Boyd Books

I ordered 3 copies of Squeeze to give as Christmas presents, and now I've ordered a 4th--for my New Year's present to a friend. This book is a delight for all ages with its spare, evocative images, piquing the memories of childhood for those of us over 12, and putting words to the singularity of each moment for those under 12.

What a pleasure to enjoy this fabulous book of poetry with your kids! My budding three year old son has memorized already several of the poems simply because we laugh, and act them out and have loads of fun. You can really feel the whimsical spirit of the writer, her sense of humor, her love of life, and just generally her creative way of looking at the world (the pictures too are so yummy!). My only criticism is that at some point the book ends!

As a children's librarian I enthusiastically recommend Squeeze! It's poetic forms will connect children to their own experiences in a very special way. The beautiful photos serve to enhance the words, but it is the words that will have children forming their own pictures. I love this book and plan on sharing it with my young patrons!

I am not generally a huge fan of kids poetry...but I LOVE this volume. The poems have beautiful rhythm, the photography is great and my kids and I have both loved to read them. I should note that my daughter is 6, which is at the young end of the recommended age, and she can't read herself yet, but loves to listen to me read them. I feel like a child again, myself, when I read them as they evoke memories of the simple pleasures of childhood. I might even steal the book to read on my own!

One other thing that is nice, each poem is fairly short, so I let my kids peruse the photos and take turns picking poems to read at night....each one takes a minute or less, so they feel involved by picking 4 or 5 each.

A great book to help create a poetry lover!

This is a unique book for the pre-teen set - beautiful poems and exquisite photography! I highly recommend it.

I liked this book because I learned a lesson. The lesson I learned was that I should always think about the things that could happen if I did it. If the father didn't apoligze he could of never seen a garden. On the other hand he wouldn't of told his daughter the story so she didn't do it to if he didn't have a tomato fight.

This book was one of the greatest childrens books od all time. Ihave never really been a fan of childrens books but this one seems to catch a persons sye. Ilove in how it's a book full of emotions. That just makes the story. The story also takes place over a long period of time. It also shows on the mistakes of life when your young and don't know as much as you do when you get older. This book was full of great meaning and had a great story line.

This gentle tale of redemption is appropriate for the six and older child or either gender. In the story, the protagonist (a ten year old boy) redeems an act of mindless vandalism (the destruction of an old man's vegetable garden) by assisting the victim in planting a new garden. This act of redemption develops into a friendship with a lasting and positive affect on the protagonist's life.

This book manages to deliver a profound and important moral message without preaching, but rather through gentle persuasion. The text is simple and well written and the illustrations beautiful. I highly recommend this book.

Wonderful book focussing on responsibility and friendship. An important story for children of all ages. Well deserving of it's Christopher Medal.

I must admit to have been rather taken back by this tale. The entire story is so close to a situation that happened to me when I was around the age of the young lad in this story, that I almost feel like it was taken from by head by the author. I too have told the story to my children and now gradchildren. In the story in this book, a young man does harm to an older man's garden, regrets it and them makes amends. He learns a good lesson in life through his actions. The author has done a very nice job of telling this story and the illustrations are quite well done. This is an interesting book to read to a class of young children and it is rather amazing how many of the children have had similiar experiences. It is also rather amazing as to how many will admit it and are willing to discuss it with a bit of prompting. I use this work in class a lot and find it quite helpful. Recommend this one highly.

