Back Azimuths
It’s All About … Ships
Francis B. Burns
Deeds Publishing, Athens, Georgia, 2022, 258 pages
Book Review published on: September 5, 2024
It is wonderful when a book shares someone’s life’s journey. This type of sharing can vary widely in scale, scope, and depth. One of the most rudimentary forms of sharing is the retelling of ordinary events. A talented storyteller can take these rather ordinary events, draw you in, and have you on the edge of your seat! The next level up is when the storyteller expands outside himself and integrates familial characters if not overall family history into the story. A “level up” beyond this is to infuse the story with a plethora of background characters. The author then relays the impact of the various characters to the protagonist and other people as well. The final ascendency is the integration and synchronization of the previously mentioned elements with noted authors, philosophy, and theology. Author Francis B. Burns accomplishes this last and highest level in the book Back Azimuths: It’s All About … Ships.
Burns creates a unique rubric to share his story by equating various attributes such as “ownership, partnership, friendship” etc. to maritime ships. He justifies this “shipping” by analyzing the etymology of the word “ship” to the Old English word “scipe,” meaning to take shape. He thus infers that the above-mentioned attributes (ships) shape your life and your legacy. He combines this with the classic Army concept of “back azimuth” (hence the title), as for one to find his direction and/or way. Thus, the readers are exposed to the concepts of shaping one’s life while simultaneously finding their way. He complements his rubric with an additional framework of the categories of “insight,” “inspire,” and “ignite.” He uses the three terms at the beginning of each chapter. The “insight” at the beginning of each chapter contains a verse from the Bible that pertains to that specific chapter-attribute-ship. The “inspire” section is a short comment to initiate the reflection process in the reader’s mind. The “ignite” portion is designed to link an emotive response to a particular chapter-attribute-ship.
Each chapter addresses one of the twenty-one attributes-ships listed in the table of contents. The typical chapter starts with the attributes-ship; for instance, “partnership.” This is followed by the framework categories of the previously explained “insight,” “inspire,” and “ignite.” The author then expounds on that attribute-ship by either outright explaining it or by taking a more subtle approach; for example, by using eulogies, speeches, or hail and farewell notes throughout the chapter. At the end of each chapter, he lists some personal reflections and then challenges the reader with a “contemplate” section filled with questions the reader must answer via the fill spaces provided.
Burns pulls from a vast repository of both contemporary and classical literature. To say that the author is well read could be construed as an understatement. He pulls material from more contemporary sources such as David Brooks’s The Road to Character, Roger Nye’s Challenge of Command: Reading for Military Excellence, and Michael Durant’s In the Company of Heroes: The Personal Story Behind Black Hawk Down. The author’s self-described parochial Roman Catholic education can possibly be responsible for the utilization of such classical Roman authors such as Marcus Aurelius and the poet Catullus; and from Victorian authors such as Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Rudyard Kipling. Quotes from these contemporary authors and classical masters are skillfully interwoven into the fabric of the overall story at appropriate points in the prose.
One chapter-attribute-ship of note is about mentorship. Burns again quotes from classical literature, this time from Homer’s Odyssey, and mentions Odysseus’s son Telemachus having various strong mentors. This resulted in allowing Telemachus, along with his father, to vanquish the nefarious rivals who had come to steal their legacy and inheritance. The author also includes an inspirational letter to the soccer players of one of the schools he was coaching. He then provides a plethora of mentors he had on his journey of life. The author places his mentors into different categories; for example, higher level mentors, general mentors, and peer mentors, and this approach is uniquely useful. His list is impressive, and one can’t help but feel benevolent toward him, if not simultaneously envious, for his good fortune. The chapter executes the dual function of describing and honoring these mentors in a positive and lighthearted fashion.
I’ve listened to many acquaintances share their life experiences. In many instances, I end up losing interest because some people either intentionally or unintentionally turn it into a form of self-aggrandizement. Burns does not do this. His sincerity and Christianity overshadow any tendency toward self-promotion. His work is a treasure trove of positive life lessons and experiences
Book Review written by: Andrew Keller Murray, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas