What hooked me on B.A.R. was Shanks integrity, his devotion to genuine dialogue. While he encouraged strong opinions, including his own, he equally encouraged intelligent disagreement, which is why I began each new issue of the magazine reading the letters-to-the-editor.

Unlike in the current internet era of free, instantaneous, ubiquitous, oxymoronic “alternative facts”, there was huge cost, intellectual, emotional, and personal, as well as financial, in starting a magazine, especially one that was not designed primarily as a commercial vehicle. One did not start a project such as B.A.R. knowing the difficulties. Instead, one said, “This is what I want to do”, and accepted that you would, and hopefully could, deal with problems and consequences as they arose. It wasn’t about instant gratification but about doing the right thing, about understanding that there was no free lunch, that to make the world a better place involved personal risk and, consequently, a willingness to sacrifice.

Not only his memory, but the fruits of Hershel Shanks heart and labors shall also truly live for a blessing !

I must acknowledge one regret: I never sent my words of appreciation to Shanks when he could see them. While lauded by NAMES (as is evident here), he seemed to be the unusual individual who wanted to make a difference, wanted to challenge, wanted to engage those of us who were not NAMES, not credentialed. He wanted to enlist everyone in the passion of his calling, and in that he succeeded admirably.