Young Author Self-Publishes Patriotic Book!

I wrote my first book about American men and women veterans at the age of 13, followed shortly by another book on the same subject at age 15. For both volumes, I complied over 300 pages each and collected dozens of fascinating veteran photographs. My interest in this subject came at an early age when I asked my Grandpa to recall his experiences in the service; and left me eager to seek more. I began collecting autographs from veterans so I could honor the men and women who have served in the military; especially those of my Grandpa's generation. After a few years of collecting brief war accounts and signatures, veterans began to notice the scale of my task and suggested that I seriously consider writing a book based on the autograph project. The overwhelming response from dozens of veterans to my new project was enough to encourage me even further in this vocation. The incentive to continue working on my project (through computer failures and inexperience) came from endless encouragement and eagerness to see a job well done on the part of so many veterans and my family; without whom I could not have succeeded.

Photo of Nick and his Grandfather

There are many reasons why I chose to write books on this topic. First, of course, is the need to honor American veterans now, while they are still alive and able to understand that present generations are thankful for the hard work and sacrifices they volunteered on the behalf of American freedom. The very lives of the generations today owe everything they value out of life to the sacrifices made by yesterday's soldiers.

It has also become of major importance that the children of our schools have a decent understanding of history beyond the dry names and dates that are often found in many history textbooks. Too many students are locked in the frame of mind that history is a very dull subject. I have noticed this drab impersonality in many text books and it grieves me that scores of school history courses are so wearisome. The first-hand personality of my books is intended to bring character, life, and color into this subject for every student.

As you might realize at this point, I am a major advocate for the close study of history. All the problems we face today have already been faced in the past at some point in one form or another. By knowing what was done previously, we can all the more successfully handle our problems now. We possess no guidance but the ingrained common sense that lies in all of us and a steadily increasing history replete with sound examples to draw upon.

I believe that these stories are what America needs. By reading my books, it is my intention that our citizens will come to realize the need to honor our veterans while they are still alive. After all, these are the men and women who secured our rights as prosperous people to pursue 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' Liberty is too important to be taken lightly. It must be something that Americans cherish every day of their lives; to be able to think and to speak. The populace of countless other countries can't, but we can, and God willing, our children will. I hope that my books will inspire Americans to strive to relearn the lessons that have been won at such cost in the past.

Since the books’ publication, Nicholas has done book signings, appeared on the KCTS series "WWII: Stories from the Northwest", which aired in conjunction with the Ken Burns documentary, "The War", and even received a thank you letter from President Bush!

Nicholas Rider is a member of the Civil Air Patrol and recently earned his pilot’s license.