****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This was an unusual book, in many ways.I bought it both because the author was a friend way back in high school AND because a life-long mutual friend recommended it to me after reading it.The description of the book "A Compendium of Poems, Autobiographical and Genealogical Sketches, Writings, Observations, Political Commentary and other Miscellaneous Stuff; plus some fictional stories" while accurate, does not convey a couple of notable things:First, it is quite well written! Time and again I found myself dipping into a segment of the book, sort of "testing the waters" as it were to see if I wanted to read this particular portion through, and found to my delight that I was "sucked in." There is unexpected humor, self-deprecation, and an astounding ability to recall what it was like to live in a time now lies over 60 years in the past.Well, not all of the stories are located so far back, just those that cover aspects of his childhood. However, since we were raised in the same town I was amazed to find out how very different our experiences were even though we lived just a few miles apart.And, even though I knew none of his siblings or ancestors, I found his numerous recollections of them, including some gems of mini-biographies, of great interest, partially because of his writing skills but also because, since I, too, am now 79 years of age, I recognize how truly unique every human life is and the experiences we go through are both fascinating and, in key ways, similar.The author and I do NOT share similar political views but, thankfully, political commentary does not play a major role through most of this book.Who might find this of interest? Anyone who lived through the 40s, 50s and 60s as well as anyone interested in finding out something of "what it was like" to have done so.I thoroughly enjoyed this book, in no small measure because it allowed me to "meet" a good friend -- in many ways, for the first time!
