David Adamson Harper's Blog

Where did that photo come from?

Where Did this photo come from?

Some people have asked me where the photo of me that appears on the back cover of my book KWANGCHOW came from. It is a picture taken at a ship party, on the KWANGTUNG (not the Kwangchow), in Kobe, Japan in 1959. I am in the middle and Sparks, who featured in the book is to the left of me. On the extreme left is George Latham, Third Engineer. George was my model for the character of Jim Lathrop, 3/E, who also appears heavily in the book. I have to thank him for sending me the photo, from over 50 years ago, and also for immediately remembering me when I called him in Australia in 2011. I had found him through the Swire Mariners Association who still keep the good old days alive through the wonders of the world wide web.

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The idea for How Teddy Took Panama

The Idea for How Teddy Took Panama

David Adamson Harper spent a number of years working in Panama in the maritime industry. During his first tour of duty there, the 1964 riots against American sovereignty over the Canal Zone occurred and he witnessed incidents in Colon at close hand. This created his interest in the history of the founding of Panama and the infamous Hay ̶ Bunau-Varilla treaty. He was amazed to learn how the treaty came into being and thereafter became a supporter of Panama’s aspirations to have it changed, and the Canal Zone returned to Panamanian sovereignty. 

During his second tour there, the Carter Administration agreed to renegotiate the treaty with the government of Panama, which led to the Carter ̶ Torrijos treaties and the return of the American Canal Zone and later the Canal itself. Harper spoke in favor of the new treaties, often in front of hostile American audiences. When the Canal Zone was returned to Panama in 1979 the State Department appointed him the United States Consular Agent in Colon, Panama. 

The idea for How Teddy Took Panama first came to him when he learned, while studying historical accounts of the original treaty, that no one had ever been able to prove that President Theodore Roosevelt had anything to do with Panama’s 1903 rebellion. Since historians couldn’t find any evidence of Teddy’s direct involvement, he decided to write this story peopling it with actual historical characters as well as those of his own invention.

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Author’s Note

HOW TEDDY TOOK PANAMA

David Adamson Harper spent a number of years working in Panama in the maritime industry. During his first tour of duty there, the 1964 riots against American sovereignty over the Canal Zone occurred and he witnessed incidents in Colon at close hand. This created his interest in the history of the founding of Panama and the infamous Hay ̶ Bunau-Varilla treaty. He was amazed to learn how the treaty came into being and thereafter became a supporter of Panama’s aspirations to have it changed, and the Canal Zone returned to Panamanian sovereignty. 

During his second tour there, the Carter Administration agreed to renegotiate the treaty with the government of Panama, which led to the Carter ̶ Torrijos treaties and the return of the American Canal Zone and later the Canal itself. Harper spoke in favor of the new treaties, often in front of hostile American audiences. When the Canal Zone was returned to Panama in 1979 the State Department appointed him the United States Consular Agent in Colon, Panama. 

The idea for How Teddy Took Panama first came to him when he learned, while studying historical accounts of the original treaty, that no one had ever been able to prove that President Theodore Roosevelt had anything to do with Panama’s 1903 rebellion. Since historians couldn’t find any evidence of Teddy’s direct involvement, he decided to write this story peopling it with actual historical characters as well as those of his own invention.

Comments from Dr. Rob Mohr

Dr. Rob Mohr was one of my earliest mentors and his encouragement has meant a lot to me, beginning from my earliest days with the Ajijic Writers Group. He is a literary and art critic and now lives in North Carolina and has sent this letter to me about THE GAME THAT NEVER ENDS.

"I finished THE GAME THAT NEVER ENDS, that Mel Goldberg had reviewed, and found the story a good one ... just before the end it got a bit slow as Sandy was leaving his job with Goran. That might have been a good place to have him mature a bit from his experiences. John Fowles’s, DANIEL MARTIN, was all about Daniel's growing up in his thirties.

The cricket and rugby matches were very interesting, and afforded a real learning experience. I think that if you had put a brief of the rules in the back of your book ... it would have made the process a bit easier to understand. (DAH note: a few readers have made similar comments to me. Perhaps I could have explained the games more but readers come from all parts of the world and many of them do know the games well and might find that pedantic, but I will consider it in the second edition.)  

Sandy proved to be a super hero when it came to sports. Your human interactions were good as well as the dialogue. A trick Fowles used was to have some of the other characters be the voice over in some of the chapters. I think it would have been illuminating to have Pippa narrate one of her chapters. Or even Alex. (DAH note: A great idea!)

The ending was well done and was a perfect closing for those of us who were rooting for those two to get together.

You character development for the various women was very well done -- they were each their own person. In future novels you may want to handle the sex in a less graphic way: more sensuality and mystery. Their inflection, scent, sound of voice, and so on...

Overall, I believe you did a very good job ... especially with the character development, the structure, the human interactions, and the dialogue. None of that is easy.

