The Departments By Edward Ryder ISBN 978-1-935097-41-9 Fiction Two Harbors Press · May 2009 5.5 x 8.5 · Paperback · 300 pp · Our price     $ 17.95         Quantity   The Departments is a fascinating exploration of contemporary communication in America. Pushed to change, one university research department finds that they have lived comfortably on the sidelines for too long. Sleepy, disenfranchised and caught unaware, this group is flung into a competitive race to keep a position in their department. The stakes are high. Not only would legacy research be lost, but traditional viewpoints on plant genetics that ultimately help feed the world would effectively be changed … perhaps forever. As the department is torn between tradition and new ways, temperatures boil and emotions take over. Here is the secret world behind the plants that farmers grow, that you buy, and that ultimately sustain the world. Is traditional science ready to defend itself when asked, Why is your work important? On a small scale, in a small university, in a relatively small town the question is put to the test. Edward Ryder was born in New York City. After attending local schools, he enrolled at Cornell University, where he received a B.S. degree in botanical sciences. He was accepted in the graduate program at the University of California, Davis and earned a Ph.D. in genetics and plant breeding. After serving two years in the U.S. Army, he began a long career as a plant breeder with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Salinas, CA. During that period he produced over 100 publications related to his work, including two books, numerous book chapters, review articles, and research papers. He retired in 2003, and now enjoys reading and gardening as well as writing.

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