Fifty years! That's a long time to spend in college - but apparently that's how long it took me to learn all my lessons. Through stories gathered from a lifetime in the wacky world of academia, the finest pub in Pennsylvania, and a home filled with wonderful (and occasionally quirky) women, you'll discover:

• Why the answer is always false
• The importance of emotional bank accounts
• Why happiness is undervalued in academia - and why it shouldn't be
• The powerful, often counterintuitive lessons learned from family and friends
• The joy and impact of using stories and analogies as teaching tools
• And why Bruce Springsteen absolutely cannot have thirty-five songs on anyone's top one hundred list

You'll also get a peek behind the curtain at how the academic sausage is made: from the "recruitment" of a talented and diverse student body, to the debate over equity versus equality in student life, to the ever-controversial topic of academic tenure. Along the way, you'll meet many of the remarkable students who - along with my wife, daughters, and friends - brought challenge, fulfillment, and a whole lot of happiness to my life.