Herb Boyd is well known to readers in New York for his hard-hitting, easy and informative journalistic style. He also deserves to become well-known for his award-winning book on the African American experience, "Brotherman -- The Odessy of Black Men in American," co-edited with Robert Allen. It displays a keen knowledge of African American documentation concerning the role of Black men in our society. His "Down the Glory Road" shows a fine sense of the sweep and force of the African American experience and how it can be rendered in easy-to-grasp prose. Now Boyd has given us the carefully researched and stirring documentary, "Autobiography of People: Three Centuries of African-American History Told by Those who Live it." This is no mere celebration of achievements nor is it a tale of woes and pain. What Boyd has meticulously constructed by ferreting documents famous and unknown from the dusty files of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and elsewhere is a powerful narrative of Black America told by those women and men who walked the miles, scaled the mountains, fought the battles, suffered the losses and achieved the victories. Here are Africans telling what it meant to be wrenched from peaceful villages and stuffed into suffocating slave ships for the terrifying and deadly voyage across the Atlantic, and then living to fight for their liberty and to tell their tales. Here is the lone African American, Osborne Perry Anderson, who survived the famous John Brown raid in 1859 on Harper's Ferry, and disclosing as no history books used in our schools does how the enslaved population rose up to fight and help Brown and his gallant band, which included four other free men of color. Here is the Harlem Renaissance told in the words of its legendary participants: Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston and others. Here is the civil rights movement captured in its intensity, pain and triumph by Paul Robeson, Rosa Parks, Ella Baker and James Forman. Herb Boyd has given us an America our schools need to study and learn from.

Twice I attempted to write this review of Herb Boyd's AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE, with it's" three centuries of African American history told by those who lived it"

but soon realized I should finish reading it first. His collections (of excerpt) is so powerful so revealing; and each one seem to flow into the next. like a chronological change of events.

I can see how it may be differcult for some to believe (and easier to deny) the suffering and sacrificing our ancestors endured, to make possible the freedom and well being we now enjoy. Surely it'll instill pride in we Americans of African descent and Americans of goodwill..

Myself, more so being the fact that I too, made a contribution. An excerpt was selected from my Korean war memoir, WHAT'S A COMMIE EVER DONE TO PEOPLE? (Publishes by McFarland Publishers Inc.). Sure, at the time, I was politically ignorant to the reasons I was there fighting, like many others black soldiers, then we were fighting for our lives, the fight for our freedom, we who survived, was to come on our return t o America.

Hopefully, my story, alone with the many others that appears in AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE will help enlighten other 17 & 18 year old American-American to the reality, that the freedom we now enjoy, others fought and died for it.

PS; In "AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE" includes my favorite hero, the adventurous, explorer, scientist and author, Mr. Matthew Henson, who's life story inspired me to be an adventurer.. DARK COMPANION. It was the first book I read. I was nine years old.

Again, My Sincere Thanks to you Brother; Herb Boyd your book is a magnificent collection of excerpts. And no doubt it'll serve as an inspiration to many.

Peace & Pleasant Writing Curtis J. Morrow

Conversations with Herb Boyd

While I attended New York University in the late 80's, I majored in 18th Century Literature and minored in African American history. Hands down, my biggest challenge was being able to keep up with my reading, and retain all that was required of me by my professors. If only Autobiography of a People Three Centuries of African American History Told By Those Who Lived It, Herb Boyd's newest book had existed years ago when I was a student in college.

As I am still a student of African American history, Boyd's book is right on time. Booksellers and African American history buffs who live in Manhattan received a royal treat on Saturday, February 5, 2000 if they tuned in to "Books That Matter" with Leroy Baylor and listened to Boyd talk about his newest success. "Books That Matter," a public access program promotes reading and literacy to a diverse readership and interviews new and well-established authors. Recent guests include: Tavis Smiley, Sapphire, Johnnie Cochran, and William Loren Katz. The show airs on alternate Saturdays in Manhattan on Channel 34 at 10:30 p.m., in Brooklyn on Channels 34 &67 at 10 p.m. every Friday evening and each Monday evening on Bronx Net at 10:30 p.m.

I found Baylor's interview with Boyd enjoyable, and several times I felt like I as a student again learning about the great history of my people. The wonderful rapport between Baylor and Boyd was immediate and a treat for the viewer. The book, which is a compendium of 118 powerful African American voices is quickly being heralded as a New Classic in African American Literature --a compliment it rightly deserves.

