Jim Rogan, Former California Congressman
"I'm jealous of a guy who has a better story than mine...it's a true American success story."

Tom McClintock, California State Senator
"This is great, it's an inspirational story."

Publisher's Notes...

Book Description
America’s juvenile justice system is broken! The increase in juvenile crime caused by gangs, which recruit new members as young as 12 years, has brought changes in the handling of young offenders. These changes include mandatory sentences, trying 14-year-old children as adults and incarceration of teenagers in high-security prisons. These well-intentioned, get-tough-on-crime measures have been accompanied by little or no effort at rehabilitation and interdiction. As a consequence, youthful lawbreakers too often become hardened criminals before their 18th birthday - and whatever ability they might possess is lost to the world forever.

This book is dedicated to Mrs. E. Paul duPont, an American pioneer in prison reform and the juvenile justice system in Delaware. It tells a story of how much difference even a small amount of effort aimed at rehabilitation can make, a fact that Mrs. duPont knew well. It also shows how much American society can benefit from saving even a single young person from a dismal future.

It presents the true story of how the author battled the adversity of a broken home and charted his own course from being a high-school dropout in a prison cell to a PhD from one of the world's finest scientific universities. The story illustrates the power of ideas and persistence in pursuing goals, and clearly demonstrates the wisdom of Aristotle who said, “All things which humans hold sacred can only come from difficulty, struggle, and the growing idealization of bliss and perfection, which can only flourish in the mind when paradise is utterly lost.”

The book spans a century, beginning with the birth of the author’s father in 1903. It is interlaced with significant twentieth-century events including the development of science and technology at the dawn of the twentieth century, the Great Depression, World War II, the Eisenhower years, and highlights from Major League baseball.

This story has already served as a source of inspiration for wayward youths with whom Dr. Wilcox has worked on a volunteer basis. It is a must read for any teenager or parent of a teenager who has run into trouble with the law. Above all, it is a story of tragedy, destruction, redemption and hope that shows why young Americans should never give up on themselves.

Some of the profits from each book sold will be used to donate copies of the book to young men and women incarcerated in youth facilities.

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