SNYDER, James D. 1937-

(James Donald Snyder)

PERSONAL: Born March 3, 1937, in Pittsburgh, PA; son of Harold Edwin and Dorothy Snyder; married Sue Schreiner, August 17, 1988; children: Sherryl, Jay, Cynthia. Education: Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, graduate, 1958; George Washington University, M.A. (journalism), 1966.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Pharos Books, 8657 S.E. Merritt Way, Jupiter, FL 33458-1007. E-mail—jsnyder@adelphia.net.

CAREER: Journalist, writer, editor, and magazine founder. Clissold Publishing Co., Chicago, IL, Washington, DC editor, 1960–63; Snyder Associates, Inc., Washington, DC, president, 1964–85; Enterprise Communications, Inc., McLean, VA, associate, 1985–; founder and chair/CEO of company that established seven magazines and related conferences, 1986–97. Former Presbyterian elder and church officer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Jesse Neal awards, American Business Press, 1975 and 1981.

WRITINGS:

All God's Children: How the First Christians Challenged the Roman World and Shaped the Next 2000 Years: An Historical Novel, Pharos Books (Jupiter, FL), 1999, published as All God's Children: The Tumultuous Story of A.D. 31-71, 2000.

The Faith and the Power: The Inspiring Story of the First Christians and How They Survived the Madness of Rome: A First Century History, Pharos Books (Jupiter, FL), 2002.

Life and Death on the Loxahatchee: The Story of "Trapper" Nelson, Pharos Books (Jupiter, FL), 2002.

Five Thousand Years on the Loxahatchee: A Pictorial History of Jupiter-Tequesta, Florida, Pharos Books (Jupiter, FL), 2003.

Black Gold and Silver Sands: A Pictorial History of Agriculture in Palm Beach County, Pharos Books (Jupiter, FL), 2004.

Founding editor of business magazines, including Medical Products Sales, 1970, Pharmaceutical Representative, 1972, Hospital Purchasing News, 1975, Today's Nursing Home, 1977, DVM, 1980, Dentistry Today, 1981, Financial Product News, 1985, Employee Benefit News, 1986, and Environment Today, 1990. Contributor to numerous periodicals, including Smithsonian, Parade, and Harvard Business Review.

SIDELIGHTS: Armed with a master's degree in journalism, James D. Snyder founded Snyder Associates, a company that created periodicals for the health-care and management industries. Snyder has been inspired by his strong Christian faith, and two of his books are based on personal travel and extensive research into the history of the Middle East in the century following Jesus's crucifixion. All God's Children: The Tumultuous Story of A.D. 31-71 interweaves actual history with the narrative of Attalos, an ex-slave who is drawn to the Christian faith at a time when the Roman emperors seak to annihilate it. Choice reviewer P.K. Moser found the novel "engaging and accessible, and in Booklist John Mort noted that Snyder does an "admirable job" of explaining history and giving "coherence to a shadowy period."

The Faith and the Power: The Inspiring Story of the First Christians and How They Survived the Madness of Rome: A First Century History is a nonfiction account of the period between 30 and 70 A.D., when Jesus's disciples and adherents worked to build their faith in the face of Roman persecution. Snyder uses a year-by-year approach, drawing on his own travels to the Middle East as well as the surviving writings of ancient Romans. The resulting book is "Apostolic history with a decidedly Roman flavor," according to San-dra Collins in Library Journal. Margaret Flanagan, writing in Booklist, felt that the "digestible" work would appeal to general readers for its "comprehensive overview of a transitional juncture in church history."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2000, John Mort, review of All God's Children: The Tumultuous Story of A.D. 31-71, p. 1196; April 15, 2002, Margaret Flanagan, review of The Faith and the Power: The Inspiring Story of the First Christians and How They Survived the Madness of Rome: A First Century History, p. 1365.

Choice, July-August, 2000, P.K. Moser, review of All God's Children, p. 1996.

Library Journal, April 15, 1995, review of Environment Today magazine, p. 122; March 15, 2002, Sandra Collins, review of The Faith and the Power, p. 86.