A close look at the first forty years after the crucifixion of Jesus showing the chronology of the Book of Acts and the impact of Jewish, Roman, and Greek cultures on their Christian neighbors.
Jim Snyder is an author/historian based in Tequesta, FL. His latest book, published during the Viva 500 year celebrating Florida's discovery, is The Cross and the Mask. The historical novel chronicles the dramatic clash of cultures that took place when Spanish explorers encountered a Native American nation that had existed longer than Spain itself. His first two books were the historical novel All God's Children (1999) and a history, The Faith and the Power (2002). Both illuminate the murky forty years following the crucifixion of Jesus by taking into account Roman, Jewish, Greek and Christian writings of the first century. The Faith and the Power was runner-up for the Benjamin Franklin Award for the best book on religion in 2003. In 2002 Snyder authored Life and Death on the Loxahatchee: The Story of Trapper Nelson, a book that has captivated South Florida and won the silver (second) prize in the Florida Publisher's Association book-of-the-year awards. His fourth book, published in November 2003, is a pictorial history of Jupiter-Tequesta entitled Five Thousand Years on the Loxahatchee. In 2005 he wrote Black Gold and Silver Sands, A Pictorial History of Agriculture in Palm Beach County. Published by the Historical Society of Palm Beach County, the book tells of the courage of farm families over 150 years as they braved frosts, floods, hurricanes and the Great Depression to create one of the nation's most thriving agribusiness counties. In 2007 Snyder authored A Light in the Wilderness: The Story of Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and the Southeast Florida Frontier. It begins when no one at all lived in Jupiter and describes how a lone lighthouse became a magnet for settlers, a railroad link to Palm Beach, a U.S. Weather Bureau post and a flourishing steamboat trade. Before his second life as an author Snyder was chairman and CEO of Enterprise Communications Inc. (ECI), Washington-based publishers of national business magazines and sponsors of related conferences. ECI was acquired by The Thomson-Reuters Corporation in 1997. Snyder was raised in Evanston, IL and graduated from Northwestern University in 1958 with a bachelor's degree from its Medill School of Journalism. He later received a master's degree in political science from The George Washington University, Washington, DC. In 1964, after two years as a White House communications officer specializing in national security affairs, he formed an independent Washington news bureau to serve publishers of business and medical magazines. The firm, known then as Snyder Associates Inc., soon became the largest independent editorial organization in Washington, representing more than 40 national periodicals. He also wrote for Parade, Smithsonian and The Harvard Business Review. In 1985 the company was renamed Enterprise Communications and began publishing its own business magazines. In rapid succession, ECI launched Financial Product News, Employee Benefit News, Veterinary Product News, Environment Today and Corporate University Review. Conferences soon followed, and one of them, Benefits Management Forum& Expo, remains the nation's largest annual exposition for human resources and employee benefit managers. Today Snyder lives on Loxahatchee River in Tequesta and is active in several organizations to protect its unique character. He was board chairman of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum during its 150th year celebration. He now serves on the boards of Friends of Jonathan Dickinson State Park, has held a governor's appointment to the Florida Historical Commission and in 2012 was elected a commissioner of the Loxahatchee River Environmental Control District. |
