Jacob's Ladder
Book Two of the Quartet - Pass In Review
A Historical Fiction Novel
Jules M. Seletz

THE BOOK

Read about a young man, son of a Russian Jewish Immigrant, his coming of age, his struggle through Military School, his success in Medical School, and his training for five years to become a surgeon.

Jacob's Ladder is a work of fiction-historical fiction. Although the storyline parallels incidents that occurred in five generations of my family, the characters do not exist in real life. Jacob M. Stein's name will not be found in the archives of the Virginia Military Institute nor is it listed among the graduates from The Chicago Medical School in 1958. There is no record of Dr. Stein ever training at the Boston City Hospital, and Military Records will not reveal that Lieutenant Stein ever served in the Army in Korea.

Places are real. The Barracks at the Virginia Military Institute is a registered National Historic Landmark and stands today as described. The Biology Building is named the Robert P. Carroll Building, although graduates of the class of 1953 may see a striking similarity between Doc Carroll and Doc Charles.

The Chicago Medical School is now known as the Herman Finch University of Health Sciences and has been moved from the west side of Chicago to Waukegan, Illinois. The Boston City Hospital merged with the University Hospital to become the Boston Medical Center. The Dowling Building is the last survivor of a gone- by era.

Actions of characters depicted in the novel are purely fictional although there may be similarity between the story-book characters and members of my family. In no way

should the reader think that these actions are anything but figments of my imagination.

The historical events that weave in and out of the storyline are actual and are used to depict throughout all four books of the Quartet-Pass in Review-how the world evolved throughout the twentieth century from the telegraph to cyberspace; from the horse and buggy to outer space.

Jacob's Ladder continues from where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--Book One of the Quartet ends. Reference is made in Book Two to events in Book One, but to enjoy reading about these events, the reader may want to read Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob perhaps prior to taking on Jacob's Ladder.

FOREWORD

When planning to write such a novel as Pass in Review, I knew that on December 31, 1999, the world would witness the end of a year, a decade, a century - a millennium.  It seemed appropriate to write an historical fiction novel that spanned the twentieth century; one that traced the progress and evolution of technology - from the telegraph to cyberspace; from the horse and buggy to outer space.

A novel of that length would not be acceptable to modern publishing standards, so it seemed fitting for it to become a quartet - four books - each to be published sequentially around the end of the century.  The title of the novel, Pass in Review, reflects the command issued at military ceremonies - a command repeated frequently throughout all four books - for troops to march past a reviewing officer.  It is also meant to indicate a review of the lives of five generations of a fictional family experiencing monumental changes throughout the century.  Finally, it pertains to an historical review - social, scientific, technological, and geopolitical - of the entire 20th century.

Book One, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, covers a period from the end of the nineteenth century until the late Forties.  Book Two, Jacob's Ladder, begins where Book One finishes, and continues into the Sixties.  Jacob's Travels, Book Three, transports the reader into the Nineties, and Book Four, Jacob's Novel ends at the beginning of a new millennium - Y2K. 

As a surgeon and military officer for 45 years, and the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant of the late 19th century, a parallel of my own life became the basis for the fictional family.  The books include a Jewish ethnic background; a strong Military presence; Medical training, including evolution of modern medical technology; Prohibition and the Great Depression; the cultural changes and technological progress that took place throughout each of the ten decades, and participation in the wars and military conflicts of the era.  These included the Spanish-American War, World Wars One and Two, the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, the cold war in Europe, and finally, the Persian Gulf War.

I am delighted you have chosen to read Pass in Review - all four books.  I know you will enjoy traveling through time, from a tiny shetel in nineteenth-century Russia - through the capital cities of Europe, parts of the United States, the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and Africa - to an idyllic setting in the heart of the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

It is my realistic belief that some future author will use Pass in Review as a basis for writing - at the end of the twenty-first century - its sequel, Pass in Review, Again.

THE AUTHOR

Jules M. Seletz used his own life, as the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant who spent 45 years as a surgeon and military officer, as the basis for this fictional family. He feels his work should appeal to a wide and diverse readership with its Jewish ethnic background; a strong Military influence; Medical training, including evolution of modern medical technology; prohibition and the Great Depression; the United States participation in the "Wars"; and the cultural changes and technological progress down through the decades. The historical content should be of interest to our student population.

Dr. Seletz graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1953 as a second lieutenant, and the Chicago Medical School in 1958 with an MD. Following five years of post-graduate training at the Boston City Hospital, he practiced as a General and Peripheral Vascular Surgeon for 35 years.

He enjoyed a 41-year military career in the United States Army, rising to the rank of full colonel, having served as a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery in 1953 during the Korean Conflict; and then to Morocco, West Germany, Botswana; and finally to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during Desert Storm as a military surgeon. Retired from the United States Army in 1994 while stationed at West Point, Dr. Seletz is now in his seventh year as a physician surveyor for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations - JCAHO.

JCAHO is the nationally and internationally accepted accrediting body for the Healthcare Industry. For the past four years, Dr. Seletz has had several occasions to survey hospitals who have experienced untoward incidents, mishaps, catastrophic outcomes - sentinel events.

Dr. Seletz lives in Lincoln, New Hampshire, in the heart of the White Mountains where he enjoys skiing and mountain hiking with his wife of Acadian heritage. Together, they have seven children and ten grandchildren.

In addition to the quartet, Pass In Review, that includes Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Jacob's Ladder, Jacob's Travels, and Jacob's Novels, historical fiction that mirrors his own life during the twentieth century including his father's emigration from Russia at the turn of the last century, he has written two other historical fiction novels. Pulp, Potatoes, and Ployes describes the plight of the Acadians following expulsion from Nova Scotia during the French and Indian War in 1755 and their survival in Northern Maine until 1955, and Lincoln Logs relates the establishment of a sawmill town in Northern New Hampshire from 1892 until 1967. Deviating from historical fiction, Dr. Seletz has written five Sentinel Event novels, the Jake Stein Series -- Sentinel Event, Not Another Sentinel Event, Code Pink, A Sentinel Event (nominated for the Frankfurt e-book award), West Point's Sentinel Event, and Sentinel Event on the High Seas.

Electronic Edition, download or disc ( * Disclaimer )

3.25" PC Disk $8.95
Electronic Edition $8.95
Paperback $19.95
BACK