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The Jewish community of Perth Amboy is ready to write their history, by the book.

An effort that began 10 years ago is coming to fruition, with the help of local volunteers and a Seattle-based writer.

Robert Spector, who moved to Perth Amboy at the age of 3 and was bar mitzvahed at Beth Mordecai, will be penning the story of the town.

"I think that when they'd gotten to a certain point in the process, they were looking for someone to write it or at least to form an editorial board. They asked me to be part of it," he said.

Marilyn Goldberg said that she's been involved in the project "from day one."

"It was Joan Seguine LeVine, an author of books about Perth Amboy, who approached me several years ago about writing a book on Perth Amboy's Jewish Community," Goldberg said.

Goldberg said she did a lot of research at the Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey, in New Brunswick, and that there was, at one point, someone signed on to write the book - but that fell through. And as the years passed, "it just kind of fell by the wayside."

But Dr. Mona Shangold heard of the project and was excited about it. The project got reactivated, with Shangold taking a lead role.

Spector said "one thing led to another," and he volunteered to write the book. "I think it's a great story," he noted. "Any author likes to have a good subject. In addition to it being a good subject, I have a lot of personal connection to it."

Spector is a professional author whose work covers business topics. He also works as a professional speaker. Currently, he's working on a book that deals with "mom and pop stores," he said. Spector has been traveling the country interviewing people with privately owned stores. Interest from that, he said, grew from the fact that his parents owned their own butcher shop in Perth Amboy (Beth Mordecai is featured in the book, he said, which begins with Spector giving his father's eulogy in the synagogue). Once that is finished and edited, and "after the first of the year," he will start working on the Perth Amboy book. Spector noted that he visits New Jersey a few times a year (his family still lives here), and it's possible that additional visits will be planned as work on the book continues.

Spector said he cannot put a timetable on how long it will take to complete this book, once it's been started. He estimated that he has been working on his current book on and off for five years.

"The ultimate thing," he said of the Perth Amboy project, "is to get a great book that everybody is proud of and will want to read."

The topic is interesting, in and of itself, he noted. Perth Amboy, Spector said, "was an incredibly vibrant Jewish community in its time." The main shopping street was Smith Street, he said, and most of the store owners were Jews. Perth Amboy Jewish lore, he continued, extends to famous marriages - and there are pages of marriage records.

"David Willentz was the attorney general of New Jersey," Spector said, "and he prosecuted the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. His daughter married Leon Hess, of Hess Oil."

Also, Spector noted, the town has a history of "very powerful rabbis." He remembers "the look" Rabbi Max Davidson would give anyone talking or whispering through Friday night services.

"Being a rabbi in Perth Amboy meant something," Spector said. "It wasn't just a stepping stone."

And, he continued, the work of Cantor Hertz Chazzan is still used in synagogues today.

Goldberg and a team of 14 others have been involved with the project, interviewing and researching on the local -- and national -- level. Researchers were even able to get census records from Poland, Russia, and Hungary to supplement information gathered on Perth Amboy's Jewish immigrants.

"I feel like this is my baby," Goldberg said. "We ourselves learned some amazing things we didn't know about Perth Amboy."

She said that the interviews have been transcribed and sent to Spector, who will incorporate them into the book.

"I'm going to use as much as I can, because I want the story to be told in the voices of the people who lived it. I'm listening to the interviews and we also have written out statements and we have really a lot of information on the history," Spector said. "That's what's going to make it a compelling read for the people who were there, grew up there...."

"We're very excited about this," Goldberg said.