MSI Press Blog

Dr. Andrew Harvey served in law enforcement for 25 years, the last 12 as a captain with a Southern California police agency.  He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from California State University at Los Angeles, and an educational doctorate in the field of organizational leadership from Pepperdine University.  He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the California POST Command College, the West Point Leadership Program, and is recognized in California as a master instructor. Dr. Harvey is an award-winning college educator, with two decades of college teaching experience at five different institutions, ranging from community college all the way through the university doctorate level. His book, Tucker and Me ,   is a delightful tale of a boyhood split between the South and the big city of Los Angeles. LISTEN TO MARY ANN RAEMISCH INTERVIEW ANDREW HARVEY ON  TUCKER AND ME  AND MORE Audio Player 00:00 00:00 Use Up/Down

With time to be filled while locked away in quarantine, self-isolation, or sheltering in place. memoirs can become delightful reading material -- escaping into other worlds, experiencing other lives. Here is one of our favorites: Tucker and Me by Andrew Harvey: INTRODUCTION   My first memory involves being slapped in the face. I think psychologists put some measure of meaning into your first conscious remembrance. When people who know me read about this first memory, they are probably going to say, “Okay, now that explains a lot.” Well, I can’t blame them for that because in many ways I feel the same. I had just finished my lunch and was watching Sheriff John, a local Los Angeles daytime TV show for kids. I’m guessing I was only a few years old at the time because I remember still sleeping in somewhat of a crib contraption. Sheriff John was not an actual law enforcement official, but he wore a uniform that looked real to me and worked in an office that seemed pretty legitimat

MSI Press staff is on the move -- south to San Diego for a conference. So, we stopped in Burbank, at Tallyrand Restaurant, for lunch with copyeditor Mary Ann Raemisch and author Andrwe Harvey (Tucker and Me). From left to right: Carl Leaver, typesetter & designer Betty Lou Leaver, managing editor Mary Ann Raemisch, copyeditor Andrew Harvey, author

Mary Ann Raemisch and Andrew Harvey discuss Andrew's book, Tucker and Me -- about a childhood spent in the South and Los Angeles and divided between parents; a child's view of different societies and growing up with divored parents. Listen to the podcast HERE .   

Bennett earned a journalism degree from University of Southern Mississippi and an MS in Business Administration. He worked as a Management Intern by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (TN), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (MD), and as a staff advisor to then Congressman Trent Lott (with whom he is shown here), helping develop a national policy for nuclear waste disposal. The last ten years of his career was spent searching for a safe disposal site for high-level radioactive waste—much of this time was spent speaking to State and local governments, American Indian Tribes, and the public. He edited the  Jones County Junior College  newspaper, wrote for the University of Southern Mississippi  Student Printz  newspaper, and taught a freshman journalism course at USM. He served as sports copy editor for the  Bristol Herald Courier  (VA/TN). His professional career included writing speeches for Presidential appointees, congressional testimony, and public relations. He and his wife lead

... toward the end of the year, we had games and festivities, one of which involved guessing the amount of candy in a very large jar. Whoever guessed the right amount of individual candies was the winner. I didn’t care about the candy, but I did care about winning, as I was wired to be extraordinarily competitive, something that was often discouraged by my teachers who would classify my displeasure at losing as being a “poor sport.” In essence, they were trying to filter out of me the exact quality that would help me be successful in life—thanks a lot.             In any event, I watched as other children tried futilely to maintain their count of the giant candy jar. I had other ideas. When there was no activity around the jar, I took a ruler and decided that I would focus my efforts on counting the candies in exactly one inch of the jar. This would not necessarily give me an accurate count, but I believed it would give me a better chance to focus with precision on a small are

  Congratulations to MSI Press authors whose books placed in the Hollywood Book Festival. Irit Schaffer ( Good Blood ) earned the silver medal in the spiritual category and an honorable mention in the historical category. Andrew Harvey ( Tucker and Me ) earned an honorable mention in the autobiography/biography/memoir category.  MSI Press Blog Joanna Charnas ( A Movie Lover’s Search for Romance )    earned an honorable mention in the autobiography/biography/memoir category.  Betty Sha w and Dave Brown ( One Simple Text… ) earned an honorable mention in the general nonfiction category.

  Excerpt from Tucker and Me (Andrew Harvey) PLAYING WITH FIRE               My father, George, had a rather odd love-hate relationship with fire. It reminds me of an old joke about a famous monster, which stated that Frankenstein’s primary form of problem solving was strangulation. Deadly effective, but not the most subtle approach. George never strangled anyone as far as I know, but he did use fire as a key solution for vexing problems around his property.             Fire is one of those things that can be either good or bad; it all depends on the context and care in which it’s put to use. George’s judgment was never his strong suit, but he did have protocols he employed when using fire. Now you might think this would involve things like safety equipment, universal precautions, and the like. However, none of these cumbersome things were taken into account. There really was only one rule. When you used fire to solve a problem, you had to drink beer. A lot of it.             The first