A wild and witty satire of American college life from the author of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis On his first day of college, farm boy Asa Hearthrug enthusiastically jumps out of bed—and discovers that his pajama pants are caught in the bedsprings. He learns that his dog has died, and his father, in an effort to soften the blow, tells an absurd story about a female bullfighter. Next, the freshman pays a visit to his high school sweetheart to say a heartfelt goodbye, but Lodestone La Toole is more interested in hamburgers than vows of devotion. And when Asa finally arrives at the University of Minnesota—wham!—he gets run over by a frat boy’s convertible. Max Shulman’s bestselling debut novel, written when he was almost as fresh-faced as his protagonist, delightfully skewers every sacred cow of collegiate life. From the faculty expert on “Merrie Olde England” who once spent two weeks on that distant land to the sidewalk booby-trap used by the Alpha Cholera fraternity to round-up reluctant pledges, Barefoot Boy with Cheek bursts at the seams with outrageous characters, delirious set pieces, and gut-busting one-liners.

"Raymond Schairer was born in 1922 and grew up on a farm just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan, near the one founded by his great grandfather...Barefoot boy is Raymond's recollections of one year of his childhood, the year he was ten years old"--P. [4] of cover.

Shunned at school because he sprouts flowers every full moon, Rink Bowagon makes a special pair of shoes for a classmate who is able to appreciate his unique abilities.

In 1931, a 12-year-old boy shot and killed the sheriff of Asotin, Washington. The incident stunned the small town and a mob threatened to hang him. Both the crime and Herbert Niccolls's eventual sentence of life imprisonment at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla drew national attention, only to be buried later in local archives. Journalist Nancy Bartley has conducted extensive research to construct a compelling narrative of the events and characters that make this a unique episode in the history of criminal justice in the United States. Niccolls became a cause for Father Flanagan of Boys Town,who took to the airwaves, imploring listeners to write Governor Hartley on the boy's behalf. The bitter campaign put Hartley in such a negative light that he lost his bid for reelection. Under a new and progressive warden, Niccolls thrived in prison. Inmates like physician Peter Miller and literary agent James Ashe became his tutors, finding that Niccolls had an insatiable appetite for knowledge. During the deadly 1934 prison riot at Walla Walla, several prisoners kept him from harm. Niccolls was finally released from prison in his early twenties. He went to work at 20th Century Fox in Hollywood, where he kept his secret for the rest of his long life. The Boy Who Shot the Sheriff explores this little-known story of a young boy's fate in the juvenile justice system during the bloodiest years in the nation's penitentiaries. Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRKFFQDgW20&list=UUge4MONgLFncQ1w1C_BnHcw&index=6&feature=plcp

From a barefoot boy in Oklahoma, Dewey Sullivan rose to acclaim in the National High School Hall of Fame. When he died on November 8, 2006, he had more football victories than any coach west of the Mississippi River. His dream from a young age was to be a coach, but he had many setbacks along the way. He was a father with two young children when he began his education, but that did not stop him. Once his decision to become a coach was made, he was determined and followed his chosen path. He became a teacher - he became a counselor - and he became a coach. He was as gracious in defeat as he was in victory. His players were of primary importance to him and it was never about himself. He left this earth as a small town football coach whose shoes are too big to fill. When he started his journey as a coach, he had no idea he would affect as many lives as he did. He wanted to coach - but in the process he became a teacher, a counselor and a mentor to many. This is his story - I just went along for the ride.

Bryan Gallagher's reminiscences of the Ireland of his youth, first heard on Radio 4's 'Home Truths', transport you to a world of boyhood pranks, playground politics and the confusion of growing up in a land that is every bit as magical and captivating as the stories he has to tell.