Having endured a childhood marked by poverty, hunger, and rejection, Robert Kimball dropped out of school after the ninth grade, primed to head down the same impoverished path taken during his childhood. Instead he became a career Army officer, earned a doctorate in educational leadership, and served as a school administrator and university lecturer. The story of his 27-year military career, which culminated in his command of a nuclear missile base in Europe, is a behind-the-scenes look at the inside workings of the Army during the upheaval of the 60s and 70s, the dangers and absurdities of day-to-day life in the jungles of Vietnam, and Army policy during the race riots in Watts and on Army bases. When he blew the whistle on the “Texas Miracle,” exposing the fraud and falsified data on which it was based, his personal courage and willingness to fight shed light on a nationwide cover-up and exposed him to retaliation by an angry school administration seemingly more concerned with appearance than education. Details of the scandal, its effects on the innocent, and his lawsuit against the school district for retaliation are described in intimate detail. In his fight against oppression and discrimination, he took on a for-profit, educational services corporation that he described as a drop-out factory, and became a champion in its demise. He concludes his memoir by describing his work as a pro bono educational consultant and his efforts to be an agent of change, to make a difference.

Robert Kimball is one of 12 children raised in New Hampshire in unimaginable poverty. He quit school after the ninth grade and left home at 16. He joined the Army at 17, completed a 27-year military career during which he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and earned several college degrees including a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Houston. As the whistleblower who revealed the fraud and falsehoods behind the “Texas Miracle,” he has been featured on CBS 60 Minutes II and NOW on PBS and is the subject of articles in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and several prestigious education publications. He has been a witness to historic events since 1950 and has served tirelessly as an advocate for the civil rights of minorities and the poor for 50 years. He wrote this memoir to answer the questions of the many people who have asked about his life, about growing up poor, overcoming adversity, combating racism in the military and the schools, and the responsibilities of an educator. His hope is that it will serve as an inspiration to others seeking to overcome obstacles and make a difference.