Merriam Press Personal Chronicle 3. First Edition (February 2013). If you are expecting Shakespeare, you've picked the wrong book. Richard Francis Royal Sorell is just an average guy. One might say his life has been extraordinary. If someone told him his life story as theirs, he would think they were full of "it," up to their eyebrows, but he knows it happened, and it happened to him. He's lived on the edge of fame his whole life, never achieving it himself, but rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous in every step he took. He didn't search out these people and when they met he wasn't looking for an autograph or photograph, something transpired between them and that is what he has written about. The majority of the people he met through his employment, positions which were never glamorous. You will find the people he writes about cut across all walks of life, from poets, to entertainers, scientists, artists, politicians and more. Some of these people you may not recognize because they were famous before your time, but not before his, he's an older man these days. He didn't realize the age difference until he was telling a young woman in her mid-twenties some of the names of people he had encounters with and many of them she didn't have a clue who they were. Granted, some of them were elders even to him, or contemporaries, so college students may not know them, but maybe his tale will be able to spark a curiosity in the youth to learn more about these people who have done something noteworthy in their life and what it was that made them famous. For now, just understand they were or are famous and they crossed his path and something happened between them. Some of the things he has written are fun, some are bits of information that one might never know unless you met these people, and some he wrote about, their stories are a bit on the sad side. There is more to this book than just telling about people who became known for one reason or another and they crossed paths. If you are sensitive, you will see bullying, questionable practices of our government, the struggle of an individual to understand who they are, racism, the paranormal, and the difficulty of an old man just trying to keep up with the rapid changes in society. You will find this book can be read on the subway, in the bathroom, or the bedroom. And the Sorell bets it would put any insomniac to sleep easily. It's easy to pick up or put down and not miss a beat. You will find his adventures probably aren't so different from yours. If you think about it, you have probably met famous people, too, and didn't even give it a second thought. Of course, you may not have met as many famous people as Sorell has, but get out there; you never know who you'll meet, and who knows they just might be famous ... for something. 9 photos and illustrations. Index.