Clicker Training to a Bestseller
How much Googling of oneself or one’s book is permissible before it becomes a problem? Or, is there a gray area before a problem overtakes you? And, when is that? How much is too much? Once a week? Daily? Hourly?
I hadn’t Googled for a month or two and what I found surprised me. Now that I’ve been reinforced, clicker trained if you will, my Googling is frequent and fervent. I’ll leave it at that. Here is the Pavlovian conditioning that started me down this slippery slope.
A week or so ago, I Googled my name and about seven pages into the search found a result that surprised and pleased me. A publication and a reviewer unknown to me had dug into Rails of War and published a complimentary assessment. In “The Professional Journal of the U.S. Army,” Military Review, Lt. Col. Joe M. Schotzko, an instructor, Department of Army Tactics, at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Leavenworth, Kansas, undertook a literary dissection and concluded his valuation with:
I recommend this book for all military professionals and railroading enthusiasts who want an understanding of how American railroading professionals affected the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II. Rails of War is a relatively quick read, giving good perspective toward the end of the war in the China-Burma-India Theater while providing good entertainment throughout.
Since there are about two million active and reserve military professionals in America, and an unknown but substantial number of railroading enthusiasts, I’d say if Lt. Col. Schotzko’s endorsement results in a 10 percent rate of compliance, Rails of War should be well on its way to bestseller status. I wait with bated breath…while I Google yet again.
-SJH