This book is an anthology edited by Herb Boyd.It contains compelling material that is written by various authors who tell of the African American experience as they witnessed it.The book should be read by all those who would like to know what has occurred in the collective experience of the only Americans who were brought to this country against their will and treated as chattel. It may surprise many to learn that the African American community is not monolithic.The various voices selected by Mr.Boyd attest to this notion in the telling of the story.Again,this book is one that should be read by everyone who needs or wants to know of the tragedies and triumphs of a proud and glorious people and their multiple experiences in America.

Do you ever wonder how black people living as slaves described life in America? Herb Boyd, author and journalist, has been a professor of black studies for thirty years. Thus, he is uniquely qualified to distill from the reams of black thought that which might best stand as a fitting testament to African Americana. Editor Boyd has deftly woven the dark backstory to the glamorized myth on which the American Dream rests. The author establishes that blacks in America have never been that content underclass by and large depicted in this country's history books. He disputes the notion, central to American history, that Africans brought to America were docile, uncivilized, unintelligent and, thus, deserving of their lot. Culling from the words of those who did dare to speak out (often with disastrous consequences), Boyd has woven an eloquent, emotional tapestry of the black experience. Its power derives not from any self-conscious rage, but from the simplicity, the unguarded frankness of the voices. This is a timely book, sorely needed at a critical moment in this nation's history.

Dougal Douglas, the protagonist of this short novel, is a modern-day trickster, stirring up the sleeping industrial town of Peckham, where secrets and neuroses are in abundance. I loved Ms. Spark's sense of comedy. It makes her books always a fun read, and it's subtle enough so it never becomes an annoyance to distract one from the story.

Loved the novel and loved the story. There was too much inside British stuff in the novel for a Houstonian like me to get the irony of.

This novel was new when I first picked it up for a train journey. I had been reading a good deal about Muriel Spark in newspaper notices at the time, so this was the chance to find out for myself. It was love at first read, and I was curious whether the wonder of it all might have survived the decades.

Muriel Spark's work is commonly classified as `satire', and I suppose that's fair. However something that her early admirers, including Evelyn Waugh, stressed was that she is not really like anyone else, and I believe that is true also. Obviously, satire has contemporary themes, so it might seem a likely candidate for early obsolescence, but a few moments' thought suggests otherwise. Juvenal Voltaire Swift and Macaulay have not exactly gone out of fashion, and are still read with enjoyment by people who cannot be bothered to look up their contemporary allusions, and 40 or more years after it was launched the satirical magazine Private Eye seems not only to be still going strong but to have passed on its special vocabulary, originally attached to figures now little remembered, to a new generation of fans. Small wonder in that case that Mrs Spark is still wearing well.

For newcomers to the author, this is as good an introduction as any. It is completely characteristic of her, it does not threaten memory overload with a huge cast of characters as The Bachelors possibly does, it stops short of being downright weird like The Hothouse by the East River, but on the other hand it escapes being lightweight like The Abbess of Crewe or even the immortal Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Of the standard Spark features, Catholicism is relegated to a brief mention, of much the usual kind, in the last page or two, but two of the characters, including the principal character (hardly qualifying as any `hero') are Scots. Her ear is as acute as ever, and readers old enough to remember the fashion for addressing people with rhyming animal names (`See you later, alligator.' `In a while, crocodile.' etc) must smile at the way the thing is done here.

The book evokes an era, and one that I remember quite well. This was the impoverished post-war Britain of dull clothes and duller food, before we first swang in the Swinging Sixties. Small manufacturing companies were still common, and it was still common for them to be British-owned and managed before automation, globalisation, the EU, MBA's and consultant-speak set in. Mrs Spark is a talented observer and mimic, and as usual there is little or no sense of affection for, or between, any of her characters. She is funny in a wry way rather than any aisles-rolled-in way, and as usual you never quite know where you are with her. Situations can become serious and even lethal in the proverbial twinkling of an optic, and one of her dramatis personae in this book is murdered and there is another attempt at murder or at least serious assault.

