Orders should be placed by February 7th and can be picked up at the Section office or at WATERCON. The entire volume sells for $35.00 and requires pick up at the office in St. Charles or at WATERCON.

Dear Friends of Bob Sasman,

As many of you already know, for the past year or so, Bob Sasman and I have worked on crafting his autobiography. As we say in "the biz,” the book is now hot off the press and ready for distribution. We are both very pleased with the final product.

Chambers, as it is entitled, consists of 5 volumes, each one reflecting a difference aspect of Bob’s life and corresponding thematically to Oliver Wendell Holmes’ poem, "The Chambered Nautilus.” The nautilus pictured on the cover of each volume and on the case in which they are collectively housed is the actual shell found by Bob nearly 70 years ago in the Philippines while he was serving in World War II.

Volume I, "The Ship of Pearl,” tells of Bob’s mostly idyllic personal life, recounting his escapades as a child, his marriage to Judy and their children, and his marriage to Mardy after Judy passed away.

In Volume II, ”The Making of a Colonel,” Bob chronicles his experiences in ROTC, the US Army, and the Army Reserve, giving details of the various places where he trained and served as well as the process he undertook on his way to becoming a Colonel.

Volume III, a discussion of Bob’s career with the Illinois State Water Survey, is named, "Call Me Mister Water,” as that sobriquet was often used by his associates in the field and the people in Illinois who called his office for service. Volume III also discusses the changes that occurred during his tenure with the Survey as well as the conferences he attended, speaking engagements he accepted, and numerous articles he published either alone or in cooperation with colleagues.

The title for Volumes IV, "The Voice That Sings,” was selected by me. It is not only a line from the 4^th stanza of Holmes’ poem, but also a way to tell the audience that this volume reflects Bob’s deepest thoughts and feelings as it records his travelogues, personal essays, and short stories. I like to think of it as a reflection of his soul.

Volume V, "Stately Mansions,” refers to the 200+ years of ancestry that created a foundation for the man Bob has become. It includes pictures and anecdotes that date from the 1800s. In the future Bob plans to create a flash drive or CD of more than 1300 names of ancestors that his years of research and numerous journeys have led him to find.

The entire 5-volume set contains over 2200 numbered pages of text and pictures plus additional pages of records and data. Place your order online and indicate if you want to pick up your book at WATERCON or at the Section Offices in St. Charles. Deadline to respond is February 7.

Sincerely,

Sandy Flannigan, Bob’s biographer and friend