6 ms·
Timely post. My Father (80) is in the process of publishing a book titled "Dear Mom: Letters Home From a Diplomatic Courier 50 Years Ago." Basically his Mother
by will_brown 11y ago
Timely post. My Father (80) is in the process of publishing a book titled "Dear Mom: Letters Home From a Diplomatic Courier 50 Years Ago."
Basically his Mother kept all the letters/postcards (~700) he sent home during his time traveling the World with the State Department. He recently began digitizing them to compile a book. It is almost a re-life Forest Gump story...a man in Moscow at the height of the cold war; being in Vietnam 6 years before the War and seeing the stage being set; camping in the Himalayas watching Chinese aggression against Buddhism; commenting on Black Churches being bombed in the South back home, etc...But really what is most striking is we think communication has changed so much in 50 years (internet, social media) but there is no doubt what we communicate is otherwise unchanged, like OP students requesting money in the middle ages.
For those with interest here are a few letters, interested to hear the reaction of anyone outside friends/family: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wudj58edm2fjqd9/AAAQuGGfqE61orF5aLTk9abAa?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wudj58edm2fjqd9/AAAQuGGfqE61orF5a...
- kidsil 11y agoman his writing is very addictive. I hope you'll post about his book once it's out!! With all the noise out there, I hope it gets some serious attention.
- david-given 11y agoYeah, he's a good writer; the ones I've read breathe with life. And he's got a nice turn of snark too, low-key but pointed. I'm British, I appreciate that!
- syedkarim 11y agoCan you setup a Google form in the meantime, in case we don't come across your HN post with a landing page?
- will_brown 11y agobillbrowndearmom.weebly.com
- pavel_lishin 11y agoIs there anything we can subscribe to, so we can be notified when the book comes out?
- will_brown 11y agoMaybe I will set up a landing page with some sample letters and submit an HN post...but its nice to think others would have interest outside immediate friends/family.
- swedishturnip 11y agoMy father in law is in his eighties and served as a Swedish diplomat in Moscow in the 1960's (among other places). I know he too would love get a chance to read some of those letters.
- da02 11y agoDid he have any thoughts on the Gulf of Tonkin incident?
- dmix 11y agoThere are sites that let you set up an email capture box in a few minutes (such as mailchimp). Doesn't have to be a full landing page.
- will_brown 11y agobillbrowndearmom.weebly.com to subscribe and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10182723 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10182723
- Stratoscope 11y agoSubscribed! Just a note: you have to use the http:// http:// or https:// https:// to make a link on HN - the domain alone won't be clickable.
- pavel_lishin 11y ago
- Stratoscope 11y agoThese are wonderful! Your dad was quite the ladies' man too. I love the depiction of the Bengali princess: "...I doubt if she realizes that there are a group of people on earth who actually work and it is this which makes the world go around. She floats endlessly in her world of art, poetry, and creativity... It will be a considerable relief when this girl has returned to London and I can become rested again..." Would he mind a suggestion on the title? If this book is as good as the letters you shared, people will be reading it 10, 20, 30 years from now. So "50 Years Ago" is a bit of a moving target. Not sure if it would be an improvement to just mention the actual decades in the subtitle, or a reference to the events of the time, or maybe just leave out the "50 Years Ago" entirely since as you noted this is really timeless. Just food for thought. Please put up that email subscription form! :-) p.s. Any chance of an ebook or Kindle edition?
- will_brown 11y agobillbrowndearmom.weebly.com
- staz 11y agohttp://billbrowndearmom.weebly.com http://billbrowndearmom.weebly.com Clickable link. Looking forward to reading the rest !
- rosege 11y agoThese look great - I would have loved to do what he did. I've done quite a lot of travel and lived overseas but there is something very interesting about doing it in a diplomatic function watching the local history happen. On the link you posted I just read the first article - and its dated Jan 5 1960. Are you sure its not 1961 - in the letter he says 1961 is on its way.
- zapperen 11y agoLove the letters! Looking forward to the ebook!
- zeeshanm 11y agoGreat stuff. And clearly your father predicted the future in 1965: >>While everything looks so bright for 1965 in America, it is very moving to see a country, or live in a country, where everything will deteriorate further during the year to come. Hardships on the average man will increase, prices will rise, unrest will continue, and more human freedoms will be turned over to the central government, who in turn will botch up things even more. It is a pathetic situation here.