A Wind Of Many Colors

by Brown, John H.

• ISBN13: 9780979316005
• ISBN10: 0979316006
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-07-24
• Publisher: Majec Pr

Summary

Prior to the Civil War, those who arrived America's shores arrived with the wind and they or their descendants considered themselves as Irish, English, German, Spanish, French or Negro, all living among the American Indians. In 1860, a remarkable group of this ethnic mix is drawn from their mansions or shacks to ride the difficult trails or cruise on luxurious steamboats. They congregate briefly at the edge of civilization in as unruly of a place as the frontier ever harbored. In this place that became known as Kansas City a remarkable group of women were barely keeping a thin veneer of civilization in place. Attacks on the successful Purdy family have require third-generation Irish-American| John Purdy, to form a marvelous team. Purdy needs their help to carry out his brilliant plan to capture the half-crazed woodsman who is determined to seize his beautiful German wife, Mattie. The woodsman is obsessed by Mattie's beauty and will stop at nothing to have her as his pet. Failing to possess her, he has vowed he must kill her so as to put his mind at ease

Author Biography

Midwestern native John Brown, long-time entrepreneur-turned author and widely acclaimed storyteller, is managing partner emeritus of the Dale Carnegie Training franchise in Greater Kansas City. A Wind of Many Colors, his recent 420-page novel, captures America's changing era of the pre-Civil War period using a love story woven through a murder mystery and swashbuckling adventures of a broad ethnic mix. His characters' recent ancestors, or they themselves, arrived on American shores in boats powered by the wind.Crafted on the grand scale of Mitchell's Gone With the Wind or Jakes' breathtaking North and South, Brown's treatment reflects meticulous research into historical records, events, and customs. Such careful attention to detail is the bye-product of his business and professional career which involved extensive levels of writing and gathering information. Research and writing demands became the dominant skills when he went into business for himself at age 48 following retirement from a successful 25-year corporate career. After succeeding in several ventures, Brown and partner Mike Powell opened MAJEC, a consulting and video production company in Leawood, Kan., where they developed a video training system that was immediately embraced nationwide by his former corporate industry. Many of Brown's writings became standard for that industry, and numerous technical manuals and videos he and his partner created two decades ago are still used as standard training aids. In the process, he produced 65 soft-skill video productions on a number of subjects, including conflict resolution, dealing with difficult people, documenting discipline, and telephone skills, to name a few. (OVER) Honing these skills is seen in his other roles, both as a partner in New Horizons, a Des Moines, Iowa-based computer skills-training company, and as chairman of MAJEC/M, a distributor of specialized computer skill-training aids. Succeeding in several ventures, he became nationally recognized as an entertaining and knowledgeable speaker in the industrial world where he spoke to or consulted with many world-class manufacturing companies in relation to their conduct of business through two- and three-tier distribution.Brown's commercial successes began in 1959 when he joined IBT, then a newly formed company in Kansas City, Mo., which sold mechanical apparatus, such as bearings, motors, gears, clutches, brakes, and other rotating components. A natural-born leader and professional salesman, he contributed to the firm's growing prosperity and enjoyed the fruits of his labor. A passion for staff training spurred both the firm and him to phenomenal growth and success.Under his tutelage, IBT developed what at the time was widely acknowledged as the industry's finest internal training program. This preparation enabled the company to place highly qualified representatives in front of clients and provide them with excellent telephone resources as the firm became established throughout dozens of locations. During Brown's 25-year tenure with IBT, the firm grew into one of the largest of its kind and was consistently regarded as one of the best managed firms in the industry.In 1957, at the age of 20, Brown was graduated with honors from the University of Missouri and thereafter completed military service as a field artillery and guided-missile officer.He and his wife of nearly 50 years live in Leawood. They have two daughters and five grandchildren. They also maintain a large acreage complete with a lake house on the bank of the Lake of the Ozarks in the area near the remarkable conclusion of A Wind of Many Colors.