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American Boy

by Larry Watson (Goodreads Author)

3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 · rating details · 562 ratings · 118 reviews

Esquire Top 9 Books of the Year
Midwest Booksellers Choice Award Finalist
Booklist Editor's Choice 2011 Best Book
Publishers Weekly 20 Top Indie Sleeper Hits
WBEZ Chicago Top 10 Books of 2011

We were exposed to these phenomena in order that we might learn something, but of course the lessons we learn are not always those we are taught . . .

So begins Matthew Garth’s story of the...more

Hardcover, 224 pages

Published September 13th 2011 by Milkweed Editions

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Jan 01, 2012 Sheri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: poverty-class-issues, coming-of-age

I really enjoyed this novel. I started it last night and finished it this afternoon; absolutely could not put it down. I loved the tone, it reminded me of Franzen's Corrections (time period and adolescent/family struggle).

Matt Garth was such a forceful character; always trying to do right while struggling with his own realization that his hero/father figure Dr. Dunbar was so flawed. I loved that Johnny was such a hole in the wall until the pivotal car racing scene; after that he grew a back bone...more

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Jun 05, 2013 Christa Sgobba rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary

I had started a lot of dud books recently, so I was pleasantly surprised when this one sucked me in right away.

There's not a whole lot going on in this book, and the narrator, Matt, is the force of the story. Growing up with an absent, overworked single mother, Matt finds a surrogate family with the Dunbars. They seem perfect to him--the pretty and refined mother, the handsome and intellectual doctor father, two cute twin girls, and, of course, his best friend Johnny. Matt spends all his time at...more

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May 12, 2013 Book Concierge rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: concierge, coming-of-age, family, historical-fiction, library, own, sfe

Matthew Garth is a high school senior in the fall of 1962. He and his widowed mother live in Willow Falls, a small town in Southwest Minnesota. Although his mother works long hours at the local supper club, Matt doesn’t feel abandoned. He’s been accepted into the family of Dr. Dunbar, whose son Johnny is Matt’s best friend. Dr. Dunbar patiently and thoroughly explains the rudiments of medicine to the boys who are both interested in becoming doctors. So when their Thanksgiving meal is interrupted...more Matthew Garth is a high school senior in the fall of 1962. He and his widowed mother live in Willow Falls, a small town in Southwest Minnesota. Although his mother works long hours at the local supper club, Matt doesn’t feel abandoned. He’s been accepted into the family of Dr. Dunbar, whose son Johnny is Matt’s best friend. Dr. Dunbar patiently and thoroughly explains the rudiments of medicine to the boys who are both interested in becoming doctors. So when their Thanksgiving meal is interrupted with news of a missing young woman, believed to have been shot by her boyfriend, the boys rally to join the search party, while Dr. Dunbar prepares his clinic to care for her. Louisa Lindahl will change everything about Matt’s relationship with the Dunbar family.

This is a heartfelt story of one young man’s awakening, and the missteps of youth. Matt has always relied on Dr. Dunbar for advice and has taken the lessons he imparts, whether about medicine, sportsmanship or curbing one’s baser instincts, to heart. But sometimes the lessons we are taught are not necessarily the lessons we learn. His fascination – even obsession – with Louisa is understandable, but a recipe for disaster. The inevitable confrontations will change the way Matt sees himself and his place in the world. The few months following Thanksgiving 1962 will mark him and force him to reconsider his view of the American dream.

Watson writes with such a sense of time and place as to put the reader right in the landscape of his novel. The reader feels chilled to the bone in a Minnesota blizzard, relishes in the warmth of a fire, and enjoys the flush that results from a sensual kiss. The writing is spare but fraught with tension. My loyalties shifted in the course of the novel, just as Matt’s did. I’ve read two of his previous novels - Montana 1948 and Justice . Once again, Watson has written a novel this is both specific to a time and place, and yet universal in its themes. Watson’s characters are good, flawed, admirable, loathsome, confused, and certain; their situations may be unique but their emotions strike a chord in all of us.
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Jun 13, 2012 Kendra rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is kind of different from what I usually read, that being either YA fiction or adult mystery. I guess the teen protagonist can almost qualify this as a YA read, but it's probably too introspective for most teens to find it enjoyable. However, from my 4-star rating you can see that I did enjoy it. This is a simple story of an American boy. Set in 1962 in a small Minnesota town, the MC Matt has grown up with a single mother and now, as a teen, find that he spends almost as much time with the...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Hoosierjoe rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am going to shock you all by actually liking something this time. I rated this one 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

First off, I am a tough reviewer. Only the most excellent works, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, will get a 5 star rating out of me. 4 stars is almost as tough.

