Author
“This magnificent volume is the culmination of more than five years of scholarly research.”—Jay Landers, from the Accordions USA review of Henry’s book: The Complete Works of Guido Deiro (Mel Bay Publications: 2008)
Henry Doktorski: 2015 Portrait.
If there is one thing Henry enjoys as much as composing, rehearsing, conducting, and performing music, it is conducting research, gaining knowledge about topics dear to his heart, organizing his thoughts and typing them into a Microsoft Word document, and sharing that knowledge with others. Whether this work takes the form of letters to newspaper editors, articles for publication in print or online magazines, or non-fiction books for academics or the general public, he writes with cohesiveness and attention to detail. Henry’s books and articles have been published by
• City University of New York (CUNY) Press
• State University of New York (SUNY) Press
• Harwood Academic Publishers (London)
• Duquesne University School of Music (Pittsburgh)
• Mel Bay Publications (Missouri)
• Santorella Publications (Massachusetts)
• The Classical Free-Reed, Inc. (Online Publication)
• Accordions USA (Online Publication)
• New Music Box (Online Publication)
Henry’s articles and letters have appeared in diverse venues ranging from the scholarly Duquesne University music journal, Music Theory: Explorations and Applications, to the trendy pop music magazine Rolling Stone; from the New-Age journal, Uzubuh, to the Danish accordion magazine, Harmonikacentret; from The Pittsburgh Catholic, to Playboy, and USA Today.
As can be expected, much of Henry’s writing has been about music, and especially about the accordion—an instrument dear to his heart. A few of his more significant literary works are:
• “The Accordion In American Music and Culture” (2010), a 1,000-word reference article, published in the five-volume Encyclopedia of American Music and Culture, by ABC-CLIO—an award-winning publisher of reference, contemporary thought and professional development content.
• The Complete Works of Guido Deiro (2008), a 192-page book, published by Mel Bay Publications.
• How to Play Diatonic Button Accordion, three volumes (2007-2011), published by Santorella Publications.
• CD booklet notes for The Complete Recorded Works of Guido Deiro, four volumes (2007-2010), by Archeophone Records.
• The Brothers Deiro and Their Accordions (2005), lauded as the first biography of the two pioneer vaudeville accordionists: Guido and Pietro Deiro, published by The Classical Free-Reed, Inc.
• Accordion Registrations (2005), published by New Music Box.
• The Accordionist as Accompanist, (2005), published by AccordionsUSA.
• CD booklet notes for Vaudeville Accordion Classics (2003), by Bridge Records.
• “Guido Deiro: Polca Variata/Variety Polka” (2002), The Free-Reed Journal, Volume 4—a publication of the Center for the Study of Free-Reed Instruments at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York.
• The Classical Squeezebox: A Short History of the Accordion in Classical Music (1998)—a pioneering 44-page scholarly research work, published by the British international journal, Musical Performance.
• “The Accordion and Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue: A Historical Perspective” (1999), Music Theory: Explorations and Applications, Volume 7 (Duquesne University School of Music).
• “The Composer: An Endangered Species—An Interview with David Stock” (1995), Music Theory: Explorations and Applications, Volume 4 (Duquesne University School of Music).
• 184 CD and concert reviews, and dozens of articles (1993-2011), which can be accessed from The Classical Free-Reed, Inc. website.
In addition to the accordion, Henry likes to write about another musical instrument dear to his heart: the pipe organ (and sacred music). His 43-page book (which includes a 31-minute, 15-track compact disc), Anatomy of an Organ: The Schlicker Two-Manual and Pedal Organ at House of Prayer Lutheran Church, Escondido, California (2017), was published by House of Prayer Lutheran Church and received excellent reviews. During his ten-year tenure as director of music at Grace Lutheran Church (Rochester, Pennsylvania), he wrote 25 essays which were published in the church’s monthly journal, Grace Visitor:
Henry has completed twelve books on Hare Krishna history (photo: August 5, 2022).
Although much of Henry’s literary works explore musical themes (especially regarding the history and performance practice of the accordion), a good deal of it deals with topics regarding the Hare Krishna movement. His first article in this genre was published in 1982 in Brijabasi Spirit: The Journal of the New Vrindaban Community. Since then he has had dozens of articles published in that journal, as recently as 2015, as well as in the independent Vaishnava daily: The Sampradaya Sun. Some of Henry’s thoughts about his time with the Hare Krishnas can be found at New Vrindaban: The Black Sheep of ISKCON.
Henry’s writings about the Hare Krishna movement have also been published in academia:
• “Guru Authority, Religious Innovation, and the Decline of New Vrindaban,”—a chapter in the book, Homegrown Gurus: From Hinduism in America to American Hinduism (SUNY Press: 2013), co-written with E. Burke Rochford, Jr.
Perhaps Henry is best known for his books about Hare Krishna history:
• Killing for Krishna: The Danger of Deranged Devotion—the story of the conspiracy to murder the New Vrindaban resident and devotee dissident Steven Bryant/Sulochan dasa (January 2018)
• Sicarios Por Krishna: El Peligro de la Devoción Desquiciada—a Spanish translation of Killing For Krishna (August 2019)
• Uccidere Per Krishna: Il Pericolo di una Devozión Squilibrata—an Italian translation of Killing For Krishna (March 2021)
• Eleven Naked Emperors: The Crisis of Charismatic Succession in the Hare Krishna Movement (1977-1987)—a history of the zonal acharya era of ISKCON (January 2020)
• Gold, Guns and God: Swami Bhaktipada and the West Virginia Hare Krishnas—a ten-volume, 108 chapter biography of Kirtanananda Swami and a history of the New Vrindaban Community
• Gold, Guns and God: Vol. 1 —“A Crazy Man” (December 2020)
• Gold, Guns and God: Vol. 2 —“A Pioneer Community” (March 2021)
• Gold, Guns and God: Vol. 3 —“Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold” (October 2020)
• Gold, Guns and God: Vol. 4 —“Deviations in the Dhama” (November 2021)
• Gold, Guns and God: Vol. 5 —“The Murder and the Mandir” (November 2020)
• Gold, Guns and God: Vol. 6 —“The Guru Business” (June 2022)
• Gold, Guns and God: Vol. 7 —“Trials and Tribulations” (July 2022)
• Gold, Guns and God: Vol. 8 —“The City of God” (November 2022)
• Gold, Guns and God: Vol. 9 —“Pushed Out Completely” (February 2023)
• Gold, Guns and God: Vol. 10 —“The Final Pastimes” (June 2023)
To date, Henry has completed twelve books on Hare Krishna history.
Henry also promotes other authors, such as Ekkerhard Lorenz who wrote The Guru, Mayavadins, and Women.
In addition to topics on music and the Hare Krishnas, Henry is keenly interested in philosophy and history, and is an admirer of the Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari, the author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, an international best seller which has been translated into 30 languages. From time to time, Henry writes essays on topics which he considers important. Two recent additions to his blog include:
• Our Hunter-Gatherer Ancestors: In Balance With the Earth?
• A Brief Comparison of the Code of Hammurabi and the Declaration of Independence.
For more, see Henry’s Bibliography.
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