Class Authors


Fredric Alling - Brief Flights
Gerald E. Bentley, Jr. - William Blake in the Desolate Market
Gerald E. Bentley, Jr. - Boondoggles: Travels of a Restless Professor
Hale Bradt - Wilbur's War
James C. Davis - So Far, So Good
Bud Foote - Between Me and the Beach

Robert Foulke - tour guides
John Geyman - The Human Face of Obamacare:Promises vs. Reality and What Comes Next; Crisis in U.S. Health Care: Corporate Power vs. the Common Good
George Gowen - Talk of Many Things
William V. Healey - Osprey
Guy Hollyday - Stone Hill in Baltimore: Stories from a Cotton Mill Village
Thomas B. Leary - The Education of an Accidental Lawyer
Chauncey Loomis - Weird and Tragic Shores
Bill MacIlvaine - Successful Bareboat Chartering
Bill MacIlvaine - Love Letters from the Front
Joe Masi - 
George C. Newlin - 
Don Oberdorfer - Princeton University: The First 250 Years
David Paton - Insight:  R. Townley Paton and the World's First Eye Bank
Klaus Rifjberg - novelist, poet
Richard Riordan - The Mayor
John Schmidt - The Mill
Thomas Schmidt - Seeking Adventure
John Sprague - The Birth of Electric Traction, Sprague Electric
Philomen Sturges - children's books
Robert ter Horst - Studies in Honor of Robert ter Horst

 

Benson Harer’s book, “What Killed King Tutankhamun: Autopsy #4, the Hippo Heresy”, is available on Amazon.com in both Kindle and paperback formats. The Amazon description states, “Previously unpublished Computerized Tomography scans are analyzed by two practicing Medical Doctors to conduct a fourth autopsy of King Tutankhamun's mummy. They prove that the king was killed when his heart and most of his chest wall was ripped out. The evidence is presented to show that this most likely occurred by a hippopotamus attack on the Nile.” And reviewers note, “The subject of Tutankhamen’s death is a complex subject. Dr. Harer manages to make a solid case for his theory as well as keeping it interesting”, and “A thought-provoking theory methodically laid out with factual evidence to support each step. Something anyone interested in the mumification process should read.”  


The website Creation.com has noted: “After our main article [Creation 35(2):12–14] had almost gone to press, an item appeared in the magazine Ancient Egypt which raised one further possibility for how Tut died.1 It was written by W. Benson Harer Jr., a retired medical professor who has also published extensively in the Egyptological literature.

He argues that various threads of evidence indicate that the boy king’s thorax was damaged by a hippo bite, while the Pharaoh was fowling in the marshes. Although vegetarian, hippos are fiercely territorial and are known to attack and capsize boats and maul the occupants. Even today, more people are killed in hippo attacks than by any other animal.” W. Benson Harer Jr., Was Tutankhamun killed by a hippo? Ancient Egypt, June/July 2012, pp. 51–54.

 

Gordon Freireich: John Schmidt went through 'The Mill' to write a book 

York [PA] Daily Record Published 9:22 a.m. ET Oct. 2, 2015

"Everyone has a book inside of them — but it doesn't do any good until you pry it out," author Jodi Picoult said.

York businessman John C. Schmidt spent a dozen years wrangling his newly self-published memoir, "The Mill My Life in Paper," out of his recollections, dairies and files. Relying on the three-inch by four-inch pocket journals that both he and his father maintained throughout their working lives, John has reconstructed a year-by-year history of his business, social and family lives.

John, who will turn 85 in November 2015, can trace his family roots deep in York County history. His motivation was to write his story of his career at the family-owned Schmidt and Ault Paper Company mill and later his mid-career transition to banking, eventually becoming president of York Bank (now M&T Bank).

Taking that writing journey, he delves in detail about the paper mill and its various pieces of machinery. Relying on the palm-size journals he and his father used to write daily notes about their lives, he reconstructs a bygone era in manufacturing at the mill. Digging into the history of the operation, he notes the original mill was owned by the King family — for which Kings Mill Road is named — and was constructed and expanded on farmland. An unspoken irony is that since York College has purchased the former mill property, a good portion of the tract has been returned to its pristine condition. The original King "mansion" remains a visible reminder of the past.

John went through almost 90 years of pocket journals, scrapbooks and the records in several filing cabinets in the basement of his home. "I am a saver of things," John notes. He has ledger sheets dating back to 1948 "that speak to a different era. I would flip through them," he says, "and when they triggered something in my mind, I'd make a note."

Then John was faced with how to put his story down on paper. He began to write — in longhand — 10 years ago, "but I got serious about it four years ago."  Over those four years, he would take his handwritten pages to NeFra Communications Center in York, where the pages would be typed. The final book is the fourth draft of those 480 pages in the book.

In his business and civic lives, John was involved with numerous alphabet-initialed organizations that helped to shape today's York County — and particularly York City.

John Schmidt is not the first member of his family to write a memoir.  Sue Schmidt, John's wife of 59 years, is well-known in her own right for her civic work in York and adventures around the world. She penned "Journeys, Journals and Jawing" about a dozen years ago. Included is her participation in skiing to the North Pole, biking across China, walking the Sahara Desert, climbing Mount Everest, Dragon Boat racing in Taiwan, taking part in marathons, including the first one to take place in the Antarctic.

The closing paragraph of John's book restates his motivation for writing it:  "As with Sue's (book), 'The Mill' has been written for our children, grandchildren and future generations. The reader will learn a great deal about genealogy, our many activities, and some York, Pennsylvania history. Schmidt and Ault Paper Company, of course, is the centerpiece!"

Neither John nor Sue had prior writing experience but felt strongly this was something they wanted to do for their family.  They strongly encourage others to do the same and put their stories down on paper. That's a great gift for future generations.

Copies of John Schmidt's "The Mill — My Life in Paper" have been presented to each library in York County. The book is also available at the York County Heritage Trust Book Shop, with proceeds from all sales going to The Trust.

Gordon Freireich is a former editor of the York Sunday News.

