Senator, civic leader, historian

George Lovic Pierce Radcliffe (1877 – 1974) was a two-term United States Senator from Maryland, President of the Maryland Historical Society for twenty-five years, Maryland Chairman of the March of Dimes for thirty-four years, a friend to both Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, a noted historian, and lifelong civic leader.

Stories of Adventure…

From watching a first-grade classmate drop into the “fires of hell” to battling trolls, Brussels sprouts, and fifty miles of toilet paper, George Radcliffe remembers and reflects on a remarkable and lovingly spirited family growing up in the 1950s.

As the lone survivor of that family of six, he recounts their often-hilarious exploits in a series of stories that will make you laugh and cry but leave you with memories of a unique and close family.

Misadventures of
Rodney the Bear

The long-awaited adventures of Rodney the Bear, a collection of stories for children of all ages. Unbeknownst to most, there is a remarkable group of teddy bears living on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Visible only to children and adults retaining their childlike imagination, they inhabit Ursidae Lane, where Tallulah and Stanley manage a home for orphan bears, all rescued from the Island of Forgotten Bears. Rodney and his friends have a knack for mischief, while famous scientist/inventor Cool Breeze lives next door with another colorful group.

Escaping the Fact-Free Zone
An Educator’s Guide to Navigating the World of Misinformation

In the 1960s, we were transported weekly to Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Today, we’re immersed daily in The Fact-Free Zone, a world where facts are overlooked, distorted, or invented. There have always been skeptics, political disagreements, and misinformed individuals, but not only can many today not access facts, we now have “alternative facts.” Individuals rarely can get on the same page for a civil discussion.

Our educational system is failing many. Fortunately, the best of our youth excel. However, despite many advocating the need for critical thinking, misinformation prevails. Many mistrust science, the most reliable tool for discovering the truth. Additionally, many lack the mathematical reasoning necessary to sift through the many claims, advertisements, and alternative theories, further complicating our search for accuracy. Mathematical reasoning is often the best tool for pinpointing what is fact, but most never take it out of their toolbox. Many yearn for a return to the past, but what past? The past portrayed in history books didn’t exist, as much of it was whitewashed to create the history we wish we had. To live in a fact-based world, one must accurately understand where we have been, even if aspects of it are less than admirable. Countries, like people, learn by trial and error, but without an accurate history, we’re doomed to repeat our failures.

The book will show us the way out of the Fact-Free Zone by trying to answer several questions:

1. Why is cognitive bias so prevalent?

2. How do we recognize and combat misinformation?

3. Why is pseudoscience thriving in a world where people have access to science?

4. Why do so many cling to a distorted view of our history?

5. How do our mathematical shortcomings often blind us to reality?

6. Why do so many have an inaccurate view of our environment and the natural world?

Most importantly, the book offers implications for twenty-first-century education, focusing on critical thinking, mathematical reasoning, and scientific analysis —the tools needed to avoid the Fact-Free Zone.

Yes, Rodney is returning in another series of adventures with his lovable friends. Join Humfree, Dunkin, Harvey, Cool Breeze, and a cast of thousands (well, at least 12) as they get in one predicament after another. Lots of laughs for believers with a few positive messages interspersed. Rodney will ....

“STOP! Why is the book called The Return of Rodney? How can I return if I never went anywhere?”

“It’s just a title. We can’t change it now. Rodney. We’ve already paid for the cover.”

“OK, then I’ll go outside and come back in. We can’t lie to the readers. Stanley said she would wash my mouth out with soap if I told another lie.”

This new collection of adventures will transport you to the magical world of Ursidae Lane, where a group of rescued teddy bears live their lives. Fueled by Rodney’s imagination, his quest for cheeseburgers, and the colorful antics of the others, every day is full of surprises.

Meet Goober, the not-so-successful magician.
See if Humfree finally wins the Nobel Prize.
Learn if Dunkin really invented the donut.
Watch Rodney, despite his fear of heights, climb a tree, with disastrous results.
Meet the gargantuan Bear Mountain.
Watch as Rodney is fed to the lions in the Roman Coliseum.
Help Rodney and Hurlock Bones solve unsolvable crimes.
Accompany Rodney as he meets the Easter Cow.
Watch Rodney battle a 10-legged monster.
Meet Hairy Potter, the inspiration for J.K. Rowling’s stories.
Hold your breath as Rodney dares to spend a night in a haunted house.

These are not fictionalized stories; they actually happened. You have Rodney’s word for that. And, to top it all off, at the end of the book, Rodney makes an announcement with worldwide implications. Sorry, you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is.

Disclaimer: Reading this book will absolutely not improve your IQ, but it will make you laugh ... a lot.

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