A book trailer for “The Mariners Harbor Messiah” by Todd Daley is now available
A book trailer for Todd Daley’s “The Mariners Harbor Messiah” has been released. This masterpiece was reviewed and commended by Kirkus Reviews, which highlighted that “throughout the novel, Daley includes brief sketches of notable figures and events in the ’70s, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Bee Gees, and the Camp David Accords. Although the sketches break the momentum of the narrative, they provide valuable historical context. A compassionate portrait of a turbulent time in American history bolstered by intriguing protagonists and a fast-paced narrative.”
Author Todd Daley grew up on Staten Island, earning a BS and an MA from CCNY, an MAT from Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. from New York University. He taught science, physics, and mathematics for many years at the high school and college levels.
As a teacher, he tried to make abstract principles concrete by connecting them to everyday life. Ideally, the student should come away with essential information and the ability to solve problems, think rationally, and act ethically.
The author has written the following nonfiction books aside from this book: Apples and Oranges, Mathematical Concepts, and A Brief Guide to Philosophy. His novels include the 1950s–1960s Fable, the 1960s–1970s Fable, Blue Collar Folks, The Pulaski Prowler, and Love in the Days of COVID-20.
“The Mariners Harbor Messiah” was the tag given to the protagonist, a gifted young man, as a consequence of his good deeds and heroics by the local media.
This book is about a charismatic young man with extraordinary powers of healing, compassion, forbearance, and clairvoyance named Amon. Living in an abandoned tugboat on Staten Island’s Mariners Harbor waterfront, this modern-day prophet performs everyday miracles while doing good work for the homeless and the downtrodden. Amon is befriended by a high school science teacher, Tom Haley, whose rational perspective differs from Amon’s spiritual reference frame.
The story takes place during the turbulent 1970s when the country was torn apart by the Vietnam War, social change and unrest, and the sexual revolution. The contrasting lifestyles of the two friends are examined, along with the drinking culture of Staten Island’s North Shore, in which the corner bar is the focus of the neighborhood’s social life. The fast-paced story is interspersed with thumb-nail sketches of 1970s celebrities and events: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Gloria Steinem, Ralph Nader, Albert Shanker, Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, the Fair Housing and Roe v. Wade court decisions, and Alcoholics Anonymous.
The concepts of economic disparity, ethnic conflict, spiritual-secular balance, changing sexual mores in an evolving society, and idealism in the work-a-day world of 1970s America provide a backdrop to the unfolding plot. Notwithstanding their differences, the friendship between the two protagonists, Tom and Amon, is an ongoing motif in the story.
Watch the video trailer below: