DREAMS AND WARS OF AN AMERICAN INVENTOR: An Immigrant's Romance

By Oscar H. Banker (Asadoor Sarafian) with Robert Hull

Oscar Banker (Asadoor Sarafian) was universally regarded as the father of the automatic transmission in cars and buses, developer of the first versatile needleless inoculation gun, and holder of over 300 patents.  His story of invention and an immigrant's trials in American began with birth in a cave, and, a its benchmarks, include the prophecy of a fortune teller, flight from the invader's sword, and grim determination matched only by raw courage. During bitter experiences, words of his Armenian mother shielded him. After an exhausting battle, in the name of public safety, with General Motors (the first to adapt Banker's automatic transmission for their 1940 Oldsmobile Hydramatic car with twists of its own), his accomplishment was the standardized, safe shift-pattern in automobiles. 

Bob Hull Books & Features (1982)