Mark My Words: A Review

Memoirs, especially those written late in life, are ripe for falling into a tunnel vision of nostalgia. This nostalgia, often by romanticizing the past, can cause a book to be an enjoyable read but have little lasting merit. Most contemporary memoirs often rely on the name of the author and this romanticization of the past to achieve brief notoriety and then fade into obscurity, ending up in used book stores $1 bin. What differentiates a memoir from the rest of the pack is an author’s sincerity in their writing and the connection to the reader, and the latter of the two makes a universal memoir hard to come upon; however, while it might not achieve a universal impact, a memoir that can relate to a specific group of people can achieve a focused yet successful amount of impact. In his new book Mark My Words: Reflections, Reminiscences and Recollections from a Life Well Lived, Dartmouth Class of 1953 Mark H. Smoller is able to walk the fine line of an impactful memoir for a targeted Dartmouth audience.

Rather than opting for an overriding narrative that links his life together, Smoller elects for a short burst of individual windows into his life. The book consists of twenty or so four to five-page stories from his life, allowing the hopping from story to story to weave together an enjoyable reading experience. Chronicling his childhood on the streets of Brooklyn through his time at Dartmouth and in the Air Force and then all the way into operating his own dental practice, Smoller delivers a concise yet intriguing peek into a life that runs the gambit through the mid and late-twentieth century. Rarely will one find a book that equally discusses the wonder of a child attending a Dodgers game at Ebbets Field in 1940 and the impact of the coronavirus on an old man finding a suitable barber in 2020.

Smoller is at his best when he discusses events and experiences that are particularly personal to him. Most of his brief stories favor on the didactic side which can lend themselves to favor a universal, all-encompassing message, and his best stories are the ones that start as particular to him and then branch out from there. The joy of following the Dodgers in Brooklyn during the 1930s and 1940s is not a universal tale, but Smoller relates the joy he felt as a young boy with this ill-fated team with such intrigue and charisma that any sports fan or a passionate fan of anything can understand and find value in his experience.

Rarely will one find a book that equally discusses the wonder of a child attending a Dodgers game at Ebbets Field in 1940 and the impact of the coronavirus on an old man finding a suitable barber in 2020.

The book’s strongest sections are towards the beginning with Smoller’s tales from the 1930s Brooklyn Streets providing a solid foundation for the rest of the book. The book is propelled forward through stories of messing around in his father’s dental office as a child and of ordering a tuna fish sandwich and milk on his first date. Smoller’s personal and jovial tone continues through his accounts of Dartmouth and the Air Force in the 1950s.

For a Dartmouth audience, the most interesting element of the book is Smoller’s connection with the college. While explicit stories about Dartmouth only constitute about three to four of the stories in the book, the college has a great place in Smoller’s life. The college that Smoller met in the early 1950s had no doubt changed to become what it is today, and even in his brief stories, these changes can be seen. In a telling tale called “A Voice for Equality and Civility at Dartmouth,” Smoller recollects the serious events that led his fraternity of Theta Chi to become Alpha Theta. Theta Chi’s national standards were at odds with new anti-segregation and inclusion initiatives put in place by the Dartmouth Undergraduate Council, and as a member of both Theta Chi and the Undergraduate Council, Smoller was placed into the crosshairs of this controversy. Through his own words, one can tell how bittersweet the events were for him, with him sharing dual loyalties to both his own fraternity but also a belief in the mission which the Undergraduate Council sought. In the end, Theta Chi was forced to abandon their national, switching their name to Alpha Theta which they carry to this day. The changing of his fraternity is only a small step into the many changes Dartmouth has faced over

The other notable story pertaining to Dartmouth in the book is Smoller’s role in securing the funding for Moore Theater and Moore Hall. Smoller tells of how in the 1990s he helped ensure that the funding for these important Dartmouth buildings found their way to the college, and while the story of divided and fought-over inheritances is also interesting in its own right, the ongoing role in which Smoller helped his beloved college simultaneously shows his love of his alma mater and shows current students how we can keep giving back and assisting the college in ways that are not always immediately apparent. In all, Smoller’s Dartmouth stories are a reflection of a much different college than what we see now, but the love and loyalty he shows for the College on the Hill are admirable and glowing evidence of what a Dartmouth man or woman should be.

Overall, the book is an enjoyable read, especially for someone connected with Dartmouth and interested in a perspective from a different era. As mentioned earlier, Smoller is at his best at the beginning of the book, discussing the particular stories from his childhood and young adult years. The stories start to wane as the book goes on with stories discussing mall walking and finding a new barber. These later stories are still enjoyable but lack the same flavor and passion as the earlier ones. Additionally, as with most self-published books on Amazon, there are a few format issues and typos throughout the text. For some, these might hinder the reading experience, but for an understanding eye, they present no real challenge or problem for the book as a whole.

The love and loyalty Smoller shows for the College on the Hill is admirable and glowing evidence of what a Dartmouth man or woman should be.

Mark My Words is a book that tempts one to fall into the trap of nostalgia from a lost era, especially for a Dartmouth audience; however, this book is not a navel gaze into a long gone past but a celebration of a life well-lived. Smoller’s insights and stories are both enjoyable and informative to read, leading one to admire and learn from his jovial and upbeat attitude to all that he has experienced. Smoller’s Dartmouth is long gone, but this parting does not mean that the old College on the Hill cannot still play as important a role in our lives as it does for him. For any Dartmouth student, Mark My Words is a must-read both for how to carry on the legacy of Dartmouth out into the world and to continue the ever-changing tradition of the Big Green, as we are handed it down from those we came before us and asked to protect and cherish it for those we come after us.