There is no outright irrationality this time, at least if you opt as I do for the theory that the bumps on Dougal's head are only sebaceous cysts. However Spark's characters are mainly just marionettes puppets and caricatures, and I'd say that goes for all of them in this book. I'm not sure whether I have been to Peckham in south London or to the Rye, which is an area of parkland or similar, but it features occasionally these days in news items about gang crime, knife crime and gun crime, often with an ethnic basis. It got headlines just a day or two ago when the ineffable current holder of the post of Home Secretary told us that she was afraid to go out at night for a takeaway meal in Peckham, and she has a constant police escort. That was what prompted me to reread the Ballad of Peckham Rye, because the title is a good one - like the ancient ballads this novel captures the feel of a time and place otherwise receding into inexact memory and helps us match it up against what it is like, or what we are told it is like, now. I never met Muriel Spark in person, I may or may not ever have seen Peckham Rye, but in a sense I shall always know her from there.

The Ballad of Peckham Rye (1960) seems more typical Sparkian fare than 1958's Robinson, which is to say more arch, more satirical, and more stylistically bizarre. And yet, while in Robinson Spark uses realism to loosen readers from their moorings so that they founder in the depths of what seemed to be a straightforward story, in Peckham Rye her wry, detached sketches release the reader into a kind of drunken clarity about such Big Ideas as, say, human nature. Reading this short novel, I told a friend at the time, felt like being in one of those whiskey-induced hazes in which certain lines and observations blaze with a delightful, transcendent truth--for example, "Dougal gazed at him like a succubus whose mouth is in its eyes," or "My lonely heart is deluged by melancholy and it feels quite nice"--while the lesser details, like What Is Actually Going On, recede elegantly into obscurity.

Dougal Douglas (or Douglas Dougal, depending on who you're talking to) may be a devil, and some people think he seems more Irish than Scottish. Whatever else he is, he is a lot of fun. THE BALLAD OF PECKHAM RYE lacks the sympathetic, possibly autobiographical central character found in many Spark novels (THE COMFORTERS, THE BACHELORS, etc.); however, it doens't fall into the black hole that swallows THE DRIVER'S SEAT or other works consumed by Spark's sense of evil. Instead, Dougal Douglas, the ever-present mischief-maker, takes the place of the sympathetic center. He wreaks havoc, but only by bringing out the devil in others--he himself has a kind of curious innocence in the midst of their scheming and violence, and acts as a (presumable) spokesman for Spark when he categorizes their various moralities (Functional, Emotional, Puritanical and Christian).

Such a summary doesn't begin to capture the delight and wit of one of Spark's most enjoyable and economical (again, not a page too long, which cannot be said for many of even our best writers today) books.

This is the best read-aloud book I have in our school library. The children never tire of the wonderful dialogue and the beautifully rendered illustrations. I read it again and again. A must have for every school library!

We all love "Barn Sneeze." Happy Trails hosts disabled children and their healthy siblings for a day of fun petting farm animals. The book was read to a group of five to ten year olds and appreciated by all, including volunteer adults. The bold, beautiful and colorful illustrations kept children riveted, page after page. The sight of each animal sneezing caused children to smile, but the text - Quack-choo, Baa-choo - caused major giggling. "Barn Sneeze" is a funny, happy book - perfect for babies, pre-school and elementary aged children. Because today's younsters are exposed to many frightening incidents, it is especially refreshing to find a book that sets up a problem in a humorous manner, finds a solution and celebrates the simple joy of animals living in a small barn, being cared for by a sweet little girl named Sue.

"Barn Sneeze" is an adorable and playful book that young children will love. Both the reader and the readee are active participants in this wonderful journey involving a barnyard, the animals and their sounds. I am truly baffled by the first reviewer from School Library Journal. Her comments reflect something other than a true appreciation for this beautiful book. Karen Winnick's exquisite illustrations display her magical talent as an artist. She possesses an intuitive eye for color and her animals express movement and feeling! I loved how one sneeze led to one animal and to another, like a link on chain that connects us all. "Barn Sneeze" is a magical and lively book that is a must read for the very young people in our lives, who love animals and their sounds.

