Author Anthony D. Marshall’s New Book, "In the Shadow of a Monument," is an Enthralling Memoir That Shares the Engrossing Life Story of the Author

New York, NY, August 25, 2023 --(PR.com)-- Anthony D. Marshall, investment manager, author, photographer, theatrical producer, former intelligence officer, and diplomat, has completed his new book, “In the Shadow of a Monument”: a striking memoir that shares the life experiences of the only child of Brooke Astor, the “Queen of New York,” (a powerful force who inherited the enormous Astor fortune), Anthony Marshall.

He became a decorated Marine, a diplomat and US ambassador, a codebreaker, a covert spy with the newly formed CIA, a special assistant to the U2 program during the Cold War and dedicated to the global conservation of animal and floral habitat. Always interested in the arts, he and his third wife co-produced two Tony Award-winning Broadway plays in the early 2000s. Marshall was the stepson of Vincent Astor, one of the wealthiest men in America, and witnessed the life of the ultra-privileged in New York City firsthand.

Author Anthony D. Marshall served as an American ambassador over eight years (1969–1977) to the Malagasy Republic, Trinidad, and Tobago, Kenya, and as a non-resident ambassador to Seychelles, as well as permanent representative to the United Nations Environmental Agency in Nairobi, Kenya, and as special ambassador (head of the US delegation) to the Kingdom of Lesotho’s tenth anniversary of independence (1976). Mr. Marshall’s prior service with the Department of State included an assignment as a vice consul in the consulate general in Istanbul, Turkey (1958–59).

Mr. Marshall had extensive business experience in Africa, which included the ownership and management of two Nigerian companies: NIDOCO and African Research and Development Company, and a manufacturer’s representative of American, British, Belgian, and French companies (1959–69).

Marshall is the author of seven books: “Africa’s Living Arts” (1970), “Malagasy Republic” (1972), and “Trinidad and Tobago,” all published by Franklin Watts, New York City. Subsequent books are “Basti” (1987) and “George’s Story” (1988), published by Windswept House, Mt. Desert, Maine. “Zoo” (1994) was published by Random House, New York, and “Dash” (2001) by Vantage Press. From 1977 to 1981, he wrote monthly articles for the “Nairobi Times” and was a contributing editor to “Conde Nast Traveler” (1984–2004).

Anthony Marshall served on the board of the Vincent Astor Foundation as vice president and treasurer until 2002 when it officially closed to grant requests in 1997. He was a trustee emeritus of Brown University (from which he graduated in 1950), honorary trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Society (formerly the New York Zoological Society), WNET/Channel 13, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He was on the Council of Rockefeller University and the Advisory Council of the American Museum of Natural History. Anthony Marshall was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Explorers Club, and a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society as well as a life member of the National Geographic Society (since 1948), Society of California Pioneers, Naval Historical Society, Royal African Society, and Navy League.

He is a former member of the board of the Asia Society, Museum Trustee Association, African Medical, and Research Foundation, the Foundation into the Research of Man (FROM), Operations Crossroads Africa (1966–1982), Business Council for International Understanding, Astor Home for Children (Rhinebeck, New York), LSB Leakey Foundation, Caribbean Council, Center for the Book (Library of Congress) and the American University of Paris and Council of Roundabout Theater. He served on the Advisory Council of the Juilliard School, the Primate Research Center of Duke University, and the Board of Visitors of the Economic Department, of Boston University. He was president for ten years of the Seamen’s Church Institute and is the founding chairman of the United States Marine Corps University Foundation in Quantico, Virginia.

Inspired by his grandfather, Major General John H. Russell, sixteenth commandant of the Marine Corps, Mr. Marshall enlisted in the Marine Corps at the age of eighteen and served four years of active duty during World War II with a year and a half in Guam. He landed his infantry platoon on Blue Beach, Iwo Jima.

In 2006, his carefully directed life was on the verge of being destroyed by a criminal accusation from his son. Heartbroken, Marshall read the formal wording of the accusation: “elder abuse” of his mother who was then one hundred four years old. What followed were years of constant tabloid sensationalism and negative press that destroyed Marshall’s reputation and damaged his relationships with family and friends. After a six-month-long trial, he was sentenced to 1-3 years in a New York State prison when he was eighty-nine years old.

Together with his beloved wife Charlene, he faced what he called “the greatest challenge of my life” since landing his Marine platoon on Blue Beach at Iwo Jima on D+1. These two survived this brutal attack together with their souls intact and their love stronger than ever.

Published by Covenant Books of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, Anthony D. Marshall’s new book takes readers along the author’s tumultuous life journey.

Readers can purchase “In the Shadow of a Monument” at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Covenant Books is an international Christian owned and operated publishing house based in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. Covenant Books specializes in all genres of work which appeal to the Christian market. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Covenant Books at 843-507-8373.