false 240850 1 In this exquisitely rendered memoir set on the high plains of Texas, Pulitzer Prize winner Gail Caldwell transforms into art what it is like to come of age in a particular time and place. A Strong West Wind begins in the 1950s in the wilds of the Texas Panhandle&#8211;a place of both boredom and beauty, its flat horizons broken only by oil derricks, grain elevators, and church steeples. Its story belongs to a girl who grew up surrounded by dust storms and cattle ranches and summer lightning, who took refuge from the vastness of the land and the ever-present wind by retreating into books. What she found there, from renegade women to men who lit out for the territory, turned out to offer a blueprint for her own future. Caldwell would grow up to become a writer, but first she would have to fall in love with a man who was every mother&#8217;s nightmare, live through the anguish and fire of the Vietnam years, and defy the father she adored, who had served as a master sergeant in the Second World War. <br>A Strong West Wind is a memoir of culture and history&#8211;of fathers and daughters, of two world wars and the passionate rebellions of the sixties. But it is also about the mythology of place and the evolution of a sensibility: about how literature can shape and even anticipate a life.<br>Caldwell possesses the extraordinary ability to illuminate the desires, stories, and lives of ordinary people. Written with humanity, urgency, and beautiful restraint, A Strong West Wind is a magical and unforgettable book, destined to become an American classic.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i> 233327 9 1 2007 A Strong West Wind: A Memoir total:64|5:9|4:24|3:16|2:11|1:4| 64 215 98 18 3 0 false false Wed May 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 09 20:03:02 -0700 2009 Thu May 14 10:10:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri May 11 17:12:21 -0700 2007 Fri May 11 17:13:47 -0700 2007
Part literary memoir, part coming-of-age through landscape metaphor, Caldwell tells the story of her youth in the Texas panhandle and then beyond, complete with smoking, skipping journalism, writing bad poetry, dropping out of schoo...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Wed Sep 12 15:46:04 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 12 15:46:16 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 07:42:48 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 07:48:46 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 true false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 06 07:02:43 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 07:03:08 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 26 04:33:04 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 04:42:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Oct 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 09:26:26 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 09:45:06 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sat Aug 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 22:00:07 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 11:06:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 30 05:29:25 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 30 05:34:33 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 11 05:01:13 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 11 05:27:55 -0700 2007 She dares to leave, yet remains bound, mining the riches, seeking her own way...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 16 13:53:39 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 16 14:48:11 -0700 2007 I love how Caldwell used the Texas landscape to tell her story. It really brought out the nostalgic Texan in me... I also love the era issues she focused on: the 60s in the south, the anti-war movement, civil rights, etc.
Anybody with roots in the south, and...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 11 19:33:42 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 19:33:42 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Mar 04 12:12:10 -0800 2007 Sun Mar 04 12:20:52 -0800 2007 ]]> 4 0 false false Mon Oct 13 08:42:46 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 13 08:45:34 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Wed Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 20 14:41:11 -0800 2008 Mon Apr 21 09:44:19 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jul 09 14:41:34 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 14:43:09 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Feb 27 13:25:10 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 27 13:25:52 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Aug 04 01:41:32 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 04 01:43:00 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Nov 01 18:31:53 -0800 2009 Mon Oct 12 15:12:54 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 12 15:12:56 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Sep 24 01:59:08 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 01:59:08 -0700 2009