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To Life!
AROUND
iT
era) rig
Resistance
DIA provides backdrop for book
signing for Taubman memoir.
DIA Excutive Director Graham W. J. Beal, DIA COO Nettie Seabrooks and A. Alfred
Taubman
Federation CEO Robert Aronson with A. Alfred Taubman and Federation President
Peter Alter
Bobby and Julie
Taubman with
Leypsa Groner of
Southfield
Near right: Jordan
Glass and Jennifer
Rosenthal, engaged,
both of West
Bloomfield
Far right: Andy
Shapack of Franklin
and David Gorosh of
Birmingham
46
April 26 2007
T
hey say art imitates life, but in the case of A. Alfred Taubman, his latest work of
art is the story of his life. The billionaire retailing pioneer made a special appear-
ance at the Detroit Institute of Arts to sign copies of his new memoir, Threshold
Resistance: The Extraordinary Career of a Luxury Retailing Pioneer. About 180 people, includ-
ing Taubman's sons, Bobby and Billy, DIA Director Graham Beal and Detroit Mayor Kwame
Kilpatrick gathered for an April 12 book launch party and cocktail reception.
"As you know, Detroit is my home, and much of the action in Threshold Resistance takes
place around this great city:' Taubman told the crowd. "Wherever I go in the world, I'm
proud to tell people I'm from Detroit, a community that has stuck
by me through the best and worst of times."
Taubman has certainly had a remarkable life. Born in Pontiac
in 1924, he grew from a dyslexic Jewish student to become a shop-
ping mall developer, philanthropist and owner of A&W Root Beer,
the Michigan Panthers football team and Sotheby's auction house.
At age 78, he also became a federal prisoner when he was con-
victed in 2001 of conspiring to fix commission rates in the fine art
world. Taubman still maintains his innocence, but served nearly a
year in prison. Now, at 83, he has a lot to reflect upon.
"As I hope I make clear in the book, my family is my proudest
achievement and the reason I became an author:' Taubman said.
"I really wanted my grandchildren, all nine of them, to know the
whole story about their Pope
"He just seems like a fascinating, street-smart guy who's done a lot of really interesting
things in his life," said Scott Kaufman of Huntington Woods after the reception. "He's one
of the pioneers in the mall industry; he essentially created the modern shopping mall. He's
a very creative thinker. I'm looking forward to reading his story"
Spotted in the crowd at the book launch party were: Jim and Nancy Grosfeld, Nicole
and Matt Lester, Beverly and Arthur Liss, and Peter Alter, all of Bloomfield Hills; Laura
and David Gorosh, Susie and Bob Citrin, and Brian Satovsky, all of Birmingham;
Florine Mark of Farmington Hills; Doreen Hermelin of Bingham Farms; Lindsey Rosen
and Marty Maddin of Huntington Woods; and Susan and Andy Shapack of Franklin.
Behind The Threshold
Welcoming people in, past the physical and psychological threshold of a store-
front stocked with goods, is the simple, ingenious idea that propelled A. Alfred
Taubman to superstar status in the world of shopping malls. In his 200-page
autobiography, Threshold Resistance: The Extraordinary Career of a Luxury
Retailing Pioneer (Harper-Collins, $24.95), Taubman details his rise to success,
building large, enclosed malls in the suburbs including Twelve Oaks, Fairlane,
Great Lakes Crossing and Briarwood here in Metro Detroit/Ann Arbor.
An excerpt from his book reads: "Even at a very young age I was aware of the
barriers - threshold resistance - I would have to overcome to enjoy the level of
success I could only dream about. Early on, I discovered that hard work broke
through a lot of those hurdles. If it took me all night to read a simple chapter in a
textbook, I put in the time."
That kind of dedication and stick-to-itiveness has helped Taubman through the
good times and the bad. His memoir also recounts stories about his challenges,
including his conviction in a price-fixing scandal as Sotheby's chairman that
landed him in federal prison.
The book is for sale in bookstores and can also be purchased on Amazon.com .