Mayling Elizabeth Simpson

Lives Guided by Honor

 

HOW VMI SHAPED THE CLASS OF 1968

 

 

 "Completely undresses Virginia Military Institute to the shirt stays and high black socks"

 Destiny Jennifer Ringgold, author

  

 

"Simpson has drawn back the veil to reveal this legendary and mysterious Southern institution"

"A significant contribution to American History"

 James Gallagher, geologist

    

 

"Compelling narrative"

Dagny Mckinley, author

 

 

"Captures the body and spirit of VMI"

Ken Perkins, Longwood University

 

 

"Brings objective insight into this very challenging, complex, and sometimes difficult to understand place"

Keith Gibson, VMI

 

 

Description

 

Since 1839, the Virginia Military Institute has sought to produce graduates of honor and integrity, citizen-soldiers, and leaders. Graduates have had extraordinary success in landing jobs throughout the decades, becoming military officers, or gaining acceptance to graduate schools.

     After wondering for decades why her husband chose to attend a military college, Mayling Simpson began a quest for answers. Lives Guided by Honor reveals the secret formula of VMI's success by focusing on VMI's Class of 1968. Simpson examines the history of VMI through an anthropologist's lens, along with the architecture and art of the post (campus) and the Institute's changes through time, to explain how VMI uniquely influences and forms its students. Lives Guided by Honor is for historians, history buffs, alumni of military colleges, educators, and prospective students.

 

 

 

 

          ABOUT THE AUTHOR -- Dr. Mayling Simpson is a cultural anthropologist, who has conducted original research in Ireland, Iran, the Philippines, and Serbia, was an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, served as a senior technical officer to the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland and as a regional senior health advisor to the Catholic Relief Services in East Africa. She earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C., and her B.A. in biology from Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. She is the co-author of A Paper Life: Belgrade's Roma in the Underworld of Waste Scavenging and Recycling and an award-winning author of the fictional short story "Mrs. Nickel Pickle." She lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado with her husband, two adult children, and three grandchildren.

 

 

 

Praise for

Lives Guided by Honor

 

          Lives Guided by Honor completely undresses Virginia Military Institute to the shirt stays and high black socks. Mayling Simpson gives an honest examination of VMI that all readers–whether a potential cadet, an alumnus or parent—can benefit from this white glove inspection. As part of the second class of women to attend VMI, I had my own love affair with the institute, one that leaves bruises and scratch marks. Questioning one's sanity in choosing this type of college is a normal part of being a rat in the rat line! Now more than ever, we need warriors, individuals with integrity, discipline, honesty, and perseverance to stand up for our country. With an education system that is weakening our teens with propaganda and dumbing down our society, the need for institutions like VMI has only grown. Warriors have to be made, and VMI is making them one sweat party at a time. Lives Guided by Honor: How VMI Shaped the Class of 1968 reveals the secret ingredients to why strong traditions at VMI have remained for almost two hundred years, and the influence society has had on the school to change with the times. I highly recommend."
           --Destiny Jennifer Ringgold, author of Choosing the Harder Right: West Point's 1976 Cheating Scandal.

 

 

          Simpson has drawn back the veil to reveal this legendary and mysterious Southern institution. The writing style, subject presentation, and well-crafted structure kept me engaged with the subject, which, otherwise, could have been a very dry reading experience. She recognized that VMI was a very different educational experience than for most college students. For this reason, the only way for an outsider to understand and appreciate the stories of the Class of 1968 was to provide context. This required her to present a history of VMI and the evolution of its institutional culture. VMI alumni, historians, and American history buffs would be interested in this book. For a potential VMI applicant, I would say that this book would be an excellent source for understanding the culture of VMI. Indeed, a 17-year-old who would take the time to read this excellent portrait might have what it takes to be a successful cadet. Overall, the book is a significant contribution to American history.
          --James Gallagher, MSc. Geologist.

 

 

          As a proud member of VMI Class of 1983, I really enjoyed this march down memory lane of what it means to be an honorable VMI graduate. Highly recommended!
          --Lynn Seldon, VMI Class of 1983, author of Virginia's Ring, Carolina's Ring, and many other books.

