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The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread
On a quiet autumn afternoon in 1944, nine-year-old Morris Bird III decides to visit a friend who lives on the other side of town. So he grabs the handle of his red wagon and, with his little sister in tow, begins an incredible pilgrimage across Cleveland . . . and out of childhood forever.
Set against the backdrop of one of the worst industrial disasters in American history, Don Robertson's enduring, beloved masterwork is a remarkable story of destiny, bravery, and responsibility, as fresh and relevant as when it first appeared in print.
Set against the backdrop of one of the worst industrial disasters in American history, Don Robertson's enduring, beloved masterwork is a remarkable story of destiny, bravery, and responsibility, as fresh and relevant as when it first appeared in print.
211 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
21 people are currently reading
1041 people want to read
About the author
Don Robertson
76 books38 followersRobertson was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended East High School. He briefly attended Harvard and Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) before working as a reporter and columnist.
Robertson won the Cleveland Arts Prize in 1966. The Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature presented him with its Mark Twain Award in 1991. The Press Club of Cleveland's Hall of Fame inducted Robertson in 1992, and he received the Society of Professional Journalist's Life Achievement Award in 1995.
Robertson died on his birthday in 1999, aged 70. He's buried in Logan, Ohio.
Robertson won the Cleveland Arts Prize in 1966. The Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature presented him with its Mark Twain Award in 1991. The Press Club of Cleveland's Hall of Fame inducted Robertson in 1992, and he received the Society of Professional Journalist's Life Achievement Award in 1995.
Robertson died on his birthday in 1999, aged 70. He's buried in Logan, Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
December 16, 2011
Did you know that before 1912, loaf breads were all sold unsliced and wrapped in a paper or preferably in a foil to preserve their freshness? And American housewives used to complain because of the arduous task of slicing the bread into same thickness for the packed lunch and snacks of their husbands and children? This was the case until Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa invented the first loaf-bread-slicing machine. It gained popularity across the US and increased the consumption of bread, spreads and jams. This increase led to the banning of sliced bread during WWII as part of the government conservation measure to stop the increasing prices of flour. However, housewives all over the country protested as this meant going back to the daily arduous task of slicing bread. So, the government rescinded the ban in just after 2 months.
However, this book is not about that story. Especially during the 40’s, the phrase “the greatest thing since sliced bread” was very popular as a way of praising an invention or development. A Kansas writer once wrote that the phrase was the ultimate depiction of innovative achievement and American know-how.
What attracted me to this book was the tagline at the top portion of the cover: Rediscover an American Classic. Huh? But I never heard of this author Don Robertson, I told myself. Then there was on a cover, an innocent-looking-classic-B&W-MGM-movie-looking American boy and an endorsement from Stephen King saying that this book could be put side-by-side with classics coming-of-age books like Catcher in the Rye and The Outsider. Later, a quick check on Wiki revealed that Stephen King named Don Robertson as one of his greatest influences. He published Robertson’s book The Ideal, Genuine Man in 1987. Robertson died in 1999.
Nine-year old Morris Bird III has Stanley Chaloupka as his best friend at school. When Stanley leaves him to move to the other side of Cleveland, Borris becomes terribly lonely. So one day, he gathers all his courage and decides to visit Stanley. With his younger sister Sandra riding on top of his red trolley he crossed a town and witnessed a chemical gas tank explosion. It was Friday afternoon of October 20. 1944 (a very conducive day for Morris to go to the other side of the town because it was also the day when McArthur came back to the Philippines) when a gas tank in the plant of East Ohio Gas Co., supplier of natural heating gas to all of the great city of Cleveland and northeast Ohio, exploded killing many people in an instant. Morris saw a burnt lady, a pretty Red Cross lady, a legless man, and many others. The legless man asked for his help. After doing what Morris could, the man called him “the greatest thing since sliced bread.”
This is a story of a young American boy’s journey that showed him what courage and terror were all about. It is a very insightful story of how a man-made catastrophe can not only leave a lifelong mark in a boy’s once innocent mind but also transform him into a man by giving him his sense of self.
A book picked from nowhere. For only P20 (40 cents), I discovered a nice seemingly understated American classic. Now I know the meaning of the phrase “the greatest thing since sliced bread” and I will always remember Morris Bird III every time I have a slice of loaf bread in the morning. Definitely, one of the memorable reads this year. Accidentally bumping to an "unknown" book that turned out great is truly one of this life’s perks at least for a reader like me.
However, this book is not about that story. Especially during the 40’s, the phrase “the greatest thing since sliced bread” was very popular as a way of praising an invention or development. A Kansas writer once wrote that the phrase was the ultimate depiction of innovative achievement and American know-how.
What attracted me to this book was the tagline at the top portion of the cover: Rediscover an American Classic. Huh? But I never heard of this author Don Robertson, I told myself. Then there was on a cover, an innocent-looking-classic-B&W-MGM-movie-looking American boy and an endorsement from Stephen King saying that this book could be put side-by-side with classics coming-of-age books like Catcher in the Rye and The Outsider. Later, a quick check on Wiki revealed that Stephen King named Don Robertson as one of his greatest influences. He published Robertson’s book The Ideal, Genuine Man in 1987. Robertson died in 1999.
Nine-year old Morris Bird III has Stanley Chaloupka as his best friend at school. When Stanley leaves him to move to the other side of Cleveland, Borris becomes terribly lonely. So one day, he gathers all his courage and decides to visit Stanley. With his younger sister Sandra riding on top of his red trolley he crossed a town and witnessed a chemical gas tank explosion. It was Friday afternoon of October 20. 1944 (a very conducive day for Morris to go to the other side of the town because it was also the day when McArthur came back to the Philippines) when a gas tank in the plant of East Ohio Gas Co., supplier of natural heating gas to all of the great city of Cleveland and northeast Ohio, exploded killing many people in an instant. Morris saw a burnt lady, a pretty Red Cross lady, a legless man, and many others. The legless man asked for his help. After doing what Morris could, the man called him “the greatest thing since sliced bread.”
This is a story of a young American boy’s journey that showed him what courage and terror were all about. It is a very insightful story of how a man-made catastrophe can not only leave a lifelong mark in a boy’s once innocent mind but also transform him into a man by giving him his sense of self.
A book picked from nowhere. For only P20 (40 cents), I discovered a nice seemingly understated American classic. Now I know the meaning of the phrase “the greatest thing since sliced bread” and I will always remember Morris Bird III every time I have a slice of loaf bread in the morning. Definitely, one of the memorable reads this year. Accidentally bumping to an "unknown" book that turned out great is truly one of this life’s perks at least for a reader like me.
February 6, 2016
Listen to me now and believe me later...
If for no other reason than Steven King learned everything he knew about writing from John D. MacDonald and Don Robertson, this man's entire body of work deserves to be kept in print. This is one of his best books, and the fact that this is part one of three gives me hope that we'll some day soon see the rest of Robertson's body of work back on the shelves again.
Stylistically, there's so much that burgeoning writers can take from Robertson. He loves words, and his play with the language is a marvelous thing to behold. I actually laugh out loud with delight when I read his books. No one (including, and maybe especially, the aforementioned Mr. King) can capture those strange and awkward moments of indecipherable humanity that we all have and translate them into effortless and universal scenes in his books. Incidentally, it was this quality that King tried his best to emulate. In fact, when you see those touching, awkward, yet completely believable scenes and descriptions from King in some of his more mainstream books, that's him doing third-rate watered-down Don Robertson riffs.
If you love this book (and you likely will), then pester HarperCollins to do the other two books, and then keep going from there. That Robertson died with none of his books (not even the four novels of the Civil War that he wrote) in print is a little sad. His work is truly timeless and deserves to be discovered by a whole new audience.
If for no other reason than Steven King learned everything he knew about writing from John D. MacDonald and Don Robertson, this man's entire body of work deserves to be kept in print. This is one of his best books, and the fact that this is part one of three gives me hope that we'll some day soon see the rest of Robertson's body of work back on the shelves again.
Stylistically, there's so much that burgeoning writers can take from Robertson. He loves words, and his play with the language is a marvelous thing to behold. I actually laugh out loud with delight when I read his books. No one (including, and maybe especially, the aforementioned Mr. King) can capture those strange and awkward moments of indecipherable humanity that we all have and translate them into effortless and universal scenes in his books. Incidentally, it was this quality that King tried his best to emulate. In fact, when you see those touching, awkward, yet completely believable scenes and descriptions from King in some of his more mainstream books, that's him doing third-rate watered-down Don Robertson riffs.
If you love this book (and you likely will), then pester HarperCollins to do the other two books, and then keep going from there. That Robertson died with none of his books (not even the four novels of the Civil War that he wrote) in print is a little sad. His work is truly timeless and deserves to be discovered by a whole new audience.
April 8, 2021
Il 20 ottobre 1944, alle 14:40, una fuga di GPL da un serbatoio di stoccaggio nella periferia di Cleveland provocò una gigantesca esplosione e un successivo incendio; l’incendio distrusse 79 case, 2 fabbriche, 217 automobili, 7 rimorchi e 1 trattore e il bilancio delle vittime arrivò a 130 persone.
Robertson utilizza in modo singolare questo evento facendone un romanzo di formazione e la singolarità sta soprattutto nella coralità della narrazione. Il protagonista, o meglio, il protagonista principale, è un bimbo di nove anni, Morris Bird III, che compie il suo percorso di maturazione verso la conquista dell’autostima, ma quello a cui noi assistiamo è la narrazione di un viaggio attraverso ciò che succede prima, durante e dopo l’esplosione, dentro e fuori il protagonista, e attraverso le azioni e le voci di decine di persone che in un modo o nell’altro incrociano le loro vite e vanno incontro all’evento, assistendo contemporaneamente alla loro vita, al flusso dei pensieri e ai loro discorsi. Neanche un montaggio cinematografico avrebbe reso così bene questo rumore di fondo che viene tenuto alto per tutto il romanzo; si corre, letteralmente, e ci si stanca, non ci sono pause. Per alcuni aspetti, meriterebbe tutte e cinque le stelle, per altri, forse non più di tre, ma avendo apprezzato Robertson per altri tre dei suoi libri, tagliamo al testa al toro e facciamo quattro stelle.
Robertson utilizza in modo singolare questo evento facendone un romanzo di formazione e la singolarità sta soprattutto nella coralità della narrazione. Il protagonista, o meglio, il protagonista principale, è un bimbo di nove anni, Morris Bird III, che compie il suo percorso di maturazione verso la conquista dell’autostima, ma quello a cui noi assistiamo è la narrazione di un viaggio attraverso ciò che succede prima, durante e dopo l’esplosione, dentro e fuori il protagonista, e attraverso le azioni e le voci di decine di persone che in un modo o nell’altro incrociano le loro vite e vanno incontro all’evento, assistendo contemporaneamente alla loro vita, al flusso dei pensieri e ai loro discorsi. Neanche un montaggio cinematografico avrebbe reso così bene questo rumore di fondo che viene tenuto alto per tutto il romanzo; si corre, letteralmente, e ci si stanca, non ci sono pause. Per alcuni aspetti, meriterebbe tutte e cinque le stelle, per altri, forse non più di tre, ma avendo apprezzato Robertson per altri tre dei suoi libri, tagliamo al testa al toro e facciamo quattro stelle.
October 31, 2020
Come è possibile che uno scrittore come Robertson sia stato dimenticato? I suoi libri sono unici. Nel più grande spettacolo del mondo, Don riesce ad entrare nella testa di un bambino rendendo tutto credibile e il tema del tempo che scorre e del coraggio, sempre ricorrenti nei suoi romanzi, sono i pilastri del libro. Ho particolarmente adorato le scene di vita quotidiana e i conflitti interiori dei personaggi. Solo Don ci riesce. E Stephen King, secondo me, si è ispirato tanto al suo stile. La parte giornalistica è da premio Pulitzer. Leggete, leggete Robertson perché è il più grande spettacolo del mondo!
October 30, 2020
Don Robertson, sconosciuto praticamente a tutti fino a pochi anni fa, dimenticato persino in patria (i suoi romanzi sono quasi tutti fuori catalogo), è un autore americano che, grazie allo splendido lavoro della casa editrice Nutrimenti, sta vivendo da noi in Italia una specie di seconda vita editoriale. Il lavoro di riscoperta della casa editrice romana è talmente buono che Julia, uscito a Gennaio 2020, è un suo romanzo rimasto inedito fatto uscire in esclusiva qui prima che nel resto del mondo.
Con Il più grande spettacolo del mondo continua quindi questa mega operazione di recupero e riscoperta, di cui ho avuto modo di leggere e amare lo splendido Paradise Falls: un mattone di 1600 (comprensibilmente diviso da Nutrimenti in due volumi) che segue l’ascesa e il declino di una cittadina americana nella seconda metà dell’800, dall’essere una bucolica Arcadia a un luogo di corruzione e dello sfruttamento più bieco. Dopo un romanzo del genere le aspettative erano alte e devo dire che Il più grande spettacolo del mondo non le ha tradite.
Morris Bird III, un curioso ragazzino di nove anni, è circondato da persone che parlano di autostima e dell’importanza di compiere azioni importanti per dimostrare agli altri ma anche a sé stessi di esserne capaci, di valere qualcosa. Così, quando il suo amico Stanley Chaloupka si trasferisce dal quartiere in cui abitano entrambi, a Morris si presenta l’occasione perfetta: marinare la scuola e attraversare l’intera città a piedi, da solo, per andarlo a trovare e dimostrare a tutti di essere uno che ce la fa. Ma il 20 Ottobre del ’44 non è solo il giorno in cui Morris Bird III attraversa l’intera Cleveland insieme alla sorellina e a un carretto rosso per andare a trovare un amico, è anche il giorno di uno dei più grandi disastri nella storia della città: l’esplosione di un impianto di gas uccide circa 130 persone e distrugge tutto in circa un miglio quadrato. Affiancate al racconto del viaggio dei due ragazzini ci sono infatti anche una serie di storie intrecciate di adulti che si troveranno più o meno coinvolti nell’incidente o nel percorso del nostro protagonista.
Se Morris Bird III è mosso da un sentimento puro come l’amicizia e dal bisogno di autoaffermazione, gli adulti sono diversi: sono assenti, approfittatori, menefreghisti, adulteri. Eccezione fatta per una manciata di persone, due delle quali incontrano Morris dopo la tragedia e lui le aiuterà a trovare soccorso, ma sono, guarda caso, degli outsider, quelli lasciati indietro dalle vite degli altri.
Don Robertson è riuscito nella difficile impresa di raccontare una storia contemporaneamente leggera e drammatica, in cui il tono avventuroso e spensierato della missione di Morris Bird III si mischia sapientemente al tono un po’ volutamente annoiato, come di una normale cronaca, di ciò che avviene ai grandi, ma con un crescendo di tensione che lascia percepire che è in arrivo qualcosa di grosso, come un’esplosione. E una volta che avviene tutto si mescola e si intreccia: niente è più come prima, né per Morris, né per nessun altro a Cleveland, né nella narrazione di Robertson che alla fine diventa quasi una cronaca di guerra, si incrudisce di colpo.
Di Paradise Falls ho ritrovato un autore capace di raccontare storie con un tono brillante e intelligentemente ironico senza mai eccedere, ma lì si trattava di una storia bella corposa che abbracciava di tutto, dalla storia americana alla politica, dall’economia all’organizzazione delle ferrovie. Qui ho scoperto con piacere un nuovo aspetto: la capacità di calarsi nei panni di un bambini, per me sempre sintomo di intelligenza sopraffina e apertura mentale. Oltre ad aver creato un personaggio fantastico, gli ha dato una voce e dei pensieri che gli calzano a pennello e che sono perfettamente verosimili.
Adesso che Il più grande spettacolo del mondo mi ha dato questa bella riconferma, non vedo l’ora di andare avanti in questa operazione di riscoperta. Per fortuna ho già L’ultima stagione in libreria che mi aspetta.
Con Il più grande spettacolo del mondo continua quindi questa mega operazione di recupero e riscoperta, di cui ho avuto modo di leggere e amare lo splendido Paradise Falls: un mattone di 1600 (comprensibilmente diviso da Nutrimenti in due volumi) che segue l’ascesa e il declino di una cittadina americana nella seconda metà dell’800, dall’essere una bucolica Arcadia a un luogo di corruzione e dello sfruttamento più bieco. Dopo un romanzo del genere le aspettative erano alte e devo dire che Il più grande spettacolo del mondo non le ha tradite.
Morris Bird III, un curioso ragazzino di nove anni, è circondato da persone che parlano di autostima e dell’importanza di compiere azioni importanti per dimostrare agli altri ma anche a sé stessi di esserne capaci, di valere qualcosa. Così, quando il suo amico Stanley Chaloupka si trasferisce dal quartiere in cui abitano entrambi, a Morris si presenta l’occasione perfetta: marinare la scuola e attraversare l’intera città a piedi, da solo, per andarlo a trovare e dimostrare a tutti di essere uno che ce la fa. Ma il 20 Ottobre del ’44 non è solo il giorno in cui Morris Bird III attraversa l’intera Cleveland insieme alla sorellina e a un carretto rosso per andare a trovare un amico, è anche il giorno di uno dei più grandi disastri nella storia della città: l’esplosione di un impianto di gas uccide circa 130 persone e distrugge tutto in circa un miglio quadrato. Affiancate al racconto del viaggio dei due ragazzini ci sono infatti anche una serie di storie intrecciate di adulti che si troveranno più o meno coinvolti nell’incidente o nel percorso del nostro protagonista.
Se Morris Bird III è mosso da un sentimento puro come l’amicizia e dal bisogno di autoaffermazione, gli adulti sono diversi: sono assenti, approfittatori, menefreghisti, adulteri. Eccezione fatta per una manciata di persone, due delle quali incontrano Morris dopo la tragedia e lui le aiuterà a trovare soccorso, ma sono, guarda caso, degli outsider, quelli lasciati indietro dalle vite degli altri.
Don Robertson è riuscito nella difficile impresa di raccontare una storia contemporaneamente leggera e drammatica, in cui il tono avventuroso e spensierato della missione di Morris Bird III si mischia sapientemente al tono un po’ volutamente annoiato, come di una normale cronaca, di ciò che avviene ai grandi, ma con un crescendo di tensione che lascia percepire che è in arrivo qualcosa di grosso, come un’esplosione. E una volta che avviene tutto si mescola e si intreccia: niente è più come prima, né per Morris, né per nessun altro a Cleveland, né nella narrazione di Robertson che alla fine diventa quasi una cronaca di guerra, si incrudisce di colpo.
