The Education of Santiago O'Grady and Other Stories

About the Book

This is a book of nine short stories and novellas. The title novella, The Education of Santiago O’Grady, tells the story of a young man who learns about life and the philatelic business working at his country’s posts and telegraphs. In The Major, an ex-military officer meets a former subordinate. A British Army corporal barters bullets for gold in A Few Won’t Do Any Harm, and in Very Professional, bank robbers use an unusual method to escape the police. A chaplain clashes with the colonel’s wife in The Chaplain, and Wrecked tells the story of two boys shipwrecked during a scuba outing. The Zone is a personal account of life in the Panama Canal Zone 1959/62. The Hand tells how a young man records the history of an indigenous people, and Across a Crowded Room tells of strangers meeting at an embassy reception.

About the Author

Michael J. Merry was educated at the Royal Liberty School, England. Transferring to Panama in 1959, he worked as a telecommunications instructor. When the Panama National Guard staged their coup in 1968, he drove the escape vehicle carrying the president, Dr. Arnulfo Arias, and several ministers through the military blockade to safety in the Panama Canal Zone. In 1987, he became division vice president of a major US news operation in Latin America. He was in Argentina when the army revolted later that year and in Venezuela during the attempted coup by Lt. Col. (later president) Hugo Chávez in 1992. In 1995, he wrote two nationally televised financial programs and became editor of a popular financial report. He has published two previous books: The Golden Altar (2002) and The Reluctant Colonel (2008). Mr. Merry and his wife reside in Miami Shores, Florida.