Not just memoirs of an ol' teacher but the author deals with how the events of the past may be connected to our current life. Beside the Alaska adventures there are some significant points made throughout the book: There is a word for word interview with OSAMA bin LADEN as repeated from this author's contact with Peter Bergen of CNN, the only western journalist ever to personally talk with the jihadist in his cave back in 1997. This clearly explains the nature of our current conflict. Rosa Parks not going to the back of the bus affected America. Passengers of flight 93 had the foresight to sacrifice themselves for preservation of their fellow Americans in Washington DC, targeted by the hijackers of that flight. The Sec. of State stood against a belligerent congress in 1867 to purchase Alaska from Russia proving the "collective wisdom" of our congress is often totally wrong. JFK challenged us to do the impossible (go to the moon). This success gave us confidence to attempt other "impossible." Our total dependence on modern technical devises may be a big gain. But let us evaluate what we have lost in doing so. There are productive ways for us all to deal with the national tragedy of Sept 11th 2001.