Di Paradise Falls ho ritrovato un autore capace di raccontare storie con un tono brillante e intelligentemente ironico senza mai eccedere, ma lì si trattava di una storia bella corposa che abbracciava di tutto, dalla storia americana alla politica, dall’economia all’organizzazione delle ferrovie. Qui ho scoperto con piacere un nuovo aspetto: la capacità di calarsi nei panni di un bambini, per me sempre sintomo di intelligenza sopraffina e apertura mentale. Oltre ad aver creato un personaggio fantastico, gli ha dato una voce e dei pensieri che gli calzano a pennello e che sono perfettamente verosimili.
Adesso che Il più grande spettacolo del mondo mi ha dato questa bella riconferma, non vedo l’ora di andare avanti in questa operazione di riscoperta. Per fortuna ho già L’ultima stagione in libreria che mi aspetta.
September 13, 2009
I read this entire book tonight while I was babysitting a friend's two-year old (who was asleep the whole time). Given that I'm from Cleveland, it was interesting to map out the streets in my head. I enjoyed the book, and am looking forward to reading more from him.
Update: After thinking about this book overnight, I must state one thing. I find it very hard to believe that a 9 and a 6 year old did what they did. I realise that the year was 1944, and to a certain extent, children in an older generation grew up a little faster, but still. If they were 12 and 9, maybe.
An interesting link about the disaster, with photos:
http://allthingsclevelandohio.blogspo...
Update: After thinking about this book overnight, I must state one thing. I find it very hard to believe that a 9 and a 6 year old did what they did. I realise that the year was 1944, and to a certain extent, children in an older generation grew up a little faster, but still. If they were 12 and 9, maybe.
An interesting link about the disaster, with photos:
http://allthingsclevelandohio.blogspo...
July 22, 2025
This book tells the story of a 9-year-old fourth grader, Morris Bird II. Morris lives with his parents, his sister, and his grandmother. It is 1944, and his life in Cleveland, Ohio, is a normal existence. He hates oatmeal, is in love with his teacher, and also the girl next door. His younger sister Sally annoys the heck out of him.
Stanley Chaloupka, Morris's best friend, has moved away to the other side of Cleveland. This has made Morris sad and yearning to see his friend.
At school, one day, his teacher talks about things that are hard and about committing to a task and following through with it, win or fail. Trying your best is the only way to go. This awakens an idea. Why can't Morris go to see Stanley? He can ditch Sally (whom he is responsible for) and skip school. Then walk across Cleveland and see his best friend. He hatches a plan and so begins his adventure. Unfortunately, the day Morris chooses to go, things do not go as planned. His idea to ditch Sally does not work. He ends up "renting" a friend's wagon and is forced to pull Sally across Cleveland. Also, the date, Friday, October 20, 1944, is the day a devastating gas explosion will occur right on top of Morris's destination.
As the POV is coming from a 9-year-old, the verbiage can seem simple and tedious at times. However, Robertson knew what he was doing when he wrote the story this way. He makes you feel as though you're listening to a child tell you his adventures. A gem of a book, another found while sorting donations at my Library.
Note: The explosion is a true story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clevela...
Stanley Chaloupka, Morris's best friend, has moved away to the other side of Cleveland. This has made Morris sad and yearning to see his friend.
At school, one day, his teacher talks about things that are hard and about committing to a task and following through with it, win or fail. Trying your best is the only way to go. This awakens an idea. Why can't Morris go to see Stanley? He can ditch Sally (whom he is responsible for) and skip school. Then walk across Cleveland and see his best friend. He hatches a plan and so begins his adventure. Unfortunately, the day Morris chooses to go, things do not go as planned. His idea to ditch Sally does not work. He ends up "renting" a friend's wagon and is forced to pull Sally across Cleveland. Also, the date, Friday, October 20, 1944, is the day a devastating gas explosion will occur right on top of Morris's destination.
As the POV is coming from a 9-year-old, the verbiage can seem simple and tedious at times. However, Robertson knew what he was doing when he wrote the story this way. He makes you feel as though you're listening to a child tell you his adventures. A gem of a book, another found while sorting donations at my Library.
Note: The explosion is a true story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clevela...
February 14, 2017
Emblazoned on this book's front cover: "Rediscover an American Classic." Also on the cover is a blurb from Stephen King, comparing this short novel to the likes of The Catcher in the Rye and The Outsiders. Does it belong on the same shelf as those, as King says? Certainly not The Outsiders. Anything is better than The Catcher in the Rye, though. Man, fuck that book. Holden Caulfield can sit on it and twirl.
Honestly, I was pretty disappointed in this. Specifically the latter half. The author randomly throws in a handful of adult characters and I just couldn't keep them straight. Totally ruined the experience for me. I dug the first half, though, and I enjoyed the time spent with the main character, Morris Bird III (what a name!). His journey on foot across town to see a friend was entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable, and it's regrettable that those scenes are marred by random cutaways to some of the most boring, listless characters I've come across in fiction. Ugh.
This is the first book in a trilogy, and I plan to read the others very soon. They follow Morris as he grows older, and I'm curious where the author takes this interesting, unique boy. In response to the legend on this novel's cover: I wouldn't call this an American classic. The author's prose is, at times, messy and clunky; his sense of setting is impeccable, however. This book truly feels like Ohio in 1944. This is worth a glance, but don't expect a home run.
Honestly, I was pretty disappointed in this. Specifically the latter half. The author randomly throws in a handful of adult characters and I just couldn't keep them straight. Totally ruined the experience for me. I dug the first half, though, and I enjoyed the time spent with the main character, Morris Bird III (what a name!). His journey on foot across town to see a friend was entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable, and it's regrettable that those scenes are marred by random cutaways to some of the most boring, listless characters I've come across in fiction. Ugh.
This is the first book in a trilogy, and I plan to read the others very soon. They follow Morris as he grows older, and I'm curious where the author takes this interesting, unique boy. In response to the legend on this novel's cover: I wouldn't call this an American classic. The author's prose is, at times, messy and clunky; his sense of setting is impeccable, however. This book truly feels like Ohio in 1944. This is worth a glance, but don't expect a home run.
December 9, 2008
This was my first encounter with Don Robertson's writing. I cannot wait to read some of his other work!
It is the story of Morris Bird III, a nine-year-old boy living in Cleveland in 1944. It is written from Morris' perspective, capturing his mischievousness, innocence, and perception of the world around him.
As the story progresses it intertwines Morris with one of the worst industrial disasters in American history. I had never heard of this incident and found this storyline to be particularly interesting.
I'd recommend this book for anyone who likes historical fiction.
It is the story of Morris Bird III, a nine-year-old boy living in Cleveland in 1944. It is written from Morris' perspective, capturing his mischievousness, innocence, and perception of the world around him.
As the story progresses it intertwines Morris with one of the worst industrial disasters in American history. I had never heard of this incident and found this storyline to be particularly interesting.
I'd recommend this book for anyone who likes historical fiction.
July 9, 2008
Loved this book. Reminds me of "Catcher in the Rye" meets Ralphie from "A Christmas Story".
January 27, 2024
I found this book in a 10 cent bin at the library and thought, why not? Maybe it'll be good for The Old Book Book Club. I'm glad I picked it up because it was a great read. And I hope that others in the book club will think so too. It's a different book, the way it's written and the story in general is not like anything I've read to date. I laughed often and was highly interested in what was going to happen next. I will say, there are no chapter breaks, so if that drives you batty, maybe get the audiobook.
July 6, 2025
Primo volume della cosiddetta trilogia di Morris Bird III, questo romanzo di Robertson è l'ennesima conferma della bontà della sua inconfondibile scrittura.
Un'altra chicca che si aggiunge dopo la precedente lettura dello splendido "Julie".
Fondamentalmente è un romanzo di formazione, ambientato nella Cleveland del 1944 e, come nella miglior tradizione, racconta un'avventura di un ragazzo di nove anni alle prese con se stesso, deciso di dimostrare onore e coraggio attraversando la città a piedi per ritrovare un amico trasferitosi vicino al lago nei dintorni della centrale di distribuzione del gas.
Gli faranno compagnia la sorellina Sandra, uno strano carrettino chiamato Nosmirc Kaerts con il suo procedere a suon di DuDumduDumduDum, una mappa della città con dentro la foto di Veronica Lake, una pistola giocattolo, la bussola, un dollaro e sette centesimi, un "subdolo" temperino e un barattolo di burro di arachidi Peter Pan.
Nelle poche miglia di distanza dalla propria abitazione a quella dell'amico, Morris Bird III si confronterà col mondo attorno a lui e si ritroverà coinvolto in una reale catastrofe accaduta proprio in quell'anno a Cleveland e in quel frangente Onore e Coraggio fluiranno naturalmente dal ragazzo nel passaggio simbolico all'adolescenza.
Il maestro Stephen King, accanito fan di Robertson, scrive nella quarta di copertina: "Un libro da mettere sullo stesso scaffale del Giovane Holden", e io sottoscrivo.
Un'altra chicca che si aggiunge dopo la precedente lettura dello splendido "Julie".
