Born and raised in Brooklyn, a graduate of Columbia and Rutgers, Peter Levine has been teaching in the History department at MSU since 1969, the year he left graduate school. Trained originally as a Jacksonian political historian, Levine's scholarly and writing interests have expanded to encompass the entire 19th century and beyond. His works engage in a wide range of interelated themes and topics, including the immigrant experience and assimilation, American Jewish history and culture, and American popular culture.

Peter Levine is best known for his work in sport and American social history, especially for his books A.G. Spalding and the Rise of Baseball, Idols of the Game with Robert Lipsyte, and Ellis Island to Ebbets Field: Sport and the American Jewish Experience. He is also known for his novel, The Rabbi of Swat, which deals in a more personal way with issues presented in his historical works.

The Rabbi of Swat is a re-imagining of the baseball season of 1927- the year Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs and led the Yankees to the American League pennant. The hero of the novel, Morrie Ginsberg, pitches for the New York Giants and struggles with his team to win the National League pennant and face the Yankees in the World Series. While the novel follows Ginsberg's exploits, Babe Ruth is also a narrative voice, commenting on the action and revealing his thoughts and emotions. The Rabbi of Swat uses baseball as a template to reflect and explore the immigration experience, religious prejudice, class issues, and the relationship between fathers and sons. It is, in a sense, a coming-of-age novel, as Morrie Ginsberg reconciles his father's expectations, societal pressures, and his own desires to become a man in the new American world.

"Baseball has always been about fathers and sons, courage and love, but no fiction has ever brought them all together with such rich sentiment, hilarious history and an eye for the game. Mazel tov. A home-run for Levine." Robert Lipsyte, sports writer, New York Times.

Peter Levine retired from MSU in 2000 and now lives in Brooklyn where he continues to write. He also acts appearing in numerous productions in New York and throughout the Northeast.