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Seltzer Man Returns, and the Fizz Flows Again in Brooklyn By Corey Kilgannon Ronny the Seltzer Man is back. The great seltzer drought of Brooklyn is over. Ronny Beberman, 62, one of the last seltzer deliverymen in the city, fell from his truck on Sept. 15 while making deliveries inRead More →

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Thank you to all who made sure I didn’t miss this article in the New York Times about the recently injured seltzer delivery man and the impact is it having on his clients. We wish Mr. Beberman a fast recovery. Be sure to read the article and, afterwards, to clickRead More →

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There is an excellently researched overview of seltzer history in the new issue of Moment magazine, and I don’t just say that because I am the resident “expert” she quotes. Jewish Fizz: Seltzer, Egg Creams & Cel-Ray “Carbonated water, the primary ingredient of these three Jewish champagnes, appeared first inRead More →

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The weekly Forward, now in English, summarizes history highlights from its Yiddish past. We have seen in past years an imminent seltzer worker strike. This week we learned more about the conditions that led to it, reported one hundred years ago: “Seltzer is far and away the most popular drinkRead More →

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The following is a draft of the opening of the book. Comments appreciated:
In 1728, near the mountainous Teunus region north east of Frankfurt, Johann Adam Bullmann became mayor of Niederselters. It is impossible to know what this little German town of barely one hundred families expected from their new leader, at the young age of only 24. But neither they nor their new mayor could have predicted the challenges to be faced in his first year of office nor that, in overcoming them together, they would make their mark on history, its ripples still affecting us nearly three centuries later.
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I just finished Steven Johnson’s The Invention of Air and strongly recommend it. Johnson writes popular books about scientific concepts and his work has deeply shaped my thinking. When I learned he had turned his gaze to the inventor of seltzer, I was equally concerned and excited. Concerned that IRead More →

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The most well known character who will appear in my book is undoubtedly that of Joseph Priestley. His memory is kept alive in a variety of circles – by scientists, by Unitarians – but his memory is being recast by Steven Johnson in his new book, The Invention of AirRead More →

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Below is a great email I recently received: My paternal grandfather, Benjamin Letowsky, owned a seltzer route in Brooklyn from the 1930s to the mid-1940s. My uncle, Jack Letowsky followed in his footsteps and probably was in business until mid-1950s. I recall that their truck was their pride. The seltzerRead More →

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This week I spoke at North Shore Synagogue, in Syosset, Long Island. My sister was gracious enough to to film the event with a handheld. The video comes in multiple sections, so as one part ends the next will begin. It is around 40 minutes. It will look better onRead More →