Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry

Truck: A Love Story, by Michael Perry, (New York: Harper Perennial; 2007), 320 pages.

This is not a love story about a man that falls in love with his International Harvester pick-up truck, as the title and cover may suggest. Rather, it is a book about the year in the life of a writer living in rural Wisconsin. This is not as dull a subject as it may seem at first glance. Please be assured that it’s also not a book of endless pages about a man (Perry) sitting at a desk pecking away at a keyboard. Perry has an active life: he grows his own vegetables, volunteers for the local fire brigade, travels around the United States promoting his books; is active in the community and falls in love. With the changing of the seasons, Perry’s garden grows, his love of a woman develops and deepens, and the restoration of his International Harvester pick-up truck inches towards completion. By the end of the book the author manages to leave the reader strangely satisfied: the truck is restored, and Perry gets married and lives happily ever after in rural Wisconsin living his charmed life developing more material for his next autobiographical book.

This is not a book solely about restoring a truck, nor is it solely about romantic love: its more nuanced and sublime than that. These subjects are major parts of the book, but are not the sole story lines. This book is a reflection on life in rural America by a man with deep roots in his community. Perry lives an active and full life. His work, both volunteered and paid keeps him busy as does his participation in social life of his small town and his engagement with his family. Perry’s life has many facets, and all of them shine in this surprisingly enjoyable book. Perry has no claim to fame to propel sales of this book; he has no widely known notable achievements other than his ability to write autobiographical books that sell well due to them being good books. This touching and humorous book demonstrates the nobility of a man’s ordinary life lived in a small rural Wisconsin community, the virtue of work and marriage, and the love of family, friends and community.

Not Taco Bell Material by Adam Carolla

Adam Carolla, Not Taco Bell Material, (New York: Crown Publishing; 2012), 330 pages.

This autobiography tells the story of Carolla's rise from neglected child of welfare-dependant parents living in a crummy house with a dirt lawn in North Hollywood to his current status as a millionaire businessman. Carolla discusses his upbringing by framing them around the various houses and apartments he lived in, and what he got up to while living in them. He details a series of depressing residences, and the major memories of his upbringings linked to those places. With comic flare, profanity, and at times vulgarity, we see how Carolla stumbled through school ill-equipped for life. Upon graduating from high school he was barely able to read. With few options and no  guidance or  encouragement from his parents, he took up a series of menial jobs such as carpet cleaning, digging ditches, carpentry and being a boxing instructor. Always possessed with the gift of the gab, Carolla eventually worked out that he could either continue to work with his hands, or develop his ability to be funny. After much failure, persistence, and by making his own luck, Carolla broke into radio (initially for no pay) and later became a paid host of a nationally syndicated radio show. Carolla subsequently moved into developing and staring in a number of television shows, stand-up comedy, acting, movie production, as well as developing a podcasting network. From humble beginnings, Carolla has become a very successful businessman.

This book is a very funny telling of Carolla’s life. He can be crude, vulgar, funny, but most of all honest. No one in his life is spared, including his family and close friends. It is a very funny book but at the same time quite serious. He is critical of a school system that could let him graduate fro high school barely able to read. He is critical of television, movie and radio executives that have few creative skills, but world class expertise in ruining projects. It’s also a damning indictment of his parent’s hands-off parenting. Despite this, it’s inspirational because Carolla shows that despite his lousy childhood and his absent parents, that it was possible to develop and use his talents to make a success of his life. This is the real point of this book: in spite of your background, with hard work, a lot of failure, and setback, hard work and dedication and grit can bring you success.

The Devil's Guide to Hollywood by Joe Eszterhas

Joe Eszterhas, The Devil's Guide to Hollywood: The Screenwriter as God,  (New York: St. Martin's Griffin; 2006) 379 pages.

