Joshua Prager (writer)
Encyclopedia
Joshua Harris Prager is an American journalist and author. His book The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World, is about the Shot Heard 'Round the World
, a famous 1951 baseball playoff
game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants
. He is a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and a 2011 Nieman fellow at Harvard.
Prager often writes of historical secrets. He found the reclusive heir of Margaret Wise Brown
, author of the classic children's book Goodnight Moon
. He confirmed the decades-long rumor that the New York Giants
had stolen signs en route to the 1951 pennant. He named the only anonymous winner in the history of the Pulitzer Prizes, the Iranian
photographer Jahangir Razmi
. Prager revealed the suicides of the parents of Swedish humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg
.
In 2011, Prager revealed that baseball pitcher Ralph Branca
(pitcher in the aforementioned baseball game) was born to a Jewish mother.
, South Dakota
. He attended the Moriah School
in Englewood, New Jersey
, the Ramaz High School
in Manhattan
, and Columbia College
, where he studied music theory.
In May, 1990, Prager was partially paralyzed in a bus accident.
Prager is the son of Columbia University
physician and medical ethics expert Kenneth Prager
, and the nephew of commentator Dennis Prager
.
Shot Heard 'Round the World (baseball)
In baseball, the "Shot Heard 'round the World" is the term given to the walk-off home run hit by New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds to win the National League pennant at 3:58 p.m...
, a famous 1951 baseball playoff
Playoff
The playoffs, postseason, or finals of a sports league are a game or series of games played after the regular season by the top competitors, usually but not always with a single-elimination system, to determine the league champion or a similar accolade.In the U.S...
game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. He is a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and a 2011 Nieman fellow at Harvard.
Prager often writes of historical secrets. He found the reclusive heir of Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown was a prolific American author of children's literature, including the books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd.-Biography:...
, author of the classic children's book Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Moon is an American children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was first published in 1947, and is a highly acclaimed example of a bedtime story. It is about a child saying goodnight to everything around: "Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight...
. He confirmed the decades-long rumor that the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
had stolen signs en route to the 1951 pennant. He named the only anonymous winner in the history of the Pulitzer Prizes, the Iranian
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
photographer Jahangir Razmi
Jahangir Razmi
Jahangir Razmi is an award-winning Iranian photographer and the author of the entry that won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. His photograph, Firing Squad in Iran, was taken on August 27, 1979 and published anonymously in the Iranian daily Ettela'at, the oldest still running...
. Prager revealed the suicides of the parents of Swedish humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...
.
In 2011, Prager revealed that baseball pitcher Ralph Branca
Ralph Branca
Ralph Theodore Joseph Branca is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball.From 1944 through 1956, Branca played for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Detroit Tigers , and New York Yankees...
(pitcher in the aforementioned baseball game) was born to a Jewish mother.
Personal background
Prager was born in Eagle ButteEagle Butte, South Dakota
Eagle Butte is a city in Dewey and Ziebach counties in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The population was 1,318 at the 2010 census.It is the tribal headquarters of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.-Geography:...
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. He attended the Moriah School
Moriah School of Englewood
The Moriah School is a Modern Orthodox Jewish day school located in Englewood, New Jersey. It educates nearly 900 students from preschool through eighth grade.-Notable alumni:*Kevie Feit, current mayor of Teaneck, New Jersey....
in Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
, the Ramaz High School
Ramaz School
The Ramaz School is a coeducational, private Modern Orthodox Jewish prep school located on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It consists of a lower school , a middle school , and an upper school .The Ramaz Upper School is a college preparatory school...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and Columbia College
Columbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II...
, where he studied music theory.
In May, 1990, Prager was partially paralyzed in a bus accident.
Prager is the son of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
physician and medical ethics expert Kenneth Prager
Kenneth Prager
Kenneth Prager is an American physician. He is Professor of Clinical Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Director, Clinical Ethics and Chairman of the Medical Ethics Committee at the Columbia University Medical Center.Prager is a 1964 graduate of Columbia College...
, and the nephew of commentator Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager is an American syndicated radio talk show host, syndicated columnist, author, and public speaker. He is noted for his conservative political and social views emanating from conservative Judeo-Christian values. He holds that there is an "American Trinity" of essential principles,...
.