The Book is Closed Here on Earth; 

A New Chapter is About to Begin

Peter Book, aka Pedro Libro, and his wife Annette

Peter Book presents the First Issue of the Amboy Beacon where Book first wrote letters to the editor *Photo by Katherine Massopust

A long time fixture in Perth Amboy has left us at the young age of 93 on Friday, 5/6/16.

For those of you who were not fortunate enough to know Peter Book, you missed a gem. When I first met Peter Book, it was at a Perth Amboy City Council Meeting. I don’t remember the words that he spoke at that meeting, but I do remember that when he did speak, everyone in attendance chuckled and had smiles on their faces after he finished speaking. He did not hold back. He said what he meant and meant what he said.

He loved to recite poetry – many times; some he composed himself.

Peter Book (3rd from right) proudly poses with City Officials and other Veterans in front of the Veteran’s Monument *Photo by Bob Ned

There was one particular phrase he loved to say in regards to his taxes going up – his water bill is going up – everything is going up except for my ______.

As you can tell, he was very frisky.

Any meeting that was held around Halloween, if Mr. Book attended, we knew we were in for a treat. During the public portion, as he would speak, he would suddenly turn toward the audience, put fake fangs in his mouth and don a black cape and become Dracula.

Peter Book with his wife, Annette at the ZPA for the Perth Amboy ROTC 30th Anniversary Dinner *Photos by Carolyn Maxwell

Mr. Book had been ill for the last 2 years and with the tension we’ve had at the Council Meetings, we could have used Mr. Book to lighten the situation.

Mr. Book wrote several letters to the Amboy Guardian. Many of them depicted childhood memories, his military service, his time as an airline pilot and his view on current affairs. Besides writing letters, he often exercised his wit in the form of poetry.

He could be very cantankerous when he wanted to be. He was not very fond of the Veteran’s War Memorial on Sadowski Parkway. I will not go into how he described it, but he was very upset with the then Mayor Joseph Vas about it. Mr. Book strongly felt that the monument should be built specifically honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice and only those names should have been placed on it. For the longest time he refused to have his name on that wall out of respect for those who died during military conflicts.

He wrote many letters about his admiration of Mayor Diaz, especially when she decided to have a special acknowledgement next to those names on that memorial who died while serving.

Book was also appreciative of those residents who came to  public meetings to voice their opinions when they thought anyone in the administration was wrong. He also praised those who came to Council Meetings, especially Stanley Sierakowski, Orlando Perez and Alan Silber who he saluted in a poem called: “A Salute to the Triumvirate.”

Let us salute those intrepid souls,

Who at Council meetings, stand up and speak

On each every topic and issue on the agenda,

They say for us who are timid, powerless and weak.

He and his wife, Annette loved attending the Concerts by the Bay and wrote letters and poems about the joy they received during those performances.

Mr. Book was a voracious reader and sent me a book written by his sister, Mary Farmer.

When it came to current issues, it wasn’t unusual for Mr. Book to reply to a letter of a reader that had a difference of an opinion with him.

We love those little battles.

When I think of Mr. Book, 3 pictures come into my mind.

1.) Him dressed as Dracula at the Council Meetings

2.) When he finally proudly posed in front of the monument with his fellow Veterans.

3.) When he and his wife were dancing at the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the ROTC a the ZPA in Perth Amboy.

Although Mr. Book may  have had differences of opinions with the Council’s decisions, he never held any ill will towards them. Book was also known to defend those who he felt were treated badly.

Book was the lawyer who defended Charlie Uzar  who was 96 years old and had been arrested for driving infractions.

In November of 2007, Uzar was found guilty on three counts of driving with a suspended license, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident and one count each of failure to report an accident, driving with an uninsured vehicle and driving carelessly. “I don’t think he deserves to be locked up,” said Book. “He’s 96 years old, only 5 feet tall. If he weighs 100 pounds, it’s a lot.”(Courtesy of AP)

Beside local and world afffairs Book was also interested in anyone who had any connections to Perth Amboy.

Case and Point – he sent me a rather lengthy book detailing the life history of the Johnson & Johnson Empire from its inception and the very intimate details of the family.

That book was a fascinating read, and I thank Mr. Book for sending it to me.

Mr. Book inserted several newspaper clippings detailing how one of the Housekeepers who worked for the Johnson’s family married one of the heirs to the Johnson fortune and the war that ensued amongst the relatives because of this. That book was called, “Johnson vs. Johnson,” published in 1987.

He was fascinated by that book because the woman who married the Johnson family was a Polish Immigrant who had lived in Perth Amboy briefly. The Johnson heir she married was 42 years older than her. When she became a widow, she contributed money to help build St. Joseph’s Senior Resident in Woodbridge.

The letters that I enjoyed the most from Peter Book had to do with his growing up in Perth Amboy and experiences he had not only with his family but everyone who influenced him in his life from infancy to his advanced age.

With the technology we have today, those communications from Mr. Book will remain indefinitely.

For more information on Peter Book’s extensive military service go to: http://www.nj.gov/military/museum/summaries/wwii/book.html

Mr. Book, we thank you for being a proud member of the military. Your love for your country, your family and your beloved Perth Amboy Community. We appreciate all the support you have given to us and most of all to borrow a line from you, “We thank you for all your courtesies.” C.M.

Visitation Sunday 5/15/16 at Novak Funeral Home, 419 Barclay St., Perth Amboy from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Letter to the editor

Goodbye 

Old Friend

A good friend of mine, Peter Book, passed away.  He was a friend of everyone in this town.  He was a frequent letter writer to the Amboy Guardian and The Home News Tribune and was the “ears” of the city.  He will be sadly missed by many because of his love of this city.  He was able to see the good and show sympathy to those in grief.  I have known him for many years.  He was been a defender of my beliefs and a backer of my thoughts in many of the articles that I have written.

Not only was he a Veteran who served his country bravely, but as a lawyer, he helped many.  I am proud to have called him my friend.  This city will be less because of our loss of him.  May God Bless Him for being here.

Barbara Skokan