Opening the 2nd Volume of 'Out of the Book': The Coldest Winter

Hosting Bob Woodward, Anna Quindlen, or Joan Didion would be a coup for any venue. Powell's second volume in its "Out of the Book" film series, The Coldest Winter: David Halberstam, makes all three authors, and more, available to any interested independent bookstore. Available for free, the film documents Halberstam's life and last work, The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War (Hyperion). It is being screened at 60 independent bookstores across the country, and premiered on Sunday, November 11, in New York City at an event co-coordinated by Powell's and McNally Robinson Booksellers. "We were looking to generate a flexible program that allows individual stores to create an event within their own community," said Powell's director of marketing and development and co-producer of the film, Dave Weich.

In June, Powell's launched the Out of the Book series with a short film about Ian McEwan and his Booker Prize-nominated novel, On Chesil Beach. Weich explained that Powell's created the series to broaden marketing strategies for books. "It always seemed to me that too much marketing of books is marketing text with text," he said. "I'm an obsessive reader, and I'm not about to abandon the printed story, but I just don't think text always does the book justice.

"A book review or author interview is oriented toward a very solitary cerebral experience. In starting the series, I wanted to start a more communal conversation about books, something not as stiffly structured as a reading. It's an opportunity to see a writer and his work with a backstage pass."

Directed and co-produced by James Lester, the new half-hour documentary centers on The Coldest Winter and uses archival footage of the Korean War. Authors Didion and Woodward, who are both interviewed in their homes, and Quindlen, Robert Caro, and others, tell anecdotes about Halberstam and discuss his work ethic, unfailing moral compass, and interest in an underreported war.

"The Coldest Winter is very specifically about soldiers who fought in a war that never received its due," said Weich, who added that Halberstam wanted to underscore the Korean War's contemporary significance in his book. "It's also about David and why this project was so important to him. We wanted people to understand why it's so relevant. Though [Halberstam] only mentions Iraq explicitly in one or two places, it's there on every page."

The film is ideal for authorless events. "It's the kind of topic that really lends itself to community involvement. Every town has a veteran who has not gotten enough attention," said Weich, who noted that the DVD was available at just slightly above cost to booksellers who wished to sell it at their stores.

The Bookworm of Edwards partnered with a local VFW chapter to host the film showing and a discussion moderated by Vietnam vet Butch Mazzuca.

At the premiere in New York, a dramatic reading of The Coldest Winter was followed by a screening of the film, and then a discussion and Q&A with panel members Weich, novelist John Burnham Schwartz, and Korean War veteran Jack Murphy, who was interviewed by Halberstam for the book. Film screenings at several other bookstores around the country, including an event at The Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colorado, are also featuring local veterans who will lead discussions.

Booksellers interested in participating in the project, and those who would like to order DVDs, should contact April Placencia in Powell's event support program at [email protected] or (503) 228-4651, ext. 5863. --Karen Schechner