It's been a long, rich life for Edward Savage. He's now in his mid 90s, at a point in his fascinating life where he is able to look back with a sense of wonderment on his near-century of existence.
Savage has seen it all and lived through it all. He was born in 1916 in a village in southern England. Across the English Channel, the First World War was raging -- and soldiers were dying by the thousands. An economic depression followed the war and there was rioting in the streets. The gasoline-power automobile was beginning to make its mark as a mode of transportation -- and soon, the term horse-power would have an entirely new meaning. Incredible advances were being made in the fields of medicine and health care, with certain types of diseases nearly eradicated, only to replaced by newer strains of newer diseases.
In the 1940s, the Second World War raged, ending with the defeat of Hitler's evil regime. The dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan heralded the world's entry into the nuclear age. The post-war baby boom brought on a wave of immigration from Europe to North America. Then came the Cold War, the space race, the assassination in 1963 of U.S. president John Kennedy -- and a full generation of upheaval, led by the baby-boom children born immediately after World War II. It all leads to where we stand today -- in an era of political terrorism, global upheaval and a globalized economy that could never have been even dreamt of in days gone by.
Author Savage writes of his own life and times with a very personal, intimate touch. He writes of his own life -- and his family's life -- within the context of an ever-changing world, discussing his immigration to Canada, his career in the hospitality industry, his time of service in the Black Watch, his days as a restaurant owner and operator, his dark days of family breakup and bankruptcy and, ultimately, recovery and rejuvenation.
And now, in 2008, the author reflects on a life gone by from his home in London, Ontario. He and his wife Ruby tend the flower gardens and the vegetable gardens and enjoy the summer breezes in their backyard gazebo. They contemplate the world around them and marvel at how much their lives have changed since the heady days of their youth.
Their lives have gone From the Horse to the Atomic -- all in a span of less than a century. This book is the author's testament to lives well lived. It's a delightful read for those who might look back on their own lives with a sense of longing for a more simple time.
From the Horse to the Atomic
Written by Edward Savage
ISBN No. 9780978399801
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