Fondamentalmente è un romanzo di formazione, ambientato nella Cleveland del 1944 e, come nella miglior tradizione, racconta un'avventura di un ragazzo di nove anni alle prese con se stesso, deciso di dimostrare onore e coraggio attraversando la città a piedi per ritrovare un amico trasferitosi vicino al lago nei dintorni della centrale di distribuzione del gas.
Gli faranno compagnia la sorellina Sandra, uno strano carrettino chiamato Nosmirc Kaerts con il suo procedere a suon di DuDumduDumduDum, una mappa della città con dentro la foto di Veronica Lake, una pistola giocattolo, la bussola, un dollaro e sette centesimi, un "subdolo" temperino e un barattolo di burro di arachidi Peter Pan.
Nelle poche miglia di distanza dalla propria abitazione a quella dell'amico, Morris Bird III si confronterà col mondo attorno a lui e si ritroverà coinvolto in una reale catastrofe accaduta proprio in quell'anno a Cleveland e in quel frangente Onore e Coraggio fluiranno naturalmente dal ragazzo nel passaggio simbolico all'adolescenza.
Il maestro Stephen King, accanito fan di Robertson, scrive nella quarta di copertina: "Un libro da mettere sullo stesso scaffale del Giovane Holden", e io sottoscrivo.
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August 14, 2019An elementary school student takes a long walk through a small city to visit a friend, in this charming, funny, nostalgic depiction of youth in middle America. It does an excellent job of recapitulating the peculiar mental state of childhood, its obsessive tendencies and strange rituals, and I found myself in uncanny agreement with the protagonist's moral code – keep to your word, never steal marbles, and be extra nice to the weird kids. Lots of fun.
December 31, 2020
Exceptional! Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. I was skeptical about this book with the unusual title. I got this book from the library but I am going to buy a copy so I can re read the book. I see there is a sequel which I am going to find. A wonderful book to end the year.
December 8, 2021
Quanta tenerezza in un solo libro.
Don Robertson mi ha conquistata con il suo stile limpido e lineare, regalandomi un'esperienza di lettura calda e avvolgente.
Il protagonista è Morris Bird III, un bambino capace di conquistare il cuore di ogni lettore. Morris è un moderno Tom Sawyer che si aggira per le strade di Cleveland, Ohio, nell'America del 1944. Là fuori, come se fosse in un altro pianeta, c'è la guerra, e lì, nelle case degli abitanti di Cleveland, c'è il razionamento di cibo, notizie alla radio, spille a sostegno di Roosvelt e le vite segrete e intricate degli adulti. Morris, perso nella dolce innocenza della sua tenera età, si interroga sull'amicizia, sull'amore, sulla morte e sul coraggio, spingendosi in un'odissea che lo porterà ad essere l'eroe della sua storia, il più grande spettacolo del mondo.
Ma perché ho aspettato così tanto a leggere Don Robertson?! Non vedo l'ora di proseguire con il secondo volume della trilogia.
Don Robertson mi ha conquistata con il suo stile limpido e lineare, regalandomi un'esperienza di lettura calda e avvolgente.
Il protagonista è Morris Bird III, un bambino capace di conquistare il cuore di ogni lettore. Morris è un moderno Tom Sawyer che si aggira per le strade di Cleveland, Ohio, nell'America del 1944. Là fuori, come se fosse in un altro pianeta, c'è la guerra, e lì, nelle case degli abitanti di Cleveland, c'è il razionamento di cibo, notizie alla radio, spille a sostegno di Roosvelt e le vite segrete e intricate degli adulti. Morris, perso nella dolce innocenza della sua tenera età, si interroga sull'amicizia, sull'amore, sulla morte e sul coraggio, spingendosi in un'odissea che lo porterà ad essere l'eroe della sua storia, il più grande spettacolo del mondo.
Ma perché ho aspettato così tanto a leggere Don Robertson?! Non vedo l'ora di proseguire con il secondo volume della trilogia.
January 22, 2022
Morris Bird III è uno spettacolo! E' "Il più grande spettacolo del mondo"...come gli verrà detto. E c'è da sottoscriverlo, perchè la forza e la determinazione che dimostrerà in questa avventura è davvero unica. A questo son servite le parole dell'insegnante, la signorina Dallas, e della nonna, sull'onesta', l'autostima, il coraggio? Beh...con Morris han fatto centro. Don Robertson racconta una giornata indimenticabile per la vita di questo bambino di nove anni - e di tutta Cleveland - nel 1944.
Una vicenda quotidiana che si intreccia alla Storia, la suspence circa un piccolo progetto di un ragazzino che deve riuscire a "andare in meta" e, al contempo, la deflagrazione di avvenimenti tragici per tutta una collettività. Il tutto ritratto superbamente da questo fine cesellatore della scrittura che non smette di entusiasmarmi.
Una vicenda quotidiana che si intreccia alla Storia, la suspence circa un piccolo progetto di un ragazzino che deve riuscire a "andare in meta" e, al contempo, la deflagrazione di avvenimenti tragici per tutta una collettività. Il tutto ritratto superbamente da questo fine cesellatore della scrittura che non smette di entusiasmarmi.
December 8, 2016
This book came to me in such a unique way. I was not at all familiar with this author. I also had no knowledge about one of the biggest industrial disasters in our counties history. The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread is set in Cleveland, Ohio in 1944. It is a wonderful, vividly presented & nostalgic read. 9 year old Morris Bird III is an endearing and enduring character. This is a little gem of a book.
March 24, 2024
I was shopping at an indie bookstore in its death throes, and by the time I got to the counter I felt like the owner was a little tired of talking about the death of the store. So I was like, “what books do you recommend?” This was suggestion 1 out of 3 she gave me.
Seeing a disaster through the eyes of a child is always a compelling story for me, and I hadn’t heard anything about this disaster before picking up this book. Fully recommend.
Seeing a disaster through the eyes of a child is always a compelling story for me, and I hadn’t heard anything about this disaster before picking up this book. Fully recommend.
June 20, 2015
18 jun 15
1st from robertson for me. onward, ever onward.
20 jun 15
finished. great story! i've marked it as a favorite. and i've already ordered a couple more stories by robertson. how many more? how many other stories are out there that i've never heard about...this one was published in 1965...and as good a story as it is, you'd think i would have heard mention of it...somewhere. i think it was a stephen king interview in the new york times that called attention to this robertson guy. so...i found a used copy on-line and here i am. if you enjoy good stories, you owe it to yourself to read this one. this one is a keeper. i wish someone would change the story description, as it wasn't morris's red wagon that he used...the same mistake is on the back cover of my paperback, "so he grabs the handle of his red wagon..." no. wrong. he borrowed...or rented, more appropriate, for .50-hard-earned cents. and when the wagon takes a hit, or afterward, morris tells the pretty red cross lady that he'll pay him (teddy karam) for it. there's not a doubt in my mind that that is just what he did. good read.
story begins
the legless man was wise enough to understand that heroes can be found in the damnedest place. which was why he didn't hesitate when he called the boy the greatest thing since sliced bread.
for the boy, though, the big thing wasn't his bravery. as far as he was concerned, too much fuss was made over it.
for the boy, the big thing happened before the explosion. it happened at the moment he saw his old buddy stanley chaloupka. the exact moment.
