One of the pleasures of blogging about Peaks Island authors is that I have the opportunity to write about talented neighbors. In the case of Chris Hoppin, until I moved in February, he was, quite literally, my next-door neighbor. From personal experience I know that one couldn’t have kinder and more generous neighbors

Chris Hoppin at his home on Peaks Island's backshore

than Chris and his wife, Barbara. So it should come as no surprise that Chris invested years of his time at gathering and showcasing the oral history of a group of men and women that he admired – twenty graduates of West Point, Annapolis, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. In Same Date of Rank, Hoppin shares his collection of biographies of military academy graduates from the top and the bottom of classes ranging from 1942 to 1999, biographies based upon his extensive interviews with each individual.

Same Date of Rank

Chris explains that, despite the considerable emphasis placed upon class standing while at the military academies, each graduate begins their career with the same date of rank.

As a retired Lt. Colonel of the U.S. Air Force, Chris writes as an insider, sharing his insight into how each individual’s sense of patriotism has contributed to their lives and to their community.

Although this is Chris’ first book, he’s a veteran writer. A native of the Bronx, NY, Chris formerly worked as Vice President and Director of Corporate Relations and Advertising for ITT Information Services, Inc., as a senior marketing communications executive with Perkin-Elmer Corporation and Ampex Corporation, and as a public affairs officer for the U.S. Air Force.

The Hoppins' flagpole is a landmark easily identified by boaters in Whitehead Passage

Interested readers may contact Orders@Xlibris.com for copies of this book or they may wish to catch Chris at the Friends of the Peaks Island Branch Library event Casting Off: Three Peaks Authors Launch Their Books on August 18 at 6:45 p.m.