John Egbert

Posted on 8/25/09

A suspenseful, plot-driven novel for ASL Students!

A Deafening Roar

Straight from the headlines of tomorrow: Terrorists unleash
meningitis bacteria; over three million Americans become
deaf in a matter of weeks. A fairy tale? Or a certain
reality? According to the Center for Nonproliferation
Studies, 29 countries have either declared their programs
or have exhibited clear evidence of chemical or biological
weapons possession. The possibility looms frighteningly
large. In his new book MindField, author John F. Egbert
throws a curveball with his fictional hypothesis: How would
America function with millions of her inhabitants struck
deaf? A thrill ride from start to finish, MindField begins
with a terrorist cell igniting an aerosol dispersion of
meningitis bacteria in a small Montana town. The United
States is turned inside-out, now a country where millions
can’t hear. An underground government is formed deep
beneath the NORAD facilities in Colorado, managing what
appears to be a catastrophe of unimaginable Proportions –
or is it? A suspenseful, plot-driven novel, MindField’s
deeper message becomes clear: How would we live if we all
had to listen with our eyes and our hearts – would the
world be a better place for it?

Excerpts from student’s book reflections of MindField at
University of Minnesota Each quotation below is from
different students

· “MindField has absolutely helped me to better understand
the deaf culture and really made me happy for choosing to
take ASL course.”

· “This book was written in a style that made it easy and
enjoyable to read, I would recommend this book to anyone
that wants to know more about the deaf culture or get an
idea of what it would be like to become deaf.”

· “You don’t have to hear anything when someone you like or
love smiles at you. That one simple visual says volumes and
warms up your soul like words are hard to pressed to
duplicate.” (page 244) that is my favorite line in the
book. I now understand that ASL is a language that is
completely full of emotions. One simple facial expression
can speak a thousand words.”

· “Although MindField was difficult to begin, once I got
started, it flew by. The writing style was notably more
expressive than most other works of fiction, especially
with regards to vocal tone.”

· “This book has definitely helped me understand the deaf
community and American Sign Language better.”

· “Overall the book MindField is a creative way to
introduce speaking students to the deaf culture and
community. I enjoyed reading this book and took away a lot
of facts and thoughts that I think will help me appreciate
ASL and the culture a lot more than I used to.”

· “I think the book was filled with great metaphors for
what is really going on in the world and how a lot of
things go over looked and unseen if you allow them to. It
is clever and insightful with a fictional story line that
keeps your interests.”

· “The book was inspiring to me. I think overall this book
has many underlying messages about the society, government,
the deaf and what it really means to be human with whatever
senses we have. It was a very well written and empowering
book.”

· “MindField is a novel that gives a reader useful
information while keeping them entranced in a beautifully
put together piece of fiction. There is so much that I have
learned from this test that I have never really thought of
before. I have been very humbled by my ignorance of the
complexities of deaf culture”

· “MindField was a wonderful piece of very plausible
fiction with a very powerful message. This book shows the
deaf community in a light that I had previously never seen.
I felt that the book was very well written and organized,
the large number of chapters made it easy to keep up with
the multitude of characters and events happening all around
the world.”

· “Overall I am very grateful to have read this book,
MindField, because I feel it gave me the best possible
chance to be able to relate to the deaf culture. I feel
like I understand it a little better now and understand a
bit more how they perceive the world. I also really liked
the plot. It had a hidden message that you didn’t even
realize you picked up on until the very end of the book.”

· “The novel MindField, provided me with such an important
message about communication. This story provided me with a
better understanding of the needs and desires of deaf
people and caused me to have such a strong desire to learn
sign language.”

· “I was most impressed with how much I enjoyed this book.
Honestly, when reading the information about the book, I
didn’t think that I would be interested. However, after the
first chapter I was hooked. I literally would not put the
book down for hours on end. The book was very well
researched as well as written.”

· “What impressed me most about the book is that not only
was a captivating read with a great plot and believable
characters, behind it was the stories and experiences of
what people face every day of their lives. Making this
realization gave the book much more depth and substance.” ·
“I believe that this book has helped me to better
understand the deaf culture as well as ASL. I had never
really learned about either before taking this class and I
think this book was a perfect supplemental reading.”

You can order MindField for classes, contact Harris
Communication for volume discounts.

http://www.harriscomm.com/index.php/b1030.html

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