Brushes with History: A Memoir is the life story of Selwyn Jones, a homosexual man who was never closeted, and who was a writer, a traveler, an artist, a political activist, a gardener, a nude beachcomber, a calligrapher, a teacher, and a student of two distinguished European calligraphers. He spent two years in Italy in U.S. Army Air Force Intelligence during World War II, and the time he spent in Rome determined the course of his life. He has had encounters of various kinds with a few of the world's most famous individuals, and with the infamous FBI and CIA. He lived in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district for twenty years, and tried being a hippie in the Summer of Love. His favorite things are books, music, opera, ballet, theater, poetry, French and Italian food, travel, and the paintings of van Gogh. His favorite city is Paris, his favorite country is Italy, and his favorite place in San Francisco is Bernal Heights, where he now lives. His nephew Russ calls him a Radical Atheist B*tt-F*ck*r.