The Insiders' Journey

Pursuing the American Dream

Sociologist Irving Krauss and Political Scientist Wilma Rule show that academics are not cloistered in their ivory tower. In their life-long journey as students and professors at major universities and regional institutions they give a first hand account of their universities inner workings and their struggle for justice in cases of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful dismissal. Their odyssey begins as sweethearts at U.C. Berkeley and goes on to their ten years in Hawaii, sixteen in Illinois and retirement in a small mountain community in Californias Sierra Nevada mountains. Of greatly different originliving from New Yorks South Bronx and Wilma from Basin, Wyomingthey had similar values and interests that made them sensitive to injustice. During their 53 years of married life they also had major roles in Congressional and community politics. As children of the Great Depression of the 1930s Irving tells of occurrences in his working class neighborhood that did not get into the history books and Wilma relates events in her family that darken the lore of early ranching. They had a zest for living and describe unusual experiences in East Berlin and Egypt in their worldwide travel, mostly to professional conferences. They are indebted to their families emphasis on education and stress how important the availability of excellent and affordable schooling was for their successful pursuit of the American Dream.