MY LIFE AND AMAZING ADVENTURES
caucus training in 1992
(attending a caucus training session at Coe in 1992;
from the Cedar Rapids Gazette archives)

      I grew up in Wheaton, Illinois. My sister, Susan Dudek, and my brother, Mark Nesmith, still live in that area.  I attended Wheaton Central High School and graduated in 1977.

     I graduated from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois in 1981.  My main pursuit there was radio station WONC, where I did shows with names like "The Bruce Nesmith Extravaganza" and "Brucemania". You may go and check their web site (and listen to WONC on RealAudio!) but only if you promise to attend Coe instead!

    I worked briefly as a news announcer at WBOX in Bogalusa, Louisiana before turning to the relative sanity (?!) of professional academia.

    I received my Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1987, under the direction of the redoubtable and extremely helpful Professor Lester G. Seligman. My first full-time job was at Western Illinois University. I have been at Coe since 1989.

    My current research, collaborating with Paul J. Quirk of the University of British Columbia, evaluates the performance of presidents and Congress in a number of public policy cases. My one and only published book is The New Republican Coalition: The Reagan Campaigns and White Evangelicals, published by Peter Lang in 1994.  Quirk and I co-authored a chapter in The Elections of 2008, published by CQ Press, and have a chapter on presidential advising in Governing at Home, published by Kansas University Press in 2011.

     I am a member of the American Political Science Association, though I rarely am able to attend the annual meetings. On the other hand, I am not a member of the Midwest Political Science Association, but attend their meeting in Chicago almost every spring.

    I volunteer at Garfield School in Cedar Rapids. 

    My guest appearance on Iowa Public Radio's Politics Wednesday 7/28/2010 and 8/11/10 and 1/5/11. I am a frequent commentator on WMT Radio (600am) and local television, and have been quoted in newspapers regarding:

Books I read in 2012:
    A World History of Ancient Political Thought by Antony Black. Valuable introductory survey of the  political thought of various traditions, though only Egypt represents Africa and there's nothing from the Americas. The concluding chapters are brief but impressive by way of summary and comparison.
    Last Chance in Manchuria: The Diary of Chang Kia-Ngau. The author, an economist, describes a diplomatic mission he undertook in 1945-46 for the Chiang Kai-shek regime negotiating over Manchuria with the Soviet Union, who had occupied it after driving out Japan. Surprisingly dry writing, but shot through with frustration and impending doom.  
     Health Care Reform and American Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know by Lawrence R. Jacobs and Theda Skocpol. Thorough legislative history of the 2010 health care law, with attention to problem definition, political strategy and legislative maneuvering. Clearly sympathetic to the goals of the law, but information is well-documented and overall approach is scholarly. The last chapter on implementation challenges is a useful guide for watching developments in the years to come.
    Death Comes to Pemberley: A Novel by P.D. James. Sequel to Pride and Prejudice penned by gifted mystery writer. Capt. Denny, a minor character in Austen's novel, is whacked in the woods on Darcy's estate. Sometimes contrived, sometimes very clever, sympathetic to the original, and an entertaining read.
    Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich. 14th-century mystic, using visions of Jesus as the basis for discussion of a wide variety of religious topics. She takes pains to say nothing in her revelations contradicts Church doctrine, but her work is distinctive for its use of female images of God, of Mary as role model for humanity, and constant references to God's joy and cheer.
    Being and Having by Gabriel Marcel. Marcel (1889-1973) was an existential philosopher and Christian apologist. This book contains a "metaphysical diary" for the years 1928-1933, which is not a diary so much as a record of ideas. These are not easy for the novice existentialist to grasp, but intriguing to watch develop, and he raises some intriguing questions. The rest of the book consists of essays and speeches defending Christianity against secular philosophy, which gets dull.
      Makiko's Diary: A Merchant Wife in 1910 Kyoto by Nakano Makiko. Interesting chronicle of everyday life in Japan by a 20-year-old newlywed. Good detail, good and informative editing, although her life was probably more difficult than comes across here.
    Revelations: Visions, Prophecy and Politics in the Book of Revelation by Elaine Pagels. Tells the story of the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible about as well as it can be told given very few of the circumstances surrounding its writing are known. Best guess is that it's an anti-Roman allegory, but it made it into the Bible because a 4th century bishop named Athanasius saw it as a useful rhetorical tool against diversity within the Christian church.
    The Last Holiday: A Memoir by Gil Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron wanted to be a novelist; this book describes how he became an extremely hip musician instead. Well-told stories with just enough ambiguity to make you wonder what he's actually talking about.
     Jesus for the Non-Religious by John Shelby Spong. Provocative and tough reading. Spong argues that Jesus was a human being, not God, who was interpreted using allegories available to Jewish people of his era. This isn't particularly original, but Spong goes on to argue that this viewpoint helps one to follow Jesus more than the literal approach of traditional Christianity. Unnecessarily contentious?
    Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941-1945. Interesting daily chronicle of World War II from the perspective of a high-ranking Japanese Naval officer. He's strong on detail and clearly perceived the progress of the war, but his rigid worldview prevented him from thinking about what the world would be like afterwards. It's weird to have my country consistently referred to as "the enemy" in the book.
    Stan Musial by George Vecsey. Interesting biography of a midwestern baseball icon focusing less on baseball and more on what it was like to be Stan Musial.   
    The Long Night: William L. Shirer and the Rise of the Third Reich by Steve Wick. Biography of Shirer, focusing on his years covering the early Nazi regime. (He left Germany in 1940.) Shirer had, as Wick says, only a narrow window onto what the Nazis were up to, but Wick uses Shirer's papers to show clearly what it was like to try to work or live normally under such a regime, even as a relatively protected American. Nice shouts out to helpful Coe staff and to the amazing diarist Victor Klemperer.

Books I read in 2011
Books I read in 2010
Books I read in 2009
Books I read in 2008
Books I read 2005-2007

    Be it ever so humble, there's no place like Home!

last updated 5/17/12