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Ron Leonard

Ron Leonard

About

Ron Leonard is a business executive and a retired business developmentofficer for a major NY bank.  An NYU graduate, Ron has taught at theAmerican Institute of Banking, served as president of his local Chamberof Commerce and his local library board.  His real passions, however,have always been acting, writing, poetry and song writing.  He has donework in community theater, produced and co-hosted a local radioprogram, and written a number of songs but this is his first book to bepublished.

A resident of Tarrytown, NY,Niskayuna, NY, and Lake Luzerne, NY, Leonard has five children and fourother grandchildren. He says that the responsibilities of parenthoodand his busy career as a bank executive left him insufficient time tofully enjoy his children when they were growing up. “But grandchildrenpresent a second chance to witness the miracle of childhood,” he says.Caroline, his youngest granddaughter, opened the ‘door’ to childhoodfor him, and he wants the book “Caroline, Caroline, What Are YouThinking?” to open the door to childhood for everyone who reads it.

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

The Sons of Godwine: Part Two of The Last Great Saxon Earls

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<p>Emerging from the long shadow cast by his formidable father, Harold Godwineson showed himself to be a worthy successor to the Earldom of Wessex. In the following twelve years, he became the King's most trusted advisor, practically taking the reins of government into his own hands. And on Edward the Confessor's death, Harold Godwineson mounted the throne—the first king of England not of royal blood. Yet Harold was only a man, and his rise in fortune was not blameless. Like any person aspiring to power, he made choices he wasn't particularly proud of. Unfortunately, those closest to him sometimes paid the price of his fame.<br /><br />This is a story of Godwine's family as told from the viewpoint of Harold and his younger brothers. Queen Editha, known for her Vita Ædwardi Regis, originally commissioned a work to memorialize the deeds of her family, but after the Conquest historians tell us she abandoned this project and concentrated on her husband, the less dangerous subject. In THE SONS OF GODWINE and FATAL RIVALRY, I am telling the story as it might have survived had she collected and passed on the memoirs of her tragic brothers.<br /><br />This book is part two of The Last Great Saxon Earls series. Book one, GODWINE KINGMAKER, depicted the rise and fall of the first Earl of Wessex who came to power under Canute and rose to preeminence at the beginning of Edward the Confessor's reign. Unfortunately, Godwine's misguided efforts to champion his eldest son Swegn recoiled on the whole family, contributing to their outlawry and Queen Editha's disgrace. Their exile only lasted one year and they returned victorious to London, though it was obvious that Harold's career was just beginning as his father's journey was coming to an end.<br /><br />Harold's siblings were all overshadowed by their famous brother; in their memoirs we see remarks tinged sometimes with admiration, sometimes with skepticism, and in Tostig's case, with jealousy. We see a Harold who is ambitious, self-assured, sometimes egocentric, imperfect, yet heroic. His own story is all about Harold, but his brothers see things a little differently. Throughout, their observations are purely subjective, and witnessing events through their eyes gives us an insider’s perspective.<br /><br />Harold was his mother's favorite, confident enough to rise above petty sibling rivalry but Tostig, next in line, was not so lucky. Harold would have been surprised by Tostig's vindictiveness, if he had ever given his brother a second thought. And that was the problem. Tostig's love/hate relationship with Harold would eventually destroy everything they worked for, leaving the country open to foreign conquest. This subplot comes to a crisis in book three of the series, FATAL RIVALRY.</p>

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<table class="prod-detail-review" style="width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;" border="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="prod-detail-review-item"><div class="prod-detail-review-item-rating"><table class="rating-container" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td></tr></tbody></table> </div> <h5>&quot;This ia A Must Read!&quot;</h5> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-rater"> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-person">Anne Llewellyn, Editor-in-Chief of Case In Point</span> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-location">(US)</span> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-date">10/15/08 12:09 AM</span> </div> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-review">Ron Leonard's book captures the essence of Childhood in his words and the illustrations of Don Berry. A &quot;Must Read&quot; for all generations!</div> </td> </tr><tr> <td class="prod-detail-review-item"> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-rating"> <table class="rating-container" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td></tr></tbody></table> </div> <h5>&quot;Ron Leonard Does It Again!&quot;</h5> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-rater"> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-person">Carol A. Gleason, MM, RN, CRRN, LRC</span> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-location">(US)</span> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-date">10/15/08 12:08 AM</span> </div> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-review">Ron Leonard does it again! I loved &quot;Wonderland by Night&quot;! Adults often forget these simple things that form lasting Childhood memories. It made me pause and remember sitting on my Grandmother's porch and counting stars and the wonderful, special times we shared.</div> </td> </tr><tr> <td class="prod-detail-review-item"> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-rating"> <table class="rating-container" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td></tr></tbody></table> </div> <h5>&quot;This Book is Magical!&quot;</h5> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-rater"> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-person">Marynita Anderson, Ph.D</span> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-location">(Nassau Community College/SUNY)</span> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-date">10/15/08 12:07 AM</span> </div> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-review">Ron Leonard describes a child's encounter with starry skies, musical sounds, fishing and doodling. He reminds us not only to take time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life and the uniqueness of each person, but most importantly, to always view the world with the wonder that can only be seen through the eyes of an innocent child</div> </td> </tr><tr> <td class="prod-detail-review-item"> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-rating"> <table class="rating-container" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td><td><img alt="rating" src="http://www.carolinebooks.com/themes/default/images/layout/rating-full.gif" /></td></tr></tbody></table> </div> <h5>&quot;It is Delightful!&quot;</h5> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-rater"> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-person">Georganne Chapin</span> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-location">(US)</span> <span class="prod-detail-review-item-date">10/15/08 12:06 AM</span> </div> <div class="prod-detail-review-item-review">Every Page, every Verse, is a Delight! - A Grandfather's pleasure in his young Granddaughter's own delight in the world she is discovering</div></td></tr></tbody></table>