Tom Gnagey

Everything I Needed to Know about Saving the World I Learned Before I Was Ten Tom Gnagey

Tommy was an exceptionally bright and observant youngster. Growing up in the 1940s America, he saw the many social ills around him, he knew about the atrocities in Europe, and, at nine, he was certain he knew how to fix the problems and save the world. This little volume takes an often humorous look at a very serious topic by making reference to entries from the boy's diary and extrapolating a series of Positive Social Agreements, which if embraced across mankind could, indeed, save the world. Tommy discovered numerous roadblocks to his program, foremost of which were the pernicious Yesbutts - typically thirty to sixty-five in age and, according to the boy's observations, quite clearly terrified to have anything change that might rock their comfortable social-economic boat. (They typically responded to his suggestions with, "Yes, but.") The 'grown up' Tommy, now a septuagenarian, uses his uniquely broad experiences and his background in psychology, education and social philosophy to weave a picture, which pits the innocence of youth against the reluctance and fears of adulthood - all in the service of realizing his boyhood goal of saving the world.