Short Takes

Two books on the Ford Explorer/Firestone recall and its implications were signed the same week. The broader one was the sale of SUVs: The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way by Keith Bradsher, Detroit bureau chief of the New York Times; world rights were bought by Paul Golob of Public Affairs, from agent Freya Manston. A book called Blood Highways: Ford and Firestone on Trial by journalist Adam Penenberg, based on the extensive files and research of lawyer Tab Turner, who first called attention to the fatalities caused by the combination, was bought by Harper's David Hirshey for a mid–six figures from agent Lisa M. Swayne....Crown's Doug Pepper preempted a book called Nothing Sacred: The Case for Open Source Judaism by Douglas Rushkoff, author of Coercion and Ecstasy Club. He bought North American and first serial from agent Jay Mandel at William Morris; it's a book, said Pepper, that sees Judaism as currently divided beyond repair between religious and secular approaches, and offers a solution.