An Improbable Life: My Sixty Years at Columbia and Other Adventures
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.44 (720 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0231167628 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 312 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-06-22 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Columbia University began the second half of the twentieth century in decline, bottoming out with the student riots of 1968. Sovern also reports on his many off-campus adventures, including helping the victims of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, stepping into the chairmanship of Sotheby's, responding to a strike by New York City's firemen, a police riot and threats to shut down the city's transit system, playing a role in the theater world as president of the Shubert Foundation, and chairing the Commission on Integrity in Government.. Yet by the close of the century, the institution had regained its stature as one of the greatest universities in the world.According to the New York Times, "If any one person is responsible for Columbia's recovery, it is surely Michael Sovern." In this memoir, Sovern, who served as the university's president from 1980 to 1993, recounts his sixty-year involvement with the institution after growing up in the South Bronx. He addresses key issues in academia, such as affordability, affirmative action, the relative rewards of teaching and research, lifetime tenure, and the role of government funding
Sovern is president emeritus of Columbia University and the Chancellor Kent Professor of Law at Columbia Law School.. Michael I
His brilliance and principled character are apparent on every page of this wonderful memoir. The range of adventures extends to many notablesfrom Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Salman Rushdie to Joe DiMaggio, Harry Belafonte, and the Rolling Stones. His memoir certainly demonstrates this fact. From his childhood in the South Bronx to becoming the youngest full professor in Columbia's history to almost becoming a Supreme Court nominee, Mike's life story is riveting, illuminating, and educational. All readers, whether Columbians or not, will find something to learn from his remarkable life story. (Bill Campbell, chair, Columbia University Board of Trustees, and chair of the board, Intuit, Inc.) . Columbiansand all readerswill
"The First ex-Mrs. Sovern's Review" according to Lenore Sanders. My comments are totally personal inasmuch as I was Mike's first ex-wife. Having been told it was about his professional not personal life, I was interested in reading about his many successes. There is no question that Sovern is a brilliant and successful lawyer,arbitrator and teacher and his accomplishments for Columbia prove that. He is, as are all our children, an excellent writer and story teller. However, including intimate details of our relationship surprised me and I felt they were unnecessary. I particularly enjoyed the. Jeremey Donovan said Two Stars. Was really excited to read this after hearing about it on NPR, but just started to drag on.. What a great book! A real page-turner. Sara Newmann A brilliant account of a fascinating career. A must-read for anyone interested in the civic history of New York City, American academia, the cultural history of the 1960s, and more. Bravo!