Joseph Yakel was born and raised in New York's Capital region, and calls upstate NY his home.
His travels have taken him far and wide, but it’s his hometown surroundings that serve as a backdrop for his writing. He's recently published
three books, with a unique blend of history and humor that shines a bright spotlight
on the local area and its people.
Yakel said, "My roots to the Capital District have been a major influence on
what I've chosen to write about. I split my youth growing up in Albany and Loudonville,
and summers were spent at our camp in Westerlo. I attended Albany Academy for
Boys and Christian Brothers Academy. As an adult, I've traveled fairly extensively
across America, and spent two years in Belgium, Germany, and other European
countries with the US military. So, I am fortunate to have a mix of local city,
town and country exposure, in combination with this broader range of travel
to draw experience from."
He went on, "I began writing my first book when I was about seven years old.
I loved dinosaurs and wanted to be a paleontologist. Although I didn’t publish
that book, I still have it, and I'm proud of what I created at that young age.
Looking back on it now, I think it marked the starting point where writing would
have some longstanding place in my life."
While Yakel's desire to write has been with him since childhood, he says that
it has emerged in a more public way over the last decade. "Over the years, I've
penned quite a lot, but it wasn't until 1998 that I submitted my first article
for mainstream publication. It was a technical piece on cable television system
operations. Since then, I’ve written a number of other articles, mainly on military
subjects, published in both trade magazines and on organizational websites."
It’s his latest writing efforts, however, that Yakel says are his greatest accomplishments.
Between December 2004 and March 2005, he completed and released three books.
"Writing the material was the easy part", Yakel quipped, “but putting it all
together was a huge undertaking. Each book was well worth the effort, I'm very
proud of what I've created."
As for the books themselves, Yakel said he's got something of value for plenty
of people, young and old alike. Two of his books are genealogy references that
also contain quite a bit of local history in them as well. ‘The Autograph Memories
of Mary Yakel’ is the 19th century memoir of his grand aunt. Yakel explained,
"Mary was born in the South End 1879 and passed away in 1940. She had an autograph
book, which was filled with entries from family and friends along the Second
Avenue corridor. I took the small book of hers, a family heirloom, and rewrote
it. In addition to the original book entries, I supplemented it with details
and comments about the people and families mentioned within her little book.
I never knew Mary Yakel, of course, but working on this memoir has helped me
to understand her in ways that I couldn't otherwise."
‘The JACKEL, JECKEL, JAECKEL, IEKEL, YAKEL Family History Book’ has a mouthful
of a title, but Yakel says the title is dwarfed by the book’s content. He went
on, "Without a doubt, this has been my most intensive writing effort, ever.
It's a 464-page family chronology, tracing 350 years of my Rheinish ancestry.
Our original surname was JACKEL and JECKEL, but changed more than 50 times after
the family came to America. In Albany, the spelling settled on YAKEL in the
1870’s, while in Milwaukee, it settled on JAECKEL, and in Iowa, our family name
changed slightly to IEKEL. This book is first and foremost a genealogy reference,
but it's also jammed packed full of really intriguing local and German history
as well, and that's why this book and the Mary Yakel autograph book have a wider
audience appeal."
His third and most recent book is a complete departure from the first two, and
Yakel said it has a wide open audience appeal. He describes ‘The Legend of Juggin
Joe’ as an "over-the-top fictional humor story" that takes place in and around
the Town of Westerlo, NY, and centers around the life and times of a hillboy
dubbed 'Juggin Joe', for his uncanny musical abilities with the jug. Yakel added,
"This book is a country boy comedy/melodrama that I've written in ‘country speak’,
which makes the story that much more fun to read. It’s a light-hearted, clean,
fun adventure, suitable for all audiences. Give it a read, and it will make
your funny bone a good workout!"
“The Legend of Juggin Joe"
* ISBN 1-4116-2588-9 * Pub date: March 2005 * $8.50 paperback * 123 pages *
“The Autograph Memories of Mary Yakel”
* ISBN 1-4116-2101-8 * Pub date: December 2004 * $8.50 paperback * 75 pages
*
“The JACKEL, JECKEL, JAECKEL, IEKEL, YAKEL Family History Book”
* ISBN 1-4116-2715-6 * Pub date: March 2005 * $26.50 paperback * 464 pages *
Joseph Yakel offers free chapter previews of his books, and welcomes reviews
and comments. His books are available in paperback, or downloadable format.
For previews and purchasing information, visit Lulu Publishing at: http://www.lulu.com/yakel
Joseph Yakel is a freelance writer and author. His articles have appeared in
publications such as Communications Technology, The Pipeline, and Army Reserve
Magazine, and have been highlighted on USAWOA Online, USAR Online, and other
Internet websites. For great humor, or genealogy and family history resources,
visit his bookstore at http://www.lulu.com/yakel where Joe offers free book
previews and more. Joseph Yakel is available for interviews, and accepts e-mail
correspondence at armeuv1@yahoo.com
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