“Rick Phalen has produced a book that features current popular writers' short and pointed essays on Events That Shaped the Nation. Together they produce a fascinating ‘bottom line’ analysis of American political history.”
—Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale, USN (Ret.)
Born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, Rick Phalen graduated from the University of Missouri with an AB in history. He began a business career in radio sales in Chicago, where he was in charge of the office for a radio representative firm. Before his retirement, he was the president and CEO of Western Cities Broadcasting, which owned eight radio stations, and owner of a Denver radio station for eleven years.
Events That Shaped the Nation presents the most significant moments of the last sixty years in American history. Through thirty-nine interviews with writers, historians, veterans, and eyewitnesses, Phalen offers reflections on such turning points as the flag-raising at Iwo Jima and the birth of McCarthyism.
His second book, How We Have Changed: America Since 1950, traces the journey of the nation and its struggle to deal with change. From the aftermath of television to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Phalen leaves no stone unturned in examining the American character's past, present, and future.
A member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and a former member of the Union League Club, Phalen currently resides in Montecito, California, with his wife.