time place scene setting
* october, 1944, cleveland, ohio
* the front steps of the wysocki residence, next door to the bird residence, at 9106 edmunds avenue, about two blocks long
* hough elementary school, classrooms, principal's office, plaground, gym
* 1940, loew's stillman theatre, where the disgrace happened
* a hospital, operating room, patient room
* october, 1942, the salami incident
* thanksgiving day, morris's grandmother came to live with the family
* saturday afternoon, 1942, at the astor theater, morris fell in love with veronica lake
* the astor theatre
* rockefeller park
* the chaloupka place, steps, basement, driveway, on rosalind avenue
* an abandoned brewery on hough avenue & ansel road
* date of the idea: friday, october 13, 1944
* there follows dates, the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and each date brings morris closer to the goal of the idea: walking to the home of stanley chaloupka, the new home about 4-miles away from where the chaloupka family moved after the father went into the service
* the new place: 670 east 63rd street, near the lake, north of st clair avenue
* albrecht's drugstore corner of hough avenue and crawford road, map
* mr rubenstein's funnybook store at hough and east 89th
* palace theater, associated with the legless man
* cleveland museum of art
* robertson places several characters at their homes, provides addresses, bernstein, the brookes, the lefevres, redlich, the oravec twins, edna frost, barbara sternad...curious, that...the narrative leaves off morris to place these people, the assumption being that robertson will return to them later
* the route morris maps out from his home to stanley's new home four miles away
**and this is to the halfway-point in the story**
* little candy store, where the riot started, linwood & east 79th
* league park, cleveland indians home turf, linwood and east 69th to 66th, three city blocks long
* five gas tanks near stanley's new home
* nosmirc kaerts...the name of teddy's red wagon backwards, as he speaks, crimson streak
* thomas edison field, where east high will play central, football
* rose building, where lefevre works
* massie avenue, where leo topples over dead
* room 1409 of a most respectable downtown hotel, where lefevre & imogene meet and commit adultery
* olga's house of beauty, where sandra enters when she has to go
* wilson junior high school, designated by mayor as emergency relief and medical center
* east cleveland station...where imogene delivers marva
characters major
* morris bird iii, nine-year-old, the boy
characters minor, with names, w/o names, setting/scene characters
* the legless man
* stanley chaloupka, morris's buddy
* the gas company publicists
* people, as in the people
* the poor burnt lady
* the pretty red cross lady
* frank & ralph, two brothers to suzanne, both with the marines in the pacific
* suzanne wysocki, 8-year-old, with whom morris is in love
* logan macmurray, always in trouble, is expelled, is in morris's class even though he's about fifteen or so give or take
* alex coffee, the human garbage can, smells bad allatime
* mr pisani, who is dying, lives down the street from morris
* c sticker people...there are also b sticker and a sticker people. c sticker people are the quality, get more gas than a or b sticker people
* suzanne wysocki's father, a c sticker people, an auditor with the internal revenue
* mrs wysocki, who reads the funnies to morris
* mrs dallas, morris's teacher, 4a hough elementary school, helene k. dallas
* the original morris bird was a newspaper editor in paradise falls
* morris's grandmother, mrs elizabeth jones. her husband, retired james n. jones died the summer elizabeth moved to live with the bird family on thanksgiving day...from paradise falls. she is a 51-year-old and she had seven children
* morris's father, morris bird ii, an announcer at radio station wccc, the voice of cleveland and northeastern ohio
* morris's mother, alice bird, secretary to mr. thomas d. beeler, office manager for cleveland bolt & screw company
* morris's sister, sandra bird, 6-year-old
* a big blonde man was smiling...dr mccluskey
* a ward full of children
* three boys hung with logan macmurray, and he has them call him the imperial master
* june weed, a kind of babysitter morris's mother hires to watch/feed morris and his sister sandra bird, 6
* melvin minton, with whom morris trades baseball cards
* principal of hough elementary school, mrs clementine ochs (oaks), summerof '43 she was killed by a streetcar
* miss miller, a teacher morris has one semester. she has red hair and a big chest
* dr sabath, morris's mother brings morris to him
* henrietta kelly, like logan, she is often in trouble, has a build like humphrey bogart
* miss kane, the principal's secretary, a thin blonde woman
* junes weed's girlfriends
* sailors, a different one every day, who came to visit with june as she babysat the bird kids
* younger announcers at wccc...to war
* nancy reese, lived across the street from morris
* large number of colored people who went (to a certain theater)
* arlene kovacs, three doors away from morris, 16, stuffs funny things down the front of her dress
* hank moore, boy in 6b, best athlete, henry larkin moore
* miss lunberg, teaches one of two 4a classes, mrs dallas, the other
* crazy man who caught leaves falling
* mrs gertrude c outhwaite, 350-year-old, died in class
* a boy kicked her (dead body)
* husband of mrs dallas, in the merchant marine
* children's librarian, miss silberman
* episcopal church minister, gar p pallister, the rev mr pallister
* johnny sellers, morris kicked his football through an open second story window of an apartment bldg
* stanely's father, drafted, stanley and his mother went to live with her parents
* johnny sellers' big brother in the 8th grade
* 2nd floor people (football, that disappeared): israel, roberts, cox, and marshall
* kenny haas
* the other children
* the man in the white coat
* lady, greenwich, time of day lady
* edward h. chaloupka, father of stanley, display advertising salesman for the morning paper
* he got this friend
* mrs chaloupka, stanley's mother
* miss steingass, morris' teacher this one semester, spring '43, 3b
* dolores bovasso, was in arithmetic and spelling contest down to the wire with stanley
* kenny haas, from before, and ted karam, alex coffee (before too), tom pisani, freddy carlson, colored hoover sissle, friends of morris
* a man, waltzman, driver of the car/car pool used by morris's mother
* julie sutton, classmate of morris, she learns piano
* miss diehl, her piano teacher
* colleen cleveland, a colored girl, best penmanship, classmate of morris's
* stanley's mother's folk, szuk or szek, morris lost the note
* paul szuk, east 41st street
* a woman answered when morris called
* a woman's voice/operator
* another woman, eva szucs...this is the place
* a fat blind man stood playing an accordion
* albrecht...of albrecht's drug store, where morris crooked a map
* uncle allen of morris, gave him a penknife
* mr rubenstein, where morris sells some big little books to finance his idea...remember those? heh! space ghost was my favorite, dick tracy was morris's favorite
* retired furrier leo bernstein...and leo and his wife are introduced without fanfare, before the mid-point of the story, but close to the mid-point, and i get the idea leo is one of many who will play a role later on in the story. we'll see
* leo's wife, naomi segal bernstein
* josephine brookes, shaker heights...who a few sentences later is being referred to as imogene brookes, go figure that one, the former imogene pinkerton, having an affair with her neighbor, lefevre
* tom brookes, husband of josephine/imogene, thomas calder brookes
* the optician, a bald man who makes imogene feel like the wife of bath...and sets her heart all a-flutter, g henderson lefevre
* marva lefevre, wife of g henderson
* the lefevre have two children, karen 4, mark 2
* the legless man...noted above, one of the first, his name is casimir redlich, plays the trumpet
* his wife groans
* charlie spivak's orchestra, connected with the legless casimir redlich
* twins, vicki and viola oravec, 5-year-olds, on east 66th street
* their mother
* miss edna daphne frost, retired schoolteacher on norwood road
* mrs barbara sternad, on east 62nd street
* harry wrobleski, barbara's school-age/teenage nephew who lives with her
* harry's mother, barbara's sister and her husband, died in an automobile accident
* two nasty boys on norwood road, dickie fristoe & allie sandwick
* teddy karam, who is lebanese or lenabese, is provided a job opportunity, bring morris's little sister to school so morris can work on his idea...teddy, who says everything backwards, refuses, though he rents his little red wagon to morris so he can pull sandra when she tires
* girl who answered at mount sinai hospital when edna called
* miss katherine arthur, who had a breast removed
* florist on superior avenue
* children walked in little groups
* roy mollenkopf, pushed dolores into the tub of apples
* dolores's mother
* a fat woman...who passed morris pulling sandra
**and this is to the halfway point in the story**
* barbara sternad's husband, ralph, in england, war, duty
* lefevre's secretary, a mrs garling
* a man came running/candy store...women w/shoppingbags came running, a colored man jumped out, a small man with a hitler mustache, another man came running, a skinny and coatless old women, a boy of about sixteen, two cops: mr bernard & mr coyne, 6 women and 4 men, june weed is in line too, she's married to a sailor by now, a man who stood a few paces back (riot/store/get in line for cigarettes)
* shabby men with rolled-up newspapers (parking cars/game day)
* ground crew
* a colored man walked up to him (roosevelt pin)
* several neighbors came running, reminds me of the jones's story, some came running, biblical...(leo, dead)
* judy saum, or specifically, her legs, harry is watching em
* irving bernstein, leo bernstein's only son, an attorney, representing the legless man, casimir, former employee of the b&o railroad, where he lost his legs
* bryan oravec, father of the twin girls and 4 other children, bus driver for the cleveland transit system
* casimir redlich's wife, helen
* casimir and hiw wife have 6 children grown married
* mrs brookes maid a large middle-aged negro woman, muriel hatfield
* judy saum's girlfriend
* lady sylvia frothingham...morris's name for sandra when she wants to play jacks with the twins on east 66th
* al pinetta...harry goes to the football game with
* a colored woman walked past him and smiled
* driver of city ice & fuel co. truck, willie crosby (football)
* herman richlak, 1845 east 69th street, where willie delivers the coal
* willie's son, roosevelt, who would get the football
* mrs francine dzurek, friend of mrs sternad
* baby girl 11-month-old, mary beth, child of francine
* east high players/football & central high players, all colored
* sally oates, bridge partner of imogene
* judy saum again and two other girls
* aunt maud...name used by imogene, you could bet your aunt maud's paisley shawl
* polly vickery's...where imogene and g henderson lefevre started...has to start somewhere, hey? a part at polly's
* an old man, a plump woman
* a very old colored man walked by
* sam and geraldine adams, sam is tom's boss
* frank j. lausche, mayor of cleveland...don't know if this is the actual mayor at the time
* renee, at olga's house of beauty, helped sandra use the restroom
* an old lady who wore a babushka
* three pedestrians, afternoon paper people, a great big fat man came running for the middle of the street, officials, reporters, east ohio gas company, driver of fire truck
* fire chief james e granger
* east high fulllback jim roberts
* 100 trainees from local navy school, plus 400 coast guardsmen, 2,000 sailors, 200 police, 35 doctors, 20 nurses, firemen, the almighty
* mrs dwight f. carleton, red cross volunteer, as is imogene brookes
* two men carried a third man, an old lady wheeled several suitcases, another lady ran past, a man ran past
* marva's mother who takes ill
* marva's sister, hortense, her hubby, andrew...in rochester
* some little snip/cab
* an elderly colored man/porter at east cleveland station
* a dozen or so people running around
* a colored man grinned at her
* a teacher showed her (imogene) to the gym
* edna's maternal grandfather, bertram tompkins, 1821-1904
* police, two men in white suits and a lady in a gray uniform
* east high coach gregory conly
* substitutes
* all sorts of ragged & forlorn people
* a plump woman with a bandaged left ear
* doctor rimmel
* rescue workers...135 dead...500 injured
famous people, real people, the rich & famous, fictionally famous
* veronica lake, with whom morris is in love, more so than suzanne
* bette davis, suzanne's favorite
* god
* alan ladd
* president roosevelt
* general eisenhower
* filthy nazis
* rotten little japs
* john r. tunis, author of the kid from tompkinsville
* mr carter (of the pills which he has a lot of)
* johnny welaj...morris trades a baseball card of him for
* nino bongiovanni, a rare card
* humphrey bogart
* little orphan annie
* popeye
* clark gable
* errol flynn
* dorothy lamour
* henry the vee eye eye eye, his wives
* laird cregar in this gun for hire
* george case, outfielder for the cleveland indians, fastest in the american league
* stapleton was the murderer in the hounds of the baskervilles
* charlie mccarthy & mortimer snerd
* smiling jack smith, the radio singer ?
