The Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2020

     

      In March, 2020, President Trump signed the Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2020, which recognizes the invaluable contribution that Merchant Mariners made in World War II.  Since Dad, Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey, was a merchant mariner, radio operator, from age sixteen onward, he would have been most proud of this.

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr5671



         If you wish to buy the book which tells of his experiences, first as a young merchant mariner, and then in the career and life he built as an explorer  afterward, you may go to the link below.


   BUY: Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey: The Life of the Explorer

Anniversary of a Ten Year Passing

                  Today marks ten years since the passing of Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey, the explorer, from Earth.  Some of the things that have happened since his passing, he would have predicted, and yet others would have saddened him.  Some days I am secretly glad that he is not here to see some of the things that have befallen the nations and the people he cared and worked so hard to help.

                 Still, this is a chance to read about the man, his life and times, in what at least seemed for a moment,  like a simpler world. 

       Buy the Book

Progress on Book Distribution and Many Thanks to You All

                

This is my grandfather Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey Sr. holding my father as a tot, the subject of this book.  Time flies no matter what year you were born on the Earth!

         The book has been broadly released and is available in English in softcover book form and in electronic form as far afield as Russia, Australia, and Germany. It was interesting to me that readers in South America were quite interested in this book.

                      I think Dad would have been pleased and slightly embarrassed that his life story was released and covered the world. I am sorry that he is no longer available on our plane to do the speaking engagements and question and answer sessions he excelled at and that he did following the Finn Ronne Expedition, and his time in Afghanistan.

                       A number of Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey Jr's friends and co-workers are alive, and the book has been well received by them, which has been a great source of pleasure for me.  I thank those of you who have read this book, and those of you who contributed to it, with all my heart.  Best wishes to you all.

Coming Very Soon !

Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey, Jr.   The Explorer

                       As soon as the cover is completed, and approved, and then married to the book itself, then my fourth book: 

 Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey: The Life of the Explorer 
 will be ready for sale and for worldwide distribution, in English.

                        I am excited about this, and I can't wait until its completion.  I have said, in the past, that my favorite part of writing a book is the moment when you receive the very first bound copy that can be held in your hands.

                      I'll let you know as soon as it's available on Amazon and at other book sellers.

In the Waiting Room

    

  This book represents the completion of my fourth book.  The first book was centered on principles of preparedness, primarily for the uninitiated. (Rational Preparedness:A Primer to Preparedness, 2012) 
 The second book was the story of the life of my youngest son, Daniel. (What I Learned from Daniel, 2012)  It is a tribute to his life.

 The third book was a first novel. (Portsoy Woods, 2016)   This is the story of a family who relocate from suburban Northern Virginia to a large acre tract in very rural Virginia, just before a significant financial collapse.

  The fourth book, and latest effort is a biography of a man who goes to sea in the Merchant Marines at sixteen, but crafts a life as an explorer as he accepts one challenging job after another. The book does discuss his family of origin and his friends as their attitudes and ideas help to clarify his motivations and his decisions.   (Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey: The Life of the Explorer, 2017, most likely available in November)
          This can be both a joyous and an uncomfortable time for an author.  First, most authors are pleased to have a project finally completed, and yet we hope that we have completed the project to the best of our abilities. I also sit on the uncomfortable bench of waiting for the book cover to be completed. This is a lot like waiting for a friend who is in surgery.  A book cover is so important, and yet, I must wait.
           I am hoping for a November, 2017 release for this work. I will keep you all informed.  Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey, the explorer is my father.

Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey:The Life of the Explorer, is Complete

Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey, in Quetta, Pakistan, in 1951

 

Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey, Jr. died nine years ago, tomorrow.

 It has taken quite a time to complete a book on his life, called Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey: The Life of the Explorer.

   Any time that someone is writing about historical matters and about genuine people, there is a great deal of fact checking and interviewing that must be done, prior to writing those chapters.
In this work, there were additional issues. Since I was in possession of five hundred letters from him, I had an embarrassment of  riches, in some regards. However, determining context and a timeline could be difficult also.  I anticipate that this book will finally be available for sale in the early part of November, 2017.  It should be an interesting read as it tells of the interesting and complex life of an explorer, world traveler, and all of the things he chose to do, and to be.  It will also be a heartfelt tribute to my own father.