The True Confessions of James Stoneking

In The True Confessions of James Stoneking, history educator James Stoneking draws from his life and interests to create an eclectic collection of poems, essays, and stories of his youth. With tales ranging in subject matter from his love of all things Star Wars to vulnerable vignettes about family and odd jobs, these pieces work together to offer the reader a window into the life and thoughts of a benevolent sophist. Featuring illustrations by Lilah Dana.

James Stoneking is an educator at the Appomattox Regional Governor's School in Petersburg, Virginia, as well as a life-long student of history. In his youth, he helped his grandparents in their antique business and worked part-time in a funeral home before going to college, majoring in education. A year before his planned graduation, he paused his studies to work for a paleontologist but finally returned to finish his degree after turning down a private contractor opportunity in Afghanistan in the late 1990's. He has been an avid collector of antiquities and oddities for most of his life, and he enjoys inflicting his archaic knowledge on others in and outside of the classroom.