Hallie

My 3 year old grandaughter loved this book. In fact she has memorized it and walks around reciting it. What a clever and imaginative book. Karen Winnick has another winner.

Our preschool class was laughing aloud as we went from animal to animal, mimicking the sounds of their sneezes. It is also a good learning tool to reinforce the names of familiar barnyard animals and the sounds they are known to make. A fun and silly book that provides an easy read for teachers and parents.

My Boyd's Bear's book arrived very quickly and it was in excellent condition. Thank You!

I have been looking for a collector's guide for the last several years and stumbled across this. As soon as the book arrived I could not wait to check the secondary prices for all my "friends".

This book will be a wonderful help in getting an extra rider on my homeowners policy to cover my friends should anything happen to them.

The pictures and descriptions in the book are outstanding and the supplemental information is invaluable. I have several friends that have multiple looks and it helped me to distinguish between the bears that have the same name but slightly different looks.

If you are looking for the ultimate collector's guide for Boyds Plush - you must get this book!!

This book is an absolute must have for the true Boyds collector. It is the most accurate guide produced in years... a true Boyds encyclopedia. You won't regret the investment of this guide to find all the history behind your favorite Boyds pieces.

This is a must for Boyds Collectors. Great pictures and great information. Love the Paw Notes. A vast improvement from the First edition.

I have collected Boyds Bears for years and there has been a serious gap in the Price Guide and information Guides for Boyds since Checkerbee went bust.
This Bangzoom Tracker is FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!
Color pictures, info, tons and tons of stuff I have and want and needed to put in some order!
This is the way to do it with Sense and Brains!!!
If you collect Boyds-you MUST buy this Tracker.
Book or CD-rom; either way you need this to get your stuff organized, catagorized and listed so you know what you have and what you are looking for!
Great Job Bethy And Bangzoom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book is wonderful and has very comical, yet true, poems about cats. If you are a cat lover, this is a must have.

Dave Crawley sure knows cats, and cat lovers will sure want to get to know this clever, humorous, and candid collection of cat poems. In his debut poetry collection, Crawley is right at home with his feline friends as well as well-written verse. Cat lovers everywhere will recognize distinctive cat personalities and situations, and "purrrfectly" written rhyme. Petrosino's playful illustrations add another delightful dimension to a must-have addition to cat-lover libraries everywhere. I can only hope that Crawley is hard at work on some 'doggie ditties' and look forward to seeing what he comes up with next!

You don't have to be a feline fancier (although it helps) to enjoy these lilting rhymes about the cats in our lives. From "Finicky Felicia" to "Trapped!" author Crawley perfectly captures the ways and whims of these lovable creatures, whether it's awakening you at the crack of dawn, climbing into your lap when you're trying to read, or finding total pleasure in a piece of string.

Illustrator Tamara Petrosino who shares her New Jersey home with a cat named Charlie, filled end papers with kitties of all stripes. Her colorful, humorous paintings capture cats at their best and worst. An illustration of "Cat Bath" is especially fetching. After all, "Don't ever try to wash a cat. It simply doesn't work. If you should put her in the tub, the cat will go berserk."

Cat lovers of all ages will find much to smile about in "Cat Poems."

- Gail Cooke

A wonderful, charming, and endearingly accurate tribute to cats. The poem "Stay, Little Stray" will tug at your heart, and "Tandy is Twenty" is so touching and bittersweet if you've been the "owner" of an aging pet. Cat lovers will be tickled by poems about their sleep habits, their attemtps to help make beds, and their propensity for knowing how to take over a good newspaper or book. The verse is lovely, lyrical, and wonderful to read aloud and the illustrations are packed with personality and charm. I highly recommend this book to cat lovers, animal lovers, and any parent looking for a sweet read aloud abut animals for a child.

The cats in these poems are all unique individuals, but they'll be familiar to any cat lover. We've all felt the tug of affection for a hungry stray. We've all been pleasantly trapped beneath a sleeping feline. And, if we're lucky enough, we've all looked back with tender nostalgia on the years we've spent with a beloved pet. This book of poems is perfect for cat fanciers of all ages.

