Between the Covers

Softcover. Printed manuscript. Quarto. 216, [2] leaves mimeographed in purple ink on the rectos only. Prong-bound in yellow wrappers with typed title label on the front wrap. Chip, tear, and faint stains on the front wrap, else about fine. Very detailed account of a month-long trip to the Soviet Union by approximately 28 American educators, mostly school superintendents or principals, including the author, William H. James, who was superintendent of schools in Branford, Connecticut. The group traveled through Scotland with brief stays in Scandinavia and Europe, with the majority of the time spent in Russia, East Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. The final two leaves of the manuscript provide the groups itinerary and a list of the participants. While James provides some details of tourist visits and some slight personal information, the vast amount of the account is dedicated to his observations of the Soviet educational system: of classes, children, administrators, and government supervisors, as well as his additional detailed observations of the functioning of Soviet society and the condition of the people.

The Branford Education Hall of Fame notes that James: "...served in the military from 1942-1946. He enlisted as a private, was transferred to the U.S. Army Air Forces, and served primarily as a combat intelligence officer with the 20th Bomber Command in India, China and the Pacific. He served in five campaigns, including Air Offensive Japan and earned three medals and a Distinguished Unit Badge. He left the service with a rank of Major. Returning to the world of education, James received both his MA degree in 1948 and his Ph.D. in 1955 from Yale University. He continued to work as a teacher, principal, superintendent of schools and adjunct professor at SCSU, WCSU and the University of Bridgeport. ... During 1966-1977, Dr. James was the Associate Director to the Connecticut Commission for Higher Education." He was also the author of several books. James died in 2014 at the age of 104.

A detailed account, worthy of more detailed scholarship. *OCLC* locates no copies.

Item #442254