Rendezvous with Destiny - On a Harley
NEW BOOK CAPTURES AMERICA – HER STRENGTHS, HER CHALLENGES AND HER SACRIFICES
It’s June 22, 1939, and with $45 in his pocket, 19-year-old Jack Newkirk is riding his rickety Harley across the country – a nation, as Tom Brokaw so eloquently wrote, that was balanced precariously between the darkness of the Great Depression on one side and the storms of war in Europe and the Pacific on the other. Jack had no way of knowing that he and the rest of America were on the brink of an irrevocable transformation.
Nearly seven decades later, author John J. Newkirk retraces that journey with his aging father – Jack. The results make up The Old Man And The Harley: A Last Ride Through Our Fathers’ America (Thomas Nelson, September 4, 2008) – a heartwarming hybrid of Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation and the late Tim Russert’s Russ and Me.
Come full circle with John as he and Jack ride from San Francisco to New York – discovering freedom, forgiveness, and respect along the way.
Each passing mile brings new discoveries as John:
• learns of his father’s experience with the Japanese during World War II
• hears the tragic tale of his father’s cousin, Scarsdale Jack Newkirk, an American hero who inspired millions as Squadron Leader of the legendary Flying Tigers and flew with Greg “Pappy” Boyington of the future Black Sheep Squadron
• discovers the healing power of the road
• experiences the faith of the American people
• finds new inspiration to face some of today’s most pressing problems
The Old Man And The Harley is a story some 350 years in the making – and a poignant farewell to an entire generation.
About The Author
John J. Newkirk is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York where he received 1st Prize in the McKinney Writing Competition from author Donald Barthelme. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Leadership Program of the Rockies, a public policy think tank chaired by former Congressman Bob Schaffer. In 2006, Newkirk submitted testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. A native New Yorker, Newkirk lives on a ranch west of Denver, Colorado with his wife, daughters, and two Harleys.
For more information on John Newkirk and The Old Man And The Harley visit www.theoldmanandtheharley.com.
JOHN J. NEWKIRK IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS
The Old Man And The Harley
A Last Ride Through Our Fathers’ America
Available: September 4, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-5955-5180-1
Hardcover
Contact: Curt Harding
Senior Publicist
(615) 902-2246
charding@thomasnelson.com
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