About this item
The passion that is University of Kentucky basketball s Big Blue Nation is not a recent phenomenon. In fact, fans maniacal devotion to the Cats traces back to Coach Adolph Rupp s early days at UK in the 1930's. As Rupp grew into his job, his teams steadily grew more formidable until they became nearly invincible in what came to be known as UK s glory years, 1946-1951. In that time frame, Kentucky's Fabulous Five merely: won the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) , which was considered the national championship at the time, once; finished runner-up once; won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament three times and could have won it a fourth time and formed the nucleus of the United States Olympic team which won the Gold Medal.
About the Author
As a child, I heard the adults in my family talk about how my dad's Uncle Berry (Howard) was the man who killed Kentucky's would-be governor, William Goebel in 1900. Finally, in 1993, I happened across the transcript of Berry Howard's murder trial. As a fascinating story unfolded before me, I decided that I had to tell the world the true story of the killing of William Goebel. The result, "Assassination at the State House," was my first book.
I've been asked if my academic training in math and computer science is of any benefit as a writer. I find that attention to detail and following the clues as one does in those disciplines is an asset in any endeavor.
My next book, "The Silent Brigade," to quote the publisher, is still being silent.
Then the publisher put me in touch with a suvivor of the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. I put my research and writing skills to use resulting in a best-seller "Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire."
In 2009, Lincoln's bicentennial year, I published "Through the Eyes of Lincoln" in conjuntion with my friend and great photographer, John Snell. John's photographs are truly spectaular and I managed to discover a few previously unknown facts about "Old Abe."
In 2010, I was very proud to add a new book, "From Hilltop to Mountaintop," the life and legacy of Iwo Jima flag raiser, Franklin Sousley to my resume. The research for this book led down some very interesting paths and the access Franklin's family gave me uncovered a great story and helped produce that I think is a great book! It would appear that readers agree with me: nothing but 5 star ratings and Hilltop has sold more in 4 years, than Beverly has in 15.
My latest book, "American El Dorado," is finally out in February 2013. It's the story of the great diamond hoax of 1872. If you think Bernie Madoff had a new idea, the tale of how a Kentucky con man perpurtrated a great swindle on a lot of important people in 1872 will thrill and amaze. I felt that I set the bar pretty high for myself with "Hilltop," but the readers tell me this one is at least as good.
My latest work, "Sinister Influences" is now available. It's the complete story of UK's Fabulous Five basketball team and the point shaving scandals which tarnished their reputations in 1951. This well-researched effort provides statistics of the players and big games and sheds light in the dark corners of the scandal.
I'm often asked about my writing style. I like writing what's called "historical fiction," meaning that the history is real but the conversations are fiction. I take pride in getting the actual facts and therefore am comfortable in putting words in the characters' mouths, just as my literary heroes James Mitchner, Allan Eckert, Herman W
