Product Description
Photographer Jenny Carchman was eight years old in 1979when her mother first showed her Diane Arbus' collection of photos(diane arbus, 1971, Aperture). There were pages of "freaks" --midgets, transvestites, dwarves, and hermaphrodites. She remembers hermother pausing in the middle of the book on a photo of a very largeman, towering above an older couple. The caption read, "Jewish Giantat Home with His Parents in the Bronx, NY, 1970." Her mother told herthat the giant in the photo was named Eddie Carmel. He was hercousin. Eddie had died two years after the photo was taken, a yearafter Jenny was born. This was the first she had heard of him.

As a child, Jenny couldn't get Eddie out of her mind. She hadnightmares for weeks, and her fears were magnified by the silencesurrounding her cousin. For years, whenever she'd try to talk aboutEddie, her family refused to discuss him.

The Jewish Giant began with Jenny's search to uncover a story that hasremained a secret for 25 years. Eddie was normal sized until he becamea teenager, when he began to grow uncontrollably (he suffered fromacromegaly, a then-incurable condition resulting from a tumor that haddeveloped on his pituitary gland). According to The Guiness Book ofWorld Records, Eddie grew to be 8'9". As an adult, the only work hecould find involved exploiting his freakishness. He starred in B-grademonster movies (The Brain that Wouldn't Die), made two 45 records("The Happy Giant" and "The Good Monster") and was billed in theRingling Brothers Circus at Madison Square Garden as "The Tallest Manon Earth." Eddie died in 1972 at the age of 36 in Montefiore Hospitalin the Bronx. His coffin was custom made.

The Jewish Giant is a story of suffering, of not fitting in, of thebody betraying itself, and of the bizarre life-twists that can subsumea family. It's a story a regular person looking at the world frominside a not-so-regular body. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating and moving story.
I bought this after hearing it on NPR.It's a fascinating documentary that's funny, sad and unforgettable.There is some extra material on the CD that was not in the NPR broadcast.I took off one star because it does not have a great deal of replay value, but everyone should hear it at least once. ... Read more

Product Description
Traces the treatment of giants in folklore, the challenges faced by unusually tall people throughout history, the medical reasons behind gigantism and acromegaly, and the prejudices that tall people find today. ... Read more