* pappa bauer on the guiding light daytime soap
* rockefeller (park), astor (theater)
* joe nuxhall 15-yr-old pitcher started a game for the reds ? true i guess...depending on how much you trust the first hit or two of a search engine's result
* george washington & the other men who founded the nation
* james a garfield
* ulysses s (simpson) grant
* boris karloff
* thomas e dewey
* john w. bricker, governor of ohio
* jane russell
* bela lugosi
* truman
* time magazine man, luce, and his wife
* sidney, jewish friend of fdr, mr rubenstein
* mickey mouse
* rudyard kipling
* lamont cranston, the shadow
* dick tracy
* ralph byrd, actor who played dick tracy
* red skelton, mean widdle kid, clemm kadiddlehopper
* fred allen
* titus moody
* jack benny & rochester
* gas man
* george burns and gracie allen
* baby snooks
* edgar bergen
* easy aces, show, guy who said naow jane
* the lord
* beethoven
* angel of god
* general douglas a macarthur
* loretta young the actress
* the wife of bath
* auber...fra diavolo overture
* on the radio, our gal sunday, wife of lord henry brinthrop
******and this is to the halfway-point in the story*******
* hitler
* american troops
* prime minister churchill
* boston blackie (movies)
* fred frick...?...game announced...real? or morris's imagination?
* cleveland indians, new york yankees, st louis browns
* thomas edison (field)
* browns players: jackucki, muncrief, potter, gutterridge, zoldak, mancuso, hunnicut, laabs, and so on and so forth
* indians players (war-time, so...): roy cullenbine, jim bagby, jr, oris hockett, chet laabs, nelson potter, johnny niggeling, ken keltner, george case, jeff heath, mickey rocco, nick etten, snuffy stirnweiss, lou boudreau, don gutterridge, al hunnicut, joe heving, chubby dean, wartime ballplayers, 4-F
* ray mack, 2nd baseman for the cleveland indians
* the almighty
* methusalah
* jack armstrong?...imogene's name for her husband tom at one point
* sidney hillman...? in roosevelt administration?
* mae west
* marvell (andrew, the poet)
* walter brennan
* charles atlas
* slovenians, serbs, croats, lithuanians, czechs, ukrainians, hungarians, poles...living around the area of the east ohio gas company tanks
* tarzan
* johnny weismuller
* atlas
a word or two
bloobers of fat, in grandmother's cooking, morris likes, coined the word
crosspatch, a word used by morris's grandmother to describe a condition, kind of like dyedinthewool bears
a quote
don't shoot the pianoplayer; he's doing the best he can.
1st from robertson for me. onward, ever onward.
20 jun 15
finished. great story! i've marked it as a favorite. and i've already ordered a couple more stories by robertson. how many more? how many other stories are out there that i've never heard about...this one was published in 1965...and as good a story as it is, you'd think i would have heard mention of it...somewhere. i think it was a stephen king interview in the new york times that called attention to this robertson guy. so...i found a used copy on-line and here i am. if you enjoy good stories, you owe it to yourself to read this one. this one is a keeper. i wish someone would change the story description, as it wasn't morris's red wagon that he used...the same mistake is on the back cover of my paperback, "so he grabs the handle of his red wagon..." no. wrong. he borrowed...or rented, more appropriate, for .50-hard-earned cents. and when the wagon takes a hit, or afterward, morris tells the pretty red cross lady that he'll pay him (teddy karam) for it. there's not a doubt in my mind that that is just what he did. good read.
story begins
the legless man was wise enough to understand that heroes can be found in the damnedest place. which was why he didn't hesitate when he called the boy the greatest thing since sliced bread.
for the boy, though, the big thing wasn't his bravery. as far as he was concerned, too much fuss was made over it.
for the boy, the big thing happened before the explosion. it happened at the moment he saw his old buddy stanley chaloupka. the exact moment.
time place scene setting
* october, 1944, cleveland, ohio
* the front steps of the wysocki residence, next door to the bird residence, at 9106 edmunds avenue, about two blocks long
* hough elementary school, classrooms, principal's office, plaground, gym
* 1940, loew's stillman theatre, where the disgrace happened
* a hospital, operating room, patient room
* october, 1942, the salami incident
* thanksgiving day, morris's grandmother came to live with the family
* saturday afternoon, 1942, at the astor theater, morris fell in love with veronica lake
* the astor theatre
* rockefeller park
* the chaloupka place, steps, basement, driveway, on rosalind avenue
* an abandoned brewery on hough avenue & ansel road
* date of the idea: friday, october 13, 1944
* there follows dates, the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and each date brings morris closer to the goal of the idea: walking to the home of stanley chaloupka, the new home about 4-miles away from where the chaloupka family moved after the father went into the service
* the new place: 670 east 63rd street, near the lake, north of st clair avenue
* albrecht's drugstore corner of hough avenue and crawford road, map
* mr rubenstein's funnybook store at hough and east 89th
* palace theater, associated with the legless man
* cleveland museum of art
* robertson places several characters at their homes, provides addresses, bernstein, the brookes, the lefevres, redlich, the oravec twins, edna frost, barbara sternad...curious, that...the narrative leaves off morris to place these people, the assumption being that robertson will return to them later
* the route morris maps out from his home to stanley's new home four miles away
**and this is to the halfway-point in the story**
* little candy store, where the riot started, linwood & east 79th
* league park, cleveland indians home turf, linwood and east 69th to 66th, three city blocks long
* five gas tanks near stanley's new home
* nosmirc kaerts...the name of teddy's red wagon backwards, as he speaks, crimson streak
* thomas edison field, where east high will play central, football
* rose building, where lefevre works
* massie avenue, where leo topples over dead
* room 1409 of a most respectable downtown hotel, where lefevre & imogene meet and commit adultery
* olga's house of beauty, where sandra enters when she has to go
* wilson junior high school, designated by mayor as emergency relief and medical center
* east cleveland station...where imogene delivers marva
characters major
* morris bird iii, nine-year-old, the boy
characters minor, with names, w/o names, setting/scene characters
* the legless man
* stanley chaloupka, morris's buddy
* the gas company publicists
* people, as in the people
* the poor burnt lady
* the pretty red cross lady
* frank & ralph, two brothers to suzanne, both with the marines in the pacific
* suzanne wysocki, 8-year-old, with whom morris is in love
* logan macmurray, always in trouble, is expelled, is in morris's class even though he's about fifteen or so give or take
* alex coffee, the human garbage can, smells bad allatime
* mr pisani, who is dying, lives down the street from morris
* c sticker people...there are also b sticker and a sticker people. c sticker people are the quality, get more gas than a or b sticker people
* suzanne wysocki's father, a c sticker people, an auditor with the internal revenue
* mrs wysocki, who reads the funnies to morris
* mrs dallas, morris's teacher, 4a hough elementary school, helene k. dallas
* the original morris bird was a newspaper editor in paradise falls
* morris's grandmother, mrs elizabeth jones. her husband, retired james n. jones died the summer elizabeth moved to live with the bird family on thanksgiving day...from paradise falls. she is a 51-year-old and she had seven children
* morris's father, morris bird ii, an announcer at radio station wccc, the voice of cleveland and northeastern ohio
* morris's mother, alice bird, secretary to mr. thomas d. beeler, office manager for cleveland bolt & screw company
* morris's sister, sandra bird, 6-year-old
* a big blonde man was smiling...dr mccluskey
* a ward full of children
* three boys hung with logan macmurray, and he has them call him the imperial master
* june weed, a kind of babysitter morris's mother hires to watch/feed morris and his sister sandra bird, 6
* melvin minton, with whom morris trades baseball cards
* principal of hough elementary school, mrs clementine ochs (oaks), summerof '43 she was killed by a streetcar
* miss miller, a teacher morris has one semester. she has red hair and a big chest
* dr sabath, morris's mother brings morris to him
* henrietta kelly, like logan, she is often in trouble, has a build like humphrey bogart
* miss kane, the principal's secretary, a thin blonde woman
* junes weed's girlfriends
* sailors, a different one every day, who came to visit with june as she babysat the bird kids
* younger announcers at wccc...to war
* nancy reese, lived across the street from morris
* large number of colored people who went (to a certain theater)
* arlene kovacs, three doors away from morris, 16, stuffs funny things down the front of her dress
* hank moore, boy in 6b, best athlete, henry larkin moore
* miss lunberg, teaches one of two 4a classes, mrs dallas, the other
* crazy man who caught leaves falling
* mrs gertrude c outhwaite, 350-year-old, died in class
* a boy kicked her (dead body)
* husband of mrs dallas, in the merchant marine
* children's librarian, miss silberman
* episcopal church minister, gar p pallister, the rev mr pallister
* johnny sellers, morris kicked his football through an open second story window of an apartment bldg
* stanely's father, drafted, stanley and his mother went to live with her parents
