The Union Bookshelf regularly features new books written by (or about) alumni and other members of the Union community. If you're an author and would like to be included in a future issue, please send us a copy of the book as well as your publisher's news release. Our address is Office of Communications, Union College, Schenectady, N.Y. 12308.
Laurance Foley '51
A 20th Century Bridge: Selected Memories of a Family Named
Foley Authorhouse
A 20th Century Bridge is a warmly written and intimate memoir that details five generations of the Foley family. The people and places come alive through Laurance Foley's poignant, informative, and humorous stories, which serve as a portrait of the times that shaped American history in the 20th Century.
You'll meet a delightful cast of characters that would have a welcomed spot on any family tree including, Major Foley, the author's father, who shaped history during the 1918 influenza pandemic, and the author himself, who was a pioneer of the computer/telecommunications industry in the budding Silicon Valley during the mid-1960s. You'll also go on some true adventures, witnessing a frontier wedding at the gateway to the Klondike, a Triathlon competition on a Caribbean island, and meeting a life-saving goat herd in Maine.
The author spends a chapter discussing his days as a Psi Upsilon fraternity man and student at Union. He fondly recalls his late classmate, Alan Gowman '49, who had been badly wounded in World War II, but was a strong willed, and incredibly intelligent man, who overcame the adversity of his physical injuries and after graduating from Union went on to graduate school. Foley also pays homage to one of his favorite teachers, Professor Joseph Finkelstein, who could reel off dates and names without any reference notes, and was a great lecturer.
Foley weaves another one of his interests, technology-and the rapid developments that come with it-into his narrative. While the book begins in the midst of an American Industrial Revolution, an age of illiteracy and telegraphs, in only 100 years, an age of information technology, software, and the microchip is in full swing.
Laurance Foley lives in Dublin, N.H., with his wife, Jeanne, and feels blessed by his loving sons, daughters, grandchildren and a new great-grandchild.
Dr. Fred Grosse '57
Black Belt of the Mind
Conscious Wealth Press
With over 30 years experience, Dr. Fred Grosse is coach and mentor to some of the highest performing entrepreneurs in real estate and in the financial industries of the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.
Black Belt of the Mind takes you on a journey of self-discovery that will empower your business and enhance your personal life. It's not just about succeeding in business. It's about cultivating, nurturing and growing a more meaningful life and enjoying it to the fullest.
Drawing from his insights into the human psyche, the author unfolds his own recipe for creating a magnificent life. Ingredients include a variety of elements aimed at creating new habits around essentials such as “dollar-productive behavior,” mastering the art of integrity, and eliminating the things that keep us from our goals.
Grosse, who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from the International College in Los Angeles, writes with the clarity of a sage, urging his readers to realize “life is primary, work funds life-don't get it backwards.” From his deep understanding of the human mind, he guides readers to transform their lives by employing various strategies that blur the lines between business strategies and psychology.
Grosse lives in Phoenix, Ariz., and New Zealand with his wife Victoria. He is a highly sought keynote speaker and coach in the corporate world but also spends a great deal of time speaking at conferences in sacred places around the world.
Jack Fenimore '63
Surviving Terrorism: A Basic Family Guide
Bedwelty Press
Terrorism is a very real danger, but like fire in the home or a tropical storm, it's something we can deal with on an individual and family basis. Rather than live in denial or fear that there's nothing we can do about it, we can easily adopt practical strategies to cope with the possibility.
Planning to survive acts of terrorism can, and should be approached in the same matter-of-fact way that we prepare for fires in the home by installing smoke detectors and purchasing insurance. Doing these things, being ready in case of an emergency, allows us to move on with our lives, free of denial, stress, and anxiety.
In Surviving Terrorism: A Basic Family Guide, Jack Fenimore leads you through the basic steps that prepare you and your family for consequences of terrorism and many other man-made or natural disasters. It focuses on putting the actual risks in perspective, explaining the specific threats and the consequences of weapons used by terrorists. Fenimore also includes essential preparations that will dramatically improve your ability to survive, and to avoid physical or financial injury.
Fenimore is a former Adjutant General of New York, Air Force Major General, Chairman of the New York State Disaster Preparedness Commission, and participant in academic and Congressional studies of terrorism and its consequences. He is a writer and the CEO of J.H. Fenimore & Associates LLC, which provides consulting services focusing on domestic preparedness, homeland security, and weapons of mass destruction. He lives in Schenectady, NY.
Robert T. Whipple '68
Understanding E-Body Language: Building Trust Online
Productivity Publications
Online communication is so much a part of everyday life that we normally take it for granted until the power goes out. Many of us view email the same as face-to-face communication; we just type information as if we were chatting with someone in the lunchroom-potentially a big mistake.
Imagine the advantage if you could read a kind of “e-body language.” We could understand the intent of notes. That skill would be increasingly important, as the percentage of e-communications continues to rise. There is ample “body language,” and even voice inflection, available in electronic communications if you know how to read the signals.
Whipple's user-friendly and eye-opening book gives readers an opportunity to recognize these signals. He teaches how to look between the lines in all forms of incoming electronic communications for tone, timing, and tension and tips on how to ensure outgoing messages both convey the true intentions of the writer and are politically appropriate. Using organizational strategies, the author also covers a wide array of important topics such as managing inboxes to avoid “e-burnout.” Whipple makes a clear argument that with the correct tools in place, the art of email can be made simple and effective and can radically enhance the quality of online communication within a business community.
Robert T. Whipple is CEO of Leadergrow Inc., an organization dedicated to the development of leaders. He has spoken on leadership and the development of trust in numerous venues, including Harvard Business School. He also teaches leadership at several upstate New York colleges, and worldwide online through the University of Phoenix.