Meltzer was a teen-ager when the Great Depression struck America. He saw firsthand the terrible toll the tragedy took on human dignity and selfrespect. No doubt this influenced his thinking on poverty.

Even earlier than that, though, he was acutely sensitive about his own poverty, although surprisingly not as aware of his Jewish background. He was more aware of being an emigrant than a Jew. But, as a college student before World War II, he became excruciatingly aware of what it meant to be a Jew.

As a result of these diverse aspects of his life, Meltzer became the quintessential writer of social causes. He often focuses upon the underdog, the disenfranchised, the outsider, the poverty stricken, and those who fought—and fight today—against injustice. He has championed the cause of many ethnic and religious minorities, abolitionists, and women. He is adept at...