 


JOE MASI 

I947: Game That Changed My Life

I
We exit the scenic security
of Greenwich, Connecticut

 

Zip by my part of town, Chickahomini,
Italian working class neighborhood

 

Pigs, goats, chickens wandering around
Pure Italian mixed with broken English

 

Flash by the farting factories
of smog-shrouded Port Chester, NY

 

Ride, in deafening silence caused by
Coach Datolla’s menacing message

Tomorrow you go nose-to-nose with
sons of Sing Sing’s prison guards

 

butt heads with black athletes
massive, mean, mobile, and mad

 

who anxiously await
to thrash your asses

 

Masi, yours ass especially as our
quarterback and defensive stalwart

 

In sober silence we disembark under
the shadows of Ossining’s prison walls

 

II

We stomp onto a field of dirt, pebbles
and occasional patches of dying grass

 

Ossining fans pack rickety bleachers
Drench us with a downpour of boos

 

Raucous, drooling fans salivating
in anticipation of our annihilation

 

We gasp at Big Daddy, all-state fullback
bigger than our biggest lineman

 

First play, I lock eyeballs with Big Daddy
intent on ending this intimidation bullshit

 

 

 

 

Big Daddy roars through our defense
targets me like a tree to be axed

 

I charge directly at him, certain
he has no Intention of dodging

 

We collide like two locomotives
Ka-boom: I am flat on my back

 

Big Daddy trips down to the ground
as he stomps over my prostrate body

 

Later, at a critical moment in the game
I boom a punt, rockets straight up

 

bounces to the ground behind me
Ossining player scoops it

 

Taunts me as he waltzes into
end zone for a go-ahead score

 

As the game enters its final seconds
Refs flag me for pass interference

 

Refs gives Big Daddy the ball
on our one yard line

 

Like a charging bull he stomps
over me for the winning score

 

My play on offense is my best ever
Again and again I propel us down field

 

through a barrage of on-target passes
short, long, in the flat, down the middle

 

five times ending
in touchdowns

 

I sit alone in the back of the bus
Sullen, isolated, wallowing in guilt

 

My awful defense, special teams play
robs our team of an undefeated season

 

III
After the end of the season
Coach summons me to his office

 

Remember Ossining?
Yeh, how can I ever forget

 

Well Ossining’s coach is friend of
Princeton’s coach Charley Caldwell

 

Told Charley if he is looking for
a high school quarterback

 

who can really throw the ball
check out this guy Masi

 

Princeton looked your way
They liked what they saw

 

Coach, who the hell is Princeton?
You knuckle head. Look them up.

 

I grab volume P of our Encyclopedias
a Depression purchase for two bits

 

What I read clobbers my confidence
Have to get smart in a hurry

 

For my train ride to Princeton
I buy the highbrow New York Times

 

Not the lowbrow Daily News
That amuses my working class dad

 

I dread the admissions interview
sure that I flunked the College Boards

 

The admission officer looks like my dad
says "relax son, you passed academic muster”

 

Next, twelve other football hopefuls and I
eat lunch with Coach Charley Caldwell

 

I ask Coach why no switch to T-Formation
He responds "Not until I find a thrower”

 

My thought "Coach you are looking at him”
never exits my mind, frozen by his icy stare

IV
Thought I’d get a rejection letter
Not enough horses in my head

 

to run with a student body of graduates
from country’s most elite prep schools

 

Besides dad would go bankrupt
laying out the required big bucks

 

Then, holy shit, Princeton opens
the door, awards me a work scholarship

 

Like an indentured servant I earn
my educational passage as a

 

dining hall busboy, events usher,
beer mug and calendar salesman

 

V
I adopt a Spartan routine
breakfast shifts in the dining halls

 

classes in morning, early afternoon
late afternoon team practices

 

training table dinner ‘til seven
library study until midnight

 

The price I pay to play three varsity sports
and graduate with honors in economics

 

VI
I graduate: crushed by limits of my AB degree
Only qualified to hawk industrial products

 

Later realize Princeton enlivened
my mind, stirred my imagination

 

Spurred me to job successes in manufacturing
management consulting, healthcare, retirement

 

As a member of the class of 1952 I recall
with special pride our class’s bicker stance

 

Clubs you take all of us
or get none of us

 

As a Princeton alumni I take pride
in Princeton’s services to the nation

 

Its educational excellence
Consistent number one college rank

 

Its annual alumni parade of colors
black, white, yellow, brown, and red

 

Every five years
I recharge my batteries by

 

Going back, Going back
Going back to Old Nassau

Game Ball: 1950 Princeton Tigers   

I
The football peeks out from a
crowded corner of my cluttered desk 
 
It is wrinkled  
Its pigskin orange is faded 
 
Crumbling words conceal names of
competing colleges we crushed 
 
Our top six national ranking
visible only to the sharpest eye 
 
As I drift from drowsing to dreaming
my hand recalls gripping the ball 
 
My feet recall rushing for a score
My ears recall the fans roar 
 
Rah, rah, rah  
Tiger, Tiger, Tiger 
 
Sis, sis, sis
Boom, boom, boom, ah! 
 
Princeton, Princeton, Princeton 
 
II
Suddenly, I awake. It is fall 1950  
It’s game one; we clobber Cornell 
 
Captain Dave thrusts up the game ball
like Liberty’s torch 
 
He glances my way
Flashes that twinkling eye smile 
 
I often see after he flattens me  
with a ferocious hit 
 
This ball is for you, Joe
Your TD dash crushed our foe 
 
Yeah, I tally a touchdown
through a hole so wide a crawling baby 
 
weighed down by a loaded diaper
could waddle in for the score  
 
I propel our lead up from a  
lopsided 54 to a more lopsided 60. 

It’s the last time this season  
I suit up in varsity gear 
 
III
For the rest of 1950, I wear the
hated white jersey 
 
I quarterback the B-Team
leader of the lepers. 
 
My anger is a lion’s roar
echoing in an earless forest 
 
Wait ‘til next year, Coach Charlie
You sightless son of a bitch 
 
Like Shylock  
I will extract my pound 
 
IV
As 1951 season begins  
I stare at my locker  
 
Dented, battleship grey  
like other lockers in the row 
 
It breaths out of its  
rippled slots 
 
whiffs of Ben Gay encased
in clouds of dried sweat 
 
When I open my locker door
I will know: 
 
If the hanging jersey is black
I am big man on campus 
 
If it’s white
I remain a lowly scrub 
 
One more year of daily scrimmages  
against Dave and his animal pack 
 
Dropping back, dancing, dodging, ducking
Finally smacked with a vicious sack  
 
V
Why dwell on my dark demise
My varsity berth, as certain as sunrise  
 
Last spring’s inter-squad game:
my ticket to the prized black shirt. 
 
Grandstands burst with coaches there
to behold football’s newest formation 
 
created by College Coach of the Year
Our own Charlie Caldwell 
 
With a promise redoubled
I burst Charles’s bubble 
 
Lead our B-Team castaways
to an incredible victory 
 
VI
One more time  
before opening that locker door 
 
My mind re-plays The Pass
The pin that pierced Charlie’s balloon:  
 
Few seconds on the clock
Ten pairs of intent eyes lock on mine. 
 
Goddamn  
keep those bastards out of my face 
 
Jimmy
run like your ass is on fire 
 
Flood right, fade left, fake dive, on hike  
Ready. Set.  Hike. 
 
