Fireball Lily: Christa-Maria's (Extra)Ordinary Travels, 2000-2014
Fireball Lily offers a vivid, firsthand account of Christa-Maria Beardsley's wide-ranging global travels, an endeavor she pursued energetically for a full fifteen years after her retirement from academia. From the Buddhist monasteries of Thailand and Japan and the imposing grandeur of Victoria, Niagara, and Iguazú Falls to the moai of Easter Island, the North Pole's otherworldly beauty, and the stark poverty of Hong Kong's fishing communities, Ms. Beardsley's destinations elicit her fascination with the varied expressions of both nature and human culture. Informed by a rich personal history and an enduring concern for human suffering, the author's keenly appreciative eye takes in the full range of socioeconomic conditions - from the tragic to the unimaginably luxurious - and the virtually endless quirks of human personality. Indeed, at the heart of the author's travelogue are the people she meets along the way, a cast of characters she treats with her hallmark blend of curiosity, humor, and moral discernment.
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"This autobiography includes part of historical interest about the taking over of power in Germany by Hitler, about the hardships endured during WWII, and about the life and government in East and West Germany prior to their unification. It includes great insights into the cultures . . . of Germany, France, and Italy, where the author lived, studied, and traveled extensively. The work includes analysis of American universities, both as to strengths and weaknesses, from one who had a basic education in Germany, started her life on a cattle farm in Michigan as an 'au pair, ' and after being widowed at the age of 25, obtained a Ph.D. in the U.S. when 40. She then became a generally admired professor who exerted much effort to enrich university studies through innovative summer programs in formerly East and West Germany. . . .
"I too was in Germany prior to Hitler's taking power, heard a major speech by Hitler, and stayed at a home where the son finally, not much unlike the author's father, appeared in a 'brown shirt' Nazi uniform."
--William Whipple, Jr., Brigadier General, United States Army (1909-2007)
