Customer Reviews

Last Hand: A Suburban Memoir Of Cards And The Cold War Era

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First I must disclaim that I am definitely not a auto/biography/memoir kind of person. But this book might have just changed that.

After a week of laughing through the majority of the book, finishing it today has me on the verge of tears. Family can get you that way.

Growing up right behind this era, I remembered some of the references, but learned more from it than anything. If you were born late 60's to late 70's, you will appreciate many of them. And of course, anyone from the Chicagoland area will appreciate the geography.

But anyone with a mom, dad grandparents, siblings or even just a dog will be touched by this story. If you've ever had Christmas, Easter, or funerals to go to, you will identify as well with this "normal" American family.

I want to go hug my parents right now and call my living grandparents. And maybe talk more to my brother. This story makes me want to know my family history better so that my kid will know, too. If you don't tell the story, who will? And it makes me want to learn how to play Pinochle.

This is a must read for anyone who grew up in the late '60s through the end of the Cold War. Mr. Price does an excellent job of describing the emerging suburban family life before cellphones, video games, iPods, DVDs, etc.

I hesitate to say it was a simpler time in America as it describes life in the shadow of the threat of communism and nuclear war.

The book, in many ways, parallels my own life - from school experiences to a kid's joy of summer to "Wacky Packs" to family vacations. There are many funny stories about family and friendships during that era, but ultimately the book reminds us how fleeting life can be and the one true treasure we all have - Family.

"Split!"

A great passageway to early suburban life on the outskirts of Chicago with a family you would be more than happy to call your own. Price's story is a unique one but one not too far off from any true American family living in what I consider the last generation of innocence. This book really hits home on the important stuff. Family, love, loss. All the things that we experience and that can dramatically influence our lives.

The family dynamic in this book is tremendous and is loaded with the Author's nostalgic humor that makes you want to get in on the fun. I often found myself wanting to get in on some pizza with the Price boys or bump someone off the Pinochle table so I could get in on the action. By the time you finish reading this book you will have felt like you were there, just watching from the sidelines.

What a fabulous story! This book had me laughing and crying. (One chapter had me roaring with laughter...While driving the family car on a road trip, Tom's dad reached into the back seat to smack his rambunctious boys, only to smack 'grandma' on the face! Oops...) I couldn't put it down. Having also grown up in a suburb of Chicago during the same era as the author, this story stirred up many fond memories for me. Wacky Packs, banana-seated bikes, G.I. Joe with the 'Kung-Fu grip'...This incredible, touching story is full of amazingly detailed memories from a bygone era. It is a warm, wonderful tribute to the author's parents, siblings, and extended family. It is a jewel. It will take you back to a more simple, innocent place and time. Keep a box of tissues handy. Great gift idea!

The Last Hand is a story of love, loss, and a deep sense of family. Having grown up myself during the same time as the author, it is very easy to assimilate one's self to the time line from early childhood to the present day.

You watch as his parents buy their first home in a northwest suburb of Chicago, as he and his brothers start grammar school, junior high, and high school. Each son going on to graduate from a different college, with a different major.

Love, hate, excitement, disappointment, accomplishment, failure, sickness, health, marriage and babies, they are all found here within this book, spread over four generations. You get a candid look from the other side of the closed door, for an honest, sometimes painful, but beautifully written memoir. It will make you smile, and it will make you cry. There is something within this memoir that will bring almost every reader back to a fond experience of the reader's own childhood.

Tom was fortunate. His father's last words were, "Tom, I love you," and Tom replied,"Yeah Pops, I love you too." Some people, myself included, have waited their whole life to hear those words from a parent. Some never will. Tom grew up in such a sense of self, and in a family that clearly loved him, and in which he clearly loved back. Tom and his brothers were raised in as loving and caring a family dynamic as his parents knew how. The effort is not lost on the reader, nor should it. In the end, all we have are those we love, and those who love us back. And if you're lucky, a good game of pinochle.