Snapshots of My Father, John Silber

This is an extensively illustrated memoir of John Silber, who entirely transformed Boston University as its president and was a controversial, yet intellectually formidable, candidate for governor of Massachusetts. Here, Rachel Devlin looks at her family and her father's trajectory from Texas to Boston and what life became like there; she examines his personality and temperament; and she describes his later years, the hardships he weathered and his continued accomplishments out of the public eye. As the title implies, each chapter is like a snapshot taken from a daughter's perspective, peering into the past she saw. Silber championed freedom of speech, believing all sides should be heard, especially on college campuses. He was also the father of seven children. The author often meets people who want to hear what he was like as a father and to tell her their own stories about him. Here is her clear-eyed vision of this authentic man of principle who had a drive to achieve great things.