This unusual book by a successful screenwriter is part biography, part insider's guide for new players, part anecdote collection, and part critique. Eszterhas knows the movie business, and this book is his take on what Hollywood (as in the movie making business)  really like. He delivers detailed lessons on writing the script, selling the script, filming, and working with the producer, director, the studio, actors and critics. The book contains the wisdom and wit of others, and also also the sharp criticisms of Eszterhas's competitors such an William Goldman and Robert McKee. The lessons on these themes are not just his own, but also statements from many others in the business. Most of the books comprises quotes from others in the business, delivered in an entertaining and truthful way that is immensely entertaining.

This is a book for people interested in learning what the movie business is really like. If you read it, you will see that its a sewer full of all sorts of vices that at times can produce great art, and at other times, complete dross. Even Eszterhas is repelled by Hollywood, choosing to rear his children far away, in a very different part of the United States. The book's great strength is its honesty, comprehensiveness, and compilation of a wide variety of voices that have worked in Hollywood, both now and in years past. Esterhas uses and quotes profanity, and discusses subjects of an "adult nature," so reader discretion is advised.

"Education of a Wandering Man: A Memoir by Louis L'Amour,"

"Education of a Wandering Man: A Memoir by Louis L'Amour," (New York: Bantam Books; 1989) 232 pages. ISBN: 978-0553286526

Louis L'Amour had an excellent education to prepare him for his very successful career as a writer, demonstrated by his prodigious lifetime output of 89 novels, over 250 short stories, and two works of non-fiction. Don't think this book is L'Amour's recollections of his education at a distinguished university such as Yale or Harvard. You would be dead wrong if you did. L'Amour didn't go to those colleges; he didn't even finish high school. His education was earned the old way at the "school of hard knocks." This book summarizes this practical and informal education, and shows what a fascinating and exciting education it was. To L'Amour, formal schooling got in the way of his education. While he remains a great supporter of education, formal schooling was not for him. He left school at an early age to work, and continued his education through books he bought, borrowed or accessed in libraries.

This range of jobs he took was remarkable: itinerant laborer, merchant seaman, mine assessor and professional boxer. He followed the harvests, worked in mines, sailed to Asia and Europe, always reading in his spare time, always listening to the stories of the people he met on his travels. The constant through out these various jobs is his devotion to self-improvement through reading quality books. His devotion to learning is woven through the narrative. He recalls with great detail where he was when he read a particular book, and what he learned from it. This book also includes a list of the books he read from 1930 to 1935, and 1937. In most years, the list of books read was in excess of 100.

This book is a fine account of the self- education of a popular and successful writer. Its outstanding feature is its depiction of an unusual education predominantly self-taught in the school of hard knocks. It is also a testament to the idea that true education (rather than modern university-based vocational training) does not require a degree. To L'Amour, all it takes is the ability to read, along with the natural ability to reflect on books in a way to try to better your life. L'Amour's Education of A Wandering Man, written shortly before his death, is also a fine portrayal of life in during the Great Depression, and of the life of the nomadic, itinerant worker. The life of the hobo (as distinguished from the lay-about non-working bum) has largely disappeared. L'Amour's book is a witness to this disappeared way of life. This excellent and readable book should appeal to a wide audience. It will specifically appeal to fans of L'Amour, and perhaps to readers interested in the lives of successful authors. It will also be of interest to those curious about life in the American west during the Great Depression, and of first hand accounts of itinerant workers during that time.

"Confessions of a Tax Collector," by Richard Yancey

"Confessions of a Tax Collector: One Man's Tour of Duty Inside the IRS," by Richard Yancey, (New York:Harper Collins; 2004) 364 pages. ISBN 0-06-055560-2.

No one grows up thinking they want a career as a tax collector. The people that end up doing that job get there somehow. This is one man's story of how he came to be a revenue officer for the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"). In Confessions of a Tax Collector, former drama teacher Richard Yancey answers an recruitment advertisment in a Florida newspaper (remember those) seeking people to work in The Treasury Department. Attracted by the job security and salary, he applies and is recruited. The book traces his career from his employment interview, training, and his early career. Yancey pulls back the curtain on what the IRS was like in the 1990s, to show us how revenue officer collected income tax revenue for the IRS. 

Exposes  by insiders spilling the beans on what its really like working for an organization usually make interesting reading. This book is no exception. If you are interested in working for the IRS, then Yancey's book should be recommended reading, even though the IRS has changed considerably from the way it is depicted in this book. This book's utility is not confined to future agents wanting know what its really like to work for the IRS. Anyone thinking of working in a job that requires managing a caseload (e.g. investigator, insurance examiner/adjuster, etc) would benefit from it: this book reveals the type of work constraints and limitations associated with such work. Yancey also provides engaging and detailed critiques of how he successfully did his job and closed cases. These are first-rate accounts of what is required in jobs that require you to handle a case load. The book also gives an important lesson for all people: Yancey decided that if he was going to do the job of revenue officer, he was going to be the best revenue agent. Success for him was a decision, and was something he worked hard for and achieved. This is a lesson for all people in that no matter how little you enjoy you job, or are embarrassed by it, namely, there is a lot to be said for deciding to be the best at it and doing it exceptionally well. Who knows where it will lead. In Richard Yancey's instance, its led to a careers as a writer.

"Roads: Driving America's Great Highways," by Larry McMurtry

"Roads: Driving America's Great Highways," by Larry McMurtry, (New York: Simon and Schuster; 2000), 206 pages. ISBN 0-684-86884-9.

At the end of the 20th century, Larry McMurtry decided to drive a selection of America's great interstate highways, namely, interstates 10, 40, 70, 80, 90 (the great east-west roads) and interstates 5, 25, 35, 75, and 95 (the north-south roads). There was no other reason than curiosity, just a desire to look around with the realization that as old age approaches, he needed to do it then while he was still able to do so. His approach was to jump on a plane, fly to a location, rent a car, and drive via one of the great interstate highways to his home in Archer City, Texas. The product is a book arranged by journey and highway, each comprising McMurtry's observations, recollections of previous journeys along the same road, his observations, an occasional historical note about the area he's driving through, and a note about any writers that came from that area.

The strength of this book is that it is successful on a number of levels. On one level, its an interesting travel book. Its not like the detailed explorations of backwoods America, like the books of William Least Heat Moon and Annie Proulx; this book is a contemplative narrative of the major migration and freight roads of America. On another level its autobiographical. McMurtry dips into his novelist, screenwriting, and book selling past to explain how cities, roads and life have changed over his lifetime. The book is also a regional literary bibliography. During McMurtry's parallel career as an antiquarian book dealer, he learned about the origins of many authors and the settings of many novels and other books. This knowledge is sprinkled  throughout the book, like seasoning, and adds depth and flavor to his travel story. For example, in the chapter on his trip south through Minnesota, he writes about notable local authors from the past, and books about the region he's observing, such as George W. Featherstonhaugh's A Canoe Voyage Down the Minney-Sotar.  Many of us would not known of this book, and the many other mentioned by McMurtry, if they were not included in these pages. These historical diversions are everywhere in this book, making the book better for them.

This book will be enjoyed by readers that like travel stories, road trips, and autobiographical reflections of a notable American writers.

"Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins," by Rupert Everett

Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, by Rupert Everett (New York: Warner Books; 2006), 406 pages.  ISBN : 978-0-446-57963-6.

Rupert Everett's autobiography is his account of his life from infancy through 2006. Naturally, it covers his school days through his professional acting/singing/modeling career, its various ups and downs, good years and bad years, feasts and famines. Most notable are Everett's accounts of his life's loves. Acquaintances are also mentioned and discussed with particular emphasis on how they affected his life at that time.

Rarely do writers receive criticism for failing to disclose information and facts; however this is a rare example of a book where the author goes to far in his enthusiastic disclosure of his and his friend's and acquaintance's concerns. Everett is enthusiastically indiscreet; he gives us too much information on matters that should be personal, private, or left unsaid. This, of course, is deliberate. Nothing attracts publicity and book sales like the disclosure of scandalous indiscretions.