The line is  an impenetrable wall
Jimmy’s burning butt bursts down field 
 
I let loose a 70-yard tight-spiraled bomb
soaring like an eagle  
 
Descending like a dove
into Jimmy’s cradled hands. 
 
I’ll be damned
We B-team castaways win! 
 
VII
There is no way Coach Charlie
overlooks that spring game moment 
 
No way: I beat out our Heisman Trophy tailback
No way: I’ll be overlooked as his backup  
 
No way: That hanging jersey is any color
               but varsity black. 
  
Enough of these reassuring recollections
I hesitate  
 
Press down the locker handle
Hesitate one last time 
 
With an explosive move  
I swing open the locker door:
     
Son of a Bitch  
it’s white! 

VIII
Now in my aging years
as I recall my football career 
 
My deepest disappointment declares
my most memorable moment: 
 
If Charlie chose me to back-up our
Heisman Trophy tailback 
 
I am an unknown  
varsity benchwarmer  
 
Only playing seconds
at the end of lopsided victories 
 
Instead Life, November 1950 issue
celebrates my  varsity cannon fodder role 
 
Features me as the quarterback  savaged by a national football power 
 
Not once a season but
three times a week 
 
Far more rewarding recognition
from those I maligned the most 
 
The only varsity or B team player
awarded a silver platter Inscribed:  

To Joe Masi with gratitude 
for all you have given to Princeton Football 
The Varsity Coaching Staff December 1951


 

 

Stone Hill in Baltimore: Stories from a Cotton Mill Village
Paperback ? 2015

by Guy Hollyday

 

The story of the little neighborhood of Stone Hill starts with the emergence of Baltimore as a major port; the voracious need for canvas in the age of sail; the assemblage of capital to harness water power, build mills, install machinery; and to construct housing for the workers who operated that machinery. These forces also swept jobs away as synthetics created new challenges and spinning and weaving moved South.

Guy Hollyday understands and tells the big story of Stone Hill from early in the 20th century through a series of changes that influenced the community, including the boom years of the World Wars, the privation of the Depression, and the closing of the mills in 1972. Trains chugged along Stony Run, and then they didn't. Open fields became houses. One by one small grocery stores opened, one by one they closed. The oldest interviewees remember a period of company-owned housing, no indoor plumbing, and ill-heated, crowded houses.

Guy Hollyday is an old-timer in a neighborhood that continues to evolve. In the 21 years since the publication of the first edition of this book, Stone Hill has continued to change, to grow more affluent, and more a part of the city as the old mills along the Jones Falls Valley are converted to apartments, offices, artist studios, and restaurants...

 

 

 


We have received Al West?s latest book of poetry, "Keeping Night at Bay?. These short poems are about childhood, loss, and old age, which all of us can relate to.  This is his third book of poems. If you would like either it or his second, "Beirut Again,? of which he still has a few copies, let him know.  Contact information is in our 2017 Class Directory, and in our website Directory [see Classmates menu above].  Al commented, "I worked on these poems for about five years, but poems are never finished. You just get tired of them or give up trying to make them better."  Al West
Posted 6/12

We have received the volume "Studies in Honor of Robert ter Horst ‘52 edited by among others, his daughter, Eleanor ter Horst published by TSI Press. The book states:
"This collection of essays honors Robert ter Horst, a scholar of comparative literature. The contributions reflect the diversity of the honoree’s interests. While most of the essays focus on Spanish literature of the late 15 through 17 centuries other national traditions are represented, and essays exhibit a variety of scholarly approaches. The texts under scrutiny range from poetry, prose and drama of the early modern era though contemporary theater and film. Following personal tributes to Professor ter Horst from the three co-editors eleven essays by scholars in the fields of Spanish and comparative literature comprise this volume”
Posted 5/11

Reminiscences of an Accidental Embezzler
Howard E. Hallengren,
 author 
The book tells the story of a young highly accomplished Swiss man who is apparently destined to be the head of a major bank in Zurich. He makes the mistake of trying to carry out a seemingly foolproof embezzlement from the bank. This attempt leads him on an increasingly risky path from Zurich to New York to Los Angeles and back to New York, ultimately culminating late in his life in trying to carry out one of the greatest, most daring, and most spectacular embezzlements ever attempted.


Crisis in U. S. Health Care: Corporate Power vs. the Common Good
John Geyman, M.D., author  
The problems of U. S. health care are of intense public interest today. The debate over where to go next to rein in costs and improve access to quality health care has become bitterly partisan, with distorted rhetoric largely uninformed by history, evidence, or health policy science. Based on present trends, our expensive dysfunctional system threatens patients, families, the government, and taxpayers with future bankruptcy. This book takes a 60-year view of our health care system, from 1956 to 2016, from the perspective of a family physician who has lived through these years as a practitioner in two rural communities, a professor and administrator of family medicine in medical schools, a journal editor for 30 years, and a researcher and writer on health care for more than four decades. There has been a complete transformation of health care and medical practice over that time from physicians in solo or small group practice and community hospitals to an enormous, largely corporatized industry that has left behind many of the traditions of personalized health care. This is an objective, non-partisan look at the major trends changing U. S. health care over these years, ranging from increasing technology and uncontrollable costs to depersonalization and changing ethics in medicine and health care. This book points out some of the highs?and lows?of these changes over the years, which may surprise some readers. It also compares three basic alternatives to reform the system for the common good vs. the continuing greed of corporate stakeholders and their shareholders.


Jean Statton interviewed George Newlin for her March 29, 2006, column in the Princeton NJ Town Topics>

George C. Newlin is a man of many talents. The term "polymath" comes to mind, and, indeed, the designation fits. A corporate lawyer, venture capitalist, amateur concert pianist and opera singer, he has succeeded in whatever he set out to do. It is his third and current career, however, which he says gives him the most pleasure.

"Categorically, this is the most enjoyable of any of my careers," says Mr. Newlin.

"Some people are forces of nature, and George is certainly a force of nature, given his boundless energy," says John Logan, Literature Bibliographer at Princeton University's Firestone Library.

Describing George Newlin's life succinctly is a challenge. Now an energetic 75, he was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and moved to Scarsdale in Westchester County, N.Y. when he was seven. George attended public schools in Scarsdale, especially enjoying English classes, and he was a great reader. "I loved the historical books on the Civil War and also Mark Twain, and Scaramouche" he recalls. He played tennis, and liked summer visits to New England. "We had family trips to Rockywold at Squam Lake in New Hampshire, and I went to camp at Lake Winnepesaukee, also in N.H.I enjoyed all of that." But it was music that consumed most of George's time and interest as he was growing up. "I started piano lessons at seven, and then studied at the Westchester Conservatory of Music," recalls Mr. Newlin.

