From an interesting personal perspective, James Schiavone sheds more than a little light on the bureaucratic elements inherent in the American teaching profession. His narrative paints a vivid picture of what it is really like to succeed and survive in academe. Far removed from what most people think of as a quiet life of deliberation and classroom lectures are the politicking, bureaucracy and colliding of incompatible personalities. As in most occupations, academic life is not immune to the corruption of human character. Schiavone takes the reader on an incredible odyssey from elementary school to secondary, adult and higher education, describing how he was turned down for tenure, promotions to associate professor, and even a sabbatical yet achieved all of this and more at the nation's third largest university, CUNY. God from Afar is his story his of unflinching dedication to the teaching profession a devotion that has kept him on its front lines for more than 40 years.