This is a good, contemporary work of fiction. Other reviews I read of it used the tired old phrase "coming of age novel". I don't like that phrase and it doesn't really fit this book to me.

I found this book engaging, believable, and w...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Timothy Bazzett rated it 5 of 5 stars

Larry Watson's AMERICAN BOY is an all-American, universal kind of story that will resonate with anyone who grew up in the American heartland of the 50s and 60s. The typical small town of those decades is portrayed perfectly - those downtown blocks that held hardware and grocery stores with the local lawyer and doctor upstairs over the drugstore. Even the latest Plymouth-Dodge innovation, that infamous and short-lived push-button transmission, is featured, the same one that was immortalized in so...more Larry Watson's AMERICAN BOY is an all-American, universal kind of story that will resonate with anyone who grew up in the American heartland of the 50s and 60s. The typical small town of those decades is portrayed perfectly - those downtown blocks that held hardware and grocery stores with the local lawyer and doctor upstairs over the drugstore. Even the latest Plymouth-Dodge innovation, that infamous and short-lived push-button transmission, is featured, the same one that was immortalized in songwriter Greg Brown's "Brand New '64 Dodge."

Matthew Garth is our unlikely hero, a fatherless 16-17 year-old in the 1962-63 school year, who has attached himself for the past several years to the Dunbars, a prominent family in Willow Falls, Minnesota, a small community of a couple thousand. Johnny Dunbar is his classmate and closest friend, but all that will change when an "older woman" enters the picture in the person of Louisa Lindahl. The head of the family, Dr. Dunbar, is a pillar of the local community, although there are early intimations of that pillar being made of salt, with feet of clay.

Like many small towns, Willow Falls is a study in contrasts and opposites. The falls is not really a falls; Frenchman's Forest is not really a forest, but a dark and secret place where the two then-younger boys first learned about the mechanics of sex from an ill-informed older boy, and which later serves as backdrop to more intimate experimentation. Because one of the things that makes AMERICAN BOY such a universal tale is its minutely descriptive attention to all those familiar rites of passage - smoking, drinking, reckless driving, and of course backseat groping with all the heavy breathing, passionate kisses, frenzied frustrations and furtive fumbling with zippers, clasps, breasts and thighs. There is even a very "Mrs Robinson" scene between Matthew and the local lawyer's wife, but it has its own variations making it both original and derivative all at the same time.

Matthew becomes obsessed with the not-so mysterious twenty-something Lydia, who, through a sequence of shocking events, takes up residence with the Dunbars, destroying and changing not just Matthew's friendship with Johnny, but the whole family dynamic.

Yes, this is a masterfully rendered story of a friendship and family torn assunder and innocence lost. An old tale to be sure, but Watson makes it all seem new and fresh, employing characters all too human and flawed.

As a coming-of-age story, countless comparisons could probably be made. I've already suggested THE GRADUATE, but the ones I first thought of were Evan Hunter's LAST SUMMER and Herman Raucher's SUMMER OF '42, both books from 30-40 years ago, and, more recently, Donald Lystra's northern Michigan story, SEASON OF WATER AND ICE.

AMERICAN BOY is, in the end, an old tale made new and fresh through the story-telling skills of a master hand at fiction. Larry Watson burst onto the book scene nearly twenty years ago with his first novel, MONTANA 1948, a shocking and beautiful book. His latest offering shows he is still at the top of his game. If you appreciate serious literary fiction, READ THIS BOOK!

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER(less)

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Feb 25, 2012 Linda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: mod-lit

Matthew Garth is a teenage boy growing up in the midwest in the 1960's. His father deserted him and his mom a long time ago, and Matt gratefully allows himself to be all but adopted by the well-to-do family of the town's only MD, Rex Dunbar. The turmoil of the 60's has yet to hit this corner of Minnesota, but Matt is suffering all the angst of the typical 17 year old. His world is about to be turned upside down, however, when a lovely young gunshot victim is first treated, then taken in, by the...more

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May 01, 2012 Terri rated it 5 of 5 stars

Larry Watson has written another novel, like "Montana 1948," that has the feel of a classic. I kept thinking about "Of Mice and Men" and Marilyn Monroe as I was reading it.

"American Boy" (great cover, by the way - it's what got my attention - then I saw the author's name and pulled it from a pile of hundreds of new books and put it at the top of my "to read" list) is set in 1962 in rural Minnesota. Seventeen year old Matthew Garth, fatherless, is our first person narrator and protagonist. He spe...more Larry Watson has written another novel, like "Montana 1948," that has the feel of a classic. I kept thinking about "Of Mice and Men" and Marilyn Monroe as I was reading it.

"American Boy" (great cover, by the way - it's what got my attention - then I saw the author's name and pulled it from a pile of hundreds of new books and put it at the top of my "to read" list) is set in 1962 in rural Minnesota. Seventeen year old Matthew Garth, fatherless, is our first person narrator and protagonist. He spends that majority of his time in the home of his best friend, Johnny Dunbar. It seems, at first look, that he has been taken in by the Dunbars and that he is accepted as another member of the family. Dr. Dunbar teaches him about medicine, Mrs. Dunbar feeds him, and Johnny's twin sisters ask his advice. Johnny seems like a very lucky boy until Thanksgiving Day, 1962, when Louisa Lindahl is shot by her lover. Dr. Dunbar treats her, and when her lover later commits suicide, the family takes her in as well. Matt falls hard for her immediately, but she has her eyes on something much bigger.

The relationships drive this story. Adding Louisa Lindahl to this already complicated dynamic, changes everything. It changes the relationship between Matt and Johnny. It changes the relationship between Mr. Dunbar and Matt. It changes the relationship between Matt and his mother. It changes the relationship between Mr. and Mrs Dunbar. And it eventually changes the entire trajectory of all of their lives - even that of the entire community. The reader wants to weep for the protagonist, cheer for him, and certainly will never forget him. And there are plenty of great antagonists to loathe as well. For those who prefer a novel that is plot driven, they will find action here as well, starting with the shooting of Louisa and the search to find her. Readers who focus on the setting of a story will also find much to love here. The Minnesota setting, especially the harsh winter cold and snow almost become a character in "American Boy" - a man versus nature conflict is always present. And, finally, for those who prefer to enter a book through its literary elements, Watson proves himself once again a writer of merit.

"American Boy" is marketed as a Young Adult book but has adult appeal as well, especially for those raised in the 60's. This is definitely a mature read in that there is language and talk of sex, and it deals with a teen boy looking into the world of adults who take advantage of his innocence. Themes of parenting, fatherhood, sexual awakening, gender roles, social class, manipulation, power, education, and the American dream give the reader much food for thought. This would be worth a second read as a result.

Really a beautiful book! I read it in one day. Highly recommended for teens and up.

By the way, I particularly loved this passage:

"'Anyway,' Louisa continued, 'when Mr. McDonough was choking-which isn't exactly what happened because he didn't really have enough breath to choke-it made me think of Lester. When he died, I mean. When they first told me Lester killed himself in his cell, I thought, good. Good riddance to the sonofabitch. Serves him right. But then when I saw Mr. McDonough dying-and really not wanting to-I thought, poor Lester. Doing that all alone...And if there was anything wasn't good at, it was being alone. So I held Mr. McDonough close and watched him go. And then right at the end, when his eyes started kind of staring off, I realized that no matter what, when you're dying, you're alone.'"

