![](https://image.librarything.com/pics/fugue21/magnifier-left.png)
![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/P/1538729806.01._SX180_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
Cliquer sur une vignette pour aller sur Google Books.
Chargement... Lake of the Ozarks: My Surreal Summers in a Vanishing Americapar Bill Geist
![]() Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. A look back through rose-colored glasses at a unique time and place in this author's life. He worked for his larger-than-life uncle at a "vintage" lodge located at Lake-in-the-Ozarks, MO during the 60's. There are a few laugh-out-loud moments and it's a quick read, but overall, I'd have to say there's not much here unless you _REALLY_ want to live someone else's summer job vicariously. For me, I'd prefer much more about the history of the Lake and towns. But after reading this book, all I know for sure is that a dam was built, at least 1 town was drowned, vacations in the 60's were different than today, some of the vacation properties had questionable practices, and kids back then drank A LOT of beer. Expectations vs. reality. I expected this book to remind me of my vacations in the Lake of the Ozarks region. The ones I spent there involved camping, but the author's summers involved working at Arrowhead Lodge owned by his extended family. I expected the book to tell more about other things in the area that might trigger memories of my time there. Unfortunately the book was more of a memoir of his own exploits rather than of visiting attractions in the area that no longer exist. Ultimately I just didn't care about his exploits. His humor attempts seemed geared toward a crude masculine audience. I do believe my family ate at Arrowhead Lodge once. I don't remember whether it was a good or bad experience. I'm not sure why I bothered to finish reading the book. Although Geist is a few years older than I am, I can relate to much of what is in “Lake of the Ozarks” including the army service. I never worked at a resort area (my summers were spent working in a Midwestern meat packing plant) I had friends who did, and their tales were much like Bill’s I’m baffled by the reviews that claim to not think Geist’s book is funny. Anyone who doesn’t find this book funny just doesn’t have much of a sense of humor. Some of it might be conservative grouches who resent Geist’s liberal leanings. The only negative thing I can say about “Lake of the Ozarks” is it’s too short. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Biography & Autobiography.
Self-Improvement.
Nonfiction.
HTML:Before there was "tourism" and souvenir ashtrays became "kitsch," the Lake of the Ozarks was a Shangri-La for middle-class Midwestern families on vacation, complete with man-made beaches, Hillbilly Mini Golf, and feathered rubber tomahawks. It was there that author Bill Geist spent summers in the Sixties during his school and college years working at Arrowhead Lodge-a small resort owned by his bombastic uncle-in all areas of the operation, from cesspool attendant to bellhop. What may have seemed just a summer job became, upon reflection, a transformative era where a cast of eccentric, small-town characters and experiences shaped (some might suggest "slightly twisted") Bill into the man he is today. He realized it was this time in his life that had a direct influence on his sensibilities, his humor, his writing, and ultimately a career searching the world for other such untamed creatures for the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and CBS News. In LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Emmy Award-winning CBS Sunday Morning Correspondent Bill Geist reflects on his coming of age in the American Heartland and traces his evolution as a man and a writer. He shares laugh-out-loud anecdotes and tongue-in-cheek observations guaranteed to evoke a strong sense of nostalgia for "the good ol' days." Written with Geistian wit and warmth, LAKE OF THE OZARKS takes readers back to a bygone era, and demonstrates how you can find inspiration in the most unexpected places. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
![]() GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)977.8History and Geography North America Midwestern U.S. MissouriClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:![]()
Est-ce vous ?Devenez un(e) auteur LibraryThing. |
This is a charming memoir of the author’s teen-year summers spent working at his uncle’s resort at Lake of the Ozarks in the mid 1960s. He was a busboy, a bellhop, a dishwasher, a janitor, a kids’ counselor, a groundskeeper, a chauffeur, a delivery man. He did any and all distasteful jobs and enjoyed the company of a bevy of lovely young women who served as housemaids and/or waitresses. The pay was abysmal, but they got free room and board, a fair quantity of beer, and, perhaps most importantly, a certain sense of independence. They also occasionally got pretty nice tips, which virtually all the staff used to help pay for their college educations. They made some life-long friendships, and a few romances led to marriage.
While my current sensibilities were sometimes appalled at the behavior these teens engaged in, I had to admit to fond memories of some of my own summer jobs, and especially of the summer staff I met at a local lake resort when I was singing with a band who was performing at the resort supper club one summer. Ah, the indestructability of youth! (