Prof. Emeritus Mannon set for signing at Eli's

Jim Mannon

James M. Mannon, professor emeritus of sociology at DePauw University, will sign his new autobiography, "Close, But No Cigar," at a Saturday, Feb. 13 event in Greencastle.

The retired professor will be at Eli's Books on the courthouse square for the book signing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Mannon taught at DePauw for 26 years before retiring in 2001.

"In this book I use stories, events in my life, which in the telling reveal the person I have become," the author notes. "Many of the stories are funny, some are sad and a few are tragic. That cannot be helped.

"My stories describe a life in which I struggled to be a good son, a likeable sibling, a loving husband and father, a good colleague and friend, and a faithful servant of my God. And I succeeded more or less well."

Mannon writes that in reviewing his life's successes, challenges and "close but not quite encounters ... A life of love without greatness is, I realize now, much preferable to greatness without love."

The retired educator says the text includes recollections of campus life at DePauw in the 1970s, '80s and '90s.