Thursday, September 14, 1978— THE BULLETIN — 9
Sifnificant New Book Reviewed by Dr. Ages, Frofessor of Bomance Lsuiiriiages Literatnre,
DONTFALL OFF THE ROCKING HORSE
By Lawrence Freiman
McClelland and Stewart. 199 pages. $14.95
Ottaiwa fn\^^^^ nanie A.J.
Freiman\ was^:^
no||inc)ed J^y^^ near -reverence.
nisi "Iwtidership cburse, business aicuiiien^: tht: founder; of Otia^vaTs ■ most im^ department store was> legendary nanie in the Ottawa valley^
A. J. Freiman*s sbn, Lawrence, has author^ed an autobiographical sketch of his family and his memoir fleshes out for me- personally the facts behind the legend. The author, who^ now shuttles between Ottawa and Palm Beach, Florida, is also a scion of his illustrious forebears in that Lawrence Freiman has also displayed great leadership in Canadian Jewish life, -
His straightforward chronicle begins with the story of Moses Bilsky, Ottawa^s first Jewish citizen, and continues with one of his daughters who married a young Kingston merchant named A J. Freiman; Starting with very mod^st/j-esources in the early part of this century, the latter innovated in the department store
concept with such success that by the thirties his enterprise was the envy of competitors.
LAWRENCE TELLS of an attempt on the part of those very competitors to deprive Freiman's of furniture inventories. His father outwitted'th^ outwitted the opposition by importing large orders of furniture from U.S. suppliers. His skill at business management, coupled with a strong sense of integrity, quickly propelled the family firm to the top of the Ottawa business ' pyramid. ' ■ ■
Business, however, was only one part V of A. J.'s life. Both he and his. wife were indefatigable workers on behalf of Israel and Jewish causes. Lawrence records with warmth and admiration the devotion which his mother, especially, dedicated to helping the less fortunate.-
Both his parents passed away pre- > maturely in the forties— leaving the young Harvard M.B.A. student with the onerous burden of managing the family business interests.
When Lawrence took over, the department store concept was in the midst of trend changes and the new president tried to accommodate the store to them. He hired the best architects ^and designers to refurbish the A.J. Freiman image and planned an ambitious expansion program.
Until the late sixties the store
LAWRENCE FREIMAN
prospered in Ottawa. It waS'only witli Lawrence's sudden healthprob-lem that a decision was taken to sell the store to the Bay empire. It was a reluctant move but one done also with the recognition that family-run businesses were no longer a match for the giant conglomerates.
LAWRENCE HAS continued his parenfs zealous advocacy of Jewish causes and has been afine worker on behalf of Israel; On numerous occa-
sions he has used his considerable influence with government officials to plead for Israel's cause.
In addition to his meritorious work in this area he has also been an outstanding community leader in Ottawa, a backer of the capital's cultural life and a staunch Canadian.
-We wish him well in his retirement years.
THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY
By Michael H. Hart
Hart Publishing 569 pages. $12 JO
ARE YOU LOOKING for a gift idea? Look no further. Michael Hart, an American astronomer, has hit upon, a marvellous idea Uin composing his ranking of the 100 most influential people in history.
Mind you, his choices have nothing necessarily to do with an individual's ethical status; his concern is strictly the impact which extraoV-dinary men have hadon this world. That's why there are some pretty unsavory characters in Hart's Thesaurus.
If you are intending to use this guidebook as a teaching manual you will be perhaps distressed to learn that activity in literature, music and the arts — however, important for the refinement of the human spirit
will not get you very far on the influential register. The great musicians, writers and artists score very poorly in Hart's evaluation;
THE MOST influential men in . history have been religious leaders, political figures, scientists and conquerors. Although it was at first surprising to me, Hart lists Mu-hammed first in his glossary of the most influential people in history. Why? Because the Prophet was the only man in history to achieve complete success in both the religious and secular worlds.
Among the first 10, the author includes Newton, Confucius, Einstein and Gutenberg. Shakespeareis number 36. Voltaire is way back at number 79. John Kennedy follows Voltaire in the 80th spot, not because of his political finesse but because of his initiation of the Apollo moon projecj.
Hart's compendium makes for fascinating reading, especially his simplifications of the scientific theories of Einstein, Faraday, Heisen-berg, Planck and Edison.
Scholars Study Sephardi Jewry
JERUSALEM — More than 100 prominent scholars from different parts of the world attended the first international congress for the study of Sephardi and Oriental Jewry in Jerusalem organized by the Misgay Yerushalayim Insitute of Hebrew university, headed by Dr. Issacher Ben-Ami.
President Itzhak Navon of Israel was. present at the opening ceremony. Menachem Begin, Israel's Prime -Minister, attended a dinner held at the end of the congress by Nessim Gaon, the president of the WorldSephardi Federation.
Congregation and Centre 9711 Geal Road Richmond, BeC.
ARTHUR HAYES Chairman — Major
For further information, please call
•a
Lm Bemian — 324-7581 or 274^8907
CAMPAIGN AUTHORIZED BY JEWISH COMMUNITY FUND
AND COUNCIL