Who would benefit from reading this book? Very few people, except collectors of trivia about semi famous and famous actors and their friends. Everett's acting skill is perhaps equalled by his ability to befriend famous and notable people. Two useful lessons of this book is how success often depends on winning a patron, and that life as an actor can quickly move from feast to famine. The greatest limitation of this book is its cursory dealing with serious matters, in particular, his apparent lack difficulty in simultaneously being both a practicing catholic and practicing homosexual. His reflections on this rationalization would make for much more interesting reading than a recollection of the latest party at Roddy McDowall's house. But I suppose its the latter that sells books.

"One For The Road: Hitchhiking Through The Australian Outback," by Tony Horwitz

"One For The Road: Hitchhiking Through The Australian Outback," by Tony Horwitz, (New York: Random House, First Vintage Departures Edition, 1988), 222 pages.

Travelling through outback Australia by car is no easy feat, but Tony Horwitz has gone one further in hitchhiking through it, alone. One For the Road is the story of Horwitz’s mid-1980's hitchhiking journey that started from Sydney and went anti-clockwise through the outback parts of the states of New South Wales and Queensland until he reached the Three Ways in the Northern Territory. Horwitz then changed direction and travelled south through Central Australia until he reached the southern coast, where he changed directions again travelling clockwise, first west, then north and later east until he reached Darwin. Hitchhiking anywhere isn't easy. Divers are reluctant of offer rides. The conditions in outback Australia make hitchhiking difficult. There is the oppressive heat, the flies, the long distances between tiny towns, the rough and unsealed roads, and perhaps alarmingly, the alcohol-fueled drivers (who regularly drink beer while driving) that take a life in their hands when they offer a ride to the hitchhiker. Horwitz endures these difficulties, survives the harsh conditions, and runs out of ways to describe the monotonous and featureless landscapes to tell us of his experiences of living on the road. The generous souls that offer him a ride are a varied lot. They include a family from Tasmania (where the mine closed) looking for work in the Western Australian mines, an angry and aggressive youth going for a drive for something to do, truck drivers who regret not being able to see their families and are strangers in their own home, a retired naval officer who hit the road when the in-laws were about to visit who still has the sailor's habit of keeping a detailed log book, a young physician out for a drive in the countryside, and a car load of young aboriginal men that drive a car that barely runs. Horwitz also visits places with strange names that the tourist rarely see, goes to small "one pub" towns where drivers only stop to re-fuel and eat before embarking on the next leg of their journey into the "ghastly blank." He also ventures into larger towns and cities like the mining town of Mount Isa, Alice Springs, Perth, exotic Broome, and his ultimate destination of Darwin. He also chronicles his unusual adventures, such as when he was lucky to avoid meeting his maker in a car accident while driving from Ayers Rock / Uluru to Alice Springs. Or there's the account of his day on a crayfish trawler off Geraldton where he spends most of the day seasick, much to the delight of the rest of the crew, and his hitching a ride with a wheat train where he spent time up front in the engine driver's cab. Much of the book has an absence of any awareness of time or deadlines, but at the end of his journey, they become a major pre-occupation because he has to be in Darwin on a certain day at a certain time to catch a place. Time is against him in the end, and he has to use his wits to avoid being beaten by it.

The great strength of this book is that it captures a part of Australia that few people, let alone the majority of coast-hugging Australians, have ever experienced. Horowitz also sees it with ordinary people. He shares with us the joys and travails of the hitchhiker who doesn't know what his next driver will be like, friendly, surly, vibrant conversationalist or it opposite. He shares with us the experience of his front-seat confessional, his driver's thoughts, aspirations, fears and regrets, all while driving through the vast landscapes slip past. It is these features that make One For The Road more than just a travel book; its an inner journey of discovery for the author, and for him, the end of his time hitchhiking. His brush with mortality keeps replaying in the videotape of his mind, reminding him of how lucky he was that the car rolled one way, and not the other. A conversation with one female driver makes him long to be at home his wife in the safety of the suburbs in Sydney. His celebration of Passover in Broome is truly moving, and perhaps the best chapter of the book: it is a reminder of how our past and the religion that we may (or in the author's case may no longer) practice is part of our identity. It is something that makes us what we are, for a brief moment or evening, unites us in a common bond with complete strangers when a long way from home and scattered throughout the world far from our loved ones.

One For The Road is an outsider's view of Australia, a view that is accurate without being condescending, sentimental or evangelical. Perhaps this is because the author is a journalist, someone who sets it all out for us to see with our own eyes with brutal honesty, compassion and affection. He shows here the skills of a fine writer, someone who unsurprisingly went on to write other fine works of non-fiction. For these reasons, it should appeal to a wide audience of lovers of good writing and interesting stories, lovers of travel stories, and readers interested in the "real Australia" that isn't seen in the travel brochures.

“Teacher Man,” by Frank McCourt

“Teacher Man,” by Frank McCourt, (New York: Scribner; 2005), 258 pages.

  

In Frank McCourt’s third book, “Teacher Man,” he again writes about his favorite subject, himself; however, in this book McCourt expands upon his earlier recollections of his vocation as a teacher in the New York City public school system. This subject was covered quite nicely in the second volume of his autobiography “’Tis,” where he wrote of his experiences as a teacher as part of the journey of his life from an impoverished immigrant to an accomplished and revered high school teacher. His time as a teacher was an important component of the story of his life in that book. “Teacher Man” is different in that it puts Frank McCourt, the respected teacher, as the subject of the book, and relegates other aspects of his life into the background.

“Teacher Man,” while predominantly autobiographical, is also a commentary on the teaching profession in the public school system. McCourt notes that success is determined by the speed at which teachers abandon the classroom and seek shelter in the administrative bureaucracy. Successful teaching is admired for its own sake, but it is not rewarded like successful teacher administration. McCourt also demonstrates what teachers like him had to do to “break through” with dis-interested students. As the teacher of very ordinary students, he sometimes had to be innovative and use methods that some might think of as radical or inappropriate. For example, to get the attention of the vocational school English class, he drew upon their extensive experience of forging parental excuse notes to teach a class on writing excuse notes. With a fully attentive and engaged class, he challenged them to write an excuse note from Adam of God. Success in the classroom was not always mirrored in McCourt’s private life. He failed to fulfill his own (or his wife’s) ambitions of becoming successful: he did not become a teaching administrator, and spent two years in Ireland studying for a Ph. D without success.

This book succeeds on many levels. It is a fine memoir of the career of a teacher. It is also a critique and commentary on the successes and failures of the American public school system. It also gives us an insight into how good teachers can make a difference in the lives of students, and occasionally fail to “get through” to certain troubled students. It also goes over  McCourt’s well trodden ground of the difficulties faced by new immigrants in escaping their impoverished childhoods. For all these reasons, this is a highly commendable book. Despite such accolades, it is not without flaws. At times McCourt lapses into the habit of giving us too much detail of certain aspects of his personal life. His disclosures may offend some readers or be considered in poor taste, particular those that detail his infidelities. Nonetheless, it is honest; perhaps to a fault, but it is a very rewarding read. And now that this revered literature teacher has passed away, we can be thankful for what he has written, while speculating on what he may have written had he not passed away. One can’t help but think that there may have been another book or two in Frank McCourt on a subject other than his autobiography. Unfortunately that was not to be, and we are all the poorer for it. 

“’Tis,” by Frank McCourt

“’Tis,” by Frank McCourt, (New York: Scribner; 1999), 367 pages.

