Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet delivers a bold and provocative examination of modern Jewish identity in The Wicked Son. Taking its title from the “wicked child” of the Passover Haggadah—who separates himself from his people—this powerful essay challenges Jews who reject their heritage or remain silent in the face of rising antisemitism.

With the sharp wit and incisive voice that characterize Mamet’s best work, the book interrogates the roots of Jewish self-hatred, assimilation, and the alienation that can accompany secular or elite cultural life. At once a rebuke and a call to reconnection, The Wicked Son urges readers to confront uncomfortable truths and reclaim the richness and resilience of Jewish tradition.

A passionate and unapologetic work of cultural criticism, this book is essential reading for those wrestling with faith, identity, and the complexities of being Jewish in the modern world.