Making a difference

An affecting and heartfelt memoir, Making a Difference by Robert Elkin conveys to readers what it means to be a passionate man of ideals, a recovering workaholic, a father who loses his only son, and a true, if at times exasperated, lover of life. We witness his formative years in rural Connecticut and his time spent roaming the streets of New York City, along with his young married years spent earning a masters in community organization in Los Angeles just after World War II. Weaving the impact of his jobs on his marriage and fatherhood, the author also recounts receiving his doctorate in public administration at American University and his experience as a principal at KPMG Peat Marwick being, among other things, the nationals highest paid social worker. Toting the values of community long before Barack Obama hit the Chicago beat, Elkin changed the very fabric of the communities he served and later applied management technology to human services, and was able to transform the way things are done in nonprofit organizations to this day. But, at what cost to his family life?