Eden Altered- An Odyssey In Double Time
A Novel In Two Parts
by
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From Chapter V of The Book of Andrew: A false dawn was spreading a patina of ghostly light upon the creased and dark-stained belly of the overcast, when he eased down onto the forward slope of a grave mound in the still-dark center of the valley. The little tilted field in which Fox Company’s third platoon had stopped was grown thick with soaked grasses. His fatigue pants were soggy-cold from blouse to crotch and he was hot and perspiring above. The weight of the flamethrower had pulled his shoulder and back muscles until he ached from neck to coccyx. He tried to think about the mound for a moment, seeking distraction. Could it be seen, the view from this eminence should be lovely; for to the farmers of this land, who were accustomed to interring their dead family members in earthen mounds or beneath stone cairns on their own properties, beauty was the prime consideration in the selection of grave sites. But there was no beauty for him here and now, even though the rapidly growing light gave hint of a fair day dawning. It was good to sit down and yield his burden to the earth. He did not like having to use flamethrowers. So why was he, Acting Assistant Platoon Sergeant Andy Engleman, lugging this damn thing? Because he had volunteered to. That was why . . .
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About the Book
The Book of Andrew takes a young boy named Andrew Engleman from the summer of 1938 through World War Two and the Cold War, including the hot intervals in Korea and Vietnam and the swift expansion of terrorist activity on a global scale that led to punitive incursions into the hotbeds of the Middle East by coalitions of Western powers under the leadership of the United States. It also provides the reader with a glimpse of what the world may be like a few decades hence. The author hopes to promote greater understanding of the historical significance of the Korean War, which has been labeled "The Forgotten War". It was an undeclared war for which none of the belligerent parties, excepting North Korea, was fully prepared at the start. Close to 4.5 million human beings, less than half of whom were in military service, were killed, injured or reported missing during the 37 months and two days of its duration. North Korea, South Korea and China suffered the greatest number of casualties, both military and civilian. The total for the United States alone was 136,826 combatants. The Korean War brought us perilously close to a third world war that almost certainly would have been nuclear. It was the first war in which American infantry units were fully integrated, blacks and whites serving harmoniously together. And it was the only real war to have been fought under the aegis and flag of the United Nations. It stands out as a chapter in the annals of warfare that contains many important lessons for us all. And in this book it is the constant backdrop against which the protagonist's experiences and thought processes are highlighted as they unfold before our eyes.
About the Author
Edgar Randolph Erdman was born in 1929 in Beirut, Lebanon. His parents were American Presbyterian missionaries; administrators and educators. Edgar attended Blair Academy in New Jersey from 1940 to 1946. He enlisted in the Army after graduating and served in Japan during the Occupation at the end of World War Two. He attended Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, from 1948 to 1951. He was recalled to active duty in the fall of 1951 and sent to Korea, where he served with the 15th Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division. He was wounded in action north of the 38th Parallel in November1952. In September 1953 he was given an honorable medical discharge. He attended the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, from 1954 to 1955 and again from 1956 to 1957, earning BA and MA degrees in English Literature. Edgar’s career as a civilian employee of the Federal Government was split between the Defense Department’s National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (I&R), in which he served as a Foreign Service Reserve Officer (FSRO). While with the NSA he served at posts in East Africa and in the eastern Mediterranean region. While with the Department of State’s I&R he concentrated on Central America. He is a member of the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO). Edgar has over twenty years of experience in government at the Federal, State and Local levels, several years of experience in the private sector as a management consultant and nearly twenty years of experience in Museum Security. He resides just outside the City of Bloomington, Indiana. His wife, Nancy Heiser, passed away in 1991. He has one daughter, a son-in-law and three granddaughters.