Available NOW in both ebook and paperback versions What was your pandemic project? Some people learned to bake sourdough bread or took dancing classes online. A lot of unfinished sewing and woodworking projects came tumbling out of a lot of closets. My husband created a Great Books course for himself and figured out how to be his own barber.
I wrote a book.
To back up a little, five years ago I started blogging about the first successful attempt to bounce radio waves off the moon, code-named Project Diana, and my experiences growing up in its shadow. My father was a radar scientist and served as chief scientist on the project, which achieved its goal on January 10, 1946; and although I was just shy of my third birthday at the time, Project Diana was part of my childhood iconography.
I wrote a book.
To back up a little, five years ago I started blogging about the first successful attempt to bounce radio waves off the moon, code-named Project Diana, and my experiences growing up in its shadow. My father was a radar scientist and served as chief scientist on the project, which achieved its goal on January 10, 1946; and although I was just shy of my third birthday at the time, Project Diana was part of my childhood iconography.
The 75th anniversary of that historic event took place in January of 2021. By then I had written dozens of essays, and it occurred to me that if I pulled them together into a book. it would be my unique contribution to the celebration.
What could be easier? I mean, the book was already written, right? All I had to do was rearrange my entries a little and write an intro.
How wrong I was!
Although many of the essays started life as blog posts, they have been extensively revised and updated, and in some instances completely rethought. New entries have been added. Organizing them by topic (something I actively resisted while blogging), and more or less chronologically within topic, has exposed a through-line that surprised even me.
I think even my most devoted blog followers will find this book a very different reading experience from browsing the patchwork of blog entries. Those who have never dipped into my blog are in for a treat - not necessarily because I'm such a great writer (you'll have to decide that for yourself) but because I had such great material to work with.
Nearly half the book is devoted to World War II, with particular attention to the history of radar at Camp Evans, starting with its fumbling beginnings at Pearl Harbor and culminating in the stunning success of Project Diana. The second section is devoted to my father and an examination of the confluence of internal and external factors that made him the right man for the moment. The last section provides a sampler of Jersey Shore life (e.g., the boardwalk, the Neptune Music Circus), contemporary American life (e.g., Sears, nylon stockings), and my own little-girl activities (e.g., my Toni doll, my parakeet Archie, my Islander ukulele). Something for everyone, I like to think.
Here are the links for ordering:
Kindle (e-book)
Paperback
It can also be purchased from the InfoAge Science & History Museums Bookstore.
If you read and enjoy the book, I'd be grateful if you'd leave a review on amazon.com--thanks!
What could be easier? I mean, the book was already written, right? All I had to do was rearrange my entries a little and write an intro.
How wrong I was!
Although many of the essays started life as blog posts, they have been extensively revised and updated, and in some instances completely rethought. New entries have been added. Organizing them by topic (something I actively resisted while blogging), and more or less chronologically within topic, has exposed a through-line that surprised even me.
I think even my most devoted blog followers will find this book a very different reading experience from browsing the patchwork of blog entries. Those who have never dipped into my blog are in for a treat - not necessarily because I'm such a great writer (you'll have to decide that for yourself) but because I had such great material to work with.
Nearly half the book is devoted to World War II, with particular attention to the history of radar at Camp Evans, starting with its fumbling beginnings at Pearl Harbor and culminating in the stunning success of Project Diana. The second section is devoted to my father and an examination of the confluence of internal and external factors that made him the right man for the moment. The last section provides a sampler of Jersey Shore life (e.g., the boardwalk, the Neptune Music Circus), contemporary American life (e.g., Sears, nylon stockings), and my own little-girl activities (e.g., my Toni doll, my parakeet Archie, my Islander ukulele). Something for everyone, I like to think.
Here are the links for ordering:
Kindle (e-book)
Paperback
It can also be purchased from the InfoAge Science & History Museums Bookstore.
If you read and enjoy the book, I'd be grateful if you'd leave a review on amazon.com--thanks!
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