“An engaging and illuminative remembrance.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Echoes from Wuhan: The Past as Prologue
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INDIEBOUND | BARNES & NOBLE | AMAZON
Echoes from Wuhan tells the dramatic, fast-paced story of a naïve and adventuresome young American woman and how she navigated—well and not so well--the complexities of cross- cultural confusions and clashes in China long ago.
A prisoner of privilege and watched by Party officials, Gretchen Dykstra stayed two years and returned to a career in civic affairs of New York City. She maintained enduring friendships with some of her students and, through those bonds, reveals aspects of an ancient culture that shape modern China.
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Civic Pioneers: Local Stories from a Changing America, 1895-1915
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“The happiest men I know in all this unhappy world of ours, are those leaders who brave, loyal and sometimes in tears are serving their fellow men.” Lincoln Steffens
Today as activists around America reclaim the common good, Gretchen Dykstra uncovers dramatic stories of creative public servants who shaped much of life as we know it now. Some are remembered, most have been forgotten.
From a crusader for children’s rights in Oklahoma to a postal clerk-turned-police chief in Berkeley to a heroic fire chief in Chicago to the champion of immigrants in New York and others, Dykstra showcases committed city and state trailblazers and highlights the timeless traits of leadership they possessed.
“How can we call ourselves patriots if we know little of our country’s past?” David McCullough
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What people are saying about Civic Pioneers
“From big cities to rural towns, Pioneers is a smart new look at America’s history of local innovation - by someone who has helped lead it." —Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, 2002-2013, and founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
“These interesting, inspirational and important profiles engagingly tell the tales of people who had a huge impact on all aspects of our society. Written with the wisdom of an insider, Dykstra shows us how big a difference local government can make in the lives of individual Americans and in the life of the nation as a whole.” —Cokie Roberts, journalist and author
“ An informative and engrossing introduction to key individuals.” —Kirkus Review
“ A unique approach to American political history…a work of fact that reads with all the narrative smoothness of fiction…Meticulously researched, impressively written, exceptionally well organized and presented.” —Library Bookwatch/Midwest Book Review
“Fully relevant and significant to today’s readers since many long for a renewed sense of the power of public service…very timely.” —Chad Berry, Dean of Faculty, Berea College
“These stories powerfully illustrate the positive and long-lasting impact that service in the common good can have.” —Louise Mirrer, president and CEO, New-York Historical Society
Book launch on May 22, 2019 of “Civic Pioneers” in the historic Surrogates Courthouse in New York, home of the Municipal Archives. Photo by Philip Greenberg.