VARNISHED TRUTH is a memoir of R.J. Nelson's eleven years (1994-2005) as CEO of the Hammond, Indiana Port Authority. Fired without cause from the Chicago Park District as Superintendent of Special Services (all on the lakefront) when Richard M. Daley took office as mayor, he was hired by the HPA, whose main business was a 1300 slip marina about to go bankrupt. He was the fourth CEO in its first three years, all three being fired for mismanagement. The arrival of casino gambling on HPA property changed the HPA and industrial city of Hammond forever. The book contains unusual stories of waterfront deaths and suicides and other tales filled with waterfront characters, one of whom was a yacht captain and master varnisher, who believed and regularly argued, "There is no such thing as the unvarnished truth."

What is a "Pneumacrat?" He or she is a public servant often in "good trouble," as the legendary congressman and civil rights activist, John R. Lewis, described his public life. Though misunderstood and often called "loose cannons," Pneumacrats always follow the spirit of the law instead of the letter, often breaking rules and getting into trouble. Their only goal is the common good, frequently using "moral bribery"---extracting favors that result in greater good not individual gain.