Ronald French
wants
to read:
I'd like to read a non-fiction book covering the plight of - and the actions of - the Jewish community, in South Russia around Odessa, during the Revolutionary period 1917 to 1920.I'd like to read a non-fiction book covering the plight of - and the actions of - the Jewish community, in South Russia around Odessa, during the Revolutionary period 1917 to 1920....more
About:
Now at home in England. At the end of World War II, my father was with the British Control Commission in Germany, and I attended a British Forces famiNow at home in England. At the end of World War II, my father was with the British Control Commission in Germany, and I attended a British Forces families' school in the British Zone. I studied in Hamburg and London and my first position was with the UK Atomic Energy Authority, where I researched the radiation levels, following the Windscale incident and during the commissioning of the World's first nuclear power reactors at Calder Hall. I moved into Operations Research, held ICT director positions at Vickers and British Shipbuilders and then entered management consultancy, specialising in advising public sector bodies on business strategy. Among my diverse clients were the Natural History Museum and the Admiralty Research Establishment. I became a professor at Girne American University in North Cyprus and was a member of its management board. Until recently, I acted as an external examiner for Middlesex University's German-language DBA program. I have been writing specialist non-fiction all my working life. However, the survival saga, Odessa 1919, is for all. Researching for a historical biography is a new experience. Death, personal dangers and emotions are foreign to scientific research and social research can be very subjective. This difference provides unique challenges in interpretation and presentation. I plan next to research how Isa, a Russian-German survivor, comes to meet and marry an Englishman and how they reared their family in the following years of depression. Then, also how they coped with the situation in which their respective families ended up on opposite sides in the next war. Did they manage to meet again after that war? In the meantime, please do persuade your friends of the excitement and uniqueness of Odessa 1919 and of its relevance 100 years on. The reviews are good. ...more
