Geoff Paddock has released a new book entitled, Indiana Political Heroes. Â There is a review in the Journal-Gazette, “Political courage put on display“, by former Chairman of the Allen County Democratic Party, Brian E. Stier. Â He writes in the article:
First, it was written by a well-known member of our community, Geoff Paddock. Second, the work was competently researched and well conceived. Third, and perhaps most important, Paddock’s book provides an almost laser-like focus on eight Hoosier public servants and how their lives influenced both Indiana and our great nation.
Description from the Amazon.com website:
Politics has always played an important role in Indiana, and the state itself at one time furnished candidates for national office for an assortment of American political parties. From 1840, when Whig William Henry Harrison captured the White House with his “Tippecanoe and Tyler too” campaign, to 1940, when Wendell Willkie won the Republican presidential nomination and challenged incumbent President Franklin Roosevelt’s try for a third term in office, approximately 60 percent of the elections had Hoosiers on a party’s national ticket.
Seeking political office became so ingrained into the state’s character that noted humorist and journalist George Ade once joked–playing off General William Tecumseh Sherman’s famous quote–that the first words of every Hoosier child upon birth were: “If nominated I will run, if elected I will serve.”
Geoff Paddock’s “Indiana Political Heroes” takes a contemporary look at those who serve in public office as it includes essays on eight Hoosier politicians that have made a difference in Indiana and in the nation’s capital as well. Paddock profiles such distinguished Democratic and Republican lawmakers as Birch Bayh, John Brademas, Richard Hatcher, R. Vance Hartke, William Hudnut, Richard Ristine, J. Edward Roush, and William Ruckelshaus. In these essays readers will learn about national educational reform, opposition to the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the growth of Indianapolis into a nationally respected community.
Geoff has been on the Fort Wayne Community School Board, serving as past President and is currently the Executive Director of the Headwaters Park Alliance. Â He frequently contributes to the Indiana Historical Society’s magazine, “Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History”. Â I personally have read his Birch Bayh essay and found it to be enlightening, well researched and organized. Â An excellent primer for those unfamiliar with some of the political legends/heroes of Indiana.
Look for another review this week in the News-Sentinel. Â Geoff will also be hosting a book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Jefferson Pointe, on October 11, 2008 from 2pm to 4 pm.
Great job, Geoff!
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