Thoughts on Applying the Lesson of the 20th Century in the 21st

July 8, 2008 - PRLog -- From the remarkable perspective of a man whose extraordinary life and diverse experiences spanned much of the 20th century, ALAN F KAY is in a unique position to expound on the ideals and philosophies that will get us through the first hundred years of the new millennium.

With 17 months as a private in the infantry, an army interpreter in postwar Japan, and his years as a mathematician and engineer working on military projects during the early days of the Cold War, Kay garnered lessons in how to conduct military and intelligence operations in a humane, honorable, and scientifically oriented manner. As a “serial entrepreneur” who built his fortune on anticipating the telecommunications revolution of the 1960s and ’70s—indeed, in anticipating the Internet itself—Kay discovered how a focused creativity can create entire new markets. As a worker for world peace who joined nuclear-disarmament missions to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Kay saw how open-mindedness and a willingness to embrace people everywhere as essential for long-term accord.

“ Kay is at his best when he displays his dry wit and willingness to laugh at his younger self”
Kirkus Discoveries, June, 2008

Here, in his cheerful but frank autobiography, Kay shares the lessons learned during the most exciting times of the 20th century and the wisdom of his life as a militarist, millionaire, and peacenik.
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About the Author
Veteran of World War II, former engineering researcher for the Department of Defense, and self-made millionaire, Alan F Kay has enjoyed a varied career in mathematics, communications, and activism. He helped created early applications for telecommunications that linked businesses by pre-Internet e-mail applications, worked to bring an end to the Cold War, and developed public-interest polling that continues to have the potential to bring a new level of citizen participation in government. In recent years, he co-founded the Global Commission to fund the United Nations, which called for international taxation of arms sales, currency speculation, and all commercial exploitation of the global commons; and co-authored “The United Nations Security Insurance Agency” proposal to reduce the reliance on military approaches to conflicts, and “The Foreign Exchange Transaction Reporting System” for best-practices currency trading. He is also the author of the syndicated “Polling Critic” column.

MILITARIST, MILLIONAIRE, PEACENIK: Memoir of a Serial Entrepreneur
Cosimo Books, May 2008
Biography, ISBN: 978-1-60206-754-7
Paperback, 240 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, $15.95, £9.95

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