Words to repair the world

"Three days a week for more than 20 years, Mike Levine wrote newspaper columns that stood up for the little guy, celebrated the lives of everyday people and shined a light on the darkness of corrupt and inept public servants. Words to Repair the World represents a distillation of some of the best of those columns. Many knew Levine as a columnist for the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y., and later as executive editor of the newspaper. In life, Mike was a short guy, but in the world of journalism, he was a giant. His columns were filled with stories of parenthood and family and of living in the Hudson Valley. He wrote about his work as an editor and columnist and served as a watchdog that challenged the arrogance of the powerful and held them accountable. Equal parts preacher, mentor, comic and salesman, Mike sometimes talked about Tikkun olam, Hebrew for "repair of the world," a concept that speaks to an aspiration to behave and act constructively and beneficially for the rest of the world. His work embraced that principle. Mike died in 2007 at the age of 54. He left this world too soon, but the legacy he left behind lives on in the hearts of many. Words to Repair the World is a tribute to that legacy."--Back cover.