A different drummer

[Roger]

I've always been a bit curious about how we as Americans developed our national identity. It wasn't like our ancestors awoke one morning and collectively announced they wanted liberty. I did a lot of research to try and find the genesis of where we got our mojo. My two-volume book, entitled "Empowered: How Pennsylvania Transformed America" is an anthology of true stories set in Pennsylvania, but which have a relevance for all America. I wanted to write about people from colonial times to the present as they really were: three-dimensional, living and breathing men and women who did some remarkable. George Washington, never the brightest bulb in the pack, accidentally started the real first world war in western Pennsylvania. What was the backstory behind the creation of the Declaration and why was Thomas Jefferson so self-conscious about speaking? What really happened at Gettysburg and how was George Armstrong Custer involved? What was the secret bio weapon that a Pennsylvanian offered to FDR that could have ended the war against Japan? Anyway, I'm putting up my first book for a giveaway for the next month (five copies). If you like history, I hope you'll check it out. If you hate history, I promise you that what I've written isn't like that stodgy old stuff you read in Social Studies class. Incidentally, this is my first foray into social media and I'm sure I've violated tons of rules. On that front, I plead ignorance and ask for indulgence.