasion was defeated, Spain, France, and England would each vie for control over the area’s natural resources, struggling to conquer it with the same intensity and ferocity that the Native Americans showed in defending their homeland. Although early frontiersmen and Native Americans eventually established an uneasy truce, the region spiraled back into war in the nineteenth century, as the newly formed American nation demanded more and more land for settlers. Dupre captures the riveting saga of the forgotten struggles and savagery in Alabama’s—and America’s—frontier days. “An introduction to the interaction of European powers, the United States, and Indian tribes in Alabama and the Southeast.”—Western Historical Quarterly

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Page Count

324

Publisher

Indiana University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0253031532

ISBN 13

9780253031532

Sold to the Highest Bidder

The Presidency from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush

By: Daniel M. Friedenberg

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Sold to the Highest Bidder

The Presidency from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush

By: Daniel M. Friedenberg

This is a glorious America for the alert and resourceful," notes Daniel Friedenberg in this critical review of the American presidency during the last half of the 20th century. But he cautions, "This is an unhappy America for the disadvantaged, the weak in body or mind, and those born without close family ties."The disparity between rich and poor in our immensely wealthy nation and the corrupting influence of money on politics to the advantage of the few over the many form the heart of his critique. Friedenberg emphasizes that the New Deal concern for the underdog - the major social achievement of the first half of the 20th century - has been gradually abandoned by presidents in the latter half of the century, along with tax policies that shifted wealth from the well-to-do to the less privileged. Though paying lip service to democracy, in fact recent presidents have upheld a system designed to maximize the influence of a powerful elite, "a flexible plutocracy," as Friedenberg describes it. This has good and bad aspects. On the one hand, the innovations launched by powerful business leaders, such as Henry Ford, Thomas J. Watson (IBM), and Bill Gates (Microsoft), have resulted in millions of new jobs and advanced the overall prosperity of the nation. On the other hand, the system does little to help the poor rise to a higher level, and it has kept the middle class stagnating for the last thirty years. The effect of presidential policies is a divide between the haves and have-nots that today is every bit as stark as it was before the Great Depression.Friedenberg pleads for a new focus on improved education for all to narrow the widening gap between rich and poor, instead of the current folly of building gated communities for the wealthy and ever-more prisons for the law-breaking underprivileged. The vast technological resources unleashed by the computer revolution can and should be used to create a more equitable American future.

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