arts & entertainment >> on the cover / book fair A THE VIRAL CURABLE 1 STORM 7 -.Z.. 0 MAN T I C Spirited OfF_P'-4 C,KIB'EZ.L 0 11111C * 6± PANDEMIC AGE REV V s WY* Ur Pra,11-retlat t-ebate bwarmamollplems awe.-Na-Cal Aria Tension City S,,M1 1 ;rkst; ann.. C:Nv Ybc:, Oti Jim Lehrer V•1, 0 ■ 1," 9C).1 REBECCA ROSEN s WON 100.1.1. 1,4 ,i0tE NATHAN wOLFE Gem Of An Event The JCC's annual Jewish Book Fair turns 60 and celebrates its diamond anniversary with a sparkling collection of incredible authors. Elizabeth Applebaum Special to the Jewish News I rwin Shaw knew he was taking a risk, but he had a good feeling. Then executive director of the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit, Shaw was planning the JCC's upcoming book fair. Shaw himself had come up with the idea of a JCC Jewish book fair, which was the very first in the United States, and it was doing well, but still just a few years old. Mort Plotnick, then director of the JCC's educational and cultural services, had heard about a new book called Our Crowd. He mentioned it to Shaw. The two decided to invite the author to Book Fair. No one could believe it. Stephen Birmingham? Who was this guy? He wasn't Jewish. What, his friends wondered, was Shaw thinking? A few months later, absolutely everyone was talking about Stephen Birmingham and Our Crowd, a biography of the promi- nent Jewish families in 19th-century New York. Irwin Shaw would enjoy the coup. Stephen Birmingham would go on to write another 22 books. And the JCC's annual Jewish Book Fair would become the larg- est and most prominent event of its kind. This year the JCC's annual Book Fair turns 60 and celebrates with a diverse col- lection of guests, including best-selling novelists Andrew Gross and Joseph Skibell, CNN's Clark Howard, journal- ists Jim Lehrer and Ned Zeman, virus hunter Nathan Wolfe and physician Dr. Howard Markel, psychic Rebecca Rosen and Jonathan Levin, recalling the life and death of his son, Miles. To be held Nov. 2-13 in both West Bloomfield and Oak Park, this year's book fair, under the guidance of Book Fair Director Sheri Lebo, also opens with a new chair, Susan Lutz. "Irwin Shaw died in 2004, but he left a wonderful legacy:' said Lebo. "It is wonderful to be able to enjoy books written by Jewish authors or written on Jewish topics all in one place,' added Lutz. "It is guaranteed that the 60th annual Jewish Book Fair will have a book to inter- est everyone and anyone who attends. There are books in the category of fiction, mystery, history, Judaica, memoirs, busi- ness, current events, politics, Israel, art, music, humor, cooking, biography and children's books. "The most special part of Book Fair to me is the experience of hearing authors speak about their books live and in per- son. Many of us have heard authors inter- viewed on radio or television, but it does not compare to actually sitting in a room with the author and having the opportu- nity to have the author sign your book." In the Beginning It all began with Irwin Shaw. Shaw was born in Detroit in 1912. As a child, he loved nothing more than read- ing, and he spent many happy days at the Detroit Public Library. Later, he taught in the Detroit Public Schools and was direc- tor of the Fresh Air Camp before coming to the JCC. Shaw was a one-of-a-kind, remembers his friend and colleague, Mort Plotnick. "Irwin was an incredibly creative human being" who loved the arts and was devoted to finding new ways to involve people Jewishly, Plotnick said. Jews are the "people of the book': Shaw noted, so "let's do this right and start a book fair." Shaw was a risk-taker and a man who "thought ahead of the curve Plotnick said. At the same time, he was "meticu- lous. He had a process about how things should be and he knew the importance of and how to solicit the help of others. Only months after coming on board at the JCC, still located on Curtis and Meyers in Detroit, Shaw decided to host a Jewish book fair. The first event had six speakers and bookshelves provided by Luddington News, a wholesale operation in Detroit. One of Shaw's first steps was to enlist the support of Rebecca Kelman, then the JCC's library director, and Henry Meyers as honorary chair. Like Shaw, Meyers loved books and was a leading figure in both the Jewish and general community. He gave generously of his time and out of his pocket, including funding the large prizes awarded to chil- dren at the early book fair art contests. Shaw also brought on board Mort Plotnick, a man with connections and a top-notch business sensibility. Plotnick brought in support from local booksellers, whose sales invariably increased during Book Fair; arranged for publishers (rather than the JCC) to foot the bill for the authors' airplane tickets; and worked with Shaw to develop an extensive structure of volunteers, without whom Book Fair could not function. It didn't take long for Detroit's Jewish Book Fair to become the talk of the book world. Publishers eager to send their authors called to ask for next year's dates the moment one book fair was over; other JCCs began their own book fairs; and Detroit's event began to attract some of the biggest names in the world, like Kirk Douglas, Chaim Potok, Elie Wiesel, Howard Cosell, Alan King and Tony Curtis. There's a Hebrew saying that translates, roughly, to: You can tell a lot about a man by his behavior when he's angry, by how he acts when he's had too much to drink, and by how he gives to charity. Add to that his appearance at Jewish Book Fair. A handful of guests came with an entourage worthy of a king, and some were downright rude. But there was always a Tony Curtis to make up for them. Not only was Curtis, who died last year, a popular actor, he was critically acclaimed, as well, for his work in films like The Boston Strangler, The Sweet Smell of Success and Some Like it Hot. Still, Plotnick said, Tony Curtis was always gracious, generous and easygoing. "Not only would he patiently pose for pictures, he would pull other people over and say, 'Come on, do you want to be in a photo, too?"' Sixty years since its founding, the JCC's annual Jewish Book Fair contin- ues to be the largest in the country, with guests in the past few years alone includ- ing Alan Dershowitz, Elie Wiesel, Neil Sedaka and Jeffrey Toobin. The crowds are much bigger, the staff (both professional and volunteer) is Book Fair Director Book Fair Chair Shari Lebo Susan Lutz The late Irwin Mort Plotnick Shaw larger, the JCC owns plenty of its own bookshelves now and guest authors have expanded from six to 60. But there's always that sweet bit of the past that remains: One of Book Fair's most popular events remains the annual Irwin Shaw Night. E Elizabeth Applebaum is a marketing spe- cialist at the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit. Unless otherwise noted, she is the writer of all Book Fair stories in this section. The 60th annual Jewish Book Fair runs Nov. 2-13. All events are free and open to the public unless oth- erwise noted. Events will be held at the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit: 6600 W. Maple Road in West Bloomfield (WB) or 15110 W.10 Mile Road in Oak Park (OP). To view the complete brochure or to register for events, visit jccdet. org/bookfair. For more information, call (248) 432-5692. Some events take place at the new Berman Center for the Performing Arts on the JCC campus in West Bloomfield (WB-BC); the box office phone num- ber is (248) 661-1900. Book Fair on page 44 October 27 G 2' 41