Congratulations ... yours Rob Mohr"

 

 

 

Reviews are starting to come in for The Game That Never Ends

Mary Hadfield of Yonkers, New York wrote:

I wasn't sure I would like this book as I understood that while it was an adult love story, and I emphasize adult, there were sequences about games that I knew nothing about. The author weaves cricket and rugby football into the story but I found they added great interest. I suspect the author wrote from life and what an interesting life it was. His descriptions of San Francisco in the 1960s as well as Oxford, London Siena and Stockholm were delightful. Most love stories I read are written by women with women as the main character and it was eye opening to read about it from the man's side. The author has a fast paced style and I enjoyed every minute of the book. I finished it at two in the morning in just three days. I was hoping the game would never end.

 

Gerry Flynn of Brentwood, California wrote:

I had a tough time with the first cricket game but most important it was for me a page turner and made for a few late nights.

Note to readers: the first cricket game is 3 pages but sets up the rest of the story.

 

new book THE GAME THAT NEVER ENDS

My new book THE GAME THAT NEVER ENDS is finally ready for publication. It should be available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle (and the other eBooks sites) by mid November 2016.

The About the Book description on the back cover reads:

"In 1953 Sandy and Alex meet and fall in love in Adelaide, South Australia. She comes from a wealthy Catholic family and he is the son of a shopkeeper and an Anglican. Her mother has marriage plans for her and takes Alex to Italy to keep them apart. He goes to Oxford University and achieves great success in cricket and rugby football. For the next seven years their love has to overcome many conflicts and is sorely tested by a tragic event and her Catholicism. In 1961 now working in San Francisco and believing Alex lost to him forever, Sandy falls in love and marries Kate but Alex, now finally free of her marriage, returns to him plunging his life into chaos. Will he be able to bring an end to this never ending game?"

One of the good things about writing a book is that some of the content needs to be well researched. Pursuing this end I made a trip to Australia in June (2016) which happened to coincide with the England national rugby team's tour of Australia. Since the book also has rugby football content I was able to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak!

Here is the cover:

 

Joe Wiegand (Teddy reprisor) adds his review to Amazon

When I presented the book to Joe Wiegand (see photo below) he promised that he would read it and send me his critique. He posted a review on Amazon and wrote to me that he loved it so much he wanted my permission to send it to a California screenwriter - he thinks it is Hollywood material! I reproduce his review here:

"In the last ten years, I've read nearly everything Theodore Roosevelt wrote, and a great deal of what has been written about him, including the great works by Hagedorn, Morris, McCullough, Brinkley, Kearns-Goodwin, and more. Without a doubt I have just read the work of historical fiction that stands out as the story that would best make a tremendous screenplay and film. All the ingredients are here: history, romance, intrigue and action.

David Adamson Harper has woven a beautiful mola, and laid it across the flesh and bones of amazing history. A bully good tale, highly recommended."

Thanks Joe, and I'll make sure that Daniel Day Lewis does not get the part.

The author presents "Teddy" with a copy of his book

I was invited to the Panama Canal Centennial celebrations at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. The university’s library houses the Panama Canal Museum Collection and my book HOW TEDDY TOOK PANAMA has been added to the collection.

At the Centennial banquet I presented a copy of my book to the Teddy Roosevelt reprisor who entertained us after dinner. It was a wonderful evening and I have added a number of pics to the photo gallery section of the blog.

 

British Society meeting August 2

On Saturday August 2, I spoke at the British Society monthly lunch in Ajijic, Jalisco Mexico. The subject was "Panama and the Canal at 100". It attracted the highest attendance this year. 

I spoke after lunch had been served and my presentation was very well received. The question time afterwards was very lively. One American gentleman wanted to know if I was responsible for giving away the Panama Canal, along with President Jimmy Carter, and I replied that he really should read the book and then he would understand why it was the right thing to do in 1976. He did purchase the book and asked me to sign it as did a number of other attendees.

(photo attached shows me speaking in front of a Mexican Indian mural and the title of my book is just visible on the left, attached to the podium.)

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First review of How Teddy Took Panama

Authors of historical fiction worry about getting their facts right and hope that an academic of the period will not come along and refute anything you wrote. Today I received an email from one such gentleman and his remarks, reprinted below, made my day. The writer is Joe Wood, former President of the Panama Canal Museum Collection and a man I have never met. Thanks Mr. Wood.

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        I just finished reading your excellent book. I found it fascinating and revealing of some history of which I had previously not been aware. My grandfather was a Colombian soldier stationed in Panama during the 1903 revolution and remained in Panama once independence had been achieved, so I relate personally to your story.

        Your descriptions of the characters and places were spot on and brought me back to a time lived through stories told to me by my grandparents. Thanks for bringing this wonderful story to light.

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When you read "How Teddy Took Panama" you will see that the soldiers of the Colombian garrison in Panama City feature in the narrative, so to have the grandson of one of them congratulate me on being spot on is very gratifying.