On the upper shelf of the large mahogany bookcase in my library, you can find the diary of Moses Jenkins. It is standing quietly between two old friends, an 1878 edition of The Mysterious Island and the more senior 1855 edition of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Moses’ journal was no longer in the ill health and poor shape in which I found it some 18 months ago. Realizing its importance and having restored it to its present condition, I am proud to say that it is the gem of my collection. It was also a book that dramatically changed my life … forever.
I feel that it is important to recount how it was that I acquired this diary written more than a century ago.