In stark and compelling prose, Thomas W. Jones tells his story as a campus revolutionary who led an armed revolt at Cornell University in 1969 and then altered his course over the next fifty years to become a powerful leader in the financial industry including high-level positions at John Hancock, TIAA-CREF and Citigroup as Wall Street plunged into its darkest hour. From Willard Straight to Wall Street provides a front row seat to the author's triumphs and struggles as he was twice investigated by the SEC—and emerged unscathed. His searing perspective as an African American navigating a world dominated by whites reveals a father, a husband, a trusted colleague, a Cornellian, and a business leader who confronts life with an unwavering resolve that defies cliché and offers a unique perspective on the issues of race in America today. The book begins on the steps of Willard Straight Hall where Jones and his classmates staged an occupation for two days that demanded a black studies curriculum at Cornell. The Straight Takeover resulted in the resignation of Cornell President James Perkins with whom Jones reconciled years later. Jones witnessed the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11 from his office at ground zero and then observed first-hand the wave of scandals that swept the banking industry over the next decade. From Willard Straight to Wall Street reveals one of the most interesting American stories of the last fifty years.
John Meurig Thomas is a former Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, a former head of the Department of Physical Chemistry and former Master of Peterhouse, University of Cambridge. A world-renowned solid-state, materials and surface chemist, he has been an educator, researcher, academic administrator, author of university texts, government advisor, industrial consultant and trustee of national museums in a career spanning over 50 years. Recipient of many international awards, including the Linus Pauling, Willard–Gibbs, Kapitza, Natta, Stokes, Davy and Faraday medals, he is also a fellow of the Royal Society (1977), of the American Philosophical Society (1993) and of ten other national academies. He is best known for his fundamental work in heterogeneous catalysis, chemical electron microscopy and in the popularisation of science, for which, in conjunction with his services to chemistry, he was knighted (1991). He is also founding editor of three scientific journals and editor or co-editor of some 30 monographs. A new mineral, meurigite, was named in his honour (1995). Most recently in 2016, Sir John was awarded the Royal Medal for Physical Sciences by the Royal Society. Drawn from over 1200 publications, this volume contains a summarised account of Sir John's work, with a selection of the new techniques pioneered and discovered by him and his colleagues. Also included are popular science articles, and various illustrations of techniques which have enhanced our knowledge of many facets of condensed matter science. Contributions from 80 peers, colleagues, former co-workers, students and friends worldwide who have interacted with or been influenced by him are a tribute to the professional and personal life of Sir John, making this book a unique reflective summary of the work of one of the greatest achievers in modern British physical science.
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