I had the author of this book as my professor for first year Veterinary Anatomy and the University of Glasgow and the man is a genius. This book is a must if you are studying to become a DVM. It has diagrams of both dog and cat bones, internal and external muscles, nerve supply and even radiographs. I highly highly recommend this book and his Self Assessment book is also great for revision before exams.

I am a pre-veterinary student. This book is great for having clear acurate images. They are much more helpful than drawings or black and white photos of other text books. Plus, they incorporate radiographs and ultrasound throughout. However, there is no text or information about anatomy as in other books, so don't expect that. This is purely for the pictures!

This was the single best purchase I made as a freshman at CSU vet school. Everyone I know at school was hot and bothered to get this book.

This book was not recommended to me for vet school, but a friend of mine had it and after looking through it I bought one for myself. It has proved to be money well spent as it has helped me through a number of courses including anatomy, radiology, ultrasonography and surgery. I would highly recommend this book to anyone in vet school!

Un ouvrage particulièrement bien travaillé, tant au niveau de la pertinence de l'explication qu'au niveau de la qualité de l'iconographie.

With the advent of 9-11 this book was before it's time. It gives the reader a look at the FBI and CIA and how government agencies work against each other. Mr. Boyd also gives the American citizen a new look at the combining of religion and government. This is a true mystery that has twists and turns that the reader doesn't predict. This book is being passed around our office and being discussed. Everyone seems to come away with a different perspective. This would be a good book for book discussion groups.

I have very little time to read but found myself staying up until 3 in the morning reading this book. The detailed description of each 'scene' created an incredible imagery not found in most novels. I was able to visualize the surroundings and found myself feeling as though I was in the room OR on the campus OR in the woods OR in the coffee shop as the scenes were unfolding (in some scenes I almost was able to smell the moment - absolutely amazing!). This author created wonderfully developed characters and placed them in a story that was exciting and real. This book was truly a pleasure to read. I look forward to the next novel by Lynn Boyd.

This book is a "good read". It kept me wanting to come back to it. The character development was good. If you like books by Patricia Cornwell, then you will like this book. My personal preference is to read books that keep the same character or plot line going into the next book. Mr. Boyd's book does just that. The teaser at the end, suggests all is not finished with "The Order". I can hardly wait for the next book. If you travel as much as I do, you like to read to pass the time, buy this book!

A great mystery with an amazing detail. The detail makes the story believable. I cannot wait for the next book from this author, hopefully the author will build on Dead Language.

Lynn Boyd has created all the elements necessary for a captivating read in his first published mystery work. Boyd demonstrates a comprehensive and commendable knowledge of the University of California campus at Berkeley and its bay area environs providing essential authenticity to his setting. He juxtaposes the academic world of archaeology, history, and religion with the supremely technological realm of computers and then adds the power and secrecy of corporate finance for a rich mix of conflict, intrigue, and danger. A thoughtful campus police chief, his university professor wife, graduate archaeology students, a brilliant former computer hacker turned security consultant, and a female bank executive head up a cast of genuine characters that lead the reader eagerly from one plot twist to the next. In the end, Boyd does just enough to solve the central theme of his mystery satisfactorily while leaving just enough undone to anticipate a sequel. I, for one, look forward to the next episode.

A wonderfully written coming of age book of a boy from childhood in the early 1950s into his teens in the 1960s. His family is politically active, liberal in a conservative state, and his men folk are lawyers, Some including his dad were judges, with work centered around the old courthouse square. It takes place in Denton, Texas, a north Texas college town of about 24,000 population, a town where no one locked their doors and a kid could ride off on his bike and stay gone all day without causing his parents any concern for his safety. Well known events and famous persons of the times are smoothly woven into the fabric of the main characters life, without becoming a major focus of the book. They just serve to make the story more complete. It was a book which was the perfect length but I wanted more when it ended. I enjoyed it all - Billy, the main character, smacking the baseball over the fence at the little league park, standing up to a bully, learning the ways of girls including the shyness and testing of the waters, a few childhood broken bones for Billy and his brother. These were the last days of institutionalized segregation and there were some folks around town who might have worn sheets over their heads in earlier days. The book did not dwell on this but it didnt ignore it either and conveyed a sadness and regret, in a kids bewidered reaction at seeing it, over the poor treatment of a black lady by an old man on the old courthouse square, an incident which occupied only a few lines but painted a vivid picture. This book was not a book of politics. It gives us a slice of a life the context of which would be incomplete without some mention of the society and political climate in which we all then lived. It isnt a book which preaches to anyone. It is a book which shares with everyone.

I grew up in Denton, TX, but Dan had a different perspective on things than I did. It was great to see how another person saw events in our town. Even if I didn't know Denton, the book was extremely entertaining and the history was great.

This is a funny story, but leaves no doubt that children suffer along with adults in response to political turmoil. Billy Bayer imparts a sense of the sadness and frustration that youngsters feel when the adult society around them is racist, angry, stupid and frightened.

I grew up in Texas with some overlap in the time and places described in Grand Aspirations and remembering those times gives some hope. If a sense of decency can spring from the bigotry of establishment Denton and Waco, Texas, it can even return here.

Does anyone still read Penrod? Or for that matter Huck Finn? Children can view the world more honestly because they do not yet have the fear of losing a job hanging over them. If someone had listened to Billy Bayer and his friends, then, we might not have to put up with George W. and his friends now.

"Grand Aspirations" is the story from the vantage point of the child, Billy Bayer, of a politically active white liberal family in a small town in North Texas from the period 1952 to 1965. There are many humorous stories about childhood adventures, dilemmas, and capers. Interspersed with these, important politicians (actual historical figures) appear in the Bayer house from time to time to plot political strategy.

Billy sees first hand some ugly pre-Civil Rights Movement racial incidents.The family, including eventually Billy himself on the schoolyard playground, takes heat for supporting the Civil Rights Movement. Author Dan Boyd uses the technique familiar to readers of E.L. Doctorow of employing actual historical events involving important historical figures with fictional characters. The novel is semi-autobiographical, so some of the characters in the novel are loosely based on real people, while some are totally fictional, as is explained in the author's postscript.

The overall product is very entertaining, with several interesting sub-plots that wind toward a conclusion as the book arrives at the mid-1960's. "Grand Aspirations" is nostalgic and realistically brings to life that imperfect but improving America of the post-war era.

We meet the protagonist, Billy Bayer, in 1952 at age 3, at his nursery school in Denton, Texas, and follow him through the ninth grade. We meet his family: his parents, politically active liberal Democrats Ted and Sandra Bayer; his older brother, Ronnie, who often accompanies Billy in various chidhood escapades and his grandfather and granduncle, "Granddad" and "Uncle Warren." these two brothers are lawyers (the uncle also later a judge), but have little else in common. Granddad is a fighter with a hot temper that can quickly lead to fisticuffs; Uncle Warren is a Lincolnesque but absent-minded intellectual, sort of a professor-type who ended up running a courtroom instead of a classroom.

1. The book weaves seamlessly from the lighthearted-most hilarious childhood pranks, escapades, schoolyard confrontations, and girl problems -- to the deadly serious -- including ugly pre-Civil Rights Movement racial incidents, political campaigns, and assaults on politicians. Several real public figures of the era enter the pages, including, among others, Lyndon Johnson, Ralph Yarborough, and John Connally.

The book reminds me that in the waning days of Jim Crow, the people fighting for Civil Rights are not just African Americans and white "agitators" from the north. There are also a small minority of active white southerners who, often at great risk of their careers and physical well being, actively fight for Civil Rights. That is the case with this Bayer family. Despite the fact that father Ted sought public office, the real power in the family is Sandra. Operarting in that pre-feminist era, she carries out her ambitious vicariously through her influence on the men folk.

The end result of this semi-autobiographical novel is a delight -- lots of humor, good old fashioned American values, and nostalgia for an America very unlike that of today.