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Alternately amusing and poignant, Martin's personal epic offers a much-needed perspective on cultural dilemmas both ancient and modern.

Elizabeth R. Hayford - Library Journal

In his engaging memoir, Martin (history, emeritus, former president, Randolph-Macon Coll.) examines a number of experiences uncommon to 61-year-old college presidents. On a sabbatical after horrific treatments for cancer, he enrolled as a freshman at St. John's College in Maryland, studied classics, joined the crew team, prepared for a major race, and learned to connect with his 18-year-old classmates. He notes the follies of the students, as well as his own, and offers perceptive and affectionate insights into the challenges of growing up in today's complicated world. Education is his profession, and as he carefully observes the impact of the Great Books curriculum at St. John's, he sees the relevance of the Greek classics to our own time, from family relations, to the arrogance of leaders in wartime, to the value of truth and justice. He reaffirms his conviction that the liberal arts and sciences, with their emphasis on learning how to reason logically and morally, to think analytically, and to live as good citizens, are the most effective preparation for life as well as for multiple careers. In leaving his comfortable life as a successful college president, he shows that it is possible even in one's sixties to learn something new and to envision the future. Highly recommended for general libraries.

What People Are Saying

I think this is a very good book indeed: extremely readable with a very human story to tell (about the author's journey to rediscover himself and education after facing imminent death) and a message to send (about the role of the liberal arts in our lives as well as our education). Martin employs compelling references to and quotations from the classical texts he read in the St. John's freshman seminar: this is not heavy-handed "you should read Aeschylus if you want to call yourself educated" stuff, but rather the humble confession of a humanist who knows one is never too old, educated, or experienced to learn something new or again. And that is a message that will always be valuable. --Loren J. Samons II, author of What's Wrong with Democracy: From Athenian Practice to American Worship

Roger Martin has created a riveting narrative of his confrontation with mortality, and, in that encounter, a testimonial to the enduring value of liberal education. --Douglas W. Foard, Executive Secretary (ret.) of Phi Beta Kappa

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents