Reviews (6)

I was literally sent downstairs for laughing too loud.
Seriously.I was up past bedtime, and I was reading Bryson's description of lame 1950's toys.I won't give it away, but imagine what he can do with the topic of "electric football".After a particularly vigorous episode of chortling, my wife trudged out of bed to decree that, if I insisted on continuing to read, I'd have to take it downstairs.
The FUNNIEST book I have read in years!!!
This is a wonderful, funny, and ultimately very human book, which reminds us all, no matter who we are or where we live (I'm Australian) of the total joys of a happy childhood.
A pure joy.
So far as I can tell, there are only 2 problems with Bill Bryson.First, he writes about his life, which means he has to go live it for a while before he can write another book.So he can't write constantly, which is about the only pace likely to keep up with my appetite for his work.Second, he doesn't live near me, so I can't visit him to catch up between books.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Bryson, Bill    6. Childhood Memoir    7. General    8. Humor    9. Iowa - Local History    10. Literary    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Regional Subjects - Midwest    13. Travel writers    14. United States    15. Voyages And Travels    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Personal Memoirs    5. Regional Subjects - Midwest    6. Women    7. Biography: general   

Reviews (169)

DELIGHTFUL!
My best friend recommended this book when I told her I was reading Ramona the Pest to my daughter. What a fun book! Haven Kimmel's voice was so true that I felt like I was eight years old all over again. Did not want it to end. What a GREAT read! Will look for more from this author.

Beautifully Written Love Letter to Small Town America -- and its Families
Haven Kimmel has a gift with words!Her story of growing up in small town America, with a slightly off-kilter family (aren't they all?) is just wonderful.Full of the wonderful little details that make a story real, and written from the child's perspective, Kimmel makes us laugh out loud at her childhood antics (and her family's). She also paints a vivid portrait of growing up in a teensy tiny town in the Midwest -- that rings true to any reader who grew up in a similar town, or has passed through one on his/her way from city to city. I loved this book!

A Girl Named Zippy
The cover photo of an alert non-Gerber baby.An old family photo topping each chapter.These help set a whimsical tone skillfully followed through with words only a mother could love.From tufted-head to stubbed-toe, this book celebrates the spunk of youth with countless recalls of which our inner tot can relate.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Childhood Memoir    7. City and town life    8. Girls    9. Indiana    10. Mooreland    11. Mooreland (Ind.)    12. Personal Memoirs    13. Regional Subjects - Midwest    14. Social life and customs    15. Women    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    17. Reading Group Guide   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Christianity - Catholicism    5. Higher    6. Individual Institutions Of Higher Education    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Regional Subjects - Midwest    9. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs   

Features

• Large Print

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Bryson, Bill    4. Childhood Memoir    5. General    6. Humor    7. Literary    8. Regional Subjects - Midwest    9. Travel writers    10. United States    11. Humor / General   

Reviews (47)

An interesting peek into small-town life, but don't read it while you're eating
You know that small, faded town you pass through on your way to Somewhere Else? These are the folks who live there. Having grown up in New Auburn, Wisconsin, but moving away to make his way in the world, writer Michael Perry returns home some years later and joins the local fire department as a way of reconnecting with his community. In the book he alternates between relating his experiences as a small-town volunteer firefighter and first-responder and giving fleeting glimpses into the lives and personalities of some of his teammates and fellow residents. The detailed emergency calls were fun to read about, but more than once I made the mistake of reading while having lunch! I generally don't pick up many non-fiction books, but I read this as part of the "Eden Prairie Reads" community program (www.epreads.org).

fabulous book I have given to friends
I have passed this book along to many and recommended it to even more- it is well written, interesting and touching.The author is an EMT in his small town of New Auburn WI- pop 485 and the town's folk - his neighbors and friends -are portrayed with true warmth and humor. There are passages in this book that are so evocative of the human experience I cried - and so did my husband who read it upon my recommendation.It was passed to me a friend and I have given a number of copies and have to keep buying one "for myself."Well worth the time and money- a little gem of a book.

Perry = an approachable volunteer and wordsmith
This was an excellent read, by all accounts.The author's ability to articulately convey time, imagery, flavor, and life was superb.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American authors    3. Authors, American    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Medical - General    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Regional Subjects - Midwest    11. Special Interest - Adventure    12. United States    13. Volunteer fire fighters    14. Travel / Adventure    15. Reading Group Guide   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Chicago    6. Chicago (Ill.)    7. Dictionaries    8. Illinois    9. Reference    10. Regional Subjects - Midwest    11. Women   

Reviews (6)

Fish out of water . . .
This book may be one of a kind. It's a memoir of a young parish minister accepting his first call to a Lutheran church in rural Illinois, and although there's a reference to the classic "Diary of a Country Priest" at the outset, any comparison with Bernanos' dying, saint-like character ends there on page one. Lischer, schooled in what seems to have been the excessively conservative Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church, finds his 1960s liberal sensibilities set on a collision course with the deeply rooted religious and cultural traditions of his farming congregants. If there's anything classic about this, it's his role as a fish out of water.
An Honest Inside Look at Ministry and a Congregation
With one glance of the cover, a reader could easily misjudge OPEN SECRETS. The cover shows a painting of a quaint Midwestern town complete with churches and the homes of good folk. We can imagine that it will be a story of a minister and congregation and contain all kinds of heartwarming tales, and the author, Richard Lischer could easily have taken the reader on such a journey. Instead he does something different and in the end far more meaningful. He shares not only his experiences, but looks at the experiences in a critical manner that engages the reader.
the life of the average pastor
Rev. Richard Lischer gives us a delightful inside look into the life of an ordinary country pastor like so many in all the American Protestant denominations.The reader travels through the joys and pains, successes and failures of a young fresh-from-seminary man's first pastorate.This book is an entertaining, very humorous, and informative journey.I highly recommend it, especially to those who may be curious as to what your pastor's life is REALLY like. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Clergy    5. Regional Subjects - Midwest    6. Religious    7. Religion / Bible / Biography / General   

Reviews (5)

What a mother, what a son!
Clancy Sigal's seeringly honest portrait of his lefty mother, Jennie, and himself brings alive a time now lost forever to Ipods, computers, and cell phones.
Do yourself a favor and discover this provocative author
Clancy Sigal made me fall in love with his mother Jennie in his unsentimental memoir of a sometimes violent and crazy life.She's the mother I wish I had: passionate, irreverent, protective and smart.The pain and love Sigal feels for his mom hits you like a punch in the gut.
Sigal's Best
This is Clancy Sigal's best book. His work has always been autobiographical from his novel Going Away (the ultimate 'road' book for my generation of politically aware readers who shunned Kerouac 's egowanderings), to Weekend In Dinlock, his account of Yorkshire miners.In his latest, a memoir,Sigal gives us a funny, moving memory of his relationship with his mother - a fantastic character - set in Depression era America. It's an account of an education that isunsentimental andand profoundly moral.There isn't anything like it around. This is a real book of virtues.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Childhood Memoir    6. Jewish radicals    7. Jewish women    8. Jews    9. Personal Memoirs    10. Regional Subjects - Midwest    11. United States    12. United States - State & Local - Midwest    13. United States History (General)    14. Women - 19th Century History    15. American history    16. Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs    17. Biography: general    18. Illinois   

Reviews (20)

A riveting story by an extraordinary writer
In my long reading life I have rarely come across a book written in such compelling and poetic language.I have just read Nicole Lea Helget's memoir in one sitting and can scarcely catch my breath. And to those who might question the authenticity of the book, please remember that a child's interpretation of happenings may not always agree with that of an adult who was there, too, but that does not make the child's recollection any less true. Just think about the mysteries and taboos in your own childhood!

Harsh and dry--the story and the weather.
This feels less like a memoir and more like a collection of short writings that just happens to work together to give a view into a less than bucolic Minnesota childhood. It paints with savage strokes the couple at the heart of this girl's life. An obvious comparison would be [...] out of Carolina, but this book is not as carefully constructed or developed. It's slim in several ways. Pages aside, it lacks context, and the landscape is almost missing, which is odd for a farm story. The writer's gift with words is considerable, and the final chapter left me gasping (what a tour de force). Still, I have to ask, as a child, was there no laughter? Was her entire childhood taut and poetic, all smashed grasshoppers and bleeding animals? It seems in a family like this, there might have been at least some laughter. Was it all sacrificed for the sake of tone, or was it truly this grim? I guess that is another area where the book is slim--I didn't sense the fullness of a life when reading it. Perhaps she will write a longer exploration of her life, or a novel. If she does, I'll read it, as she is quite a writer.

Stories of Animal Cruelty
I agree with the earlier reviewer, as far as mean people and animal cruelty go.I could hardly finish the book myself, not only because of the animal cruelty and abuse but also the author's total indifference to it.I don't particularly care to read about people abusing and killing animals (killing a mother cow because she wants to keep her calf, and shooting 13 puppies because "they are ugly"), and basically that is what a lot of this book is about.Not a very good or interesting read, author is whiney and self-absorbed - don't waste your time with this garbage. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Children of alcoholics    8. Farm life    9. Minnesota    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Regional Subjects - Midwest    12. Summer    13. Biography: general   

Reviews (2)

Hoosier Daddy
There was a time when I thought I was the last American still reading James Whitcomb Riley's poetry.Wrong, of course, and eventually I stumbled upon Elizabeth J. Van Allen's biography of the man.From knowing practically nothing of him, other than William Lyon Phelps' introductory remarks in one of Riley's anthologies, I've come to better understand him through Van Allen's detailed look at the poet.
An alternative
The Kirkus review of James Whitcomb Riley: A Life is hardly a fair one.It criticizes the book because of two opinions of the reviewer that clearly the author had no hope of changing:Read more

Subjects:  1. 1849-1916    2. 19th century    3. American - General    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Historical - U.S.    9. Homes and haunts    10. Indiana    11. Literary    12. Poets, American    13. Regional Subjects - Midwest    14. Riley, James Whitcomb,    15. Riley, James Whitcomb, 1849-1916    16. Biography: general    17. English    18. Riley, James Whitcomb    19. USA    20. Regional Biography   

Reviews (1)

A pub crawl across Wisconsin in times gone by...
Thanks to a abberation in drinking age laws between Minnesota and Wisconsin in the late 70s, I spent a GREAT deal of time in Wisconsin taverns in my late teens, so I consider myself something of an expert on the subject.This book is a fantastic, politically incorrect primer on the taverns of the land of cheese, beer and Packer fans.Come on - if you think of beer, Wisconsin automatically comes to mind, doesn't it?If you're somewhere else in America, say San Diego or Charlotte, and have never spent a frigid January Saturday night getting tipsy in a little hole-in-the-wall in the woods surrounded by earflapped yokels who have that "yah, shure!" accent just like in the movie "Fargo", this book is as close as you're gonna get.The pages bring you back to another time, before globalization and homogenization and satellite communication where "local flavor" (good or bad) actually meant something.It's obvious that this is a labor of love for the authors - they laugh along with you at the bizarre promotional ideas some of these taverns had, yet, deep down, you know they admired their threadbare earnestness.Each tavern a unique, flawed jem (well, OK, some are just plain rocks) with story after story.This is a natural for anyone interested in breweriana, Wisconsin, or a swig of the barley pop over the third Ole and Lena joke of the night - a classic! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Regional Subjects - Midwest    3. United States - State & Local - Midwest   

Reviews (6)

Misleading title
A fellow book club member said that he would give this book one star just for the fact that the author was actually able to get it published.Building on this theory, I am willing to give it another star because I did find many of the anectdotes interesting and/or funny.If it were't for those 2 things, I don't know if I would have given this book any stars.
It Happened In Omaha
An entertaining tall tale from the heartland.I didn't believe one thing in the book, which isn't good when you're supposedly writing non-fiction.A lot of the book takes place in the city where Rips Senior lived, Omaha, and at a second rate hotel, the Congress, populated by a gang of absurd down-and-outers a la Wim Wenders' Million Dollar Hotel.When Nick Rips dies, his son Michael finds some art photos of a black woman among his dad's papers.This book is his account of how he tried to find out the identity of this mystery woman.Ii involves a lot of white guilt.
Rich in History
Though I generally dislike mystery's, I really enjoyed this book. This is and was a man's life, a real story was being told. What a great book. From the first page I was sucked in. Rips is a wonderful storyteller, knowing just the right amount of humor to throw in. Who knew that Omaha's history was so interesting. I felt that I was sitting i history class ( I love history) drinking up facts about Al Capone's ties to Omaha, brothels and slaughter houses. There were parts of the books that lagged a bit, but its still worth the read, Rips finally finds the naked woman and he finally knows the man that was his father. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Historical - General    5. Jews In The U.S.    6. Nebraska - Local History    7. Personal Memoirs    8. Regional Subjects - Midwest    9. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (4)

