CHRISTMAS IS QUICKLY APPROACHING,

and what better gift for your friends and family than a book that offers an emotional stroll down memory lane?

The Book: LOOKING BACK: BOOMERS REMEMBER HISTORY makes a wonderful Christmas gift for those on your list who are reaching “that certain age” when the past begins to look better all the time. Or for your children and grandchildren, who need to know the story of the amazing moments their parents and grandparents lived through.

History is not boring—especially the history of the Boomers! Oh yeah, the way we were taught it in school could positively make me snore. But this history book is different! It is written by those of us who were there—who witnessed it all as it happened.

We watched the amazing drama unfold on the tiny black and white screens of that new invention, the television. Some of us even participated in various events that made the news back then. What exciting times we had, and how sorrowful some of it was as we wondered if the world would survive until we reached adulthood.

For a personal journey into the past that will bring back memories of assassinations, riots, an unpopular war, and a government that seemed to be coming apart at the seams, Looking Back provides a unique firsthand glimpse at the times. The book also recalls the polio scare that forced our parents to keep us at home to avoid becoming one of those children confined to iron lungs or wheelchairs. Fortunately, a remarkable new vaccine was discovered to prevent the disabling and deadly disease, freeing us to once again enjoy childhood activities like going to public swimming pools and Saturday matinees.

Also recalled are drive-in movies—those theaters under the stars where almost all of us went with our families and on dates. Lacking shopping malls then, the drive-in movies were our social scene. And of course, the end of segregation is covered by three of us who attended Central High School during the integration crisis in 1957/58, by one who recalls the shame of segregation during those years, and by one Vietnam War veteran whose first experience with integration happened when he joined the military in the '60s.

Looking Back is receiving great reviews for the way history was treated in the book—not as a dry, boring subject--but as more than two dozen interesting stories interwoven to reveal the emotions behind history. It’s not a book that readers have to read from front cover to back. Instead, readers can pick and choose among the stories at any one sitting, a great convenience for those who don't have much time to read.

The beautifully designed book is available as paperback for $17.95 (plus shipping and handling). It can be ordered online from http://www.booklocker.com/books/3056.html, with delivery within 10 days. Or order directly from me for $22.00 (covers shipping and handling). Send check to: Kay Kennedy, P. O. Box 4566, Cottonwood, AZ 86326. Delivery should be within 10 days, but I’ll notify you if it might take longer.

Another great gift for those budding writers on your gift list is a copy of my book, Portable Writing, available for $16.95 (plus shipping and handling) online at http://www.booklocker.com/books/2461.html. You can also order copies of Portable Writing directly from me by sending a check for $21.00 (includes shipping and handling) to my Cottonwood address, above.