"I flat admire Bryan L. Jones's <i>Mark Twain Made Me Do It</i>—not only because it dramatizes a truckload of boyhood epiphanies, but also because it does the dramatizing with a flair and an attitude worthy of Twain himself."—William Kloefkorn "Jones mixes humor characteristic of the plains society with a dash of wisdom, a pinch of the history of farming (of which most modern folks are woefully ignorant), and hefty insight into, and charity toward, human nature."—Linda Hasselstrom "Jones succeeds in making Nebraska in the 1950s seem exotic, even fascinating, definitely worth hearing about."—Noel Perrin
Mark Twain Made Me Do It and Other Plains Adventures is a collection of humorous essays portraying western Nebraska life and culture of the 1950s. Anecdotes on small-town baseball and the polio epidemic of 1952 provide a historic backdrop to the story of a wide-eyed boy exploring the limits of his universe. The adventures of a Twain-inspired raft trip down the South Platte and Sputnik-inspired homemade rockets mirror a society of seemingly settled lifestyles and frenzied technological advances. Family travels, holidays with Grandpa and Grandma, and marvelous creations like his sister's stories of Susabelle and the magic Band-Aids weave a splendid tale. But Jones's world is not one of sentimental nostalgia; running battles with town bullies, sobering encounters with religious buffoons, and an impressive collection of pedagogues specializing in violent corporal punishment capture the earthy essence of a world now largely disappeared.
Les mer
A collection of humorous essays portraying western Nebraska life and culture of the 1950s. It includes anecdotes on small-town baseball and the polio epidemic of 1952 that provide a historic backdrop to the story of a wide-eyed boy exploring the limits of his universe.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780803275928
Publisert
1997-03-01
Utgiver
University of Nebraska Press; University of Nebraska Press
Vekt
255 gr
Høyde
216 mm
Bredde
140 mm
Aldersnivå
01, P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
277
Forfatter