* johnny sellers' big brother in the 8th grade
* 2nd floor people (football, that disappeared): israel, roberts, cox, and marshall
* kenny haas
* the other children
* the man in the white coat
* lady, greenwich, time of day lady
* edward h. chaloupka, father of stanley, display advertising salesman for the morning paper
* he got this friend
* mrs chaloupka, stanley's mother
* miss steingass, morris' teacher this one semester, spring '43, 3b
* dolores bovasso, was in arithmetic and spelling contest down to the wire with stanley
* kenny haas, from before, and ted karam, alex coffee (before too), tom pisani, freddy carlson, colored hoover sissle, friends of morris
* a man, waltzman, driver of the car/car pool used by morris's mother
* julie sutton, classmate of morris, she learns piano
* miss diehl, her piano teacher
* colleen cleveland, a colored girl, best penmanship, classmate of morris's
* stanley's mother's folk, szuk or szek, morris lost the note
* paul szuk, east 41st street
* a woman answered when morris called
* a woman's voice/operator
* another woman, eva szucs...this is the place
* a fat blind man stood playing an accordion
* albrecht...of albrecht's drug store, where morris crooked a map
* uncle allen of morris, gave him a penknife
* mr rubenstein, where morris sells some big little books to finance his idea...remember those? heh! space ghost was my favorite, dick tracy was morris's favorite
* retired furrier leo bernstein...and leo and his wife are introduced without fanfare, before the mid-point of the story, but close to the mid-point, and i get the idea leo is one of many who will play a role later on in the story. we'll see
* leo's wife, naomi segal bernstein
* josephine brookes, shaker heights...who a few sentences later is being referred to as imogene brookes, go figure that one, the former imogene pinkerton, having an affair with her neighbor, lefevre
* tom brookes, husband of josephine/imogene, thomas calder brookes
* the optician, a bald man who makes imogene feel like the wife of bath...and sets her heart all a-flutter, g henderson lefevre
* marva lefevre, wife of g henderson
* the lefevre have two children, karen 4, mark 2
* the legless man...noted above, one of the first, his name is casimir redlich, plays the trumpet
* his wife groans
* charlie spivak's orchestra, connected with the legless casimir redlich
* twins, vicki and viola oravec, 5-year-olds, on east 66th street
* their mother
* miss edna daphne frost, retired schoolteacher on norwood road
* mrs barbara sternad, on east 62nd street
* harry wrobleski, barbara's school-age/teenage nephew who lives with her
* harry's mother, barbara's sister and her husband, died in an automobile accident
* two nasty boys on norwood road, dickie fristoe & allie sandwick
* teddy karam, who is lebanese or lenabese, is provided a job opportunity, bring morris's little sister to school so morris can work on his idea...teddy, who says everything backwards, refuses, though he rents his little red wagon to morris so he can pull sandra when she tires
* girl who answered at mount sinai hospital when edna called
* miss katherine arthur, who had a breast removed
* florist on superior avenue
* children walked in little groups
* roy mollenkopf, pushed dolores into the tub of apples
* dolores's mother
* a fat woman...who passed morris pulling sandra
**and this is to the halfway point in the story**
* barbara sternad's husband, ralph, in england, war, duty
* lefevre's secretary, a mrs garling
* a man came running/candy store...women w/shoppingbags came running, a colored man jumped out, a small man with a hitler mustache, another man came running, a skinny and coatless old women, a boy of about sixteen, two cops: mr bernard & mr coyne, 6 women and 4 men, june weed is in line too, she's married to a sailor by now, a man who stood a few paces back (riot/store/get in line for cigarettes)
* shabby men with rolled-up newspapers (parking cars/game day)
* ground crew
* a colored man walked up to him (roosevelt pin)
* several neighbors came running, reminds me of the jones's story, some came running, biblical...(leo, dead)
* judy saum, or specifically, her legs, harry is watching em
* irving bernstein, leo bernstein's only son, an attorney, representing the legless man, casimir, former employee of the b&o railroad, where he lost his legs
* bryan oravec, father of the twin girls and 4 other children, bus driver for the cleveland transit system
* casimir redlich's wife, helen
* casimir and hiw wife have 6 children grown married
* mrs brookes maid a large middle-aged negro woman, muriel hatfield
* judy saum's girlfriend
* lady sylvia frothingham...morris's name for sandra when she wants to play jacks with the twins on east 66th
* al pinetta...harry goes to the football game with
* a colored woman walked past him and smiled
* driver of city ice & fuel co. truck, willie crosby (football)
* herman richlak, 1845 east 69th street, where willie delivers the coal
* willie's son, roosevelt, who would get the football
* mrs francine dzurek, friend of mrs sternad
* baby girl 11-month-old, mary beth, child of francine
* east high players/football & central high players, all colored
* sally oates, bridge partner of imogene
* judy saum again and two other girls
* aunt maud...name used by imogene, you could bet your aunt maud's paisley shawl
* polly vickery's...where imogene and g henderson lefevre started...has to start somewhere, hey? a part at polly's
* an old man, a plump woman
* a very old colored man walked by
* sam and geraldine adams, sam is tom's boss
* frank j. lausche, mayor of cleveland...don't know if this is the actual mayor at the time
* renee, at olga's house of beauty, helped sandra use the restroom
* an old lady who wore a babushka
* three pedestrians, afternoon paper people, a great big fat man came running for the middle of the street, officials, reporters, east ohio gas company, driver of fire truck
* fire chief james e granger
* east high fulllback jim roberts
* 100 trainees from local navy school, plus 400 coast guardsmen, 2,000 sailors, 200 police, 35 doctors, 20 nurses, firemen, the almighty
* mrs dwight f. carleton, red cross volunteer, as is imogene brookes
* two men carried a third man, an old lady wheeled several suitcases, another lady ran past, a man ran past
* marva's mother who takes ill
* marva's sister, hortense, her hubby, andrew...in rochester
* some little snip/cab
* an elderly colored man/porter at east cleveland station
* a dozen or so people running around
* a colored man grinned at her
* a teacher showed her (imogene) to the gym
* edna's maternal grandfather, bertram tompkins, 1821-1904
* police, two men in white suits and a lady in a gray uniform
* east high coach gregory conly
* substitutes
* all sorts of ragged & forlorn people
* a plump woman with a bandaged left ear
* doctor rimmel
* rescue workers...135 dead...500 injured
famous people, real people, the rich & famous, fictionally famous
* veronica lake, with whom morris is in love, more so than suzanne
* bette davis, suzanne's favorite
* god
* alan ladd
* president roosevelt
* general eisenhower
* filthy nazis
* rotten little japs
* john r. tunis, author of the kid from tompkinsville
* mr carter (of the pills which he has a lot of)
* johnny welaj...morris trades a baseball card of him for
* nino bongiovanni, a rare card
* humphrey bogart
* little orphan annie
* popeye
* clark gable
* errol flynn
* dorothy lamour
* henry the vee eye eye eye, his wives
* laird cregar in this gun for hire
* george case, outfielder for the cleveland indians, fastest in the american league
* stapleton was the murderer in the hounds of the baskervilles
* charlie mccarthy & mortimer snerd
* smiling jack smith, the radio singer ?
* pappa bauer on the guiding light daytime soap
* rockefeller (park), astor (theater)
* joe nuxhall 15-yr-old pitcher started a game for the reds ? true i guess...depending on how much you trust the first hit or two of a search engine's result
* george washington & the other men who founded the nation
* james a garfield
* ulysses s (simpson) grant
* boris karloff
* thomas e dewey
* john w. bricker, governor of ohio
* jane russell
* bela lugosi
* truman
* time magazine man, luce, and his wife
* sidney, jewish friend of fdr, mr rubenstein
* mickey mouse
* rudyard kipling
* lamont cranston, the shadow
* dick tracy
* ralph byrd, actor who played dick tracy
* red skelton, mean widdle kid, clemm kadiddlehopper
* fred allen
* titus moody
* jack benny & rochester
* gas man
* george burns and gracie allen
* baby snooks
* edgar bergen
* easy aces, show, guy who said naow jane
* the lord
* beethoven
* angel of god
* general douglas a macarthur
* loretta young the actress
* the wife of bath
* auber...fra diavolo overture
* on the radio, our gal sunday, wife of lord henry brinthrop
******and this is to the halfway-point in the story*******
* hitler
* american troops
* prime minister churchill
* boston blackie (movies)
* fred frick...?...game announced...real? or morris's imagination?
* cleveland indians, new york yankees, st louis browns
* thomas edison (field)
* browns players: jackucki, muncrief, potter, gutterridge, zoldak, mancuso, hunnicut, laabs, and so on and so forth
* indians players (war-time, so...): roy cullenbine, jim bagby, jr, oris hockett, chet laabs, nelson potter, johnny niggeling, ken keltner, george case, jeff heath, mickey rocco, nick etten, snuffy stirnweiss, lou boudreau, don gutterridge, al hunnicut, joe heving, chubby dean, wartime ballplayers, 4-F
* ray mack, 2nd baseman for the cleveland indians
* the almighty
* methusalah
* jack armstrong?...imogene's name for her husband tom at one point
* sidney hillman...? in roosevelt administration?
