Penn Rhodeen
AUTHOR

Penn Rhodeen

Politics & Social Sciences
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Peacerunner is my first book. It came about in response to a challenge thrown down at a college reunion by a friend I hadn’t seen or spoken with in 45 years: “You said you were going to write the Great American Novel!” This was interesting because my career path didn’t suggest any such thing: I’ve practiced law in New Haven, Connecticut, since 1971, first as a legal services lawyer and then in private practice, focusing primarily on matters involving children and on medical malpractice. I served as department counsel for the New Haven Police Department and I am a lecturer at the Yale Child Study Center. Prior to becoming a lawyer, I worked as a newspaper reporter and a school teacher. I had no memory of making that rash declaration my classmate recalled but didn’t doubt that I said a great many outrageous things back in those days. But Tim’s recollection, accurate or not, got the wheels turning. By the end of that year I knew I had something worthwhile: the true story of an unsung American hero of the peace process that ended the centuries of warfare in Ireland and changed Northern Ireland utterly. A land in the grip of horrifying levels of political violence that seemed destined to go on forever became a land where political conflict is played out with arguments and elections instead of bombs and bullets. The historic choice of politics over warfare made by the people living there was a magnificent example of how the world can actually get better. The story of how that great change happened—including the crucial American role on which my book focuses—deserves to be remembered and celebrated. I hope that Peacerunner will help make that happen. I am also hopeful that, in this very strange American election year, the story I’ve told will serve as a powerful reminder that the political process can accomplish great things. We should never forget that politics, flawed and frustrating as it can be, is humankind’s great alternative to violence and warfare. Peacerunner is a story, not an academic study or a comprehensive history. It’s nonfiction but I’ve written it more in the form of a novel. It follows the journey of a very human hero in relentless pursuit of peace. Along the way he encounters a wide range of characters--some well known, many obscure, many of them heroic and all of them interesting. He gets himself involved events that are everything from exciting and historic to dangerous and discouraging. But he never loses sight of the prize. I’ve written the story to move swiftly and took extra writing time to make it shorter. That’s why I’m especially gratified when readers tell me they’ve found it to be a really good read. Penn Rhodeen
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    • Peacerunner

    • The True Story of How an Ex-Congressman Helped End the Centuries of War in Ireland
    • Written by: Penn Rhodeen
    • Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
    • Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
    • Release date: 2016-02-16
    • Language: English
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