Leonardo Da Vinci - a painter, sculptor, engineer, scientist, inventor and writer - has been enshrined by posterity as the archetypal renaissance man. Robert Hatcher Hoge, the son of a Baptist minister, was born in Jackson, GA, in the early years of the 20th Century. Hoge was also a pointer, sculptor, engineer, scientist, inventor, writer - and more. His friends considered him a modern renaissance man.

For 28 years, Bob Hoge was a well known Carmel Valley sculptor and painter, successful both artistically and commercially. In his later years he added poetry, essay writing and autobiography to his accomplishments. This led him to explore the career possibilities open to an author although he was already in his eighties.

Hoge radiated the aura of a corporation CEO, which he was for several years. He was also a blacksmith, a mechanic and engineer, a salesman and a company president. He also was a serious amateur astronomer and photographer.