Historian, writer, teacher, lecturer

I was early influenced by Science Fiction, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers in the Sunday comics. Then, my first true SF book, Assignment in Space with RIP Foster by Blake Savage. I hunted in vain for a sequel but never found one. What I did find was Have Space Suit, Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein. It was followed by Rocket Ship Galileo, The Rolling Stones, and all the rest. A life-time of pleasure was born. I have read everything he published and some he didn't. Thanks, Bob.	Robert & Virginia Heilein
My best friend, Andy, introduced me to the Tom Corbett books. I introduced him to the Tom Swift series which I had discovered in my grandfather's library. Of course, that was Tom Swift Senior. Andy and I soon discovered Tom Swift Jr. Now there are three more levels of Tom Swifts. Corbett and Swift soon led me to the Lucky Starr series by Paul French. When I learned Paul French was a nom de plume for Issac Asimov, I grabbed one of his early books, The Stars Like Dust I think. I was hooked. Asimov's Foundation series and his Robots series have created the most fascinating universe since Heinlein's.	Issac Asimov
By high school, I was ripping through the science fiction section of the local library like grass through a goose. Nothing was safe from my rapacious grasp. There were two authors who never ceased to impress. The first was Fredric Brown. His The Lights in the Sky are Stars and Martians, Go Home taught me about BEMS (Bug-eyed Monsters) while The Screaming Mimi and Thre Fabulous Clipjoint introduced me to murder mysteries. At about the same time, I read the incredible Star Man's Son 2250 A.D. and Sargasso of Space by Andre Norton. A woman writing Science Fiction for boys!? The Time Traders and The Beast Master opened the door to her Witch World series and indtroduced me to fantasy science fiction.	Andre Norton
In and around all this SF, I read many history books and attended the movies, especially Westerns. Hondo, Shane, High Noon and Stagecoach have to be on any list of the best Western movies. All four are adapted from books or short stories. Interestingly, I never got into reading Western novels. None I tried really grabbed my attention. Then I ran across Louis L'Amour. It was either Hondo or The First Fast Draw. Here was an author who wrote of the West and included true history in his writings! I was hooked. His How The West Was Won, which was based on the movie of the same name, plucks at my heartstrings still. His Sackett series produce a haunting hunger in me that is never filled.	Louis L'Amour
My mother was an avid reader in her own right. She belonged to the People's Book Club for years. In her bookcase, I found The Iron Mistress by Paul I. Wellman. This was a fictional biography of the life of Jim Bowie and his famous knife. A few years later, I found Wellman's Dynasty of Outlaws, a factual account of gangs in the post-Civil War era. Here was a new phenomena for me, an author and a historian. Dr. Jackie Barnhardt, when I was bemoaning the passing of Louis L'Amour, suggested I try Tony Hillerman. I found Hillerman to be like Paul Wellman, a historian, a journalist, and a writer of westerns. Only these were modern age westerns featuring two Navajo Police officers solving murder mysteries!	Tony Hillerman
I have a bad habit, when I find a new and enjoyable author, of reading everything by an author as quickly as I can and then wait impatiently for his next publication. My sweet wife, who is a romance writer in her own right, suggested to me that, if I liked Hillerman's Navajo settings, I should check out Blackening Song by Aimee and David Thurlo. Suddenly their heroine, Ella Claw, was presenting a different vision of the Navajo Nation from Hillerman. Again I was hooked. Aimee Thurlo also writes romance novels on her own and David Thurlo has a series feturing a Navajo vampire state trooper! Don't miss these dynamic writers!	Aimée and David Thurlo
Like many "macho" men, I decried romance novels as "women's pornography." Just look at those covers! Finally, my dear wife challenged me to read a romance novel. She presented me with a historical romance titled The Shattered Rose by Jo Beverley. If you have ever wondered what it was like to be a knight returning home from the First Crusade, read this novel. I was hooked on historical romances. It was a short step from historicals to romances in a modern setting. Especially those dealing with a mystery or suspense. Karen Harper covers both genre. Her Inferno and The Falls grip and do not turn loose. Her series of Queen Elizabeth I mysteries bring alive England's Golden Age.	Karen Harper
Historical romances lead me to historical mysteries. One of the most interesting series is the eleven volume John Fielding novels by Bruce Alexander. John Fielding was the brother of Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones. Blinded in battle, John Fielding eventually became the magistrate of Bow Street, London. He and his brother are credited with founding the first true police force and creating the first police criminal records department. These historical mysteries lead me to modern mysteries, especially written by romance authors such as Tami Hoag.	Tami Hoag
There are many more I could include here but I want to close out this page with a brief rant. There are two issues that roil my blood. The first is the treatment government give public libraries. Why are library budgets the first place local government cut? Rarely are budget cuts, and the resulting reduced hours and services, ever restored. I really question whether politicians can read or understand the importance of libraries.
The second issue is censorship. I can concede that some material may be beyond the capacity of certain ages. Not because it may bruise their psychic but because they have no frame of reference. I do not believe in hiding information. That only leads to ignorance. The truth may shock but it can never injure. If it was not so, the Bible would have to be forbidden to minors.