New Baby Boomer Book Recalls 'Happy Days' of Era

Author Serves Up a Slice of Americana With Novel Set in Early '60s

RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 20, 2007 -- History loves Baby Boomers for the significance of their generation's era: civil rights, the Vietnam War, Apollo 11 - unforgettable moments preserved in the hearts of most Americans that are a little more Ed Sullivan than Walter Cronkite. In James J. Brown's new book, "Will the laughter stop? Baby Boomer Chronicles" (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com), stories of the cars, the music, the football games, the pranks and the parties that helped define a generation will take readers for a trip down Memory Lane in the front seat of a Deuce Coup.

Intertwined with actual historical events and popular music of the period, "Will the laughter stop? The Baby Boomer Chronicles" tags along as protagonist Buck Rawlins and his five friends (his "six-pack gang" with whom he shares a few six packs along the way) participate in the typical teenage rites of passage - from high school romances to high-speed races - against a backdrop of early-'60s Americana.

Boomer readers will recognize many shared experiences as they follow Buck from his first day of high school in June 1961 to the day after graduation in June 1965. Brown's eye for accuracy and his detailed descriptions bring to life the sandy Long Island setting of the novel, and his often humorous dialogue perfectly captures the gawkiness, comedy, complexity and sometimes tragedy of coming of age during the "wonder years."

"These characters' voices could have been anyone's in high school days, when they struggled to set boundaries," says Brown, adding, "Readers will be asking themselves, 'Who will star in the movie?'"

Appealing for any reader who still remembers the internal turmoil of growing up, Boomer readers will be most satisfied when they can finally open a book and say, "That's the way it was."

Brown, a native of Long Island, has presided over Administrative Hearings in Raleigh, NC, since 1995. A veteran of the U.S. Navy Reserve, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and Boston College Law School. He lived in Columbia, Md. from 1975 to 1995, before becoming a judge, and spent more than 17 years as a trial attorney and later as a deputy chief with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He also spent several years as a litigator with Saul, Ewing, Weinberg and Green in Baltimore.