Bill Bonville has written a host
of books, most of them technical, produced during his
years in the aerospace industry. His publications for
the "trade" include works of fiction, philosophical
analysis and, since retirement to his farm in Oregon,
a series of travel books which he chooses to think of
as "history on the hoof." They spring from
his fascination with things historical and his experience
as a traveler with an eye for history.
Bill began his writing career
in the U. S. Navy at the end of World War II after his
bombing squadron was decommissioned. Serving as a correspondent
with Naval Air Transport Service Squadron VR-4, his
first by-line was on a feature story in the NATS Packet
magazine in 1946. Fifty years later, one of his more
recent bylines came on an article in Conservative Consensus,
sharing the masthead list of contributors with Pat Buchanan
and others.
During the intervening half century
he received a BA in journalism from Bethany College,
Bethany, WV, an MA in philosophy from Columbia University
in New York City, was a reporter or the Worcester
(MA) Telegram, and later worked as a "stringer"
for the Denver Post while attending Colorado University
engaged in further graduate study. In 1954, Bill left
the university to become editor of the former Gallup,
NM, Times. A year later, he went to Los Angeles,
California to become a technical editor for an aerospace
company. In 1956, Bill moved to Aerojet General Corporation,
Azusa, CA, where he worked for twenty-five years, advancing
to Manager of Technical Documentation and Training.
During his years with Aerojet
he authored many technical books, research reports,
and training manuals. In his spare time he wrote a novel,
Something of a Woman, and a philosophical study,
Footnotes to a Fairytale: A Study of the Nature
of Expression in the Arts. The latter work, still
in print, was the combined fruit of his major academic
studies with his research supporting advanced learning
systems development while at Aerojet.
Past interest in cultural history
led Bill to undertake an in-depth visit to Southern
Italy, but he found there were no guides that delved
more than superficially into the region. In frustration,
he decided to research the area of Italy south of Rome,
and prepared extensive personal notes to guide such
a trip. Enthused by his experience in do-it-yourself
travel, he translated his notes into a travel guide
that was published in 1988 by Mills and Sanderson as
Sicilian Walks. This led to further researches, now
published as a travel adventure e-book series by SynergEbooks.
Bill is married, with grown children,
and active in community affairs, serving nine years
on the county Board of Education.
fiction
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