E. Urner Goodman, was the founder of the Order of the Arrow and was a trend setting Scouter in the early days of Scouting. However, there is a lot that many of us do not know about the man who founded the Brotherhood of Cheerful Service.

A Thing of the Spirit, The Life of E. Urner Goodman is the biography of our founder, written by Nelson R. Block. 

This publication was first released at NOAC 2000 (September 2006 out of print).

With a foreword from Edward A. Pease, former National Order of the Arrow Committee Chairman, this book is an excellent source of information on the life of Dr. Goodman. This book preserves much oral history about Dr. Goodman that might otherwise have been lost.

In this book, Dr. Goodman's life is explained through seven chapters. Each of the seven chapters provides a detailed history on each phase of his life. A Thing of the Spirit, The Life of E. Urner Goodman is a detailed, chronological tour of Dr. Goodman's life.

The book starts at birth, travels through his early days as a Scoutmaster, provides detailed facts on his days founding the Order of the Arrow, chronicles his life as a professional Scouter, and closes in a description of his retirement career. Each chapter of the book is thoroughly researched and provides many small, but interesting facts on the founder.

A Thing of the Spirit, The Life of E. Urner Goodman is out of print as of September 2006.