Southern Illinois' Very Own Gangster
I picked up the original edition of this book years ago. It seemed then to be the definitive biography of Charlie Birger but Gary DeNeal has seen fit to update it and expand it with new info. This is one of the best gangster biographies I've ever seen and the rural background adds to the fascination. The Birger-Shelton gang war, complete with machine guns, armored trucks, and aerial bombing, equalled the violence and color of Capone's Chicago. A well-written and researched work that brings to life the Prohibition era.

Local History can be Interesting
I purchased this book originally while doing family research in Southern Illinois.My family had for years heard stories of my grandfather and Charlie Birger.I wanted to see if any dates/events coincided and to my surprise and relief there were not very many.During the reading of the book, however, I found myself being drawn in and even beginning to become enchanted by Charlie Birger.Don't get me wrong - he was a very dangerous and troubled person - but the writing by Gary DeNeal really drew me in.The history lessons as well as the interesting look at the world of a small time (even though Birger thought he was big-time) gangster was quite interesting.One of the most interesting facets was his association with other local gangsters and the historical look at how East St. Louis, now suffering from urban decay, was once a thriving and beautiful city.This book was a lot of fun and Mr. DeNeal did his research quite well.

Good Clarification of the Topic
Growing up in southern Illinois, the stomping grounds of Charlie Birger, I always heard the stories of gangsters. For anyone who has lived in southern Illinois, it is hard to imagine gangsters, bootlegging, etc. going on in this rural part of the state. Being curious about what was fact and what was fiction regarding Birger, I found this book.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1880-1928    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Birger, Charlie,    7. Case studies    8. Criminals & Outlaws    9. Historical - General    10. Historical - U.S.    11. Illinois    12. Murder    13. Murderers    14. Prohibition    15. Regional Subjects - Midwest    16. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    17. American history: from c 1900 -    18. Biography: historical    19. Biography: political    20. Crime & criminology    21. USA    22. Violence in society   

Subjects:  1. (Wendell Lewis),    2. 1892-1944    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. History    6. History: American    7. Political    8. Politicians    9. Presidential candidates    10. Regional Subjects - Midwest    11. United States    12. United States - General    13. Willkie, Wendell L    14. Biography: general    15. USA   

Reviews (5)

Carole Lombard
This book read as if the author just accumulated facts from other writers and listed them in a sterile "here are the facts and only the facts" type of way. Not fun. Not very interesting. Very little insight into Carole Lombard.
Nobody did it better
Reviewed for H-Indiana by Randy Roberts (rroberts@sla.purdue.edu), Department of History, Purdue University Good book for new Lombard fans ...
... but, as some reviewers have noted, it's not for the die-hard fan. That's because the book is basically a rehash of well-known anecdotes and draws heavily upon other biographies and articles. As for the lack of photos/thin volume, one must keep in mind that this was published by the Indiana Historical Society. It's very expensive to get the rights for photos, not to mention print them on high quality, glossy paper. Like another reader however, I give high marks just for getting a book on Lombard published - and that can be attributed to the Indiana Historical Society. I've published books and I have been pitching a biography of Carole Lombard for YEARS. I even have a complete outline and have chalked up years and years of research ... but publishers don't want to touch it. They just don't think she'd sell. There needs to be an angle, etc. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1908-1942    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Lombard, Carole,    6. Motion picture actors and actr    7. Motion picture actors and actresses    8. Regional Subjects - Midwest    9. United States    10. Women   

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Childhood Memoir    3. Regional Subjects - Midwest   

Editorial Review

In Read more

Reviews (79)

Good understanding....
This book is written not to glorify gang life but to show people the horrors of it and the reasons why kids join gangs.these are the reasons I liked it so much.As somewhat of a gang researcher and enthusiast, I read this book with much skepticism thinking it would be another memoir seeking sympathy from the reader.Mr. Sanchez does a good job of explaining what he went through without playing on the reader's heart strings.I recommend this book to anyone interested in seeing what the gang culture is all about and see what goes on in the life of a gang member.

