New Book Reveals Man's Successes and Upsets in Three Professions

"If it weren't for World War II, I'd likely still be milking cows today," says Kenneth E. Nelson, expounding to his friends that life does not pursue a set of plans. A nonagenarian with three careers and three books under his belt, Nelson offers his newest book titled Three Crazy Careers Seventy-two Years, a candid autobiography that relates the rise and fall experiences of the author. This three-part, true-life account centers on his former careers as a youthful dairyman for 12 years, a farm fertilizer salesman for 30, and a volunteer lecturer for 30 more, which during the latter he authored three books.

This book chronicles the three unplanned and challenging careers Nelson undertook over a span of 72 years. In sharing the ups and downs he encountered through each significant period in his life, he parlays his experience into a treasure trove of wisdom and values that reveals the elements crucial in making a job, and life, worth having. As readers pore over the truth-laden pages, readers will gain an appreciation for the personal history he shares.

Readers can follow how Nelson and his older brother, Roy, became key parts of the family's dairy labor force while in elementary school. He then recounts his official 30-year career as a fertilizer salesman with clarity. As an ad-lib speaker following retirement later on, he describes himself as "several notches below President George Bush." Thirty years and 4,957 speeches later, high schools still requested his appearance subsequent to his decision to discontinue speaking engagements in the summer of 2011.

A gripping life story, Three Crazy Careers Seventy-two Years relates the a boy's inspiring journey from a shy dairy boy to a retired in-demand speaker in school classrooms.

For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.xlibris.com/.

About the Author
Born in Acampo, Calif. in 1921, Kenneth E. Nelson spent his first nine years in Humboldt County on a 365-acre mountain ranch his parents were attempting to purchase, but lost when the Great Depression hit. He graduated from Lodi High School in 1939 and continued helping on the family dairy. In June 1942, Nelson enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. He met his wife, Betty Hill, in Pittsburgh, Pa., in August 1944. They were married in New Orleans three weeks later, with their marriage lasting 50 years before her unexpected death in 1995. Nelson's three and a half years in WWII qualified him for an equal period of schooling at University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a degree in Soil Science in 1950. He then worked for The Best Fertilizers Co. of Oakland and later, Lathrop Ca. for 13 years; then for Occidental Chemical Co. for 17 years. Following retirement, he spent 30 years as a volunteer speaker primarily at high schools for MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and SADD (Student Against Destructive Decisions).

Three Crazy Careers Seventy-two Years * by Kenneth E. Nelson
One Lucky Man
Publication Date: August 20, 2013
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 240 pages; 978-1-4836-6157-5
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 240 pages; 978-1-4836-6158-2
eBook; $3.99; 978-1-4836-6159-9