First Generation: An Autobiography

Overview

Ernest Sirluck's life has been full of passion and, not infrequently, conflict. His childhood and youth as a Jew in a predominantly Mennonite Prairie village, his service as a divisional intelligence officer in Europe during the Second World War, and his experience as a professor and university administrator during a period of dramatic changes produced a man of firm convictions and the ability to fight for them. His story charts his many battles: against antisemitism and Nazism, mediocrity and academic complacency, ideological zealotry, and government and union encroachment on university autonomy. But he is, first and foremost, an educator, and his autobiography provides an intimate intellectual history of mid-century universities, spiced with anecdotes about the many prominent educators he worked with, among them E.K. Brown, A.S.P. Woodhouse, Northrop Frye, and Marshall McLuhan. The special value of this work lies in the unique perspective that Sirluck brings to familiar and unfamiliar event and issues. His deeply held beliefs, persuasive analytical powers, and richly detailed memories combine to make this a fascinating autobiography.

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