John R. Takacs was born and raised in Mishawaka, Indiana. As one of two boys among seven siblings, he had plenty of babysitters, fellow conspirators, and willing teachers growing up. But it was in the old Mishawaka Library that he developed his lifelong habit of reading when he wasn’t adventuring with his brother and friends. “The library had all these little rooms, just full of magic: the magic of books.”
Immediately after high school graduation in 1969, Takacs enlisted in the United States Army. He served with the famed 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam where his helicopter was shot down by mortar fire, flipping over and landing in the jungle. While none of the crew was killed, Takacs sustained serious injuries due to shrapnel and broken bones. He was put on a medevac flight and eventually made it to Great Lakes Naval Hospital where he was awarded the Purple Heart Medal. After being wounded, John continued to serve in the Army as a lifeguard before being honorably discharged. He attended Indiana University at South Bend.
As a Vietnam veteran, Takacs experienced discrimination and difficulty in finding employment, but landed a job as a high-rise ironworker, where he cultivated the need for an adrenaline high that his Army career had fostered. He worked in other areas of construction as well. With an inner curiosity about how things work, Takacs invented time-saving devices along the way. As an inventor and tinkerer, he went on to own and operate several small businesses. In his lifetime, Takacs has enjoyed racing motorcycles, skydiving, skiing, scuba diving, bicycling, and mountain climbing.
Having always loved reading and writing, Takacs decided to pursue a writing career in 1994, but life had other plans. He was widowed when his wife Lisa was killed in an auto collision, leaving Takacs to raise his children as a single father. In the next few months his father, his only brother, and both his brothers-in-law died and Takacs was forced to put his writing aspirations on hold.
Oddly, it was a series of life-threatening medical events that conspired to put his writing career back on track in 2006. “I didn’t want to die with all of these stories trapped inside of me,” Takacs said. After surviving two major surgeries, he set himself to writing, publishing his first novel, The Take-Us, in 2008. It was awarded Best First Book by Northern California Publishers and Authors, as well as the Gold Medal in Fiction by Military Writers Society of America.
In the aftermath of writing and marketing his first book, Takacs found he had become overweight and sedentary. Determining to make a change, he promised himself to drop the extra weight and get back to the activities he had enjoyed as a younger man. He was also determined to exceed his initial attempts. He would go faster, farther, higher, or longer than he had in his earlier pursuits. His nonfiction book, Doing a 180 at 60, is the result. When he began his transformation to a more active lifestyle, he was sixty years old. During the course of redoing sixty different sports and activities from his youth, he became aware of the depth of the health crisis in America and wanted to share his personal solution of his own aging lifestyle. Doing a 180 at 60 details his journey. He has also become a leading proponent of active lifestyle and healthy eating. He is currently the host of “Doing a 180 at 60” on KVGC Radio, 1340 AM and 96.5 FM (www.kvgcradio.com). In 2016, John qualified and competed in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Queensland, Australia and was the 7th fastest American in his age category.
Takacs is currently working on the sequel to The Take-Us, which has been re-released as Hidden Truths. The sequel, Sealed Truths, will continue the saga of Jesse Christenson’s quest to free America from dependence on OPEC and Big Oil.
Takacs continues to be an avid outdoor enthusiast and adventurer, along with his wife Monika who shares his goals. He resides in Pioneer, California.
Visit John at www. johnrtakacs.com.
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