Irl Solomon graduated from Brandeis University in the early 1960s and immediately started to look for a teaching job in or near his hometown of St. Louis. Without giving it much thought, Irl, who had grown up in the middle-class inner suburbs of the Gateway City, took a job in the public schools of East St. Louis.
At the time, this depressed metropolis that looks west across the Mississippi River and stares squarely at the Gateway Arch was a dying city. Always the stepchild compared to its considerably larger Missouri sister, East St. Louis was losing much of its population and tax base. In place of citizens came weeds, crime, and urban blight. By the late sixties, the East St. Louis school system had become one of the most dysfunctional in the nation.
While the Sixties produced more than its fair share of idealistic young crusaders, many of whom saw teaching as a way to change the world, most moved on to more affluent schools or even other careers beyond education after just a few years. Irl Solomon did not. For 38 years, he made the long drive from his home west of St. Louis to teach in the schools east of the Mississippi. Over these many years, he changed many lives. This is the story of how one man devoted his career and his life to making a difference.

Making a Difference: The Story of Irl Solomon and the Difference One Teacher Made in the Schools of East St. Louis

Biographies & Memoirs

Regenbogen, Joe

Professionals & Academics

Sunbury Press, Inc.

Of the 16 million people who served in the Second World War, perhaps less than half a million are still alive (as of this writing). Regrettably, these veterans are currently dying at a rate of approximately 500 per day. Brookdale Creve Coeur is a local senior living facility in the suburbs of St. Louis that houses a number of these veterans. It also happens to be where the author's 85-year-old father recently moved. Places like Brookdale contain a treasure trove of remarkable and inspiring stories from World War Two. For this book, the author interviewed 16 Brookdale residents with memories from the Second World War and have written their stories into the chapters of this book. Among their accounts are a B-24 pilot shot down over the Pacific, two veterans from the Battle of the Bulge, a WAVE, a prisoner-of-war, and a Holocaust survivor.

The Boys of Brookdale: Sixteen Amazing Stories from the Second World War Discovered in One Senior-Living Facility

Leaders & Notable People

Gordon appears to be living the good life. He is married, has two delightful children, owns a home in the western suburbs of St. Louis, and teaches popular history classes at the local high school. As Gordon approaches the midlife phase of his life, though, an event occurs one winter evening that leaves him wracked by guilt and remorse. 
Gordon’s life soon plummets into a separation from his wife and a descent into mediocrity in his classroom. He only sees his children on Saturday afternoons and starts to question his veracity as a father. Gordon can barely face his own reflection in the mirror and even has visions of ending everything in a fiery crash. 
As the school year comes to a close, an old college friend reaches out to Gordon. Ben has problems of his own and has retreated to his family cabin on the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Although the two friends haven’t communicated in years, Ben invites Gordon to spend the summer with him in the Rockies. 
Gordon quickly recognizes that a road trip might be his salvation. Over the next two months, the natural beauty of the American West proves to be seductive. Shorter hikes grow longer and the two friends are soon making plans to relive their grueling hike up Longs Peak, the tallest mountain in the Northern Rockies. Facing this challenge might finally provide Gordon with the strength to confront his past and to face his future.

Longs Peak

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Milford House Press

For many students, the traditional approach to the study of history does not work. The litany of facts arranged in a chronological sequence often turns out to be mind numbing and forgettable. In addition, they see little relevance between the past and the world they live in today.Relearning History was written for those students. Instead of reviewing the traditional time line of the past, the focus is directed at questions relevant to the present. Why does the two-party system dominate American politics? Why is wealth so unevenly distributed? Why does race and gender still play such a large role in modern society? Why has there never been a World War Three? These “why” questions, along with 11 others, serve as the foundation for a discussion of history so that the study of the past is inexorably linked to a enhanced understanding of the present.Students who are currently enrolled in history classes can use Relearning History to supplement and enrich the traditional curriculum. Some may even want to use it in place of the traditional curriculum. As for those adults who have completed their formal education and never learned much in their earlier history classes, this book will give them the chance to finally study history in a meaningful manner.

Relearning History: A Question-Driven Approach to the Study of the Past (Vernon Education)

History

World

Vernon Press

For many students, the traditional approach to the study of history does not work. The litany of facts arranged in a chronological sequence often turns out to be mind numbing and forgettable. In addition, they see little relevance between the past and the world they live in today.Relearning History was written for those students. Instead of reviewing the traditional time line of the past, the focus is directed at questions relevant to the present. Why does the two-party system dominate American politics? Why is wealth so unevenly distributed? Why does race and gender still play such a large role in modern society? Why has there never been a World War Three? These "why" questions, along with 11 others, serve as the foundation for a discussion of history so that the study of the past is inexorably linked to a enhanced understanding of the present.Students who are currently enrolled in history classes can use Relearning History to supplement and enrich the traditional curriculum. Some may even want to use it in place of the traditional curriculum. As for those adults who have completed their formal education and never learned much in their earlier history classes, this book will give them the chance to finally study history in a meaningful manner.

Relearning History: A Question-Driven Approach to the Study of the Past (Education)

Dying of the Light

Genre Fiction

Ars Metaphysica

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Regenbogen, Joe. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Regenbogen, Joe