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His Life Is His Message |
| Section: BOOK WORLD / REVIEWS |
| Author: William Macgregor |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 2/1/1999 |
| Size: 1,597 Words, 10,026 Characters |
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BLACK BIRD FLY AWAY
Disabled in an Able-bodied World
Hugh Gregory Gallagher
Arlington, Va.: Vandamere Press, 1998
276 pp., $21.95
An ominous black bird confronts readers of Hugh Gregory Gallagher's latest book. The graphic resembles something on a totem pole and represents the depression that set in years after the author was diagnosed with polio at age 20. Lest readers lose sight of Gallagher's feelings about his disability while reading of his many achievements, this foreboding symbol perches atop every chapter heading. Despite its pervasive presence, the author modestly chronicles his own successes. As Gallagher struggles against his disabilities, we learn about his fellowship at Oxford, his work as an assistant to two senators, and his role in improving access to the Library of Congress and developing the Architectural Barriers Act.
A talented writer, Gallagher has used his literary skills to explore many aspects of disability. FDR's Splendid Deception is a n...
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...losing serves as the most appropriate ending to any discussion of his book. He cites Tennyson's "Ulysses," set after the old hero has returned home to Ithaca. Ulysses, like John Glenn, may have aged quite a bit from his heroic days, but he still wishes to find some noble work yet to be done. As Gallagher says, "So like Odysseus I will continue, 'To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.'"
(1,027 of 10,026 characters)
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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