The Rise of David Levinsky

Abraham Cahan (1860-1951) was born in Eastern Europe and emigrated to the U.S in 1882. As a young man, he lived in New York City where he found work in a cigar factory. As he adjusted to American life, he learned English and began writing for different publications. He became the founder and editor of The Jewish Daily Forward, a position he held for more than 40 years. In 1896, he published his first novel iYekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto. But he's best known for the massively successful The Rise of David Levinsky, published in 1917.