CITY LIMITS: MEMORIES OF A SMALL TOWN BOY

by Terry Teachout

A native of Sikeston, Missouri, pays tribute to small-town life in America, discussing the things he misses and the reasons he finally left for New York City

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1991

About the author

Terry Teachout is the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal and the chief culture critic of Commentary. His latest book, "Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong," will be published on December 2 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. He blogs about the arts at www.terryteachout.com. His other books include "The Skeptic: A Life of H.L. Mencken," "All in the Dances: A Brief Life of George Balanchine," and "A Terry Teachout Reader." "

Reviews

[Vincent Lombardo]

I loved Terry Teachout and was crestfallen to hear that he died, but this book, although well written, was simply BORING! There was no structure. It was not a memoir but simply a compilation of random memories of his early life, and the stories were uninteresting and pointless! If life in his small town was so wonderful, then why did he leave?

[Yuri]

I found this book on the streets of nyc, so I thought it was fitting to read

[Alan]

Read this again today, after Terry’s death. He also attended St. John’s at the same time I did, but hated it, didn’t make friends, left after one semester. I sometimes hated it, too, but stayed all four years. What he loved was music, and that comes through here, as I reach back into my own memory of Art Tatum and other jazz greats.