WOW!
This book is amazing.It's written in a way that someone would actually speak...no pomp and elaboration.It opened my eyes to a Chicago that I've heard about, but couldn't believe existed.

My Bloody Life
Ages 12 and up.The book My Bloody Life if about the life of a Puerto Rican teenager named Reymundo Sanchez.The book talks about all of the violence that he went through in order to gain popularity and to get something that he never got from his mom which was love.When he was a little kid, he would get beat up by his parents.He then began to hang out with a gang called the Spanish Lords, and with them he had his first joint of marijuana and the first time he drank alcohol.Due to some arguments that he had with the Spanish Lords, he began hanging out with another street gang called the Latin Kings.With this gang he began to smoke and drink more and became addicted to cocaine at some point.He killed someone for the first time also.He went through a journey that made him change his mind about ever joining the Latin Kings.This book is recommended for children 12 years and over because the majority of people that get involved in gangs are usually 12-14 years of age. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1963-    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Chicago    6. Childhood Memoir    7. Ethnic Cultures - General    8. Illinois    9. Puerto Ricans    10. Regional Subjects - Midwest    11. Sanchez, Reymundo,    12. Violence    13. Biography & Autobiography / Criminals & Outlaws    14. Biography: general    15. Latin America    16. Organized crime    17. Sanchez, Reymundo   

Reviews (3)

Timeless values in overcoming difficulties.Awounderful family book!
Ralph Moody's books are a national treasure demonstrating life at the end of an era while teaching timeless values in an enjoyable and appealing fashion.Almost all of Ralph Moody's books have that "read aloud" feel so rare in literature disigned for families. Told in the first person he tells his story simply with feeling and often some well placed humor.
Ralph Moody
When I was a child I read Little Britches, Man of The Family, and Horse of a Different Color.These books/stories are timeless.Any parent who wants to give a good example to a child about resposibility should obtain these.

Vivid history in a home-spun style that leaves you smiling.
Ralph Moody again weaves an artful picture of true life in the real world of the early twentieth century. His easy going style and colorful portrayal of each character give a real livng account of day to day life with aconstant optimism that many of us miss in our cynical world. A great readaloud family book aong with the rest in the series. Moody gives characterqualities that are rarely found in the novels of today and are much neededespecially for todays young men.Read more

Subjects:  1. 1898-    2. 20th Century American Literature    3. 20th century    4. American - General    5. Biography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Fiction    8. History    9. Homes and haunts    10. Kansas    11. Moody, Ralph,    12. Ranch life    13. Ranchers    14. Regional Subjects - Midwest    15. Westerns - General    16. Literary studies: from c 1900 -    17. Moody, Ralph    18. Other prose: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (7)

Sticks in your head for years
I'm biased, because I'm from Gays Mills, WI (I used to mow Leita Slayton's lawn!) - but I recently re-read it, and was surprised at how many of the anecdotes and images I remembered were actually from The Land Remembers, and not from Steinbeck or anyone else better-known. Parts of this book will stay with you for years and years. It's like going home again every time I pick it up.

One of my all time favorites
This is one of those books I will always remember. My children were young when I read it and I felt that it contained many lessons on how to be a good parent. And all in the context of very enjoyable reading. The story about learning to use the horse drawn cultivator shows how a parents help their child develop self-confidence, which is something I see so many people lacking. I can't say enough good things about this gem of a book.

One of my favorites!
This book is full of humor and spends wonderful time on how a farm is run, explaining the land, the chores, the wonder of living on a farm. Ben's antics with his brothers are delightful, and his account of his evenings with his family are memorable. I read this anytime I need a lift, and shareits richness with anyone who will listen. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors, American    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Farm life    6. Farmers & Ranchers    7. Nature    8. Nature/Ecology    9. Regional Subjects - Midwest    10. Wildlife    11. Wisconsin