Dorothy rabinowitz wsj puzzles

I grew up in Queens, N.Y., in a working class family in which money was scarce, a fact that makes me feel all the more grateful, as I look back, for the schooling, and the priceless institutions that were available to me.

Above all the local public library, a smallish ground-floor place underneath the elevated trains to which I trekked almost daily, and from which I was able to lug home all the books I wanted, free of charge.

Dorothy rabinowitz wsj puzzles

I continue to marvel at this gift that transformed my life—not only my childhood, but all that followed. I still see those shelves of books from which I managed to pick (without knowing who the author was, or what I would find inside) works I treasured, and wanted more and more of.

I read novels by Thomas Mann at age 11 or so (without having the slightest idea that he was one of the world’s greatest writers) and books on baseball heroes.

Years later came my four years at one of New York City’s coll