 

          A well written and thorough representation of VMI and our class. I learned so much about the history of VMI that I never knew. I cherish my time and the leadership, discipline, and especially the honor that VMI instilled in me. I depended on it as a 24-year Air Force fighter pilot and leader. I referred to VMI and my experiences in my own books (historical fiction) - Dark Rain, Tremble, Phantoms of the Shah, and Convoy Cover.
          --Dana Duthie, Colonel, USAF (Ret), VMI Class of 1968.

 

 

          Lives Guided by Honor is a beautiful gift to the VMI family— current and future: an expansive view of this venerable institution through a lens that ultimately focuses on the lives of the Class of 1968.I was captivated by how the book describes the grounds, monuments, and art at VMI and its powerful cultural values in rich historical context— culminating with their lasting impact on the Class of 1968. This book shows that discipline and honor, and the Rat Line are just as relevant today in shaping lives as they were throughout nearly two-hundred years of VMI's history. I have not read a better analysis of the impact of organizational values on people. The accounts of monumental historical events and how they were experienced by students and faculty of VMI really light up the pages of this book.

 

          No question in my mind, if I were looking for a college, Lives Guided by Honor would make me want to be a part of the special place that is VMI. This is a book that captures the body and spirit of VMI. I can imagine it will accompany VMI admissions officers everywhere. Dr. Simpson is the 2017 recipient of Longwood University's prestigious Humanitarian Alumni Award.
          --Kenneth B. Perkins, Provost Emeritus and Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Longwood University and author of The Future of Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services and Leading Career and Volunteer Firefighters.

 

          Mayling Simpson's professional training as a cultural anthropologist and her personal experience with VMI bring objective insight into this very challenging, complex, and sometimes difficult to understand place. A commitment to personal Honor is the cornerstone of character development during a cadetship. Such commitment does not come easy and often brings serious reflection on how we choose to live our lives. The experiences of members of the VMI Class of 1968 are a testament to that commitment and the profound difference it makes. I particularly benefited from the insight I received from reading the personal stories of members of the class, several of whom I have known and admired for years.
          --Keith E. Gibson, Colonel, VMI Class of 1977, Director VMI Museum System, author of Virginia Military Institute

 

   
          Mayling Simpson's Lives Guided By Honor  is a thoughtful, balanced, and well-researched work on the history of not only VMI but Virginia and the United States as a whole. A consequential work that addresses controversial issues during turbulent times in American history.
          --Dave Rowland, author of Green Light, Go! The Story of an Army Start-up.

          A deeply personal account of the enduring impact of the Virginia Military Institute on members of the Class of 1968. Mayling Elizabeth Simpson has something important to say about the VMI community.
          --Bradley Lynn Coleman, Ph.D., VMI Class of 1995, Founder and Senior Historian, The Center for Applied History LLC.

 

 

          In Lives Guided by Honor: How VMI Shaped the Class of 1968, Mayling Elizabeth Simpson navigates the complex terrain of VMI's past as readers witness the profound impact of the institution's strict honor code and unwavering ethics on the graduating class of 1968. Simpson skillfully weaves together personal narratives, institutional evolution, and societal shifts, creating a compelling narrative that goes beyond the walls of VMI. Lives Guided by Honor is a thought-provoking exploration of how an institution, rooted in traditions, can evolve, inspiring its graduates to lead lives of honor and integrity and contribute meaningfully to a diverse and inclusive society. I loved reading this book!
          --Dagny McKinley, author of Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp: A History of Art in Nature, The Springs of Steamboat: Healing Waters, Mysterious Caves and Sparkling Soda, and The Adventures of a Girl & Her Dog.

 

          Mayling Simpson has captured the salient points about VMI … its adversarial rat line and single-sanction honor code create the most egalitarian collegiate educational system in the United States. Through good, bad, and ugly, the lessons learned at VMI have enabled its graduates to succeed in life. While we do not always agree with each other (or the author), we, the graduates of the Class of '68, are intimately bound together as the closest of friends, Brother Rats.
          --Dean Kershaw, Colonel, US Army Retired, VMI Class of 1968

 

 

 

 

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Published by KoehlerBooks of Virginia Beach, Virginia.