First published 2002
Walter Berry watches his business ventures crumble during the Great Depression. The promised Anglo Saxon silver vein proves to be nothing more than fool's gold after years of searching. At an age when most men accept defeat, Berry refuses to surrender. He turns his attention to steel manufacturing and creates a new technology that changes everything: the oxygen lance. This breakthrough transforms Berry from a failed prospector into an industrial pioneer. Success brings wealth, but Berry and his wife Idun have bigger plans. They channel their fortune toward helping children through medicine and research. Together they create the Walter V. and Idun Y. Berry Fellowship Program in Children's Health at Stanford University. Berry lives to see 98 years, carrying his optimism and humor through every setback and triumph. His journey from Depression-era failure to philanthropic success shows how persistence can turn dreams into reality.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, business, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: overcoming-adversity, persistence, rags-to-riches
Setting: Stanford University
Period: Great Depression
176 pages · Hardcover · Westwinds Pr