Swede covers the life of Seymour "Swede" Masin: his growing up in Newark, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants; his marrying out of the faith, temporarily breaking his parents' hearts; his fascinating competitors and contemporaries; numerous anecdotes that best define him; the saga of Newark's Weequahic High School, past and present; and Swede's final years battling Alzheimer's Disease. Of special note is the attention he received after serving as an inspiration for Philip Roth's main character, Seymour "Swede" Levov, in the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, American Pastoral.

There was something very special about him, especially some of his fascinating contradictions: strong yet gentle; frugal yet generous; individualistic yet a great team player; a worry wart yet with a great sense of humor.