If you have ever watched someone you love die slowly due to a terminal illness, this may have struck you as a truth about illness and dying. No matter the support system one might have, in the end it is the individual who has to battle illness and death alone, who has to do the work alone. This is something very sad and profound to me. For what it is worth...(less)

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Dec 11, 2011 Larry Hoffer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Some authors seem as if their style and storytelling would fit in perfectly in a different era. Larry Watson, who has written some truly fantastic books, including Montana 1948, Justice and In a Dark Time, is one of those writers. Many of his books would be appropriate companions to those by Fitzgerald or Faulkner, both in setting (many of his stories take place in earlier times) and because his narrative, while spare, packs the power of earlier writers.

Matthew Garth is a working-class teenager...more

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Nov 20, 2011 Daven rated it 4 of 5 stars

I like Larry Watson's writing; he tells a good story, with real, true, Midwestern characters whose inherent flaws bring on believable conflicts. Montana 1948 was a remarkable novel. American Boy is't quite to that level, but it hooks and is a compelling, fairly quick read. My main disappointment is that the palpable tension between Matt, the title character, and his best friend's father, Dr.Dunbar is not fully realized throughout the novel. Watson so effectively establishes this ominous tone bet...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Julie Ekkers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

American Boy is a very well-written novel about the sometimes dark underbelly of small town America. It is set in a small town in Minnesota in the early sixties, and concerns the events that unfold in the wake of the shooting of a young woman, Louisa, who is treated by the town's doctor, Dr. Dunbar, and survives. She is a source of fascination for the narrator, Matthew, who is such close friends with Dr. Dunbar's son, Johnny, that they are often mistaken for brothers. Instead, Matt is the son of...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Artie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book had some 5 star moments, but I'm going to be critical of it. The exposition really didn't work for me. The little italics start of course really perked me interest, I thought I would never be able to set it down, but then it really flopped. The first 20-30 pages are plagued with flash-backs that took away from what was happening at that time in the story more than they added characterization or perspective. Anyway, I think this characterization could have been done in a way that would...more

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Nov 20, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

A coming of age story of a teenager in Willow Falls Minnesota during the 1960s, American Boy is really a character study. Matthew Garth lives with his widow mother and is best friends with Johnny Dubar, the son of the town doctor. Matthew and Johnny are inseparable and he spends a great deal of time with the Dubar family while his mother works. Matthew hopes to become a doctor and looks upon Dr. Dubar not only as a substitute father but as a role model. On Thanksgiving the doctor's home is inter...more

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May 10, 2012 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

“'And now you've taken it upon yourself to determine what people have or haven't a right to say? That's awfully self-important, isn't it?'” (117).
“Although the surrounding hills were now dotted with houses, divided by pavement and leveled into lawns, the terrain was still mine, in the singular way that childhood play takes possession of place” (140-141).
“And suddenly it occurred to me that this darkened housing development was a kind of adult equivalent of Frenchman's Forest, a place men and wom...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Rebecca Dougherty rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is extremely well written, and the protagonist is very well developed. Typically in order to so strongly identify w/ a character, I have more personally in common with her/him, but this is not the case w/ Matt Garth. Several of the supporting characters such as Matt's best friend, Johnny, and Dr. Dunbar are also well developed. I would have liked to have learned more about Matt's mother, but the women in this book were a little one dimensional. Come to think of it so were the men, but...more

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May 19, 2013 Pamela rated it 4 of 5 stars

An Americana-style coming-of-age story; moving and meaningful. This is the story of Matthew Garth, a 17-year old young man in a small town, in western Minnesota in 1962; his best friend is Johnny Dunbar, and he spends a lot more time with the Dunbar family than he does at home with his single mother who works long hours. He is like part of the Dunbar family, until things go askew and his involvement and passions leave him adrift and alone. He experiences first love, with a woman who is older and...more

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Mar 20, 2012 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars

A 17 year old boy in a small Minnesota town spends more time with the wealthy family of his best friend than he does with his widowed mother. His friend's father, the town physician, takes in a young woman, somewhat of a drifter, after her boyfriend shoots her and then commits suicide. The introduction of this woman into their lives changes everything including their relationships and self awareness.

Three stars for this book might actually be generous. None of the characters are particularly lik...more

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Nov 04, 2011 JoAnne Pulcino rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction

AMERICAN BOY
By Larry Watson

This long time favorite author of mine has triumphed with a marvelous book that may eclipse the treasured MONTANA 1948. A true American future classic.
This poignant coming of age story begins on Thanksgiving Day in the fall of 1962 when a chain of unsettling events occur in Willow Falls, Minnesota. A young woman is shot and Matthew Garth’s life changes forever when he is blindsided with his feverish desire for the mysterious woman, and his deep longing for the comfort...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Dale Barlow rated it 3 of 5 stars

adolescent boys, one poor, one rich and how they interact ‘coming of age.’ Small book, well written. At first I was like, “what is the big deal?” about this book (and it’s publisher), then I realized that every single second I had, I was back to reading. Read in 24-hrs. in large part because of two (2) lengthy wait times while between appointments + smallness of the book…guess I liked it after all. Made a copy of the Milkweed publications for future reference. 2011 hardback via ...Library, 246 p...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Jim Braly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes it pays off to dive into a book you know nothing about. I didn't care for the title — "American Boy" sounds so red-haired, mischievous and Scout-like. Nevetheless, this small novel followed me home from the library and quickly started to lick my face and fetch a tennis ball. The author, Larry Watson, is an elegant writer. Practically every sentence is a simple jewel. The story and the setting are magnetic.

The narrator, Matthew, seems a little "old" for his age, but perhaps he is relat...more

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Nov 24, 2012 kc rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a haunting story about moral choices a boy makes, and in the process, he grows into a man. I kept expecting certain characters to die in the story, and in the end, well, I don't want to spoil it! Having grown up in Minnesota, I can relate to the cultural landscape and social structure that are painted so beautifully in this story. One thing I don't remember, though, was wandering out into the freezing sub-zero winter nights in snowstorms without a coat. But then again, I was never a teen...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Lorine Kritzer rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a beautifully written coming of age book. Matthew is a teenager who comes from a poor family. He is taken under the wing of Dr. Dunbar, his best friend's father, and essentially becomes a part of their household. Dr. Dunbar initially appears to be the perfect role model: disciplined, motivated, caring, kind and generous but later is found by Matt to be a more complex and not so likeable person. He also learns about life from the women in his life: his mother, his girlfriend and two other...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Keirstan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: american, contemporary, fiction, read-in-2012

Larry Watson’s new novel American Boy is a classic coming-of-age story. Despite the fact that many novelists before him have worked to perfect this theme, Watson’s take, for me, was especially resonant with its classically Midwestern setting and characters. This, coupled with Watson’s wonderful sense of language, made for a great winter read.

Matthew Garth is Midwestern to the core, born and raised in the small town of Willow Falls, Minnesota. After the death of his father several years before th...more Larry Watson’s new novel American Boy is a classic coming-of-age story. Despite the fact that many novelists before him have worked to perfect this theme, Watson’s take, for me, was especially resonant with its classically Midwestern setting and characters. This, coupled with Watson’s wonderful sense of language, made for a great winter read.

Matthew Garth is Midwestern to the core, born and raised in the small town of Willow Falls, Minnesota. After the death of his father several years before the action of the novel begins, the Dunbars, Matt’s best friend Johnny’s family, comprise Matt’s second home. Like Johnny, Matt idolizes Rex Dunbar, Johnny’s father and the town’s respected doctor. In fact, Johnny and Matt spend much of their time following the doctor around, gleaning information about the profession as they aspire to become physicians themselves.

Then, on Thanksgiving Day 1962, Matt and Johnny volunteer to help Dr. Dunbar locate a girl who has been shot and subsequently change their lives forever. Once the girl, Louisa Lindahl, is found, the doctor treats her wound and the Dunbars invite her to live with them as she recovers. Matt quickly develops an intense crush on the mysterious girl and as a result, becomes obsessively involved with the Dunbars. As his relationship with the family intensifies, Matt painfully discovers that the Dunbars are far from deserving of the pedestal he has placed them on.

