The Insiders' Journey

About the Book

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 California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. Of greatly different origin—living from New York’s South Bronx and Wilma from Basin, Wyoming—they 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 1930’s 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.

About the Author

Education was the key to attaining the American Dream for Irving Krauss and Wilma Rule. The memoir reveals how their childhood and later life influenced them to seek justice for others and how their experience at the University of California at Berkeley during the tumultuous post-World War II period reinforced that commitment. Their learning and perspective were further honed at the University of Chicago for Irving and at the Universities of Hawaii and Michigan for Wilma. With advanced degrees they became an academic couple that enjoyed teaching and published books and articles and presented papers at professional conferences from Tromso, Norway to Seoul, Korea. They describe what goes on in university departments and with students, and Irving relates his experiences as a Department Chair. The memoir is a record of their love, commitment and interesting and sometimes unusual experiences in their long life together.