Book Talk: Neil Zurcher shares memories in ‘Ten Ohio Disasters’

A deadly blizzard, a tragjc fire, a destructive tornado. Besides devastating loss of life, what these calamities have in common is that Neil Zurcher covered them. These, and seven more examples, comprise Zurcher’s “Ten Ohio Disasters: Stories of Tragedy and Courage That Should Not Be Forgotten.”

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Though Zurcher will be known to many today for his popular “One Tank Trips” travel features on WJW, he began his career as a newspaper reporter and later on television. He was at an AM radio station in Lorain in November 1963, the morning after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, when he began to hear reports about a fire near Norwalk. A nursing home fire that would claim the lives of 63 residents was underway; by the time Zurcher got there, he could only report on the gruesome aftermath.

Zurcher also covered the 1967 parachute accident in which 18 people jumped from a B-25, unaware that an air traffic controller had given wrong information to the pilot; heavy cloud cover prevented them from seeing that they were miles off course and directly over Lake Erie. Only two survived.

In addition to the 1974 Xenia tornado and the 1978 blizzard, Zurcher includes a few more disasters, one from history: A circus tent fire in 1942 that killed at least 50 animals. Zurcher writes with compassion and the precision that attests his journalist credentials.

“Ten Ohio Disasters” (149 pages, softcover) costs $15.95 from Gray & Co. Zurcher also is the author of “Tales from the Road: Memoirs from a Lifetime of Ohio Travel, Television, and More.”

Neil Zurcher will sign “Ten Ohio Disasters” from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble, 198 Crocker Park, Westlake.

‘Eli: The Phenom’s Story’

Despite the efforts of future Hall of Famers Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and Lou Boudreau, the 1946 Cleveland Indians season was a dismal one. “Eli: The Phenom’s Story” by Mark Zimmerman, offers an entertaining speculation on how things might have gone differently.

In this first season after World War II, the Indians have a new owner in Bill Veeck, who would later be known as the “Barnum of Baseball” for his oddball promotions and stunts. In mid-June, with the team in sixth place, Veeck calls a meeting of his scouts, directing them to an all-out effort to find “the unique guy who will get fans in the seats for the rest of the year.”

Cy Slapnicka, the former pitcher who signed Feller and Lemon, is driving south from Cleveland to watch a factory league game in Newark when he is sidetracked by a ballgame in a cornfield. The players and spectators are Amish, and they aren’t happy to see him. Cy is stunned by a young man who hits a ball, by his estimate, 477 feet.

With Veeck and sportswriter Hal Lebovitz, Cy returns to talk to Eli Weaver, his father, and their district’s deacon and bishop, who can’t believe that thousands of people would pay to watch “a child’s game,” let alone that anyone would pay someone to play it.

Eli has a tryout at Municipal Stadium on Monday afternoon and is pinch-hitting against the Yankees on Monday night. He becomes a sensation, drawing huge crowds and endorsement offers. He also has to explain to baseball card representatives that he can’t allow his likeness to appear on a card, and to dodge protesters irate because he was a conscientious objector during the war.

Eli is an appealing character; his satisfaction in playing well and earning the admiration of Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio is conflicted by his obligation to his family and his faith.

“Eli: The Phenom’s Story” (392 pages, softcover) costs $15.99 from online retailers. Mark Zimmerman lives in Kirtland and is a host on a Christian radio station. The 1940s-style illustrations are by Colorado cartoonist Allen Markovic.

Mark Zimmerman will talk about “Eli: A Phenom’s Story” from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Geauga County Public Library’s West branch, 13455 Chillicothe Road, Chesterland. Register at geaugalibrary.net.

Award nominee

“An Empty Grave,” seventh in the Andy Hayes noir detective series by Columbus author Andrew Welsh-Huggins, has been nominated for a Shamus Award in the Best Original Paperback PI Novel category by the Private Eye Writers of America. The winners will be announced in August.

Events

Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson): Bay Village author Doug Cornett signs “Finally, Something Mysterious,” about a children’s detective club, 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. From 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Megan Higgins signs her storybook “Super Special Magic Shoes.”

Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): Gary Webster signs “The NHL’s Mistake by the Lake: A History of the Cleveland Barons,” 1 p.m. Sunday; Anthony J. Miano signs his Trojan War fantasy “The Changing of the Gods,” 3 p.m. Sunday.

Akron-Summit County Public Library (Norton branch, 3930 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road): Tallmadge author Amanda Flower discusses her books, including the Amish Candy Shop mystery series, 6 to 7 p.m. Monday. Register at akronlibrary.org.

Stark County Public Library (Madge Youtz branch, 2921 Mahoning Road NE, Canton): Nadine McIlwain and Geraldine Radcliffe sign “African Americans of Canton, Ohio: Treasures of Black History,” 6 to 7 p.m. Monday. Register at starklibrary.org.

Hudson Library & Historical Society: Annette Gordon-Reed, whose “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family” won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in History and 2008 National Book Award in Nonfiction, talks about “On Juneteenth” in a Zoom event at 7 p.m. Monday. Register at hudsonlibrary.org.

Wall of Books (7783 W. Ridgewood Drive, Parma): Terry Pluto discusses “Vintage Browns,” 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Massillon Public Library (208 Lincoln Way E.) Columbus native R.L. Stine, author of the “Goosebumps” children’s horror novels, reads from his work and answers questions in a live virtual appearance, 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History: In a virtual event at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, English paleobiologist Thomas Halliday talks about “Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth’s Extinct Worlds.” Register at cmnh.org with a minimum $5 donation.

Cuyahoga County Public Library: Robert O’Connell talks about “Team America: Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower, and the World They Forged” in a Zoom event from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Mac’s Backs: Cleveland native Jordan Castro talks about “The Novelist: A Novel,” which details the constant distractions of a young man trying to write a novel, in a virtual event from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Go to macsbacks.com.

Fireside Book Shop (29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls): “Flo & Friends” writer and illustrator Jenny Campbell signs her work, including books, flash cards and a jigsaw puzzle, 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County (Austintown branch, 600 S. Raccoon Road, Youngstown): Jane Ann Turzillo, author of “Ohio Heists” and “Wicked Women of Ohio,” talks about true crime from 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbars McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Neil Zurcher shares ‘Ten Ohio Disasters’