Jeff Lilley, a St. Andrew's alum from the Class of 1982 has recently published a book. His second, Have the Mountains Fallen? Two Journeys of Loss and Redemption in the Cold War. Jeff's first book, China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia, he co-authored with his late father, Ambassador James Lilley. This book is a story about two men on either side of the Iron Curtain, who battled for freedom for their captive people in Central Asia. Donald Lamm, former president of Norton and chairman of the board at Yale University Press, said about the book, "Have the Mountains Fallen? is history at its best, with the qualities of a novel - narrative, color, pace."
Jeff was raised in a diplomatic family and got the international bug early on. He credits his SAS English and History classes with exposing him to great writing and big ideas. At Williams College, Jeff studied Russian at the time of perestroika which he states, "a decision which opened up work possibilities in journalism at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union." He has since worked in the field of governance support, with posts in Kyrgyzstan and Jordan while continuing to write. Jeff currently lives in Bishkek, Kyrgzstan, where he works as team leader for a parlimentary support program funded by the UK government.
While a student at St. Andrew's, Jeff played pivotal roles on the football, basketball and baseball teams and wrote for the school newspaper, The Cardinal. He won many awards as a student, among them, The Walden Pell Prize for Religious Studies and The Founder's Medal. Jeff's twin boys are members of the Class of 2021.
Congratulations, Jeff! Your book will make a special addition to our alumni collection.