Gratitude for GSU Book Club, 2025-2026 - Innovative College Teaching

One of the best things I've done this academic year is co-lead a book club for Innovative College Teaching. GREAT opportunity to meet professors and staff -- people I never would've met without these sessions.

Real and Imagined Headlines in Historical Fiction Thriller: June 4, 1968 - The Last Fall (a time travel short story)

Does Woody Endicott change the past for the good? I removed a "spoiler alert" from a January 1969 headline below:

June 4, 1968 – Saigon shelled in heavy attack; vessels struck

June 5 – Kennedy assassination attempt thwarted by kitchen worker

July 4 – Hero Celia Newing recounts harrowing events

July 17 – Beatles' Yellow Submarine movie premieres in London

August 8 – Nixon accepts nomination at Republican National Convention in Miami Beach

August 29 – Kennedy accepts nomination at Democratic National Convention in Chicago

September 24 – 60 Minutes premieres

September 26 – Pravda publishes Brezhnev Doctrine, justifying Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia

October 10-11 – Castro delivers speeches on the 100th anniversary of Cuba's proclamation of independence from Spain

October 18 – U.S. Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos suspended

November 5 – RFK elected 37^th president; Nixon concedes to another Kennedy

November 20 – Tammy Wynette, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash win big at second CMA Awards

December 24 – Apollo 8 orbits moon as astronaut Anders snaps Earthrise photo

December 25 – Kennedy signals plan for phased troop withdrawal from Vietnam

January 12, 1969 – Underdog Jets defeat Colts in Super Bowl III

January 20 – RFK sworn into office; ten minutes later, -----------------------------------------------------------

 

Movie/TV References in THE LAST FALL

Movie/TV References in THE LAST FALL

 

Woody time-travels: My brain cells were a cocktail of dizzy and peculiar, with a spritz of paranoia. Not the dreamy image of Jodie Foster floating peacefully to a planet’s beach in Contact.

 

Woody flies from LA to DC: I went home and booked a Wednesday to Friday flight to Stallone National.

Rocky Airport? Really?

 

Ode to Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon: As I took my next breath, I saw a man with a gun across the street heading my way. I picked up a ten-pound kettlebell, bolted to the bathroom like a senior cit with too much fiber, and hid behind the door.

“I’m too old for this sh*t,” I muttered aloud, trying to stay in the moment.

 

Woody in legal trouble: Whoa, it’s like an episode of Suits, and Bricker is Harvey, I marveled with my mouth agape.

 

Emotional Layers of THE LAST FALL

  

Conversation between student and professor: “Mr. Endicott, you are a moral man. In the end, you’ll know the right thing to do.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I dreaded and hung up.

 

Woody: Who am I to change the world? Change the world back? WTF. 

When I got home, my front door was smashed open, the place torn up, and my laptop missing.

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/June-1968-travel.../dp/B0GPRBDP32/...

Any Stephen King or Star Trek fans out there? Book Dedication...

Book Dedication to June 4, 1968 - The Last Fall: 

Perpetuating a nightmare in homage to Stephen King’s book, 11/22/1963, and a 1967 Star Trek episode, “The City on the Edge of Forever.”

Click here to Purchase on Kindle 

Another Kind Amazon Review: June 4, 1968 - The Last Fall

When Changing History Changes Everything

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2026

June 4, 1968 – The Last Fall takes a bold premise and moves quickly with it. The idea of traveling back to prevent the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy Sr. carries immediate weight, especially given how pivotal that moment was in American history. The story wastes little time setting the stakes, which works well for the short format.

What stands out most is the emotional undertone. The attempt to “fix” history feels rooted in hope, but the return to a radically altered present reminds readers that consequences rarely unfold the way we expect. The shift between optimism and fallout gives the narrative momentum.

The structure across its three parts keeps the pacing tight while allowing space to explore the ripple effects. Rather than turning into a dense political rewrite, the story focuses on the human cost of intervention and the unsettling realization that history’s course is fragile.

For readers who enjoy time-travel fiction that blends moral tension with historical what-if scenarios, this short story delivers a thoughtful and unsettling experience without overstaying its welcome.

Very Kind Amazon Review from Australia

Captivating Time Travel

Reviewed in Australia on 28 February 2026

Verified Purchase

 

The Last Fall is a captivating and reflective time-travel narrative that resonates well beyond its conclusion. When Professor Woody Endicott employs a groundbreaking device created by Axelle Flick to travel back to 1968, his mission to change Robert F. Kennedy’s destiny leads to unsettling repercussions that raise a critical question: should history be altered? I was particularly moved by the emotional depth of Woody’s struggle and the subtle tragedy that accompanies his decisions. The story flows with clarity and purpose, ensuring a compelling yet thoughtful experience. A must-read for enthusiasts of time travel.

 

#2 AMAZON NEW RELEASE in Science Fiction & Fantasy Short Reads...

 ... and #3 AMAZON NEW RELEASE in Literature & Fiction Short Reads (Feb. 2026)

NEW: My Time Travel Short Story to Prevent the 1968 Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy Sr. (7,500 words)

 

Click here: 99 cents on AMAZON KINDLE

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College professor Woody Endicott and his student time travel to 1968 to prevent the assassination of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Sr. Upon their return to present day, the world as they knew it no longer exists.

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RFK: Attorney General / Senator / Presidential Candidate

"What is the price tag on equal justice under law?”—U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, 1964

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.”—U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, 1966

“My thanks to all of you, and now it's on to Chicago and let's win there."—Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s California primary victory speech, just after midnight, June 5, 1968

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Author’s Note

“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events.”—Robert F. Kennedy, 1966 

June 4, 1968: The Last Fall was originally intended as a time-travel journey to “fix” an actual or fictitious moment from the Vietnam War in 1968. As the plot evolved, I was instead drawn to “what if” scenarios centered around Robert F. Kennedy. If the Senator survived his assault, perhaps a messy military chapter in U.S. and world history would’ve ended sooner.

In trying times, both abroad and at home, RFK inspired many with his optimism. In 1961, he offered: “If our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.” I’d like to think this expression of hope resonated with people like Woody Guthrie, who wrote songs about those ignored or shut out of the American Dream. In 1944, he recorded “This Land is Your Land” with earnest words: “As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting. This land was made for you and me.”

            In the 1960s, five prominent leaders were assassinated—individuals who influenced public discourse in profoundly different ways:  NAACP Field Secretary Medgar Evers, June 1963; President John F. Kennedy, November 1963; Minister Malcolm X, February 1965; Reverend Martin Luther King, April 1968; and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, June 1968. 

          RFK was the last of these people to fall. His mission to do good and be better as a nation and world lives on as a beacon of faith for us all.

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Click here: 99 cents on AMAZON KINDLE

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Happy New Year: Two Year Anniversary of Innovative College Teaching Book

Wishing everyone an inspired new year. Here's one of the first of many kind book reviews from Readers' Favorite.

#3 Amazon Best Seller Today in Teacher & Student Mentoring Category

Humbled that people are still reading the book. (second anniversary of publication is January 3, 2026)

#1 in this category is Tuesdays with Morrie, one of my favorite books.