LOCAL

LOCAL

Book on Damascus recounts its history

DAMASCUS — “Damascus Through the Years, 1808-2008,” a history of the town, has been released.

The 266-page soft-cover book is available for $15 at three locations: Damascus Hardware, Friends Church and Methodist Church. For more information, call Donna Lautenheiser, committee member of the Damascus Historical Society, at (330) 537-4334.

The book has been completed through the efforts of the society’s Bicentennial Book Committee and edited by Clarence Sekerak. Besides an extensive history of the community, the book has many color pictures and other items related to the bicentennial celebration that took place in 2008.

BOOKS in BRIEF

Book looks at man behind beloved ‘Cat’ trilogy

“Cleveland Amory: Media Curmudgeon & Animal Rights Crusader” by Marilyn Greenwald (University Press of New England)

CHICAGO — He liked to come across as a curmudgeon, a sour, acerbic elitist forced to contend with fools, knaves and assorted knuckleheads. But beneath that crusty exterior, Cleveland Amory was an old softie — if you were a cat.

The late critic, essayist and animal-rights activist wrote a holiday book, “The Cat Who Came for Christmas” (1987) that is still beloved. Its status as a yuletide classic, however, doesn’t mean it is sentimental or saccharine, says Marilyn Greenwald, an Ohio University journalism professor and author of “Cleveland Amory: Media Curmudgeon & Animal Rights Crusader,” published in 2009.

“Came for Christmas” is the first book in what became a feline-themed trilogy (it was joined by “The Cat and the Curmudgeon” in 1990 and “The Best Cat Ever” in 1993. Its story — how Amory adopted Polar Bear, a stray cat who showed up one Christmas Eve — was the one that revealed the writer’s softer side, says Greenwald.

Before that, Amory was known as a pitiless, tart-penned TV critic for TV Guide and quick-witted essayist for Parade. His books included an arch overview of the Boston social scene, “The Proper Bostonians” (1947) and a scornful exploration of celebrity culture, “Celebrity Register” (1963). Then came “Came for Christmas,” for which Amory originally had only modest hopes.

“He thought it might sell a few thousand copies — but it really struck a chord with readers,” said Greenwald.

Vindicator staff/wire reports