Goliath’s Head Revisits a Profound Time in Jewish History Through the Eyes of a Ukrainian Jew

San Carlos, CA, March 17, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Goliath’s Head (B. Bennett Press; hardcover $32.98, soft cover $14.99) tells the story of a search for courage and hope in the midst of crushing oppression. Avi Schneider is a Jewish boy growing up in Russia on the eve of early-twentieth-century revolution. He is only nine years old when he first meets his own personal devil, Viktor Askinov, a brutal youngster who relishes tormenting Jews. In the years that follow, Avi is the object of his tormentor's obsession.

The story reaches a climax 14 years later in 1905 when the Tsar instigates riots – “pogroms” - against the poor, teeming Jewish villages. Now a husband and father, Avi takes to the barricades to defend his village from the mob coming to kill the men, rape the women, and burn his village to the ground. Armed, he again faces Viktor Askinov, who is leading the mob. But he has been warned that if he kills Viktor Askinov, he puts his beautiful young wife and newborn son in deadly peril. Avi must decide this night what he stands for. Is it survival at any cost, for himself and those he loves? Or is it righteous vengeance for his people?

B. Bennett Press today released Goliath’s Head, a novel written by first-time author Alan Fleishman. After a visit to his ancestral home in the Ukraine, Fleishman was moved to examine the history of his people and compelled to draw attention to the victimization of Jews during the pogroms in Russia, events that are still relatively unknown by most people. Drawing on true events, and his own family’s history, Fleishman revisits that terrifying time in history though the eyes of Avi Schneider. The story follows Avi during a period of two decades starting from his boyhood in Uman, to meeting the love of his life, to the arrival of the pogroms in Avi’s village.

Goliath’s Head is available for purchase now at the following e-tailers: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk, BarnesandNoble.com, AbeBooks.com. and AbeBooks.co.uk., BiggerBooks.com, eCampus.com and Lulu.com.

Visit www.alanfleishman.com or on Goliath’s Head Facebook page to read more about the period in which Goliath’s Head is set, book reviews, book club discussion questions and other updates.

Goliath’s Head: A Novel
Alan Fleishman
B. Bennett Press
Publication date: March 15, 2010
Hardcover: $32.98
ISBN: 978-0-557-24419-5
Page count: 292 pages

Soft cover: $14.99
ISBN: 978-1-4499-4653-1
Page count: 292 pages

Kindle: $7.99

Reviews of Goliath’s Head
“Beautifully told…. We see Avi’s family and how they and their children endure poverty and oppression…. The scene of the Jewish community hiding from a pogrom is vivid. And then Uncle Yakov arrives. What a brilliant character, wonderfully drawn, and such spirit. The role model Avi has been waiting for.”
- Chris Robinson, author of The Partisan

“Powerful and moving. I felt my stomach clench at the powerlessness of the Jewish characters and sickened at the brutality of the ‘Christian’ ones.”
- Anthony Litton, author of Houses of Sand

“As a lover of history and someone with a keen interest in Russia, I was familiar with these historic events. Sadly, not many can say the same. Alan Fleishman has brought this story into the light and strongly evokes the feelings of those involved. This is a book deserving to be read by many.”
- David Fearnhead, author of Bailey of the Saints

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