For all of its poignant insight on American life and the human condition, American Boy is also a bona fide page-turner. The story of Matt and Dunbars is compelling and well paced, a testament to Watson’s superior story-telling ability. Complementing the action of the story is the language. Watson evokes Minnesota’s barren winter climate with his clear, stark language and uncomplicated imagery. Altogether these achievements make for a novel I was tempted to read in one sitting.

Though the coming-of-age story is nothing new in American letters, it is always a treat when an accomplished author offers his take on the motif. Larry Watson is one such writer and has certainly gained a fan in me with American Boy.(less)

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Apr 24, 2012 Jeff rated it 4 of 5 stars

American Boy by Larry Watson is a unique and captivating story. It portrays a prominent family in a small Minnesota town in the early 1960's. Narrated by a high school aged boy, it touches on the ideals, observations and passions of the boy. The power of American Boy is more from how the same forces that help shape the life of a young man also affect the adults he knows and cares about. The characters are sometimes sketchy - almost caricatures - and this might lead the reader to wish they more f...more

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Mar 11, 2012 lynn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed American Boy, written in Watson's deep, thoughtful style of reminiscence. The characters were well drawn and believable as teenage boys from a small town who come to terms with the dark side of love, friendship, and families. Here's a favorite quote, exemplifying Watson's philosophical streak :
"The power of human desire is matched only by our inability to express those desires, thus guaranteeing that neither comedy nor tragedy is ever in short supply." Watson writes a coming of age sto...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Bonnie Hill rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is not Larry Watson's first coming-of-age story, but it might be his best. And that is saying something. As always, his work is thoughtful and evocative, and his characters are so real that they continue to linger.

On Thanksgiving Day 1962, a young woman is shot in Willow Falls, Minnesota, and Matt Garth's young life will never be the same. As events continue to unfold as if inevitable, Matt must face the truth about everyone who matters in his life--the doctor he admires, the doctor's wife...more

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May 08, 2012 Erin Rogers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This book is a surprisingly wild ride! The story tells of an adolescent boy, Matthew, in rural Minnesota in the 1960s. When his father abandons Matthew and his mother, he is taken under wing by the wealthy and charismatic Doctor Dunbar: Local celebrity and father to Matthew's best friend. Though Matthew's life with the Dunbars appears to offer him a role in fine society, the dynamic is shaken by the introduction of a young female patient, and the object of obsession for Matthew, Louisa Lindahl....more

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Dec 06, 2011 Alecia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Larry Watson is a very good storyteller. This is the kind of book you can read in one sitting, it goes that fast. The story is set in Willow Falls, Minnesota in 1962. Seventeen year old Matthew is the narrator, and his story revolves around his life with the Dunbar family. He practically lives there, as his single mother is always working. He gets immersed in the wonderful family life there, with Dr.Dunbar the charismatic and influential leader of this household. He and Johnny Dunbar are best fr...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Barbara Snow rated it 4 of 5 stars

A coming of age novel in which the main character grows up in his own family AND in the family of his best friend. He is made to feel that he is a member of his friend's family, but of course he is not. When things go bad they do so in a spectacular way. I have to admit I never really understood what motivated many of the secondary characters, but I was able to simply accept them as they were. Or perhaps I understood them only as the protagonist did -- imperfectly and with hindsight. The book wa...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Diane Yannick rated it 2 of 5 stars

Liked the 1960s Midwest setting but the story itself left me cold. It was such a trite, coming of age story with all of the requisite characters. Dr. Dunbar's relationship with Matt added a little interest but not enough to salvage the plodding plot. Louisa Lindahl was a predictable despicable character who never came to life for me. Matt and Johnny suffered through their adolescent angst with only a gunshot, a snowstorm and adultery to spice things up. I couldn't wait to read the last page of t...more

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About Larry Watson

Larry Watson was born in 1947 in Rugby, North Dakota. He grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota, and was educated in its public schools. Larry married his high school sweetheart, Susan Gibbons, in 1967. He received his BA and MA from the University of North Dakota, his Ph.D. from the creative writing program at the University of Utah, and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Ripon College. Watson...more

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