David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

intimidating man, six foot four and thick
through the chest and shoulders. His
head is oversize—even for a body as
large as his—making him seem bigger
still. He is a talker, fluent and relentless
and loud, his voice inflected with the
hard vowels of his native Chicago. In
moments of special emphasis, he has the
habit of shouting and pounding the table
with his fist—which, memorably, once
resulted in his shattering a glass
conference table. (The immediate
aftermath was later described as the only
time anyone had ever seen Freireich
silenced.)
At one point, he dated a woman from
a much more affluent family than his. She
was refined and sophisticated. Freireich