At Scarsdale High School, George excelled not only in music, but also in academics, and was involved in extra-curricular activities, such as serving as president of the French Club and other organizations. He was especially known in school both for his piano performances and his smooth baritone singing voice in school musicals, including Gilbert & Sullivan productions.

After graduating from Scarsdale High in 1948, he headed for Princeton, his only choice of college. "I had read a Life Magazine piece about reunions at Princeton, and they seemed great," explains Mr. Newlin. "I had also heard of the Triangle Club and thought I'd like to be in that."

At Princeton, George majored in music, history, and religion, joined the Glee Club and Triangle, and also played squash. Performances in Triangle were especially fun, and led to an appearance on the Ed Sullivan TV show during which George performed a solo Charleston dance routine.

"I ended up liking Princeton," observes Mr. Newlin, "but there was a certain snobbish aspect to life there in 1948, especially if you hadn't gone to a private prep school." On the other hand, there were a number of veterans, returning after World War II, whose presence gave added dimension to the student dynamic. He remembers, too, an important social change during his years at Princeton.

 

"Jinks , E. Harris Harbison , was one of the best professors," continues Mr. Newlin."He taught Renaissance and Reformation ('Ren & Ref'), and it was an amazing class. At the end of the lecture, you just sat in awed silence."

Graduating in Princeton's famous class of 1952, known for its large number of members who went on to distinction in various fields, George then decided to attend Yale Law School. When one is gifted in many areas, choices can be difficult. Which to pursue seriously and with total focus? As he says, "I didn't really know what I wanted to do.

 

Master's Degree - Unfortunately, this never materialized due to a fire in a house off-base in which Mr. Newlin was severely burned. "I was taken to Brooke Army Hospital in Texas, notable for its burn unit," he recalls.

Mr. Newlin's law career flourished in the succeeding years, and then in 1971, he headed in a new direction, moving from law to finance; in particular, investment banking and venture capital work. He joined Dominick & Dominick, Inc. for which he served as Corporate Counsel and Vice President, Finance.

 

Financial End - "I decided I wanted to get in on the action," he explains.

 

"Totally out of the blue, my wife of more than 20 years, filed for divorce," recalls Mr. Newlin.

 

"Dickens is a great plotster, but I think his specialty is his characters," points out Mr. Newlin. Who could forget Madam Defarge (described by Mr. Newlin as "a grim knitter"), Sydney Carton, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Mr. Micawber, Pip, Uriah Heep, the Artful Dodger, Scrooge? And they can all be found, at length, with all the other Dickens' characters in Mr. Newlin's volumes.

in addition, scholars in Victorian literature have praised Mr. Newlin's efforts to create a readily accessible means to identify characters and ideas in the Dickens oeuvre. John Jordan, Professor of Literature, and Director, The Dickens Project at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has known Mr. Newlin since the 1980s and is impressed with the magnitude of his work.

"George began attending the annual Dickens Universe program at UC Santa Cruz as one of the 'lay' members of the audience, not as one of the scholars, but he soon stood out from the other amateurs by virtue of his encyclopedic knowledge of Dickens.

Although not a teacher by profession or training, George has thrown himself into the world of 'education', understood in the broadest sense, with the energy and verve of a 21-year-old.I wish all my students had his excitement and curiosity about 19th Century fiction." Adds David Parker, Curator Emeritus, The Dickens House in London, who has been a friend of Mr. Newlin for 15 years, and who enjoys their mutual visits in New York, London, and Princeton: "His reference books to the works of Victorian novelists are quite simply indispensable.

With George, everything is there. He is writing works, which, I can assure you, will outlive the most penetrating literary criticism or the most erudite literary theory.

"I also enjoy receiving emails from George, asking me to go to some branch of the British Library and trace forgotten articles by Trollope or George Eliot.

The success of the Dickens volumes led Mr. Newlin to expand his study of Victorian fiction, and his investigation into the work of Anthony Trollope directed him to Princeton and ultimately to take up residence in the town of his alma mater. His interest in Trollope was a natural outcome of his previous exploration of Dickens, explains Mr. Newlin. Continuing his pursuit of the Victorians, Mr. Newlin delved into the works of George Eliot, and a 2-volume set will be published this May.

Mr. Newlin's investigation of these writers reinforces an observation by Brendan Gill in The New Yorker article. "The Victorians are immensely satisfying to read," points out Mr. Newlin.

In addition to these comprehensive volumes, Mr. Newlin has written two student guide books or case studies on A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.

Mr. Newlin has also become very involved with his Princeton class, of which he is very proud, and was editor of the 756-page year book for the 50th reunion in 2002.In addition, he compiled a companion book of essays, including the reports of such classmates as James Baker, III, Frank Carlucci, Donald Oberdorfer, Moorhead Kennedy, William Gough, Joel Henkel, and Richard Kazmaier, representing the fields of government, journalism, foreign service, physics, and athletics. At the occasion of the reunion, Mr. Newlin gave a piano recital in Richardson Auditorium which also honored his former professors, Milton Babbitt and E.T. (Ed) Cone.

Mr. Newlin also enjoys traveling, especially to Vermont and Montana in the U.S. and to England, and the Amalfi Coast in Italy. He visits New York City regularly, where he spends time with friends and colleagues at his club, and also attends the theater.

He is proud of his children, including an adopted daughter, Elizabeth, and grandchildren, whose pictures are prominently displayed in his apartment. "I feel I have had a very rich life, and I am grateful for it," he reflects.

In Princeton, Mr. Newlin is also very active with the Quakers."The Quaker Meeting House here is an amazing place," he points out.

When not reading the Victorians in search of his next analytical anthology, Mr. Newlin often returns to other well-loved books. "My favorite is always the one I am working on," he remarked.


Insight: R. Townley Paton and the World's First Eye Bank
Paperback – June 9, 2016
by David Paton MD (Author)
An annotated biography of Dr. R. Townley Paton, MD; founder of the world's first eye-bank. Starting with a lively history of the Paton family and its origins, the book then delves into the fascinating career of one of the world's most renowned eye surgeons and his quest to create the world's first viable eye bank.
About the Author
David Paton MD FACS DSci (hon) is a graduate of Princeton University, The Johns Hopkins Medical School, The Wilmer Institute and five years on the Wilmer faculty before continuing an academic career in Houston, later elsewhere. Having the familial dyslexia, it may be of some interest to add that for four years he was the Dean of Admissions for The Johns Hopkins Medical School. Since dyslexia is often associated with creativity, it may also be relevant to report that he was the Founder and First Medical Director of Project ORBIS, later re-named ORBIS International, a re-fit former commercial aircraft designed to teach the modern ingenuities of ophthalmology on a global scale



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Through his Father?s Letters, Bradt ?52 Reveals the Struggles of Wartime Families
Hale Bradt ?52

In 1980, Hale Bradt ?52 began a decades-long project to learn about his family?s past after discovering the very personal letters his father, Wilber Bradt, wrote during World War II as a soldier in the Army?s 43rd Infantry Division.

