Calumet "K" [Paperback]

Samuel Merwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2006

The contract for the two million bushel grain elevator, Calumet K, had been let to MacBride & Company, of Minneapolis, in January, but the superstructure was not begun until late in May, and at the end of October it was still far from completion. Ill luck had attended Peterson, the constructor, especially since August.

Product Details

• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: BiblioBazaar (November 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426451180
• ISBN-13: 978-1426451188
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,540,356 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A story in which ability is what makes the hero., August 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Calumet "K" (Hardcover)

Calumet "K" is not great literature; it is simply light popular fiction from 1901. But it is well worth reading nevertheless. Calumet "K" tells the story of how Charlie Bannon, the story's hero, attempts to complete construction of a Chicago grain elevator in the face of a series of hurdles that threaten to scuttle the project. How Bannon deals with these challenges will fill you with delight and admiration. But this story has a deeper significance. Bannon is presented as a hero because he is superbly competent. He is a man who can get things done in the face of unexpected challenges. He is also a man who loves his work. To Bannon, work is not just a job; it is a sacred calling. This exalted view of work is very rare in fiction -- the only other authors I know of who have captured it are Ayn Rand and, in some of his stories, Rudyard Kipling. Calumet "K" is worth reading for another reason: it gives a glimpse of the American sense of life of a century ago: the sense that the world is a benevolent place open to individual achievement, where competence is practical and is rewarded, and where men are free to achieve great things through their work. All of this is merely implicit; this is not a story of ideas. But the ideas it embodies are great.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this one-of-a kind book!, August 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Calumet "K" (Hardcover)

This novel reminds me of the John Wayne film, "Red River" which celebrates the kind of stubborn, fighting spirit that really won the west. This book is MUST reading for readers who are disgusted by the wimpy, wet noodle specimens of humanity that you encounter on the street every day. Don't let the crude writing technique put you off. This book is an oasis of sanity and would be a bargain at twice the price!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great example of its genre, August 25, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Calumet "K" (Hardcover)

Calumet K is one of many books that I classify as "hero novels", books that could be termed Hortio ALger for adults.

This short book is the story of one man's adventure in building one of the largest grain elevator's in the world. If you are an engineer or interested in the history of structures in the US this is a must read.

Put this on your shelf next to "Banker and Bear", "Cash McCall", and "The Fountainhead".

-RS