Snapshots of My Father, John Silber

by Rachel Devlin

Foreword by Lance Morrow

Imprint: Peter E. Randall Publisher

320 Pages, 6.3 x 9.3 in, 200+ images

Paperback
9781942155508
November 2022
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$29.95

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9781937721947
November 2022

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Praise

For anyone who knew him, Silber was a genuinely unforgettable character. And as his daughter’s memoir attests, the man who was so fascinating as a public figure was no less compelling and memorable behind the scenes . . . a captivating memoir. - The Boston Globe/Jeff Jacoby

This is an extensively illustrated memoir of John Silber, who entirely transformed Boston University as its president and was a controversial, yet intellectually formidable, candidate for governor of Massachusetts.

Here, Rachel Devlin looks at her family and her father's trajectory from Texas to Boston and what life became like there; she examines his personality and temperament; and she describes his later years, the hardships he weathered and his continued accomplishments out of the public eye. As the title implies, each chapter is like a snapshot taken from a daughter's perspective, peering into the past she saw. Silber championed freedom of speech, believing all sides should be heard, especially on college campuses. He was also the father of seven children. The author often meets people who want to hear what he was like as a father and to tell her their own stories about him.

Here is her clear-eyed vision of this authentic man of principle who had a drive to achieve great things.

Author Rachel Silber Devlin is one of John Silber's six daughters. As a wife, a mother, and a homemaker, she always had a strong sense of who she was apart from any labels.Devlin says that she sometimes feels like she and her dad grew up together because she knew him so well from a time when he was young and still learning how to make his way in the world.She divides her time between her homes in Texas and Massachusetts, the states where her children and grandchildren live.

...an exceptional insight into an extraordinary life. ~Amy Weinland Daughter/author

I feel the current age...cries out for more John Silber. The book is an act of love, but it’s also bringing back the memory of someone who had some ideas that should inspire us for today. ~Stephen Kinzer/historian and author

For anyone who knew him, Silber was a genuinely unforgettable character. And as his daughter’s memoir attests, the man who was so fascinating as a public figure was no less compelling and memorable behind the scenes . . . a captivating memoir. ~The Boston Globe/Jeff Jacoby

Rachel Silber Devlin . . . has written a wry and affectionate portrait of her father. The man who emerges from this chronicle is first of all a family man with an unstoppable curiosity about the world. . . . his omnivorous passion for life is patent on every page. ~The New Criterion

A terrific read. ~On Mic Podcast with Jordan Rich

We need him right now with what’s going on in the world. It’s been a delight to read . . . You will not want to put it down for a minute. ~Public/WCAC-TV Yolanda Cellucci