HOLMAN, J. Alan 1931-

PERSONAL: Born September 24, 1931, in Indianapolis, IN; son of Albert J. (a Bell Telephone Co. employee) and Catherine Pennington (a teacher) Holman; married Donna Goldsworthy (died); married Margaret Bishop, 1972; children: John Andrew, Robert Joseph, Raymond August, Michael Dale. Ethnicity: "White-European." Education: Franklin College (IN), B.A.; University of Florida—Gainesville, M.S., 1957, Ph.D., 1961. Politics: Independent. Religion: Protestant. Hobbies and other interests: Travel, fishing, photography, cinema.

ADDRESSES: Home—540 Linden St., East Lansing, MI 48823. Office—Rm. 302, Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI 48824; fax: 517-432-2846. E-mail—holman@msu.edu.

CAREER: Michigan State University, East Lansing, professor of zoological and geological sciences, and Michigan State University Museum curator (emeritus) of vertebrate paleontology. Military service: U.S. Naval Reserve, 1953-55 (active duty); served as hospital corpsman; became third-class petty officer.

MEMBER: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters.

WRITINGS:

(With Dirk Gringhuis) Mystery Mammals of the Ice Age: Great Lakes Region (juvenile), Hillsdale Educational (Hillsdale, MI), 1975.

Ancient Life of the Great Lakes Basin, University of Michigan Press (Ann Arbor, MI), 1995.

Pleistocene Amphibians and Reptiles in North America, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1995.

Pleistocene Amphibians and Reptiles in Britain and Europe, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1998.

Fossil Snakes of North America, Indiana University Press (De Kalb, IN), 2000.

In Quest of Great Lakes Ice-Age Vertebrates, Michigan State University Press (East Lansing, MI), 2001.

WORK IN PROGRESS: (With M. B. Holman) Roadside Michigan: Geology, Biology, Archaeology, for University of Michigan Press, 2002; Fossil Frogs andToads of North America, for Indiana University Press, 2003; The Corner at the End of the Car Line; research on "relict habitats for amphibians and reptiles of Michigan; Eocene reptile of England."

SIDELIGHTS: J. Alan Holman told CA: "I love to write about things that have fascinated me since I was ten years old. Experiences, education, travel, 'maturity' (I hope!) [are influences on my work]. [My writing process is] systematic and organized (I hope) with a little levity sometimes. Finally getting some self confidence at age sixty-five [has inspired me to write on the subjects I have chosen]."