| about the author | published works and productions |

Don Arthur Torgersen is an author, editor, producer, poet, and storyteller. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Kelvyn Park High School and Henry D. Lloyd Elementary School. He received his higher education at the University of Illinois (Navy Pier, Champaign-Urbana BA/LAS), the University of Chicago (film scripting and film production, Oriental Institute Studies, and Chicago-Kent College of Law (CPE). He attended L’Ecole de Ski du Mont Tremblant in Quebec and the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) in Colorado.

During the Korean War, Don Torgersen enlisted in the United States Navy, attended radio communications and electronics school at San Diego, the naval college at Pearl Harbor, and was engaged in high power communications for the Pacific Command at Lualualei, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. He is an officer of Palatine Post 690 American Legion, Cook County Commissioner of American Legion Baseball, serves on the state judiciary and legislative committees, and is general manager of the Palatine Blue Jays, a Legion baseball team. He is a member of Loyal Lodge #1007 AF&AM, Skokie, IL and a Scottish Rite 32° Mason, Valley of Chicago.

He is a co-founder of the American Reform Party, its national press secretary, editor and publisher of American Political Reform, and former state executive director of United We Stand America, which was formed from the Ross Perot independent movement in national politics. In 1998, he ran for the United States Senate in Illinois to provide the campaign with an independent, centrist voice for economic and political reforms.

Don Torgersen lives with his wife Kathleen (nee Pucillo) in Palatine, Illinois. They have raised three sons named Scott, Dana, and Guy, and a daughter Jane. He enjoys skiing, sailing, mountain climbing, nature photography, coaching, and competitive sports as well as piano, the American Indian flute, classical, opera, jazz, and pop music.

His written works, publications, and productions include books, magazines, educational programs, and documentary films in social studies, science, mathematics, literature, wildlife conservation, politics, career education, as well as marketing communications and videos produced for corporations, industries, and developing technologies.

While skiing across Norway, Torgersen claims he was lost in a snowstorm and captured by a band of mountain trolls who would not let him go until he promised to tell a thousand and one tales about trolls, gnomes, dragons, elves, and frost giants. He was initiated into The Ancient and Accepted Order of Foolhardy Mountaineers, awarded the Crest of Ullr medal for heroic falls, wipe outs, and crashes, and snatched off a troll’s tail as proof that he skied across the great mountains of Norway and lived to tell about it.

The Tree of Tales provides a renewable source for folklore, myth, legend, fable, and the marvels of storytelling. The tales strive for wonder and enchantment, feature environmental themes, dramatize individual and social values for the intellectual and psychological development of the child, and help encourage a lifelong interest in reading and language arts. A new branch growing on the Tree of Tales awakens the voices of the American Indian and Hawaiian storytellers.

Don Arthur Torgersen
Published Works and Productions

BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS
Catalyst: International Journal of Art, Science and Philosophy
Port Chicago Poets: A New Voice in Anthology
Mahatma Gandhi: Biography and Philosophy
       People of Destiny Series
American Political Reform
Puddler: Wildlife Conservation Magazine for Children

ANIMAL LIFE STORIES
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
EDUCATIONAL CORP.
Ziggy, The Elephant
The Polar Bears and the Seals
The Mountain Gorillas
The Golden Eagles
The Great Tigers of India
The Wolves of Isle Royale
Big Gator of the Everglades
The Porpoises and The Sailor
Prairie Dog Town
The Wild Ostrich of the Kalahari
Cheetahs of The Serengeti Plain
The Blue Shark

ANIMAL SAFARI NATURE LIBRARY
CHILDREN’S PRESS
Lion Prides and Tiger Tracks
Killer Whales and Dolphin Play
Elephant Herds and Rhino Horns
Giraffe Hooves and Antelope Horns
Great Apes and Monkey Tails

LIVE PRODUCTIONS
International Poetry Festival, presented in ten languages
An Evening of Russian Violins
United We Stand America Leadership Conferences
Tournament Director, State American Legion Baseball Program
Host: Nine Faces of the Muse Radio Program, WXFM

DOCUMENTARY FILMS IN SOCIAL STUDIES
Society for Visual Education, Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Coronet Films

THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN DEMOCRACY
Give Us Independence
Framing the U.S. Constitution
The Living Constitution
The Chief Executive
Profile of Congress
The Supreme Court

PRODUCTIONS
THE AMERICAN EXAMPLE
Democracy and English-Speaking People
Democracy and Latin America
Democracy and France
Democracy and Scandinavia
Democracy and Black People: Liberia
Democracy and Black People: Haiti

ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA BIOLOGY PROGRAM

DOCUMENTARY ON CANADA The Fishermen of Nova Scotia
Quebec and the French Canadians
Pinawa, Manitoba: Atomic Energy
Yellowknife: Northwest Territories
Canada’s Arctic Settlements
Port of Vancouver: Pacific Gateway

THE NEW JAPAN
Tokyo: World’s Largest City
A Traditional Japanese Family
Japan’s Life From The Sea
Silk Farming at Takatoya
Nagasaki and Her Shipbuilders
Okinawa: Keystone of The Pacific

THE BRITISH ISLES
London: Mother of Parliaments
Bath: The English Countryside
Scotland: A Separate Way of Life
The Orkneys: Isolated Islanders
Wales: Land of The Red Dragon
Ireland: A People Divided

CUBA: THE ISLAND NATION
MIAMI’S CUBAN COMMUNITY

STORIES FROM THE OLD WEST
Pony Express Rider
Vaquero! Vaquero!
Pawnee: The Buffalo Pony
El Camino Real
Comanches: The Great Horsemen
Iron Horse, Iron Spike

WILDLIFE STORIES
Curly and Simba: Twin African Lions
Beishung: The Giant Panda
Buffy: The Sea Otter
Coco and Chacha: The Coatis
Windy: The Snow Goose
Koolah: The White Koala

EXPLORING CAREERS
Apprentice Tool and Die Makers
Forge Shop: The Hammersmith
The Assembly Line Worker
The Steelworker
The Structural Iron Worker
The Meatcutter
Farm Equipment Mechanic
The Scuba Diver
The Heavy Equipment Operator

BOOKS/SOUND FILMSTRIPS
The Girl Who Tricked The Troll
The Troll Who Went To School
The Scariest Night In Troll Forest
The Troll Who Lived In The Lake
The Angry Giants of Troll Mountain
The Wicked Witch of Troll Cave
Huff and Puff and the Troll Hole
The Secret of Cathedral Lake
Torrek and The Elfin Girl
The Last Days of Gorlock The Dragon

SALES AND MARKETING PROGRAMS
AC Delco Distributor Films
Swift-Eckrich C-Store Training Videos
Kraft Foods New Product Development
SALES AND MARKETING PROGRAMS Contd.
Navistar Truck Insurance Program
Motorola Microwave-Fiber Optic Program
Escast Investment Casting Programs
W.R. Grace Construction Programs
Harvestore Farm Products Program

FORMER EDITORIAL POSITIONS
Editor: Science and Mechanics Publishing Co.
Mathematics Editor: Science Research Associates/IBM
Manager of Producers, New Product Development
         Society For Visual Education (SVE)
         Singer Education Division
Managing Editor: Allied News Company
Director of Communications: Servicecare Medical Corp.