camelot lost: childhood’s end: a prequel to the bookmen

In 1961, when President John F. Kennedy launched the U.S. effort to put rockets into space, high school senior Max King became interested in the space race, honoring JFK’s presidency and lofty goals.

Max enters junior college but struggles at the beginning. He meets Jan Rosing in his zoology class, and it’s love at ＂fifth＂ sight. She dumps her fiancé for Max, and they become study buddies. One thing leads to another and the two transfer to UCLA in 1963. Max decides to join Jan as a pre-med zoology major.

On November 22, 1963, they hear of JFK’s assassination on the radio at school and are heartbroken. Like all of America, they spend the weekend watching TV, and witness Lee Harvey Oswald’s murder in real time. They connected their youthful idealism to Kennedy’s promising Camelot presidency but move on with their studies. The next year they are both accepted to medical school at UC-CCM in downtown L.A.

At the start of med school, they move into a cottage in El Sereno, which is where the author’s previous book The Bookmen begins.

The 1960s was an idealistic time for America. It also ushered in a profound loss of innocence for that generation.

(About the Author)

Henry Rex Greene grew up in the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys of Southern California. The semi-retired physician specializes in hematology, oncology, and hospice/palliative care. He has had ＂strong involvement in shaping the hospice movement and medical ethics.＂ Dr. Greene is the author of numerous books, and resides with his wife in Henderson, Nevada. He credits his far-flung interests to great teachers who knew how to nurture their students.