A Biographical Sketch of:
Bruce Crabtree, Author

Boy astronomer Bruce Crabtree was later educated as a scientist at The University of Texas at Arlington, developing the discipline of a critical mind early in life. He served on active duty as an Infantry officer, completing his citizen-soldier career with the rank of Captain: Infantry/ Armored Cavalry/Airborne/Jumpmaster/Special Forces qualified. He has journeyed through America, the Far East, and Europe, accumulating a deep insight into human culture.

An accomplished musician and singer, Bruce spent twelve years pursuing an operatic career in New York City, amassing 24 lead baritone operatic roles to his credit. He supported his early operatic career as Case-Worker for the City of New York, working some of the city's toughest neighborhoods, where he helped develop the prototype 'Meals On Wheels' program for seniors.

Returning to Texas in the late 70s, he served as Senior Engineer in the Nuclear Power Construction Industry (Comanche Peak, Shoreham, Indian Point #2), Chief Engineer in the Telecommunications Tower industry, as well as Subcontract Manager and Engineering Technical Writer in the Aerospace Industry. Upon relocating to the Ozarks, Bruce also served as a Newspaper Reporter-Columnist and Aerospace Program Engineer.

Beginning his career as author in 1987, Bruce’s first effort, the epic novel The Sword of Urmas: A Transcendent Myth, intertwines the mythologies of modern society with philosophical implications of Quantum Mechanics and modern physics. His second novel, Winds of December, is a historical opus set against the American frontier, witnessing the birth of the Texas Republic. The third novel, The Bastrop Kid, depicts Texas during the Reconstruction Era, replete with Carpetbaggers and Comanches. His most recent novel, The Lady and the Ranger,
is a romance set against the exploits of McNelly's Texas Rangers in the mid-1870's. These novels have been published by Mill Hollow Press, Eureka Springs, AR. His ongoing work, The Wizard of Pizca and Other Stories, is a collection of short-stories featuring central themes of wonder
and courage under adversity.

Asst. Loc/Sec of Arkansas Mensa, Bruce has received acclaim for his contributions to the Mensa Bulletin such as Joe Doakes, Quantum Mechanic, a humorous thumbnail history of Quantum Mechanics. A member of the Arkansas Mensa 'Team Eureka,' Bruce and his cohorts won first place in the annual Mensa Culture-Quest competition for 2005. This amounts to winning an intellectual Super Bowl competition against over 100 Mensa teams from the entire North American continent.

Three screenplays have come from the Crabtree pen: Rigoletto's Last Stand is the story of an aging operatic baritone's battle against Dallas city hall. The Bunyip Archives spins the tale of a doctoral candidate in Zoology who discovers a species of intelligent humanoid Marsupials in the Australian outback. The Old Fart Society witnesses the adventures of a group of disabled elderly people warehoused in a nursing home who discover how to travel out-of-body through the higher dimensions at will. His one-act psychological mystery-drama, Pawn's Gambit, was performed by the Eureka Theater Company during the 2003 season. Bruce’s poetry collection ranges from Quantum Limericks, to Haiku, to the realm of the seriously esoteric. His epic western poem, A Cowboy . . . Is a Cowboy . . . Is a Cowboy . . . was published in the Ft. Worth Stockyard Gazette in the early 1990s.

Also a public speaker, Bruce has a number of first-place trophies from Toastmasters International speech competitions at various levels. No stranger to public service, Bruce has served as a member of Eureka Springs Rotary Club, The Eureka Theater Company Board of Directors, and The Ozarks Chorale. While a member of the Carroll County Special Operations Rescue Team, Bruce was certified as Rescue Technician, Level II. He has also served as MUFON Senior Field Investigator. Bruce’s hero is his son, Ian, who has recently returned from his second tour on active duty in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Div.