About the Book

This book is based on stories my Grandfather wrote during his time as a WWII correspondent based in Italy. He died right after my father graduated from the University of Michigan. I never met the man and my Dad rarely spoke about him. I’m guessing because my Grandfather didn’t talk much about his war experience. I found out why after researching this book. The Italian Campaign is not a story for the feint-of-heart. Pre-war, his focus was on providing for a family with three young boys in Yonkers, NY and post war, my Dad was busy beginning his own family and career. He died at the age of 51 leaving behind the time for the conversation of two mature men finally getting to know each other over a glass of single malt scotch while sitting by the fire without normal life distractions. It took another 65 years until I got to meet him.

My Grandfather’s story was revealed to me when I went through a large box of his stuff that had been sitting in my parent’s basement. I only found out what was in the box when my wife and I bought my childhood home upon my folk’s retirement. From the original typed stories on tissue thin paper to candid photos to his entire 201 file to letters exchanged between buddies after the war, a trove of history emerged. It is interesting how you can get know a person by their personal effects left for forgotten for over 60 years. Yet, this is how I met Grandfather. And a fascinating man he was. The only evidence of any previous effort to search through this trove is that it’s place of storage in a footlocker was transferred to a large sealed Tupperware container. This was more so necessitated by my young cousins need to transport her horse riding stuff in a robust container than a thought to preserve the treasure. The old foot locker wound up coming back to me that I now deem its rightful place; the contents of which have been returned.

About the Author

Mike lives contentedly in the New Haven, Connecticut, area with his wife, Sue, and three adopted rescue dogs. In addition to his writing and consulting duties, Mike is an avid photographer and loves to cook without recipes. Mike is a member of the Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He is listed in the January 2016 Who's Who Registry of business executives and entrepreneurs.

This is Mike's second book. "Preparation Breeds Success," published in August of 2014 is a highly rated guide to effective selling of technical products and capital projects.