* mae west
* marvell (andrew, the poet)
* walter brennan
* charles atlas
* slovenians, serbs, croats, lithuanians, czechs, ukrainians, hungarians, poles...living around the area of the east ohio gas company tanks
* tarzan
* johnny weismuller
* atlas
a word or two
bloobers of fat, in grandmother's cooking, morris likes, coined the word
crosspatch, a word used by morris's grandmother to describe a condition, kind of like dyedinthewool bears
a quote
don't shoot the pianoplayer; he's doing the best he can.
March 25, 2023
This very readable but unusual book could be classified in several genres, mainly "coming of age" and "historical fiction." And with humor. The book begins as a coming of age story about 9-year- old Morris Bird III. He is a typical boy with many friends, and he's the champion drop-kicker in third grade. And he has growing concerns about love, responsibility, guilt, bravery, and self-respect. His best buddy is Stanley Chaloupka, a brainy, homely kid whom others pick on.
When Stanley moves to a distant area of Cleveland, near Lake Erie, Morris plots a trip to visit his friend--a challenge involving bravery and responsibility. In one of many plot twists, an added challenge to Morris's trek is to take along his 6-year-old sister, Sandra, in a borrowed red wagon.
Morris's odyssey takes him and Sandra into firing line of one of the worst industrial disasters in American history--an explosion of natural gas storage tanks that actually occurred on October 20, 1944.
Along the way the author tells of other fictitious characters affected by the historic disaster. Don Robertson's eclectic and unusual storytelling style carries us deftly into the lives of residents soon to be affected by the catastrophe, while following Morris and Sandra on their route to visit Stanley.
"The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread" is revealed in the cover image, but it is not the red wagon.
When Stanley moves to a distant area of Cleveland, near Lake Erie, Morris plots a trip to visit his friend--a challenge involving bravery and responsibility. In one of many plot twists, an added challenge to Morris's trek is to take along his 6-year-old sister, Sandra, in a borrowed red wagon.
Morris's odyssey takes him and Sandra into firing line of one of the worst industrial disasters in American history--an explosion of natural gas storage tanks that actually occurred on October 20, 1944.
Along the way the author tells of other fictitious characters affected by the historic disaster. Don Robertson's eclectic and unusual storytelling style carries us deftly into the lives of residents soon to be affected by the catastrophe, while following Morris and Sandra on their route to visit Stanley.
"The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread" is revealed in the cover image, but it is not the red wagon.
October 6, 2020
Fabulous!
January 2, 2020
A (fictional) 9-year-old boy becomes a hero in a (real) industrial disaster in Cleveland in 1944.
February 15, 2019
How had I not heard of this book before?
February 11, 2022
Shortly before his death on his seventieth birthday in March of 1999, Don Robertson said to two of his friends as they departed his home, "Hey, don't forget me, you guys." Unfortunately and sadly, being forgotten has mostly happened to this writer who Stephen King has stated was his inspiration. At this time, out of his 18 published novels, only his three Morris Bird books, The Greatest Thing since Slice Bread being the first, are still in print.
The Greatest Thing since Slice Bread is interesting and fascinating on several different planes, the story only being one. Robertson's novel could be considered an open composition in the art world since he takes a point in time in a young boy's life and tells the story but leaves the reader wondering about what went on before and after the events take place. It's as if the reader is looking at a painting that has no boundaries causing one to imagine what is beyond the edge of the canvas. The complexity of this point in time analysis, however, does not limit itself to his primary character, young Morris Bird III, but encompasses other characters who encounter Morris such as his closest friend, Stanley Chaloupka.
Other unorthodox techniques Robertson uses in this novel is his omission of chapters, his method of using paragraphs to describe points in time rather than a typical theme, and spanning a point of time over a number of characters in different locations. This method, therefore, results in paragraphs, sometimes, continuing on for several pages. At the same time, Robertson succeeds in getting inside of the head of each of the various characters while describing their external behavior. If this appears a bit complex, it is, but it does make for a fascinating story that is, actually, difficult to put down.
In addition, Robertson chooses a point of history in Cleveland, Ohio (October 1944) that the reader will ask, "Did that really happen?" Well, I won't say what that incident was, but let me just say that, yes, it really happened. Look at the history books.
Finally, I found that Robertson's formula really worked. Notwithstanding the lack of chapters and the lengthy paragraphs, I found the story endearing and absorbing. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to know about a small boy and his experiences in October 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio. To know about the event that occurred at that time in Cleveland, if nothing else, makes it worth the read.
The Greatest Thing since Slice Bread is interesting and fascinating on several different planes, the story only being one. Robertson's novel could be considered an open composition in the art world since he takes a point in time in a young boy's life and tells the story but leaves the reader wondering about what went on before and after the events take place. It's as if the reader is looking at a painting that has no boundaries causing one to imagine what is beyond the edge of the canvas. The complexity of this point in time analysis, however, does not limit itself to his primary character, young Morris Bird III, but encompasses other characters who encounter Morris such as his closest friend, Stanley Chaloupka.
Other unorthodox techniques Robertson uses in this novel is his omission of chapters, his method of using paragraphs to describe points in time rather than a typical theme, and spanning a point of time over a number of characters in different locations. This method, therefore, results in paragraphs, sometimes, continuing on for several pages. At the same time, Robertson succeeds in getting inside of the head of each of the various characters while describing their external behavior. If this appears a bit complex, it is, but it does make for a fascinating story that is, actually, difficult to put down.
In addition, Robertson chooses a point of history in Cleveland, Ohio (October 1944) that the reader will ask, "Did that really happen?" Well, I won't say what that incident was, but let me just say that, yes, it really happened. Look at the history books.
Finally, I found that Robertson's formula really worked. Notwithstanding the lack of chapters and the lengthy paragraphs, I found the story endearing and absorbing. I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to know about a small boy and his experiences in October 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio. To know about the event that occurred at that time in Cleveland, if nothing else, makes it worth the read.
January 16, 2019
One of my favorites.
July 3, 2008
You know the old saying, "you can't judge a book by it's cover?" Well, I did. I bought this book because Stephen King convinced me to. He says, "A book to put on the same shelf as the Catcher in the Rye and The Outsiders". I have to disagree. Morris Bird III is certainly a memorable nine year old hero; one whose courage, dedication and bravery is worth discovering. I don't know that Robertson's writing style is "masterpeice" worthy; he certainly is no Salinger or Hinton. I loved the nostolgia; I loved the honesty and devotion in Morris Bird III. While Robertson's humor is enjoyable, his lack of paragraphing is annoying. Further, the introduction of the adults towards the middle of the book and throughout the rest is difficult to follow at times. I liked the book, but something was missing. The first 100 pages were tough to get through, but as his voyage to the other side of town begins, the book is hard to put down. I won't forget Morris Bird III, but I may forget Robertson.
April 22, 2009
There was a lot going on in this book, and I had a hard time following all of the eight zillion characters simultaneously, but I really admired the uncanny way Mr. Robertson was able to get into the head of an eight year old boy. The language was a little gee gosh shucks for my taste, but the storyline saved me from getting too annoyed, and this book was set in 1944, so I have to cut it some slack in that department. Morris Bird decides to stand up for something he believes in by visiting his nerdy model railroad loving friend who has moved across town. The story of a boy, a borrowed wagon, a little sister, a compass, a jar of peanut butter, a picture of Veronica Lake, a map, a scary knife, an epic journey, and a deliverance of sorts. I'm looking forward to reading more about Morris Bird the 3rd.
October 17, 2013
2013: Read it again for book club and enjoyed it nearly as much.
I really enjoyed reading "The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread" but it's hard to say exactly why...I loved the style and the rhythm of Robertson's words. I loved how he captured so many characters in few words. I loved how many layers there were to the story. I loved the morals he promoted, albeit subtly. I loved Morris' Grandma and his teacher and the tall black lady. It's a great book. I am definitely going to suggest this for our book club in the fall.
I really enjoyed reading "The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread" but it's hard to say exactly why...I loved the style and the rhythm of Robertson's words. I loved how he captured so many characters in few words. I loved how many layers there were to the story. I loved the morals he promoted, albeit subtly. I loved Morris' Grandma and his teacher and the tall black lady. It's a great book. I am definitely going to suggest this for our book club in the fall.
April 17, 2020
Stephen King’s gushing praise notwithstanding on the front cover, I hated this book. It took me longer than a month to finish it because I kept throwing it down due to the repetitious writing style, that sometimes repeats a character’s full name four or five times on the same page. I think if you compare this to the work of Jean Shepard, you’ll see little to none of the nostalgic charm. And the ending? Well, I can’t reveal it, but when it eventually happens you wonder if you accidentally picked up a totally different book. One star. (And I think one star is too generous).
November 8, 2008
This book was terrific. It's one of the best books I've ever read, and I will probably read it again in a year of two. Why I never heard about it is beyond me, since it was written in the 60's. I think every high school English teacher should make this required reading. Most students would be able to relate to it even if they don't understand all the references. This book is timeless and Morris Bird III is an unforgettable and great character.
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