Meet the Author

Hans Melchior Broder, Jr. was born July 6, 1947, in Bern, Switzerland and immigrated with his parents to Stockbridge in 1951 where he currently lives. Raised on the family’s dairy farm, he is the oldest of eight siblings. He is married and has four children and ten grandchildren. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia. He began his working career as a Business Education teacher at Stockbridge High School in 1969. In 1971 he accepted a lending position with The First State Bank and became its CEO in 1975. He is a past Chairman of the Henry County Chamber of Commerce and served on several bank, civic organization, and church boards.

He is the author of This Too Shall Pass, a book about the failure of community banks during the Great Recession, the causes, and consequences. Motivated by the closing of Enterprise Banking Company in 2011, which he organized and managed; he takes his bank from its creation to its takeover by the F.D.I.C. The book provides insights and details of the challenges faced by the community bankers during that period.

In his second novel he writes about a tragedy that occurred in his hometown of Stockbridge. Many of his neighbors, classmates, and bank customers contributed to the events that occurred during a twelve-year period from the 1970s to 1980s in Henry County’s past. It is these relationships that inspired him to author his book, May All of You and God Forgive Me.

As an inspiration for his next writing were his grandfathers. Both made their livelihood by working for the railroad in Switzerland. His book retells the diastrous train accident in McDonough, Georgia in 1900. To date it remains as the most tragic train wreck in Georgia history as thirty-nine on board died. The Mystery Passenger mixes real life facts with a touch of fiction. A mystery passenger who slipped on board miraculously survived the crash tells the story. The book covers railroads and the railroad men who are a part of its history.

Where is Forrest? Tales of an Escape Artist tells the life story of Forrest Turner, Henry County born young man, who along with a friend, were charged with auto theft. Only nineteen years old in 1934, he spent the next fifteen years in and out of work camps and prisons. During his escapes he committed many thefts of money and fast cars. He was dubbed as “Georgia’s Number One Bad Boy” His escapades while a fugitive made him a folk hero. The uniqueness of his life occurred after his parole. Trained in making dentures while in prison, he used his skill to provide dentures at little or no cost to the needy. He found God and repaid society through his speeches, counseling of the youth, and benevolent works.

Meet the Illustrator

Michael Felix Broder is the brother of author, Hans Broder. He was born on December 18, 1952, and currently lives in Florence Alabama. Raised on the family’s dairy farm in Stockbridge, he is one of eight children of Hans and Margrit Broder. He is married to the former Jacqueline Dale from West Lafayette, Indiana, and has four children and four grandchildren. He received an undergraduate degree in ag engineering from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree from Purdue University. He retired from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) after a lifelong career as an environmental engineer.

He realized he had a talent for art at an early age, impressing his teachers with his sketches and paintings in grammar school. Devoting his free time to the arts became an adult hobby. His mosaic depiction of an Indian chief, crafted from arrowheads he had found, won acclaim from Art Prize, an international art competition.