BOOKS
THINKING THE
GY
— A Detroit Bookstore is one of the few nationwide
to specialize in works of higher biblical criticism.
N
/
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Assistant Editor
immy Swaggart prob-
ably wouldn't like it.
The Rev. Jerry Falwell
wouldn't either. And it
doesn't seem the kind of
place one would find Jim
Bakker happily browsing
the shelves.
Dove Booksellers is not the
typical theological book-
store. Located on McNichols
Road, it is one of the only
bookstores in the nation to
specialize in higher biblical
criticism.
Books for sale include
Judas Maccabaeus: The
Jewish Struggle Against the
Seleucids, The Finds from
the Bar-Kokhba Period by
Yigael Yadin and The Func-
tion and Use of the Imperfect
Forms With Nun Parago-
gicum in Classical Hebrew,
referring to an upside-down
Hebrew letter that makes
curious appearances in the
Ibrah.
"When the average
clergyman comes in here,
he's going to see things he's
never seen before," said
Dove Booksellers co-owner
j
"A good portion of
the Hebrew
University is on
our mailing list."
Jeffrey Ball. "And that's just
what we want."
The store started six years
ago in Berkley, then moved
four years ago to its current
location in Detroit. Mr. Ball,
partners with John Marine,
helped establish the store
after numerous unfruitful
searches for serious theolog-
ical criticism.
A student of Near Eastern
and biblical studies, he was
a voracious reader of Bible
material.
"I kept reading bib-
liographies and not finding
anything anywhere," he
said. Most theological
writings were strictly re-
ligious, "and I was inter-
ested in (biblical) history and
archaeology."
Mr. Ball's quest took him
to a local fundamentalist
Christian bookstore, where
he met up with a salesman
named John Marine.
"Jeff came in asking for
these really strange titles,"
Mr. Marine recalled.
"Nobody was even carrying
this stuff."
Mr. Marine, who also was
interested in theological
criticism, was intrigued.
Soon the two men were
working together to build
Dove Booksellers. They
began the project with fun-
ding from "Mom, Dad and
Visa cards."
"We started out with what
everybody else — mainline
Jewish and Christian book-
stores — wasn't carrying,"
Mr. Ball said. "We don't
compete with them. What
we're trying to do is appeal
to those people who want to
take study one or two steps
further."
In addition to bibilical and
theological studies, Dove
carries works on ancient
Near Eastern languages, his-
tory and literary interpreta-
tions of the Bible — one of
the hottest topics in theolog-
ical criticism these days, Mr.
Marine said.
Many of the store's books
are ordered from university
presses and other small
publishers. Similarly, the
vast majority of Dove's
customers come via the
mailbox. Orders come from
England, Scotland, Ger-
many, Israel, France,
Canada, Australia and the
Orient.
"I think we have more
customers in New Zealand
than Michigan," Mr. Ball
said.
Among their frequent
mail-order clients: professors
at Ben-Gurion and Hebrew
universities.
"I think a good portion of
the Hebrew University is on
our mailing list," Mr.
Marine said.
The reason for the long-
distance orders is twofold.
First, Dove is one of the only
— and its owners believe it
may in fact be one-of-a-kind
—bookstores in the world to
specialize in biblical
criticism.
Furthermore, because the
two men make it a policy to
Photo By Marsha Su n dq u ist
7
"discount heavily," the store
sells books at a lower cost
than most other dealers.
Dove offers a collection of
Martin Luther's writings for
$880; in England, the same
set sells for about $1,200.
The store also will place
special orders and search for
out-of-print and hard-to-find
hooks.
Dove Booksellers recently
expanded its repertoire to
include a lecture series, with
both Jewish and Christian
speakers.
Like their books, lectures
are often controversial.
When Dove recently hosted
a local professor whose new
work casts doubt on the
divinity of Jesus, the store
attracted a few picketers.
Topics of future lectures
include feminist interpreta-
tions of the Bible, a history
of the black church and a
study of the Evangelical
movement.
The two men also take
Dove on the road, traveling
with samples of their works
to universities throughout
the country. Most recently,
Mr. Ball took some of the
store's books to Johns
Hopkins University.
The store itself is small,
surrounded on all sides by
bookshelves with works
separated by category. There
are rows about the New
Testament and atlases, a
Judaica section and a lang-
uage division that includes
books on how to learn Greek,
Aramaic, hieroglyphics and
Hebrew.
The owners say their
customer base is about
7,000.
"Some people make
pilgrimages literally around
the world to come here," Mr.
Ball said. Others come less
far, but include everyone
from priests to rabbis.
"And one of our best
customers is an atheist," Mr.
Marine said. "I think he
comes in here twice a week."
As owners of Dove
Booksellers, Mr. Marine and
Mr. Ball are responsible for
more than just advising
customers about books. They
handle all cataloging, order-
ing, shipping and packaging.
After six years, their work
is paying off.
"We've struggled hard,"
Mr. Ball said. "Now the
store is becoming profitable.
But if we were going strictly
for profit, we would have
gone into another field." ❑
John Marine and
Jeff Ball: "A good
portion of the
Hebrew University
staff is on our
mailing list."
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
67