The result is a trilogy titledWilber?s War: An American Family?s Journey Through World War IIthat chronicles Bradt?s father?s experiences in the Pacific theater and the effects of the war on his family. Illustrated with news clips, family photos, maps, and letters, the self-published trilogy is being released to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the war?s end on Aug. 14.

During his research, Bradt found some 700 letters by his father, who earned a Ph.D. in chemistry and was a professor at the University of Maine before the war. Bradt, a professor of physics emeritus at MIT and the author of two textbooks on astrophysics, studied documents in archives and talked to veterans and family members who had been mentioned in the letters. Much of the research was done in the early 1980s, when contemporaries of his father were still alive. Bradt also traveled to the Pacific battlefields ? the Solomon Islands and the Philippines ? and interviewed a Japanese colonel.

Wilber?s letters offer a picture of his wife, Norma, and her struggles at home, which included hiding a pregnancy from her family. The letters track the couple?s relationship during Wilber?s three-year deployment, his difficult return home, and, tragically, his suicide at the end of the war. "Seeking out the story behind the story in my parents? lives and of incidents in the Pacific was absolutely fascinating to me,? Bradt says. "I have gotten to know my parents much better than most of us ever do.?

Hale Bradt
 says there's a 20 percent discount on his new trilogy [see Did you Know column on this page] if your use the coupon code PUWW when ordering through the book's website.

Princeton University: The First 250 Years

by Don Oberdorfer

To celebrate Princeton University's 250th birthday, this richly illustrated full-color book combines an engaging text and vignettes of campus life with long-lost as well as familiar images gathered from Princeton's own collections and afar. An ideal gift book, it tells the story of Princeton's evolution from a humble parsonage in Elizabeth, New Jersey into one of the world's most renowned institutions of teaching and learning.

The first half of the book focuses on major turning points and personalities as Princeton evolved over its first two centuries into a distinctive institution and a distinctive campus culture: its founding as the College of New Jersey, its move to Princeton and the construction of Nassau Hall, its pivotal role in the American Revolution when John Witherspoon was the only college president to sign the Declaration of Independence, the deep divisions of the Civil War, and the emergence of a modern university under James McCosh and Woodrow Wilson.

The second half examines the post-World War II era when Princeton significantly increased the diversity of its student body (and in the 1960s became coeducational); expanded its commitment to graduate education, research, and new fields of knowledge; weathered an era of campus protest and created new structures for undergraduate life. In a final chapter the book looks into Princeton's future with its president and some current students. The author, Don Oberdorfer, witnessed this modern era first-hand as a student (Class of 1952), alumnus, and occasional faculty member. He describes the enormous changes of this period and breathes new life into Princeton's earlier history with a journalist's eye for the most important and interesting facts and the most revealing anecdotes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Sprague Electric: An Electronics Giant's Rise, Fall, and Life after Death Paperback – April 15, 2015 
by John L. Sprague (Author)

The rise of the Sprague Electric Company from a kitchen-table high-tech startup with a niche electronic product is representative of much of the U.S. electronics industry. Sprague Electric began in 1926 in the Quincy, Massachusetts kitchen of a young naval officer, Ensign Robert C. Sprague, and became a thriving manufacturer employing thousands of workers. It built a broad product line of electronic components, achieving international sales and a reputation for the highest quality. It then declined, went through a series of acquisitions, and eventually dissolved. 
Sprague Electric provides a valuable business and technological history, which serves as a lens for the stories of thousands of companies all over the world. It is the story of corporate success, and a cautionary tale of what to avoid. The Sprague Electric story portrays the value of investment in research and development, and also the effects of raw material supply chains on product lines. It is a story of a company’s relations with the town where its factories were located, the small New England mill town of North Adams, Massachusetts, and how labor relations — initially cordial— later soured. It is a story of how a vulnerable company weathered the stresses of the Great Depression and triumphed, only to be brought down by the recessions of the 1970s and 1980s. It is a history of acquisitions, mergers, and spin-offs— some of them botched— and of the strategic and tactical mistakes that eventually caused the company to vanish. Its principal manufacturing plant is now an acclaimed art museum. Yet, Sprague Electric’s successor companies continue its legacy in the electronic components industry. Corporations formed from its different business units and operations are now spread around the world.

Posted April 20


A New Book by John Geyman, M.D. Coming Soon

How Obamacare is Unsustainable by John Geyman, M.D.

To be published in January, 2015 by Copernicus Healthcare, ISBN paper: 978-0-9887996-9-1, Paperback: $18.95 /

Confusion and controversy have plagued the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) since its enactment in March 2010. Republicans have generally opposed the legislation and attempted to obstruct it in parts or repeal it altogether. Democrats have tended to support it, defending it against the opposition but wary of some of its problems. Patients and families are caught in the middle as the debate heats up in election years.

This is the first book to take an evidence-based approach to assessment of the good and bad about this signature domestic legislation of the Obama presidency aft er fi ve years of experience. Th e evidence already shows that the three major aims of the ACA—to provide near-universal access to health care, to contain costs and make health care affordable, and to improve the quality of U.S. health care—are not being met. Evidence and experience show that the ACA’s approach to health care reform will not work. As it fails, the big question is what next? The case is made—on economic, social and moral grounds—that a single-payer improved Medicare for all system will meet the ongoing goals of reform. This book explains how all Americans can gain universal access to comprehensive health care, paying less than we do now, with more value and less bureaucracy.

John Geyman is Professor Emeritus of Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. He has spent 25 years in academic family medicine. He is Past President of Physicians for National Health Program (PNHP), and author of: Souls on a Walk: An Enduring Love Story Unbroken by Alzheimer's, Health Care Wars: How Market Ideology and Corporate Power Are Killing AmericansBreaking Point - How the Primary Care Crisis Endangers the Lives of AmericansHijacked - The Road to Single Payer in the Aftermath of Stolen Healthcare Reform, The Cancer Generation - Baby Boomers Facing a Perfect StormDo Not Resuscitate: Why the Health Insurance Industry is Dying, and How We Must Replace It. The Corrosion of Medicine: Can the Profession Reclaim its Moral Legacy?, Shredding the Social Contract: The Privatization of Medicare and Falling Through the Safety Net: Americans Without Health Insurance
Posted January 5


William Blake in the Desolate Market, Hardcover – April 8, 2014 - by G. E. Bentley Jr

Experience taught William Blake that "Wisdom is sold in the desolate market where none come to buy." His brilliant achievements as a poet, painter, and engraver brought him public notice, but little income. William Blake in the Desolate Market records how Blake, the most original of all the major English poets, earned his living. G.E. Bentley Jr, the dean of Blake scholars, details the poet's occupations as a commercial engraver, print-seller, teacher, copperplate printer, painter, publisher, and vendor of his own books. In his early career as a commercial engraver, Blake was modestly prosperous, but thereafter his fortunes declined. For his most ambitious commercial designs, he made hundreds of folio designs and scores of engravings, but was paid scarcely more than twenty pounds for two or three years' work. His invention of illuminated printing lost money, and many of his greatest works, such as Jerusalem, were left unsold at his death. He came to believe that his "business is not to gather gold, but to make glorious shapes." William Blake in the Desolate Market is an investigation of Blake's labours to support himself by his arts. The changing prices of his works, his costs and receipts, as well as his patrons and employers are expertly gathered and displayed to show the material side of the artistic career in Britain's Romantic period.

