This is the third children’s book penned by Kligman. He also has eleven espionage novels published. Those two genres would appear to be at opposite ends of the writing spectrum, but not when you look at the life of Harris L. Kligman.
Growing up during WWII, the son of Russian immigrants, Harris played soldier and cowboy. His parents instilled two important qualities – always give back and always stay calm. His parents worked hard for the American dream. Harris honored their hard work by graduating with a degree in finance. He joined the Army Reserve and trained as an officer and completed a Master’s degree in Business Administration.
He worked for a commodities company while still in the reserves and that’s where he was recruited as an intelligence officer. His keen mind, calm demeanor and language skills – he is fluent in French, Korean, Spanish, Yiddish and English, made him an ideal choice.
Harris spent the next twenty years doing “what needed to be done” to protect the American way of life.
By this time Harris was married with two young sons. His work often took him to distant lands – Suriname, Caracas, India, Cambodia, Laos, Venezuela and more for extended periods of time. His wife Nancy, a strong and supportive spouse, held down the fort at home.
This was 1959 – 1979, a very tumultuous time in our history - The Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War, Nuclear and Space Race.
His two sons missed their dad on these extended trips and Harris missed them. He would often write stories for them while flying from one stop to another, sometimes in small planes flown by questionable pilots that scared Harris more than the job. He was engaged in a world that most of us only experience in the movies. The characters and participants in these missions were colorful, a little crazy and often, downright dangerous.
This was a challenging time for all of them.
So, when Covid hit, Harris’ son, Rob, suggested he write some of his stories. And, so it began. What developed was a family effort between Rob, Harris and Nancy to publish, promote, and create a voice for all of these amazing stories. What was once a difficult time was now a source of great joy. Nancy refers to Rob as her best friend.
The espionage books are based in part on many of the people Harris knew back then. The children’s books come from those long plane rides thinking about his sons. (His other son, Marc, lives in Las Vegas but also contributes as he can.) It’s become a family business built on love, respect, listening and one man’s ability to let the words pour out of him.
We are all storytellers and words truly do matter.
The Wordsman is a great gift idea. Visit HarrisLKligman.com or you can order on Amazon.
I admire Nelson Mandela. I adhere to his wisdom: “I never lose. I win or I learn.”
