Liberty Street: A Savannah Family, Its Golden Boy, and the Civil War

by Jason K. Friedman

Purchasing a historic Savannah home unlocks the sweeping story of a Southern Jewish family

As Jason K. Friedman renovated his flat in a grand townhouse in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia, he discovered a portal to the past. The Cohens, part of a Sephardic community in London, arrived in South Carolina in the mid-1700s; became founding members of Charleston's Jewish congregation; and went on to build home, community, and success in Savannah.

In Liberty A Savannah Family, Its Golden Boy, and the Civil War Friedman takes the reader on a personal journey to understand the history of the Cohens. At the center of the story is a sensitive young man pulled between love and duty, a close-knit family straining under moral and political conflicts, and a city coming into its own. Friedman draws on letters, diaries, and his experiences traveling from Georgia to Virginia, uncovering hidden histories and exploring the ways place and collective memory haunt the present. At a moment when the hard light of truth shines on gauzy Lost-Cause myths, Liberty Street is a timely work of historical sleuthing.

Genres: Nonfiction

274 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2024

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liberty Street is a wonder! “A town you grew up in is a palimpsest of your past lives,” writes Jason K. Friedman, and his town, Savannah, comes alive in this masterful book. The combination of Friedman’s personal memoir and the fascinating story of the Cohens, creates a riveting and heartbreaking story of love and loss not only during the Civil War, but in the preceding years, and also resonates so powerfully today.

[Nicole Pruess]

Really wanted to read this book but the writing was so clunky and distracting I had to abandon the effort.

[Hurley Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Friedman puts you in the lives of a prominent Jewish family in antebellum Savannah and takes you through the Civil War and aftermath. The book is well researched and so detailed in telling their story while reading like a novel.