’Tis is a fine book; a frank and fascinating life story full of spirit, suffering, drama. ’Tis is the second autobiographical book by Frank McCourt where he tells the story of his adult life after his return to the United States from Limerick, Ireland. He leaves behind his life of childhood poverty and returns to the city if his birth, New York, as an impoverished, Irish-accented immigrant. At the age of nineteen McCourt returned to New York. With the help of a priest he gets a job at a hotel for the wealthy (the Biltmore), where he encountered the great disparity between the wealth of the American establishment and the people who serve them at The Biltmore, namely immigrants. McCourt was then drafted into the United States Army, has his bad, poverty-ruined teeth seen by a dentist. The United States Army didn’t send him to the war in Korea, but instead sent him to Germany where he displayed his talent for training dogs and typing reports. After his discharge from the United States Army, he returned to New York City and worked a number of jobs, but mostly he worked on the docks. McCourt learned the importance of education and in satisfying his desire to learn (like the college kids he saw each day on the subway), used the G.I. Bill, a bit of initiative to start to overcome his childhood poverty, and lack of a high school education to overcome his chromic lack of self-confidence, to enroll in New York University. At New York University he studied to be an English teacher, and while he wasn’t studying or working, ignored the advice of others to stick to his own (Irish Catholics) and fell in love with a Yankee protestant girl. McCourt completed his degree and through a stroke of good fortune commenced his vocation as a teacher in a technical school. Life as an inexperienced teacher in a technical school was challenging: he struggled to retain the class’s interest in English where the classes were filled with vocationally-oriented students who saw the class as essentially killing time until they went off to become mechanics and hairdressers. McCourt eventually married his Yankee protestant girlfriend and eventually established himself as a respected teacher within the New York City public school system.

McCourt’s “’Tis” is a fine stand-alone book: the reader need not have read his earlier book “Angela’s Ashes” to understand his upbringing as a child in a very poor family in Ireland. A theme of this book is how his upbringing scarred him and held him back through a chronic lack of confidence, shame, and embarrassment. The book also shows how difficult life can be for a poor immigrant in the United States; however, it also offers others hope because McCourt showed how with hard work, a bit of luck, and help from kindly souls, he eventually succeeded in his chosen profession as a teacher in one of New York’s finest public high schools, a school that had its graduates regularly attend the best colleges in the United States. As McCourt’s life became incrementally more successful, we also see him move further away from his Irish Catholicism, something that in his youthful poverty defined him. The transformation in this book of Frank McCourt through his adult life proved to be quite remarkable.

A Life In Progress, by Conrad Black

“A Life In Progress,” by Conrad Black (Toronto: Key Porter Books; 1993), 522 pages. ISBN 1-55013-520-1

Overview

A Life In Progress is the first volume of Canadian newspaper proprietor Conrad Black’s autobiography. At time of publication, Black was aged 49 years, and seeming at the peak of his profession as the proprietor of a global newspaper publishing business. The book account’s for Black’s rise from privileged Canadian child, through to his numerous educational and business successes to him attaining his position as a global media magnate.

Black provides the reader with an extremely detailed account of his privileged and successful life. Born into a wealthy Canadian business family, Black enjoyed the numerous privileges afforded a family of their status. He was educated at private schools. His family had the means to enjoy summer vacations abroad, occasionally in Europe. He was a child and youth accustomed to socializing and dealing with other wealthy people, and Canadian citizens of influence. He attended college, and during that time made the acquaintance of numerous judges and politicians that he encountered during his regular card playing sessions. He later earned a law degree, and subsequently set out, without confidence, to become a newspaper proprietor. He used the tactic of financing his newspaper purchase by going into debt, and quickly repaying that debt by turning around the paper’s finances by aggressively cutting costs. So successful was his method, that he employed it over and over again until he owned a chain of Canadian newspapers. He employed the same method to take control of Argus Corporation, a venerable Canadian industrial company best knows for its subsidiary Massey Ferguson, the tractor manufacturer. His successful enterprises were replicated in the United States, Great Britain and Australia. At the time of his writing A Life In Progress, he owned or controlled the companies that published London’s Telegraph, The Jerusalem Post, The Chicago Sun Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, and a large chain of papers serving suburban and regional areas of North America.

Among all the frenetic coming and goings of his wide-reaching business activities, Black retained a constant devotion and support of conservative politics. Originally his participation and support was confined to Canada, however, as he business expanded to the United States and Great Britain, his influence in conservative politics likewise expanded. He was an acquaintance of Presidents of the United States, as well as the Prime Minters of both Great Britain and Canada.

Black says that the story of his life, up to that date, is also the story of Canada. I’m not sure if Black’s claim to equivalence is appropriate. Nonetheless, the story of his life is a very good illustration of how a person with a good head start in life, born into his position in life, can use his connections and acquaintances to advance his career.

Black also appears to have been blessed with the ability to be a savvy judge of character. He uses his ability quite deftly to his advantage in numerous business negotiations.

