Racing Odysseus: A College President Becomes a Freshman Again (University of California Press: 2008).
Informed that a deadly cancer will soon end his career as a college president, Martin defies the medical prognosis and then embarks upon an unlikely sabbatical adventure: enrolling in a small liberal-arts college as a 61-year-old freshman. The account of this adventure illuminates the renewing power of education even for a man well past his prime. By watching Martin wrest fresh meaning from Plato and
Aeschylus, Herodotus and Thucydides, readers gain a deeper appreciation for the perennial challenge posed by these classical authors. But it is Homer who schools this unusual freshman most profoundly, the bard's Odysseus furnishing him with an illuminating metaphor for his own circumstances as an aging warrior pursuing an
uncertain journey home after a hard-fought victory. Waylaid not by cyclopes and sirens, Martin must vanquish his own anxieties as he struggles to keep up with classmates one-third his age, comparing his intellectual insights with theirs in the classroom and coordinating his physical exertions with theirs on a college rowing team. But beyond Martin's private insecurities, larger questions emerge about
the contemporary significance of the liberal arts in a careerist society. Alternately amusing and poignant, Martin's personal epic offers a much-needed perspective on cultural dilemmas both ancient and modern.
From Booklist, September 15, 2008
For a link to the University of California Press, click here http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/11091.php
Racing Odysseus
Racing Odysseus
Blog Archive
About Dr. Martin
- Roger Martin
- Dr. Martin is President Emeritus of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. Before this he served as President of Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Associate Dean at Harvard Divinity School.
Endorsements for Racing Odysseus
10 comments:
My son has just begun the journey you described so intimately in Racing Odysseus. I read your book to gain some insight into my son's future. But I came away with doors opening in my own life.
Thank you.
Mel Hughes
Sparta, TN
Great book title. What a wonderfully positive healing life decision made by Roger Martin. It allowed him an opportunity for both self-examination and culture study.
Kathy Siciliano
Education Event Coordinator
Metanexus Institite
Bryn Mawr, PA
Racing Odysseus--A great read!
I loved this book, and think Roger Martin has deftly combined some serious material into a highly-readable form, along with a rich vocabulary--ranging from the esoteric to the mundane, and back again. Unique and special. Altogether lovely!
Please ask your publisher to make this book available in digital formats. After hearing you on Kojo, I would have bought this book to read over Thanksgiving, but it wasn't at a couple local stores.
Roger,
I just got back for a month's vacation from m Peace Corps posting in Senegal. In late night conversation with my brother, who's currently a senior at SJC, I heard that you'd written a book about your time there. Immediately, I googled it and was gripped with nostalgia for our those chilly morning out on the Severn. Hope everything's great with you.
All the Best,
Matt Gates
(2 seat in men's varsity quad)
I enjoyed your New York Times Education Life essay (January 4, 2009) and was struck by our mirrored experiences. In my case, the rowing came first - #6 on the 1955 U. of Pennsylvania 1955 Henley Grand Champions - followed in 2001 by the melanoma, which began in my ear, too, and, progressed to my neck then lung. No chemo, surgery seems to have done the trick. Best wishes for continued good health.
Frank Betts
Pinehurst, NC
I am loving your book. In true great-books fashion it raises thought-provoking questions. Thanks for the wonderful dialogue - it had been too long for me.
Fellow Johnnie (and rugby player!),
Joanna Corwin
SJC SF '93
Just finished reading your book. Thank you for taking me along on your wonderful adventure.
I stumbled on "Racing Odysseus" by accident, and finished it in one day. It was a wonderful book, showing what education could and should be. Thanks for writing it
I stumbled on "Racing Odysseus" by accident, and finished it in one day. It was a wonderful book, showing what education could and should be. Thanks for writing it
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