Cracks in the Seam (ePub)

This set of novel owes much to the courses at McGill University (Montreal, Canada) in 1958 and 1960 taught by Mohammad Rasjidi and John Alden Williams where the history of the Middle East covered in this series was originally imparted to me through the lectures, the assigned readings and the discussion session these scholars supervised. They certainly taught about historical events of the time, but also the about the cultural attitudes that prevailed and how those attitudes were translated into policy and politics of the era. There were other readings later that were useful and enlightening, but these two professors introduced a view of the Middle East that was unique and highly rewarding. (See the Historical Note at the conclusion of the novel for supporting works.)

The setting of the homes and schools of the major protagonists of the novels in the central Carolinas near Charlotte, North Carolina were taken from the author's own sojourn there during the 1970s where the mountain culture from the north met the Tidal culture from the Atlantic coast. The attitudes of the hero and heroine sometimes reflect their respective upbringings in that region.

The descriptions of the often "confused" and narrow viewpoint of university educators, while centered at a fictitious university (Winston Merritt University), reflects the observations of the author at several North American universities as either witnessed by the author or related to him through his friends and colleagues. Universities are decentralized because knowledge is diverse, so academic responsibilities often follow the same inclinations. While imponderable at times usually good intentions eventually prevail, but often only through the determined efforts of the people involved. Graduate study is not an easy path.