Black also devotes a lot of his book to the problem of the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec, and its fractured and difficult place within the Canadian Federation.

We are also given brief glimpses into Black’s personal life, including his courtships, marriages, and his conversion to Roman Catholicism in the 1980’s.

A notable feature of Black’s book is the astounding level of detail. Black must have a near perfect recollection of conversations, meeting and phone calls going back almost 30 years. He must have a remarkable memory, or very good diaries to include such detailed and intimate conversations.

The book is also illustrative of what it takes to become a successful global newspaper proprietor, namely confidence, self-assurance, a bit of luck and drive. It also helps to be born into a family of wealth, and have access to the highest level of government and connections and acquaintances with people able to provide debt financing.

If this book has a weakness it is its “Canadian-ness;” many of the political tales and business dealings within Canada may not resonate with non-Canadians, or people unfamiliar with Canadian politics and businesses. A great deal of Black’s comments and lessons on Canadian politics were lost on me because of my general ignorance of Canadian history and politics.

Black also has a tremendous command of the English, which he puts to use with great effect. He knows a lot of big words, and he doesn’t hold back in using them, especially when criticizing another person’s character. His colorful turn of phrase is at times entirely appropriate, while at other times, arguably borders on showing-off. This may not endear him to some readers.

Another of the book's weakness is Black's rather superficial explanation of his conversion to Roman Catholicism. He gives an explanation, but it is seems to be lacking. When dealing discussing matters of eternity, or the salvation of his soul and where it will reside during eternity, Black does not evangelize by giving a detailed and lengthy account of his spiritual conversion. He devotes many more pages to his business dealings than he does to his conversion. This is curious to say the least. Perhaps there’s another detailed book yet to be written on this subject.

This book should be of interest to Canadians, readers with interest in general business and investing, newspapers proprietors and their staff, conservatives, and people interested in what it takes to build a global business operation.

“The Road from Coorain,” by Jill Ker Conway

“The Road from Coorain,” by Jill Ker Conway (New York: Vintage Books; 1989), 238 pages.

It’s not uncommon for autobiographies to read as boastful summaries of the author’s achievements and successes. Such books contain large tracts of recollection where the author places himself/herself at the center of everything, and takes sole credit for their successes. These books also tend to be critical of rivals and competitor’s, pointing out the splinters in their rival’s eye while failing to notice the beams in their own. The Road from Coorain is not such a book; rather it’s a journey of discovery (or coming of age) of an unusually bookish girl in the 1940’s and 1950’s in Australia. Her early years were spent as a home-schooled child on a remote and vast sheep station (ranch). In recalling her early life, she describes the stunning beauty of remote rural Australia, its bountiful appearance after soaking rains, and its slow and relentless decline into drought, where life is slowly strangled from plants, animals, and ultimately from the people that try to farm it. Ker Conway writes of the people that live in these wretched places and how isolation, biblical droughts and loneliness tend to breed hardy people. Not all can take the harshness and remoteness of rural Australia and seek refuge in the bottle, or for more desperate people, suicide. Ker Conway beautifully describes her family’s struggle farming their drought-stricken property, the death of her father, and her mother’s decision to move to Sydney and employ a manager to run their station “Coorain.” 

Ker Conway writes of the difficulty of county kids, such as her, to fit into life in the city. She quickly settles down and with a persistent and increasingly fragile mother, hunger for learning, and a bit of luck blossoms into a confident student at an exclusive high school. Her high school success propelled her to the University of Sydney, where she achieved notable academic success, and slowly realized after a few set backs and travel, that to achieve success in her chosen academic field that she would have to leave Australia for the United Stated.

The Road from Coorain gives us an insight into the Australia of the 1950’s, and all of the not uncommon prejudices, discriminations and disappointments of that time. It also shows one person’s encounter with this world, and one ambitious woman’s response and reaction to it. This beautifully written narrative is both particular and universal for it provides the lovely story of growing up in both rural Australia and the city, as well as the universal theme of how one uses their talents to find their way in the world.