Senator, civic leader, historian
George Lovic Pierce Radcliffe (1877 – 1974) was a two-term United States Senator from Maryland, President of the Maryland Historical Society for twenty-five years, Maryland Chairman of the March of Dimes for thirty-four years, a friend to both Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, a noted historian, and lifelong civic leader.
Stories of Adventure…
From watching a first-grade classmate drop into the “fires of hell” to battling trolls, Brussels sprouts, and fifty miles of toilet paper, George Radcliffe remembers and reflects on a remarkable and lovingly spirited family growing up in the 1950s.
As the lone survivor of that family of six, he recounts their often-hilarious exploits in a series of stories that will make you laugh and cry but leave you with memories of a unique and close family.
Misadventures of
Rodney the Bear
The long-awaited adventures of Rodney the Bear, a collection of stories for children of all ages. Unbeknownst to most, there is a remarkable group of teddy bears living on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Visible only to children and adults retaining their childlike imagination, they inhabit Ursidae Lane, where Tallulah and Stanley manage a home for orphan bears, all rescued from the Island of Forgotten Bears. Rodney and his friends have a knack for mischief, while famous scientist/inventor Cool Breeze lives next door with another colorful group.
Living in the Fact-free Zone: A Survival Guide for the Twenty-first Century
There is a place in time and space where one’s worst nightmares can come true, where skepticism can open doors that should remain closed, a place devoid of reason, the middle ground between science and superstition, between reality and fantasy, where sensationalism trumps rational thought. You have entered the area we call the Fact-free Zone.
In the 1960s, we were transported weekly to Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Today, we’re immersed daily in The Fact-free Zone, a world where facts are overlooked, distorted, or invented. There have always been skeptics, political disagreements, and misinformed individuals, but not only can many today not access facts, we now have “alternative facts.” Individuals rarely can get on the same page for a civil discussion.
Our educational system is failing many. Fortunately, the best of our youth excel, and illiteracy is on the decline. However, despite many advocating the need for critical thinking, misinformation prevails. Many mistrust science, the most reliable tool for discovering the truth. Additionally, many lack the mathematical reasoning necessary to sift through the many claims, advertisements, and alternative theories, further complicating our search for accuracy. Mathematical reasoning is often the best tool for pinpointing what is fact, but most never take it out of their toolbox. Many yearn for a return to the past, but what past? The past portrayed in history books didn’t exist, as much of it was whitewashed to create the history we wish we had. To live in a fact-based world, one must accurately understand where we have been, even if aspects of it are less than admirable. Countries, like people, learn by trial and error, but without an accurate history, we’re doomed to repeat our failures.
The book will show us the way out of the Fact-free Zone by trying to answer several questions:
1. How do we recognize and combat misinformation?
2. Why do so many cling to a distorted view of our history?
3. How do our mathematical shortcomings often blind us to reality?
4. Why do so many have an inaccurate view of our environment and the natural world?
Most importantly, the book offers implications for twenty-first-century education, focusing on critical thinking, mathematical reasoning, and scientific analysis —the tools needed to avoid the Fact-free Zone.
More Stories of Adventure…
In this sequel to Growing Up in Oz, George continues to share memorable stories from his early years growing up in what he calls a “lovingly dysfunctional family.” As the lone survivor of that remarkable family of six, he finds the humor and joy in his struggles in progressing from childhood to early adulthood remembering: diving into a spaghetti-filled dumpster, the rocking chair that would not die, winning the lottery that no one wanted to win, the ultimate wedding clothing malfunction, his living necktie, and a disastrous first year of teaching.
