Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family

Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family

NATIONAL BESTSELLER For years, people have been asking Ezekiel “Zeke” Emanuel, the brash, outspoken, and fiercely loyal eldest brother in the Emanuel clan, the same question: What did your mom put in the cereal? Middle brother Rahm is the mayor of Chicago, erstwhile White House chief of staff, and one of the most colorful figures in American politics. Youngest brother Ari is a Hollywood superagent, the real-life model for the character of Ari Gold on the hit series Entourage . And Zeke himself, whom the other brothers consider to be the smartest of them all, is one of the world’s leading bioethicists and oncologists, and a former special advisor for health policy in the Obama administration. How did one family of modest means produce three such high-achieving kids? Here, for the first time, Zeke provides the answer.   Set amid the tumult of Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s, Brothers Emanuel recounts the intertwined histories of these three rambunctious, hypercompetitive Jewish American boys, each with his own unique and compelling life story. But ultimately, this is the story of the entire Emanuel family: the tough, colorful Old World grandparents; a mischievous, loving father who immigrated to the United States with twenty-five dollars and who enthralled his boys with tales of his adventures in Israel’s war for independence; and a proud, politically engaged mother who took the boys with her to rallies and protests—including a civil rights march through the streets of Chicago led by Martin Luther King himself.   Even as the Emanuels distinguished themselves as individuals, the bond of brotherhood that tied them together was never broken. Brothers Emanuel is a wry, rollicking, and often poignant narrative of how one American family succeeded in raising three extraordinary children. Praise for  Brothers Emanuel   “An endearing, honest and gripping account of an American success story.” — San Francisco Chronicle “A beautiful portrait of growing up Jewish in an urban environment during an era of profound social change.” — Publishers Weekly   “This delightful memoir is a deeply personal tale of one family, but it’s also about much larger things: America and tribal identity, love and rivalry, and the moral lessons to be learned as you grow up.” —Walter Isaacson   “Fascinating . . . a classic tale of an immigrant family.” — Chicago Tribune   “Mighty entertaining.” —The Hollywood Reporter   “A clear-eyed, candid memoir that is unique and yet quintessentially American.” —BookPage   “A fun read.” —The Forward “An endearing, honest and gripping account of an American success story.” — San Francisco Chronicle “A beautiful portrait of growing up Jewish in an urban environment during an era of profound social change.” — Publishers Weekly   “This delightful memoir is a deeply personal tale of one family, but it’s also about much larger things: America and tribal identity, love and rivalry, and the moral lessons to be learned as you grow up.” —Walter Isaacson   “Fascinating . . . a classic tale of an immigrant family.” — Chicago Tribune   “Mighty entertaining.” —The Hollywood Reporter   “A clear-eyed, candid memoir that is unique and yet quintessentially American.” —BookPage   “A fun read.” —The Forward Ezekiel “Zeke” Emanuel is the son of Benjamin Emanuel and Marsha Emanuel and the brother of Chicago mayor and former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and Hollywood talent agent Ari Emanuel. A vice provost and university professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, Emanuel also served as the special advisor for health policy to President Obama’s director of the Office of Management and Budget. He is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times . Raised in Chicago, he now lives in Washington, D.C, and Philadelphia. 9781400069033|excerpt Emanuel / THE BROTHERS EMANUEL One Born to Protest Rahm. That is my first memory in life. He looked harmless enough, bundled in a blanket and struggling to focus his eyes. My cousin Gary and I were fairly impressed with his grasp reflex—­all babies will grab on to a finger as it touches their palm. Since this was his only real trick, he seemed pretty useless. My mother, however, acted like he was extremely precious and treated him with so much care that it was clear that she loved him every bit as much as she loved me. Although I could not form the words, or express the feelings they evoked, part of me knew that here was a competitor. In December 1959, Gary was five years old and I was just two. Two skinny kids with the same dark brown hair, brown eyes, and strong chins, we looked like brothers and spent so much time together that we felt like brothers, too. For months my parents had been trying to prepare me for the arrival of a real sibling. They had given me a doll to play with and encouraged me to take care of her. And when the baby, a