Books by Bob Rogers

Entertaining to Educate... | American Stories | Humor Horror History

Bob’s Blog

Getting Started in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

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Greetings from down south!

My recording booth and computers are connected as of today!  All tests were positive on the first try.

My first Merida recording is attached below for your amusement.  The recording is less than two minutes long.

Monday, 16 July will be the first day of book project work in Merida.  Feels strange not to have written a word on book number six since mid-May.  Can’t wait to get started!

Be well and do all the good you can for all the people you can.

 

My favorite place in Merida

In America, Race Matters

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This post was first released in my Newsletter at 1900, Wednesday, 17 June 2015, two hours before the Charleston Massacre.
Editorial June 2015 watermarked copy
In Memorial… Trayvon, Tamir, Freddie, William T., and Unknowns
  In America, race matters.  Race mattered when the first Europeans landed in the Americas.  Greed led to the enslavement, first of aboriginals, and when that failed, greed led to extermination and eradication.  To turn the all-important economic wheels of an agrarian era, the new European Americans enslaved Africans.  European Americans of means made laws that codified a new culture based on the artificial construct called race.  Over time, class and caste became integral and vital parts of the new order and were layered with race. Implementation and systemic integration of these elements were highly successful.  Hate and fear of aboriginals and Africans was taught to succeeding generations enabling poor European Americans to carry out extermination of aboriginals and assist in keeping many African Americans enslaved for hundreds of years – until as recently as World War II.  Twentieth century technology and political pressures brought by African Americans, and some European Americans, made contributions that led to the end of the codified foundation of economic oppression, disenfranchisement, and American Apartheid. Nonetheless, in the twenty-first century, there are European Americans who carry on the tradition of handing down to the succeeding generation two things: hate and fear. Do all European Americans do this?  No.  Of course, not.  Are fewer and fewer European Americans participating in perpetuation of hate and fear?  I see anecdotal evidence that this is true. I recently found four words that exemplify in some way that we are generations away from an America where “[all] children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but [only] by the content of their character.” These four twenty-first century words are from a toilet stall door in a North Carolina public building: “niggers are killing America.” Perhaps, the nineteenth century American unCivil War is still being fought… From the twentieth century movie South Pacific, hear the late John Kerr sing “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.”  

Give Thanks for Teachers

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Give thanks for our teachers.  Their toil and sacrifice is a national treasure, for they enable all the

A Teacher in Action
A Colorado Teacher in Action

professions our country will require for a successful economy, good health, leading technology, abundant food, security, and more.  Our teachers are of far greater importance to America’s posterity than the value placed on them by policymakers and the public.

In a study updated in 2014, Harvard economists Raj Chetty and John N. Friedman and Jonah E. Rockoff of Columbia, tracked 2.5 million students from the same urban school district over 20 years, from fourth grade to adulthood. The study found that “students assigned to higher quality teachers are more successful in many dimensions. They are more likely to attend college, earn higher salaries, live in better neighborhoods, and save more for retirement. They are also less likely to have children as teenagers. Teachers’ impacts on earnings are also similar in percentage terms for students from low and high income families.”

Learn more about what teachers are doing in public high schools from honored young teachers: 2014 National Teacher of the Year Sean McComb and 2014 North Carolina Teacher of the Year James E. Ford.

Presidential Candidate Barack Obama in 2008: “The single most important factor in determining [student] achievement is not the color of their skin or where they come from. It’s not who their parents are or how much money they have. It’s who their teacher is.”

Thank a teacher.

What People Are Saying about The Laced Chameleon

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What People Are Saying

The Laced Chameleon Front Cover

[The Laced Chameleon] is filled with New Orleans culture and 19th century customs and race issues… contains many excellent scenes of conflict… An intriguing read.

— Writers Digest

[In The Laced Chameleon,] Francesca’s world is vividly portrayed… this is an engrossing saga that depends on one woman’s cleverness and ability… [Francesca is] a believable, living protagonist whose concerns and approach to life are well grounded in the politics and social mores of her times… It’s rare to find a historical mystery so [conversant] in the flavors and atmosphere of the antebellum South. [The Laced Chameleon is] a historical murder mystery that’s more than light reading!

— D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

In The Laced Chameleon, author Bob Rogers demonstrates his gift for storytelling while using his historical plots to teach readers about race, politics, and struggle in America.  A reader can’t go wrong with this Great Read! Heroine Francesca Dumas indeed is a “Laced Chameleon.”

— Brian H. Settles, Author of No Reason for Dying

The Laced Chameleon…is a suspenseful, compassionate and perceptive reflection on race, identity, and the multifaceted history of New Orleans.  I am hoping that this would be the beginning of a Francesca mystery series. I recommend this book to readers of historical fiction who enjoy a mysterious unscrambling of history.

— B. Jackson “avid reader”

The Laced Chameleon is a well written murder mystery [that] has been carefully researched…it had me turning pages as fast as I could.

— J. Donahue, Retired Naval Officer

…good reading for all ages, from teens to seniors. It is filled with historical facts, mystery, and vivid descriptions of people, places, and events [of 1862].

— E. McKenzie

…an engaging historical novel with inter-generational appeal…a deeply satisfying, front-row-center, literary experience.

— A. Battiste, Librarian

I cannot wait to discuss it in my Literary Club, and it would be fantastic to see a movie made of it.

— L. Fox, University Faculty Senate President

This book did not disappoint! I like stories that are set during the Civil War and found it to be a very enjoyable read without being overpowered with war details.

— M. Sues

I read [The Laced Chameleon] while I traveled to the Dominican Republic. I truly enjoyed it. I loved the characters, I learned a great deal about the customs of the time …well done.

— Jill C.

I really enjoyed The Laced Chameleon. The fact that the story is set in New Orleans with such rich history during the Civil War was also a great learning experience for me. Francesca, the detective, proves with her determination, that neither her current position nor her limited resources would prevent her from solving a murder mystery. Great Read!

— K. Robinson

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Women Spies of the Civil War

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After reading The Laced Chameleon, a growing number of people are asking if a woman could have performed the

Harriet Tubman was also a spy.
Harriet Tubman was also a spy.

roles attributed to Francesca Dumas in 1862. Of course, the answer is, “Yes!”

An 1876 book, written by former Confederate spy Loreta Valezquez, inspired several of Francesca’s antics, including disguising herself as a male. Valezquez’s book and H. Donald Winkler’s Stealing Secrets are included in the bibliography of The Laced Chameleon.

For further quick reading, see the Smithsonian article: Women Spies of the Civil War. “Hundreds of women served as spies during the Civil War. Here’s a look at six who risked their lives in daring and unexpected ways…”

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