People said, ''You oughta write a book!'' So I did.

About the Book

Author Shideler Harpe’s career in journalism and public relations spanned more than 60 years and gave him opportunities to connect with “bums and barons (that would be hotel honcho Barron Hilton), perverts and presidents, inventors and introverts, hookers and housewives, charlatans and champions.” In his new book, People said, “You oughta write a book!” So I did., he notes that “A few were despicable, all were interesting.”

Harpe began his long romance with writing at age ten, as a reporter and then editor of the occasional journal that covered “news” at the elementary school he attended in Indianapolis, Indiana. Since that modest beginning, he has worked on newspapers from New York City to Honolulu. His prodigious newspaper and PR output includes just about everything that can be set in type. The result is a collection of observations, interviews, essays, commentary, short fiction, and great thoughts – each a slice of his life which the author shares to entertain and enlighten the reader.

You will read about: When Harpe met Marilyn Monroe. Or maybe not....How a mild-mannered New Yorker’s stand against crime has failed to result in a simple public safety measure....An obsessive little boy who drove his mother bonkers and his father to hiding in the garage....Colonel Tom Parker, who discovered and managed Elvis Presley, and made both of them very rich....Rousing adventure that pits heroic men against the cruel and unrelenting sea....One man’s premature elation, followed by intense disappointment....Putting fun back into funerals....Ray Bradbury’s Bicentennial tribute that pleased a very small audience.

About the Author

Shideler Harpe began a very, very long and checkered career in journalism when the news of the day was painted upon cave walls. (1) Later, he was a pioneer in public relations and marketing when the message was chiseled on stone tablets. (2) The invention of movable type in the fifteenth century added even more luster to the Harpe legend. (3) He now is retired and living in California, where he offers generous financial support and guidance to wayward young ladies. 1. “Rampaging mastodon tramples early humans!” 2. “Ten reasons to buy from Madman Omar, the Used Camel King” 3. Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of movable type, often credited his success to Harpe’s guidance and encouragement.