The Brooklyn Diet: Life's Tough but You Eat Anyway isn't just about food; it's about a way of life. It celebrates simpler times when what you ate was based on your economic means; natural exercise was an inherent part of your day; food was basic, fresh, and healthy; and local communities were a vital part of daily life. This humorous, true-to-life guide presents a running conversation between two friends who bring the Depression era in New York City's boroughs to life. Sam Bloom, a 92-year-old former professor of philosophy and political science, offers childhood remembrances of life in the Jewish ghettos Brownsville and East Flatbush, Brooklyn. 89-year-old Al Johnsen, who became a visual artist and ceramics professor, recalls growing up in a poor Norwegian part of Queens and offers a crash course on the finer points of stealing day-old bread, copper wires, and pennies from newsstands. Committed to print by Sam's wife, Donna Benedetti, the stories that fill The Brooklyn Diet share the common theme of food: how food was prepared; where meals were eaten; and what they could and couldn't afford to eat. Chapters include lively discussions about a variety of topics, including the perfect New York cheesecake; pushcart peddlers selling street foods in the neighborhoods; street games and the subtle nuances of stoopball, stickball, and Kickety Can; and home remedies, with cures for athlete's foot, colds, hemorrhoids, lice, and toothaches. Also included are jokes, original artwork, photographs of the era, and one-of-a-kind recipes by Al and Sam. The Brooklyn Diet harkens back to a time when people ate according to their means; exercised as a fact of life; and depended on local communities for their foods, friendships, and survival. These attributes alone mark this diet as a wonderful lifestyle change, but as Al and Sam can attest, it's also a recipe for a life that is sustaining, sweet, and in every way delicious. The Brooklyn Diet is also available in black & white for $14.95.