John Coe poses with the books he has written, several of which will be made into college textbooks. An avid gun and watch collector, he also wrote books about his interests, also with Dr. James Biser Whisker, a professor emeritus of political science from West Virginia University. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

PARKERSBURG — America is at the brink of a precipice that will determine its future as a nation, according to a Parkersburg writer and researcher of academic texts.

The decision is whether the United States remains a representative democracy or becomes a socialist nation, said John Coe, a former administrator with the Wood County Schools, who with Dr. James Biser Whisker, a political science professor emeritus at West Virginia University, has written several textbooks awaiting publication for academia.

“The next generation is going to decide what path this country is going to take,” he said.

The textbooks that are going to be published include several intended for graduate courses, Coe said. Awaiting publication as full textbooks are “Leadership Accountability,” “The Political Thought of Alfred Rosenberg: Origins and Applications” and “Capital Punishment in the American Courts.”

He also wrote “Why Japan Deserved to Lose World War II,” which he dedicated to his father, the late Dr. Donald Coe Sr., a Parkersburg dentist. His father was wounded on Iwo Jima and received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with V designation.

Redacted versions of John Coe’s textbooks, which will be published as college texts, are available from Coe. He has also written about his interests, gun and watch collecting. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

“I only wish he was still alive today to read the book I dedicated to him,” Coe said.

On being at the brink of becoming a socialist nation, Coe said he refers to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, and Democratic presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

“We’re at a crossroads in America,” Coe said.

Once crossed, there may be no going back, according to Coe. That’s why the textbooks, such as the text about Rosenberg, the philosophical architect of the Third Reich and Nazi Germany, is germane today, he said.

“If you forget the past, you’re doomed to repeat it,” Coe said.

The book about Rosenberg was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Fred Gillespie, a local opthalmologist.

Redacted versions of the books are available from Coe by emailing him at greatsteak@icloud.com. The full textbooks are hundreds of pages long, he said.

The books were written in 2018 and 2019, although the work and collection of research goes back more than a decade, Coe said. Voluminous files have been maintained over the years, he said.

The internet has made research easier in some ways, it has also changed the face of publishing, Coe said. Much of the information and topics for which he writes about is available on the web, but not commissioned to printed form.

To keep with the changes in publishing, it is easier, sometimes more advantageous, to self publish, Coe said.

Coe was born and raised in Parkersburg and graduated from Parkersburg High School. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from Glenville State College and West Virginia University and a doctorate in education from Liberty University.

The former schools administrator is an independent businessman and an avid collector of pistols, rifles and muzzleloaders.

So while the college texts are intended for academia, the other books pertain to Coe’s interests. He is an avid gun and watch collector.

Also written in 2018 and 2019 with Whisker were books about gunsmiths and arms makers in Virginia, West Virginia, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi and the clocksmiths and silversmiths of early Virginia in the time period of 1608-1850.

“They were artisans,” he said.

He examined and researched the records and artifacts, including the estate records, a task that also took numerous years. Coe has worked with Whisker, who was his undergraduate and graduate professor, since the 1980s.

Most of the craftsmen were in the larger population centers at that time in American history, Coe said. This area, separated from the eastern side of Virginia by the Appalachian Mountains, was sparsely populated, he said.

“This part of Virginia…there really wasn’t very much out here,” he said.

Then came statehood, oil production and the industrial revolution in the late 19th century, he said.

“Parkersburg played a big role in the creation of the state,” Coe said. “The first governor and the first senator (VanWinkle)…were from Parkersburg.”

Jess Mancini can be contacted by jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.