An American Journey by Roger K. Baer

This story is autobiographical related against a backdrop of historical events in America and elsewhere in the world. It begins in Boston during the years of the Great Depression and the prelude to World War Two. It transports readers to distant places here and abroad ending in the political turmoil of the early 21st century. The narrative has a number of themes the most salient is taking a stand against violence, prejudice, and bigotry. Others entail the authors dissent against the continual deterioration of academic standards and integrity which he witnesses throughout his career as an educator and which stokes his disillusionment with academia. Highlighted in closing chapters are the corruption and electorate distrust of our political leaders, the ideological divide, and a call for the restoration of our republic: a government more representative and responsive to the electorate. The author is a retired university professor of sociology. After completing his college education at American University in Washington, D.C. he served in the U.S. Army of Occupation in Germany during the Korean War. Following his military service, he went on to pursue a PhD degree in Sociology at the University of Chicago. During that time he worked at the Population Division of the U.S. Bureau of the Census where he was involved in research on population migration and the War on Poverty. In 1968 he returned to Chicago where he finally earned his PhD degree and embarked on a teaching career and later earned a black belt in Shotokan karate. He has a number of academic publications one of which appeared in Demography the official journal of the Population Association of America and has served as an editorial consultant for Demography. Also, he has presented research papers at academic professional meetings including one at an annual meeting of the Population Association of America in Montreal, Canada.