Posted December 11

 

Boondoggles: Travels of a Restless Professor [July 12, 2018] by G. E. Bentley, Jr.

One of Jerry's greatest talents was creating research pretexts to travel to the far corners of the globe. He explored England and continental Europe, first as a student and later when he returned regularly for research. Once he had settled into his career at the University of Toronto, Jerry sought adventure with his young family while teaching for a year in places which did not at the time attract many Western academics - Algeria in the 1960s, India in the 1970s, China in the early 1980s. In each of these places he found expectations about teaching, university administration and social interactions vastly different, often baffling, and always entertaining.

The volume concludes with three essays in which Jerry chronicles his academic endeavours, as a scholar of William Blake, forms the basis of the most important collection of Blake works in Canada.

With eloquence and humour, Jerry brings to life in Boondoggles the people he met and the grandeur of the places he visited, as both a restless professor and an endlessly curious observer of human nature, long before the era of mass tourism made such travels commonplace....


Brief Flights: Transcendent Experiences Inside And Outside,Paperback ? February 14, 2008 - by Frederic Alling

Transcendent experiences have been extensively written about, from a psychological perspective by Freud, William James, Maslow and others. However in recent years, advances in identifying a "self-transcendent" personality trait, a "God Gene" and some of the neurochemical brain activities which occur during transcendent states, have opened up a new depth of understanding about this inside dimension of transcendent phenomena. They also offer science's newest challenge to traditional religious experience and belief. In this book transcendent experiences are described by those in a variety of arenas, including traditional religious practices, close encounters with death and other natural phenomena, creativity and the arts, competitive sports, romantic love, and other areas. Those interested in religion and science, as well many general readers, may come to recognize experiences of their own, which they may not have considered religious or transcendent. They may also find comfort from developing a stronger and deeper foundation for their religious beliefs.


Love Letters from the Front: A Lieutenants Journey to Leadership Paperback – November 1, 2014

 

by Bill MacIlvaine (Author), Rod MacIlvaine (Contributor)

A story of dedication and love. A young man graduates from Princeton: He’s a freshly-minted second lieutenant with dreams and aspirations for his future. He gets married and ships off to an international conflict-zone, and within months he is promoted to Battery Executive Officer. During his tour of duty in Korea he writes 171 love letters to his new bride. These letters sparkle with humor and devotion, but as the months progress, the letters also reveal a growing maturity both as a leader and as a husband. Love Letters from the Front will inspire anyone facing hardship and challenge that those ordeals can fortify character and produce fresh leadership strength.

Bill MacIlvaine (B.A. Princeton University) has held various leadership positions in industry on the east coast and in the Midwest, and ultimately assumed the presidency of a Wisconsin-based manufacturing firm. He completed his career in South Florida in banking, and in retirement served two terms as a city councilman of Naples, Florida. Bill and his wife Lucy were married in 1952 and have four children, ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His avocation is ocean sailing and he has captained multiple charters in the Atlantic, Pacific and the Great Lakes.  Read more at http://lovelettersfromthefront.com/ or on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LoveLettersfromtheFront 



Weird and Tragic Shores: The Story of Charles Francis Hall, Explorer
Chauncey Loomis [Modern Library Exploration - April 4, 2000]

 

In 1860, fifteen years after Sir John Franklin's ill-fated expedition disappeared in the Arctic, a Cincinnati businessman named Charles Francis Hall set out to locate and rescue the expedition's survivors. He was an amateur explorer, without any scientific training or experience, but he was driven by a sense of personal destiny and of religious and patriotic mission. Despite the odds against him, he made three forays into the far North, the final--and fatal--one taking him farther north than any westerner had ever gone before. But Hall was suddenly taken ill on that voyage and died under mysterious circumstances.

Ninety-seven years later, Chauncey Loomis headed an expedition to Hall's grave in northwestern Greenland. He exhumed Hall's frozen body and performed an autopsy. His findings suggest that the investigators of Hall's death nervously sidestepped the damning evidence. Loomis has written a masterful biography-cum-mystery that brilliantly evokes the lure of the Arctic and the brutal contest between man and nature.


The Mayor: How I Turned Around Los Angeles after Riots, an Earthquake and the O.J. Simpson Murder Trial
by Richard J. Riordan (Author), Patrick Range McDonald (Contributor), Hardcover – September 30, 2014

Between 1993 and 2001, Mayor Richard J. Riordan, a maverick multi-millionaire who championed pragmatism over divisive politics, pulled Los Angeles from the brink of collapse and turned around one of the world’s most famous cities. Wildly popular today among Angelenos of all stripes, Riordan continues to be a major force in the political and civic worlds of L.A.

Riordan, a non-ideological Republican who was pro-choice, pro-gay rights, and pro-immigration, was elected to office in the aftermath of the infamous Rodney King beating and subsequent 1992 L.A. Riots, which caused nearly $1 billion in property damage and took the lives of over 50 people. With ineffectual political leadership at City Hall, racial tensions were running high, the economy was in the tank, and the city’s crime and homicide rates grew out of control during the crack cocaine epidemic. And only a few months into Riordan’s young mayoralty, L.A. appeared to be most definitely doomed after the devastating 1994 Northridge earthquake rocked the city to its core.

But unlike his combative counterpart in New York City, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Riordan was a healing, compassionate figure that recreated L.A. into a thriving, world-class metropolis—and he’s still a key problem solver in the nation’s second largest city.

As the result of Riordan’s efforts, Los Angeles is now a cultural and event destination. He oversaw and pushed through the construction of Frank Gehry’s masterpiece Walt Disney Concert Hall -- a venture the mayor helped personally fund when private financing stalled -- and the landmark Staples Center. He reformed the nation’s second largest public school system, modernized the Los Angeles Police Department, and reformed Los Angeles’ City Charter. After an unsuccessful run for California governor, Riordan worked for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as his secretary of education.

Riordan’s perspective on effective leadership is like no other.

