From Austria to Hawaii: Odyssey of a Classicist

In these memoirs the author presents not only the events in his very unusual life but also a kaleidoscopic view of twentieth-century history. Burns’s career as a classicist was interrupted first by Hitler’s invasion of Austria, then by years of struggle for survival in France and the United States, including experiences as a waiter, croupier, bartender, ski instructor, and crane operator, then by a stint in the United States Army Military Intelligence Service in Europe during World War II, and finally by years of employment as an Engineer for the Boeing Company. Ultimately he pursued his studies in Classics, became Professor of Classics at the University of Hawaii, and made the Greek and Roman works the guide to his life.