Wilder, Bob 1927-
(Robert E. Wilder, III)

PERSONAL:

Born December 21, 1927, in Tulsa, OK; son of R. E., Jr. (a geophysicist) and Cornelia (a homemaker) Wilder; married Betty Hardin, December, 1953 (divorced, October 1973); married Evelyn Goodnow (an executive secretary), October 4, 1974; children: Robert E. IV, Connie Jane Leslie. Ethnicity: "German-English." Education: Attended University of Oklahoma, 1945-49. Politics: Conservative Republican. Religion: Baptist.

ADDRESSES:

Home—2422 Venetian Dr., No. 148W, Stockton, CA 95207.

CAREER:

Writer. Lubbock Avalanche, Lubbock, TX, sports writer, 1950, 1952-55; Dallas Times-Herald, Dallas, TX, assistant city editor and makeup editor, 1955-63; Vicksburg Post, Vicksburg, MS, city editor, 1963-65; Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX, night sports editor, 1965-66; Salt Lake City Tribune, Salt Lake City, UT, copy editor, 1966-67; Stockton Record, Stockton, CA, sports editor, 1967-68; Santa Barbara News-Press, Santa Barbara, CA, news editor, 1978-92; retired, 1992. Santa Barbara County Grand Jury, member, 1993. Military service: U.S. Navy, 1950-52.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Dallas Press Club award, 1959; state award, 1992, for work at Santa Barbara News- Press.

WRITINGS:

UNDER NAME BOB WILDER

The Big Band Era: A New Look, Elderberry Press (Oakland, OR), 2003.

Bush-Giuliani 2004 and Other Liberal Nightmares, Elderberry Press (Oakland, OR), 2003.

Secrets of the Swingin' Big Band Era, Elderberry Press (Oakland, OR), 2003.

Long Shots and Exactas: How to Win at the Races, Elderberry Press (Oakland, OR), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Robert E. Wilder, III, told CA: "I decided, some eleven years after retirement, to try my hand at writing about things I know a little about. I write about things that really interest me. I wrote and edited local, state, and national political stories in many of my forty-plus years in the newspaper game, particularly in Vicksburg. I was around horse-race tracks off and on since my teenage years and was the author of many horse-racing articles in my jobs as sports writer and editor. At this point, writing is strictly a hobby. It was fun to write (and publish) books on the big band era, national politics, and horse racing. I don't worry too much about profits. If readers find the books interesting, the profit element will take car of itself.

"Now I have several books in the almost-completed stage and feel (and hope) that one of my latest—News Rooms Revisited—has a good chance to do well. Regardless, it's been fun, and I hope, as I near my seventy-eighth birthday, that I have many more years to do what I enjoy doing—writing.

"I am an avid reader, with a penchant for fiction written by such authors as Robert Parker, Stuart Woods, Michael Connolly, John Sandford, Ridley Pearson, and James Patterson. Before my career as a newsman I read, in 1949, Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead, which had been written in 1943. That book, and a later one by Ms. Rand, Atlas Shrugged, presented a moral and economic philosophy called objectivism, based on individualism and self-interest. The two novels express the beliefs that original ideas are the main force in the world and that creative individuals deserve to profit from their own ideas. Anyway, The Fountainhead is my favorite book. It opened up a world of new ideas for me. The book convinced me to rethink many of my views. Despite some disagreement with some elements of her philosophy (she was an atheist), the book was quite inspiring.

"As for my writing process, it's sort of hit and miss. Once I get started, it's difficult to stop. Most of my books were written in a relatively short period of time. As for what I hope to achieve through the books, I write mostly for the enjoyment of presenting my ideas and experiences."