I would like to share THE THICKET’S PRODIGY: Reflections of an Improbable Life a hard back book I received a copy of in exchange for this review.
THE THICKET’S PRODIGY: Reflections of an Improbable Life written by Ronald G Brock is the perfect book to read if you’re wanting to take some time for you reading THE THICKET’S PRODIGY: Reflections of an Improbable Life will allow you to relax and let the world move on without you for a bit. Which I believe we all should do once in a while. How about you?
I was excited to let David look through THE THICKET’S PRODIGY: Reflections of an Improbable Life because I wanted David to see the relationship between the father and the son. I believe reading this book and learning about their relationship will lead David to reading the book with Charlie bringing them closer together.
As well as teaching Charlie about the Atomic Bomb which we will be studying in our Homeschool Science Class. Along with following long with the Author on NASA’s Trip to the Moon. Giving Charlie a new lesson to study in Astronomy while learning about the Moon and Stars which Charlie has always loved.
About:
About: The Thicket’s Prodigy began as a simple project composed of my personal recollections of life growing up in East Texas and spending a few years in Los Alamos New Mexico. But it became much more. And so did the research.
Dad’s story required a factual accounting of three, highly complex topics, each constituting a story on its own: Texas’ Big Thicket, Los Alamos and the atomic bomb, high-powered computation, and NASA’s trip to the moon.
Added to those was my insider’s experience with a World Wide Web business startup, and what we have come to know today as the Internet. For Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project’s making of the atomic bomb, followed by the bomb’s remaking, much has been written.
True genius, the extraordinary intellect that few possess, occurs as randomly as lightning strikes. Stories of overcoming impossibly difficult circumstances to achieve colossal accomplishments most often describe pioneers of Science and industry.
In extremely rare incidents, such stories may have extended beyond probability to have strained disbelief in even the least skeptical. One such story describes the life of Eugene H. “Gene” Brock, who was this type of individual. He was also my father. But The Thicket’s Prodigy didn’t begin that way.
The story started as an autobiography describing my own life experience, ending with my role as the founder of a pioneering internet company following the World Wide Web’s introduction in 1995. In my first cut at an outline, the process resulted in an awakening, and I started to examine the reality of my father’s accomplishments. The result triggered an awakened admiration of my Dad.
He was, in short, a phenomenon. During a lifetime of achievement extending well beyond what anyone could reasonably have expected, he participated in and mastered the early stages of two highly complex subjects: atomic bomb technology and high-performance computer technology. But it was how he arrived there that shifted the narrative’s autobiographical focus to include Dad’s biographical story. My part was played as an observer during my early years, then became a separate story as both of us continued in our individual careers.
Meet the Author:
Let me tell you a little about myself; not much, but enough.
I was born in Houston, Texas. During the early years of my life that followed I spent most of my time in Brazos County Texas with a few years diversion to Los Alamos, New Mexico.
After graduating from Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey College of Business a career focused on sales, sales management, marketing, and business start-ups. When Tim Berners-Lee introduced his technological breakthrough, the World Wide Web, a final startup opportunity was too great an opportunity to miss. Along with a couple of patents along the way an Internet company with a national presence was the outcome.
Sale of that organization resulted in my retirement to Scottsdale, Arizona. Where my activity is devoted near full time as an author.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
Glenda, your commentary is touching, most particularly to me as the author of “The Thicket’s Prodigy.” I hope David and Charlie find the story ispirational, as well as informative.Dad’s perseverance toward becomng educated given the challenges he had to overcome was a story in itself. The subsquent outcomes with Los Alamos, and the Manned Spaceflight program, while significant, seemed almost incidental.
Ronald G. Brock