After 16 Years in Congress, Steve Israel Turned the Page

Theodore’s Books doesn’t shout politics - it whispers history. Its shelves are lined with staff picks; the air carries the scent of fresh paper and coffee; quiet conversations buzz about literary indulgences.

A staff member tells Alexa to play Spotify, and classical music fills the room. Huddled in the corner, store owner Steve Israel chats with customers. Near the door, a sign taped to the wall proclaims the store's only rule: No Jerks Allowed. 

Israel, who spent eight terms in Congress, from 2001 to 2017, now shelves books the way a gardener plants - slowly, methodically, each movement deliberate, each placement comforting.

The customers who walk in don’t see Israel as a former House member; they see the bookseller who knows their kids’ names, remembers their stories, and bends down to pet their dogs. 

An Oasis Far Away from Washington

Theodore’s Books, named after a certain Roosevelt, is an oasis of culture, conversation, and community. Above the shelves hang framed pictures of American political figures, each one echoing the history nestled in the section below. The store is a microcosm of Long Island - a place where the past lingers and the present thrives. Israel opened this store on the belief that history doesn’t just live in textbooks - it lives in people. 

Israel has always been in awe of Long Island and its political landscape. Growing up, his dreams were few: to play for the Mets or to be a politician. He was not the best baseball player.

In the back of the store, a white desk sits cluttered with paper within arm's reach of a coffee machine. Here, Israel spends his early morning hours writing.

Most of his work is done at his computer. Some mornings inspiration strikes and time seems to dissolve around him.

Writing in this peaceful corner is a luxury for Israel. During his years in Congress, he wrote on his phone between meetings in the Oval Office. Now, mornings are his own, consumed by reflection, observation, and the slow, meticulous process of crafting his words. 

Those years in Congress were formative too, though, at once fulfilling and exhausting. Creating and signing bills advocating for small businesses, medicine, awareness of hate and anti-semitism, and improving cancer research. All these moments and triumphs were done purposefully, thought and determination propelling the action. 

Toward the end of Israel’s political career, he was encouraged by a colleague to run for Speaker of the House. Israel had to sleep on it. That night, his thoughts would not quiet. He had watched the chamber split into red and blue, the center collapsing until only a few tried stubbornly to hold it together. Compromise felt impossible; confrontation had become the currency of the institution. 

Increasingly, he found that his colleagues sought visibility over leadership, chasing social media attention instead of policy. The demands of gerrymandered districts and digital audiences hardened divisions beyond repair. 

By morning, Israel had made his decision. He left Capitol Hill and returned to Sagamore Hill - opening Theodore’s Books.  Years later, Israel knows that despite the hardship and turmoil, his experiences in Congress taught him lessons he still carries: the art of communication, as well as the balance of persuasion and understanding. 

Israel’s mantra and outlook have only grown stronger. He says that politics and books share the same bargain with their audience: Will the product - the message, the story - be worth the price? 

Israel the Writer

Israel's third novel, The Einstein Conspiracy, is a historical spy thriller grounded in true events. The story revolves around two FBI agents and their mission to protect Albert Einstein and stop the Nazis' plans to abduct him from Long Island.

Israel often walks his dog near the grave of Theodore Roosevelt, finding in those quiet moments a connection to the former president, which strengthens over time. For years, he had been fascinated by Roosevelt and his multifaceted, contradictory persona.

Israel fixated on Roosevelt’s dichotomies. He was a president who could keep speaking with a bullet lodged in his chest, convinced that endurance was a form of leadership. He was a warmonger, starting wars in seconds because he believed war was good for society, but won a Nobel Peace Prize. Roosevelt was animated by racism, but as president, he invited Washington Booker to the White House for dinner. 

These walks deepened Israel’s curiosity about Roosevelt. On the Sagamore Hill tour, a walk Israel could do blindfolded, he would hear a tour guide recount Roosevelt’s last words: asking a man named James to turn out the lights.

Israel wondered, Who was James?

James Amos, an African American man who rose from caretaker to Roosevelt’s confidant, bodyguard, and dearest friend, later became one of the FBI’s earliest African American special agents. He was also Israel's inspiration for The Einstein Conspiracy.

Stories like Amos fuel Israel’s writing, reminding him that history is about people, as much as it is about events. 

Israel returns to Sagamore Hill often, not because of Roosevelt’s titles or trophies, but because the house reminds him that influence is rarely loud. Roosevelt’s legacy didn’t survive through speeches alone - it endured through the people he trusted, the bonds he nurtured, and the quiet loyalty of men like Amos.

 In Israel’s mind, Amos is the true spine of the story: a reminder that the past bends not around the famous but around those who protect them, challenge them, and carry their memory forward. When Israel writes, he tries to honor those unseen anchors. Not the headline-makers, but the leaders of moments that never reach a textbook page.

The Einstein Conspiracy evolved across multiple drafts. Numerous files flood the desktop of Israel’s computer. The novel had split itself into three separate books and ideas. This is how Israel writes - allowing the craft to guide him.

The Power of Relationships

The novels, Congress, and the bookstore are only fragments of Israel. To understand him, one must observe how he interacts with people: the humility in the stories he shares, like giving up his seat to a veteran on a flight; the way he speaks to everyone with warmth and attentiveness; and how his smile always remains. 

History has always been on Israel’s mind, but what stood out to him, what continues to captivate him, are the small, unassuming moments. Those seemingly inconsequential instances. The blips in time that quietly reshape everything. 

This is how he treats each person who walks into the store: as if they might be one of those moments, the most important person in the room, worthy of full attention. 

There is a touch of naivete in that philosophy. He writes it into his novels; he lives it too.

The Einstein Conspiracy explores a dark and dangerous period, but at its core is the fundamental goodness of people - the trust forged between FBI agents, including Amos, and the relationships people rely on when the world unravels.

There was a naivete in America in 1939, in its misunderstanding and underestimation of Europe, in Einstein’s trust, and in the belief that one person could speak for a nation. But the novel argues that relationships - between individuals, between communities - are what hold us together.

For Steve Israel, bookstores have always provided that glue. During his years in Congress, no matter the country or continent, he always made time to find one. His soul needed the reset. He treated it like a ritual, and it became one. Books were familiar to him and still are. They are comfortable. They are home.