My Interview with Francis Goskowski, Author

of Three Essays and Three Revolutions

The following is a series of questions I had developed and presented to my cousin, Francis Goskowski.

As you can all imagine, I'm very excited and proud to have this opportunity to introduce him to all of my friends and followers.  This is his first published book, with another in production, as you will read below.

You will find links of this book along with my father's life story Pick Up the Pennies, In Every Season of Life, available in audio; which is narrated by Francis Goskowski, Author.  On my website http://www.patriciakubus.com/

Enjoy the following and congratulations to my cousin, Francis.

• What is your name and the title of your book?

My name is Francis Goskowski and my book is entitled Three Essays and Three Revolutions.

• What is one thing you think your readers would like to know about you?

I am a former college teacher and administrator.  My book, in a sense, does for the general public what I used to do for individual classes of students: it presents my thoughts on selected writings, focusing on the broad theme of each selection and the influence the theme has had in many places over time.  My hope is that the book will be not only interesting but also convincing. 

• When did you know that you wanted to become a writer or publish a book?

I have always been an avid reader, but because I have been interested in the interconnections among history, philosophy, and literature primarily, prior to doing any serious writing, I spent a long time assimilating great writers' ideas and points of view and thinking through the implications and consequences of their works. I really could not have written the book now in print any earlier.  I had to work through some eroneous assumptions and get myself out of many blind alleys before I could feel confident enough about my conclusions to commit them to writing.

• What are your strong points in your writing style or methods?

I wrote my book for the general public, not just for scholars or teachers. In so doing, I tried to keep the text relatively short because the average reader has a busy life, and I tried to make each chapter a self-contained unit that could be read and digested independently. When I edited the text, I did one chapter per day, taking no more than two hours even for the longest one; I think if the average reader can do the same, he or she will become familiar with the book's contents in less than a week.

• What are your favorite books to read?

There are only so many hours in a day, so I have to choose books carefully.  Most of the time I read classics that somehow I never got to in previous years or current studies that shed new light on important areas of inquiry.

• What are you reading right now?

I am reading Stendhal's The Red and the Black for about the third time.

• Do you have another book that you are working on and hasn't been submitted for publication? Tell about it.

I'm building a new book around five classic novels that, in my view, highlight themes and values each writer's national culture holds dear.  I'm pretty much finished with one chapter, devoted to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and its handling of characteristically American themes. The next chapter will concentrate on the French; that's why I'm tied up with Stendhal.  I still have the English, the Germans and the Russians waiting in the wings. Since my plate is so full and I'm now in the AARP contingent, I pray that Alzheimer's doesn't set in before I finish.

• What are your biggest obstacles to writing and how do you overcome them?

I have a tendency to fuss over diction, punctuation, sentence style, and so on at the expense of "forward progress."  As a result, an hour's labor sometimes yields only two or three passable sentences. I have to force myself to move more quickly and to trust that later review will clear up problems.

•  Please put a description of your book.

My book focuses on Martin Luther, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Karl Marx. I argue that they are responsible for the "big ideas" that have shped current thinking in religion, politics, and economics. I highlight one influential work of each thinker, showing how its revolutionary assertions provoked fierce opposition within the prevailing order but ultimately won acceptance in all circles. In discussing the profound and lasting impact each thinker has had, I pay particular attention to developments in America, concluding that this nation's endorsement of religious liberty, civic equality, and economic justice derives directly from Luther, Rousseau, and Marx.

• Who or what audience do you feel would enjoy reading your book?

Anyone who is curious about the relationship between ideas and events should find this book to his or her liking. 

• How can readers contact you or purchase your books?

My e-mail address is frankgos@epix.net. Anyone with comments or questions should not hesitate to contact me at this address. Those interested in purchasing the book can do so at http://sbpra.com/francisgoskowski/.