Bookshelf: Fauci, Eizenstat among keynote speakers at MJCCA book fest

As former chief medical adviser to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci is most closely associated these days with the COVID-19 pandemic. Who could forget the warm, grandfatherly vibes he gave off delivering dire reports about the disease during his televised updates?

But as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci already had a long history of saving lives by then, starting with the AIDS epidemic and including Ebola, Zika and any number of other plagues we’ve endured over the last 50 years.

Fauci provides an insider’s perspective on those fraught, heroic endeavors to stop the spread of disease and the flak he received from those critical of his efforts in his autobiography, “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service” (Viking, $36), published in June.

Fauci is one among a slate of high-profile keynote authors and celebrities appearing at the Book Festival of the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta in Dunwoody Nov. 2-17.

Announced today, the festival lineup includes Stuart Eizenstat, former U.S. ambassador to the European Union. He is the author of “The Art of Diplomacy: How American Negotiators Reached Historic Agreements that Changed the World” (Rowman & Littlefield, $35), in which he reflects on American diplomacy over the last 50 years, from Chinese economic reform to the invasion of Gaza.

Amir Tibon will talk about “The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival and Hope in Israel’s Borderlands” (Hachette, $30), his first-person account of escaping the Oct. 7 Hamas’ attacks with two generations of his family. And journalists John Quinones and Maria Elena Salinas will present their book, “One Year in Uvalde: A Story of Hope and Resilience” (Hyperion Avenue, $29.99), which chronicles the lives of those affected by the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.

Credit: Ballantine Books

The topics aren’t all serious, though. Atlanta bestselling author Emily Giffin will talk about her latest novel, “The Summer Pact” (Ballantine Books, $30), about the enduring power of friendship, and Michael Richards, who played Kramer on “Seinfeld,” will discuss his memoir “Entrances and Exits” (Simon & Schuster, $35).

James Beard Award-winning chef and cookbook author Joan Nathan, the grand dame of Jewish cooking, will share her latest book, “My Life in Recipes: Food, Family and Memories” (Knopf, $45), and New York Times bestselling author Mitch Albom of “Tuesdays with Morrie” fame talks about his novel “The Little Liar” (Harper, $26.99), which follows the lives of three survivors of World War II from the coast of Greece to Hollywood.

And that’s just a start. There are plenty more authors scheduled and more yet to be announced.

“This year’s lineup highlights prominent figures from literature, politics and entertainment while also shining a spotlight on Israeli authors and cultural icons, offering unique insights into contemporary Israeli life and thought,” festival co-chair Cherie Aviv said in a statement.

For details and to buy tickets, which go on sale today, go to www.atlantajcc.org .

Credit: Ascend Books

A murder of crows. A parliament of owls. A skulk of foxes. If you’re a word nerd like me, you’re entertained by the serendipity of collective nouns. The introduction of some new-to-me collective nouns is part of the charm of “Peanut and Jelly: The Search for Butter” (Ascend Books, $17.99) by John A. Martucci, a Smyrna surgeon who combines his love of storytelling and the ocean by writing children’s books.

Cheerfully illustrated by LeeAnn Sanders, the book follows best friends Peanut the brown pelican and Jelly the moon jellyfish as they search for a newly hatched green sea turtle who’s gone missing. Along the way we learn that a group of pelicans is a squad, a group of jellyfish is a smack and a group of sea turtles is a bale.

Produced in partnership with the Georgia Aquarium, a portion of the proceeds from book sales go to the aquarium’s sea turtle protection efforts.

Suzanne Van Atten is a book critic and contributing editor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She may be reached at Suzanne.VanAtten@ajc.com .

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