Readers will also learn about the numerous tragedies Riordan faced and how each event shaped him as a person and as mayor. From the deaths of Riordan’s two young children to the passing of his mother on the eve of his first mayoral election, Riordan’s courage and compassion in the face personal heartbreak illustrates why he is so beloved. Riordan is also a cutting-edge philanthropist who helped dramatically improve literacy rates in such places as Mississippi and has personally donated over $100 million to improve the education of poor children. For years, he has donated half his income to charities. This 330-paged memoir delves into his successes and difficulties during his time as mayor, the ideas and value system that drove his work—such as his deep spiritual beliefs that everyone is equal and deserves the opportunity to succeed—and the life events that shaped him.


 

Talk of Many Things: Law, Sports, Politics, Nature Paperback – June 3, 2014

George W. Gowen was born in Italy and he says that makes all the difference. He lived in London, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C, Princeton, N.J. and Charlottesville, VA and since 1957 in New York City where he practices law. He has served in the U.S Army, the U.S. Forest Service, has been counsel to leading sports organizations, and chair of environmental and humane organizations. His legal practice and interests have taken him far and wide around the world. He has been married to Marcia for over fifty-five years and is the proud father of two daughters who have enriched his life by producing four grandchildren for whom this book is written.

 

Granting a twelve-year-old granddaughter’s request, the author - who also wrote "A Willingness of Heart” - bares the story of his life in new memoir.  In "Talk of Many Things"(published by Xlibris), he recounts his kaleidoscopic life from the cradles of Italy to the Land of the Free. He incorporates hilarious anecdotes, moving encounters and vignettes of life experiences from soulfully-lucrative travels and sojourns far and wide.

 


 

 

James C. Davis

So Far, So Good: An Historian's Memoirs – April 29, 2008 
It's no surprise if you've never heard of the author of SO FAR, SO GOOD. He never starred in movies, dealt in drugs, or ran for President. Well, what did he do? He went to prep school and Princeton. Enlisted in the Army and was sent to Italy, where he reported for an Army newspaper and married. Earned his Ph.D. Taught for a third of a century at the University of Pennsylvania. Wrote six books, including this one and a history of the world. As you see then, these are the memoirs of a history professor. But you'll find this brief self-story engaging and illuminating. Davis illustrates how children figure who they are, how adolescents search for Truth, how Americans viewed the Cold War, and how historians explore where Man has been. And he asks if life on Earth is headed down or up.


WILLIAM V. HEALEY, MD:  Osprey

Dr. Healey explores the idea of using murder as a method of international politics in his novel, "Osprey", taking the reader on a thrilling journey into the dark side of politics and the consequences of countries no longer cooperating and insisting on using violence. "Osprey" follows an intriguing storyline across several countries where two enemies plot to assassinate the President of the United States.

Unlike many exaggerated medical details in similar novels, Dr. Healey's medical background and expertise ensure accurate and intriguing medical descriptions. This thoughtful medical murder mystery is not only accurate, but also filled with fast paced activity.

On a deeper level, Dr. Healey also digs deep into the struggle of a virtuous character and how difficult it can be to maintain one's integrity in demanding circumstances. "Osprey" examines the consequences of unethical actions on a larger scale.

Instead of relying on sensationalism and gore, "Osprey" offers a thought provoking and intriguing look on a political murder mystery. It questions the continued use of violence in international conflicts and if a peaceful resolution of controversial world issues is possible.


THOMAS B. LEARY:  The Education of an Accidental Lawyer
This book is a collection of over 100 anecdotes about the good and bad experiences that taught Tom Leary his trade. For general readers, it is an entertaining description of what business lawyers actually do; for aspiring lawyers, it is a valuable teaching tool

Tom Leary has served many roles in the antitrust world. He has been an outside counsel at high-powered New York and Washington law firms; he was the antitrust lawyer at GM when the antitrust principles and GM market share made that a full-time job for many lawyers; and he was a long-time Commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. Along the way, he interacted with Presidents and Supreme Court Justices and top business executives. He participated, in one way or another, in many of the top antitrust cases of his time. Most importantly for this publication, he picked up a bunch of stories that any antitrust lawyer will find fascinating and any young lawyer of any speciality should find a treasure. Fortunately, he didn't need to find any story-telling ability along the way -- he was born with it. The result is an entertaining memoir -- yes, you'll laugh, you'll cry -- for all readers.


 

 

IRVING FLINT "BUD" FOOTE
Between Me and the Beach: Poems from Dauphin Island, November 17, 2004

 

 

For most of every year, Bud Foote lived on the west end of Dauphin Island, Alabama, a few houses back from the Gulf of Mexico, enjoying the company of migratory birds and butterflies and resident mockingbirds, pigeons, pelicans, and cormorants. A bookish but sociable fellow, he enjoyed working his perceptions of these and other facets of island life into poetry of various sorts ranging from haiku to villanelles, from somber to ridiculous, from formal to rollicking. Those who enjoy the changing vistas and shifting populations (human and otherwise) of barrier islands will find much to relish and reflect on in the variety and surprise of these poems.
His Daughter Anna wrote:This beautiful book of poetry was written by my father after he retired from GA Tech(English Professor for 40 years) while he lived on Dauphin Island. We lost him in 2004. My family and I hope you and your family enjoy this treasure as much as we have.

 

The Connecticut Yankee in the Twentieth Century: Travels to the Past in Science Fiction
The first examples of travel to the past appear early in the nineteenth century, but it was not until the publication of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court that we see a hero taking advantage of a combination of hindsight and advances in technology to build an empire in the past. Given that this scenario is such a common twentieth-century fantasy, its late appearance is somewhat surprising. As fewer and fewer writers find travel to the future an appealing scenario, travel to the past and to paratime--alternative universes--have come increasingly to the forefront. Twain's Connecticut Yankee contains, explicitly or implicitly, most of the problems and themes which later writers have wrung out of past time-travel. Concentrating on travel to the past, this study details, both in Twain's seminal work and in its science fiction successors, the various roles played by the traveller to the past--nostalgic, tourist, imperialist, Oedipal hero, and existential isolate--and attempts to relate these roles both to the rest of Twain's work and to the world-view of contemporary America.

 

While other writers have dealt with time travel as part of a general survey of science fiction, Foote's study is among the first to relate it to the body of Mark Twain's work and to attempt to account for the appeal of time travel to the past in historical, geographical, and psychological terms. Because it straddles several disciplines, it will appeal to those interested in science fiction, American literature, and popular culture.


 

ROBERT FOULKE
A Visitor's Guide to Colonial & Revolutionary New England: Interesting Sites to Visit, Lodging, Dining, Things to Do (Second Edition) 

Paperback – June 4, 2012

A totally updated and revised second edition of their historically insightful survey of Revolutionary New England.

