for The Inventive Life of George H. McFadden
August 2024
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575
https://www.midwestbookreview.com/calbw/aug_24.htm#biography
The Biography/Memoir Shelf
The Inventive Life of George H. McFadden
Richard Carreno
Camino Books, Inc.
https://www.caminobooks.com
9781680980608, $35.00, Hardcover
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575
https://www.midwestbookreview.com/calbw/aug_24.htm#biography
The Biography/Memoir Shelf
The Inventive Life of George H. McFadden
Richard Carreno
Camino Books, Inc.
https://www.caminobooks.com
9781680980608, $35.00, Hardcover
https://www.amazon.com/Inventive-Life-George-McFadden-Archaeologist/dp/1680980602
"The Inventive Life of George H. McFadden", is Richard Carreno's latest foray into biographical history, and whose value lies in Carreno's ability to present contrasts in intellectual drive, psychological melancholy and isolation, closet homosexuality, and life contributions in such a manner that invites attention and inspection by audiences immersed in life stories and intellectual pursuits alike... not just Pennsylvanians or art students.
George H. McFadden stood out from the proper Philadelphian in many ways. His different relationships and personas in disparate cultural groups, his shifting approach to "finding ancient things" that led him to sailing and travel experiences (and, ultimately, to a mysterious death), and his literary prowess all come to light in a revealing examination of a Renaissance Man whose intellectual pursuits were anything but ordinary. From his draw to Cyprus (his adopted homeland) to his amateur archaeological pursuits, participation in war, and often-clever political maneuvers to find ways out of socially challenging situations, McFadden's life is narrated with the dual atmosphere of intellectual examination and adventure story:
For a man of forty-one, the timing smacked of desperation. His aspiration was equally disquieting. His twenty-year career in Cyprus had been shadowed by war and mired in his own complacency and vainglory. His way out modeled the successful career arcs of Daniel and Young -- as eminent archaeologists and museum curators. McFadden was a formidable applicant. He was fluent in French, German, and in modern Greek. He had a learned reading ability in Latin and ancient Greek. His work as a Penn Museum "research fellow" at Kourion, as a Navy veteran, and as the author of entries to professional and academic publications (not to mention his translation of the Iliad) were additional pluses. The result reveals a life worthy of discourse and discovery, and is very highly recommended for libraries interested in riveting tales of lives vividly and powerfully lived.
"The Inventive Life of George H. McFadden", is Richard Carreno's latest foray into biographical history, and whose value lies in Carreno's ability to present contrasts in intellectual drive, psychological melancholy and isolation, closet homosexuality, and life contributions in such a manner that invites attention and inspection by audiences immersed in life stories and intellectual pursuits alike... not just Pennsylvanians or art students.
George H. McFadden stood out from the proper Philadelphian in many ways. His different relationships and personas in disparate cultural groups, his shifting approach to "finding ancient things" that led him to sailing and travel experiences (and, ultimately, to a mysterious death), and his literary prowess all come to light in a revealing examination of a Renaissance Man whose intellectual pursuits were anything but ordinary. From his draw to Cyprus (his adopted homeland) to his amateur archaeological pursuits, participation in war, and often-clever political maneuvers to find ways out of socially challenging situations, McFadden's life is narrated with the dual atmosphere of intellectual examination and adventure story:
For a man of forty-one, the timing smacked of desperation. His aspiration was equally disquieting. His twenty-year career in Cyprus had been shadowed by war and mired in his own complacency and vainglory. His way out modeled the successful career arcs of Daniel and Young -- as eminent archaeologists and museum curators. McFadden was a formidable applicant. He was fluent in French, German, and in modern Greek. He had a learned reading ability in Latin and ancient Greek. His work as a Penn Museum "research fellow" at Kourion, as a Navy veteran, and as the author of entries to professional and academic publications (not to mention his translation of the Iliad) were additional pluses. The result reveals a life worthy of discourse and discovery, and is very highly recommended for libraries interested in riveting tales of lives vividly and powerfully lived.
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