In a totally updated and revised second edition of their historically insightful survey of Revolutionary New England, Patricia and Robert Foulke have scrupulously retraced their tracks to offer even more anecdotes, legends, and quotes on the countless battlefields and reenactments, historic homes and buildings, and living-history museums that help give this region its almost mythic appeal. Also brought up to date are recommendations for places to stay and eat and a calendar of events, from the reenactment of the Battle of the Old North Bridge in Concord, MA, to a Thanksgiving feast at Plimouth Plantation. There’s early American history in New England at virtually every turn, and the Foulkes are your guides to it all.


BILL MacILVAINE and son Rod have authored Successful Bareboat Chartering - The Essential Handbook for Captain and Crew

 Bareboat chartering is fast becoming the preferred choice among experienced yachtsmen. With bareboat chartering you get all the thrills of blue water sailing without the anxieties and extra work of boat ownership. With bareboat chartering, you plan the trip and you sail the boat. Your chartering organization shoulders the details.
Yet even the most seasoned sailors will benefit from a reminder of best practices and expert tips on everything from grilling a steak off the stern to handling emergencies in foul weather. Successful Bareboat Chartering gives you all the information you need to know in a highly accessible way.
You will learn how to:
- Contact a reputable bareboat charterer
- Pack for your trip
- Sail with children
- Manage lines and sails as you slice through the waves
And, if you are preparing for your first bareboat charter, this book will be your constant companion, giving you confidence to lead and equipping you for many more memorable trips.

 


 

KLAUS RIFJBERG . . .
Danish writer, was born in Copenhagen and grew up on the island of Amager, a part of the city, the child of two teachers.  Later he studied English and literature, in Copenhagen and for a year in the United States at Princeton University as a member of the Class of 1952.  His breakthrough was in 1958 with his first novelDen kroniske uskyld (1958; "The Chronic Innocence”), an examination of his past which describes his school years while considering the loss of innocence.  It was made into a film in 1985.  Since then he has published more than 100 novels as well as poetry and short story collections, plays, TV and radio plays, film scripts, children's books, and diaries.  He is also known as a journalist and critic.


THOMAS C. SCHMIDT - Autobiography
Seeking Adventure, Finding Home:  A Memoir
          What is "Home”? Where is it? Who lives there? These are just three of the many questions of Being Human that Tom Schmidt sought to answer in this deeply felt memoir of journeys taken and discoveries made over a long and bountiful life.

           An ever-probing mind propelled Tom to significant accomplishments in twenty-two countries on five continents via four distinctly different careers: Episcopal priest to expatriate communities in Columbia, and facilitating racially integrated leadership workshops during apartheid in South Africa; an inter-organizational systems Ph.D. and state Commissioner of Education; a World Bank developer of educational programs in several third world countries; and, as a vigorous elder, an organic gardener and home renovation carpenter.

           But it was Tom’s ever-questing heart that impelled him finally to a perspective of his life as an abiding search for Home—within himself. That search led him far from his origins, drove him to seek new experiences and challenges, and delivered him in old age to the rigorously honest self-assessment of this plain-spoken memoir.

           In these pages, you will encounter a man who believes in making one’s life count, who is committed to a humble knowing of self, and who loves the world. Join him here as he opens to the grace of finding Home.

The value of a life truly well-lived - Review By J. Davidson on March 28, 2014

In an age where so many books skim the surface of trendy "religion-lite," this wonderful memoir reminds us of the value of a life truly well-lived. Tom is my uncle, and I always followed his exploits - from Episcopal priest, to South America, Africa, Bhutan and beyond - with fascination.Although those of us who knew him will appreciate the personal insights into Tom, this fantastic book has many universal insights into humanity in general.

The pacing of the book is wonderful. I had expected to want to "skip to the good parts" and focus on his overseas adventures, but Tom made every aspect of his life equally interesting. Like a good novel, he made clear why he made the decisions he made, and what the circumstances were that made them happen. You could clearly see why he went into religion / politics / international development and what things made him want to change. Tom also avoided any trace of blame or bitterness for the many times in his life when events were not in his favor. It takes a lot of courage as a human being to face difficult passages in life, and he was able to describe them in such detail that we felt we were living it along with him. To do that without resorting to a jeremiad is something close to sainthood.

From a technical standpoint, the transitions between narrative and anecdote were handled beautifully. The book could have easily devolved into a long list of war stories - tales that might be interesting on their own but leave no real insight as a whole. The vignettes he did provide were wonderfully to the point and helped to serve the narrative, not take us out of it.

Perhaps the hardest thing he accomplished was simply creating a narrative of his life. Again, this is incredibly difficult to do without resorting to simplification or airbrushing. So many expats / accomplished people have a litany of tales that bolster the aspects of their life that they want others to see - the successes, the wise decisions, etc. Tom avoided that pitfall, giving us instead a warts and all view of his accomplishments. I don't doubt that, given his modesty, he left out a lot of stories that he might have found too self-aggrandizing.

I really can't say enough good things about this book. I will treasure my copy. Thank you so much for helping bring it to fruition!

 

JOHN L. SPRAGUE - Biography
The Birth of Electric Traction:  the extraordinary life and times of inventor Frank Julian Sprague  
Frank J. Sprague was renowned in electrical circles around the world as "The Father of Electric Traction.” The control and safety systems which make railroads and mass transit work today are his. He was the first to design electric motors capable of earning their way in industry, and helped perfect the high-speed electric elevators that made skyscrapers possible. He created the basic circuitry that ran, and still runs, subways, elevators, and electrified railroads. Sprague was among the first men to bring rigorous mathematical discipline to replace cut-and-try research, making him the life-long rival of Thomas Edison. Sprague helped change electricity from a laboratory and lecture-platform oddity to a vital part of the modern world. Almost single-handedly he wired electricity into the second industrial revolution as a basic source of power and transportation.


PHILEMON E. STURGES (1929 - 2005) was an American, Rhode Island-based architect and
children's books author. Sturges was trained at Princeton before working with the firm The Providence Partnership.  

Philemon had a strong appetite for books since he was a boy. He loved to read books and poetry aloud in his booming voice. The father of three grown daughters, Philemon enjoyed visiting schools and writing for a young audience. "Everything is new to kids," said Philemon. "it is an honor to introduce them to things -- plus, it's fun!" 

As a boy, Philemon spent many summers at his grandpa's house in Bristol, Rhode Island, where he fell in love with boats and the sea. After a four-year Navy stint in Japan, he moved back to Rhode Island. When he wasn't working on the development of downtown Providence, the waterfront of Newport, or the boat basin on Nantucket, he spent his time sailing, clamming, and riding the waves in his dory, the Dawn Treader. He even spent a year living on an old ferryboat moored in Providence Harbor.


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