Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Tony Hillerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2001

When Tony Hillerman looks back at seventy-six years spent getting from hardtimes farm boy to bestselling author, he sees lots of evidence that Providence was poking him along. For example, when an absentminded Army clerk left him off the hospital ship taking the wounded home from France, the mishap put him on a collision course with a curing ceremony held for two Navajo Marines, thereby providing the grist for a writing career that now sees his books published in sixteen languages around the world and often on bestseller lists. Or, for example, when his agent told him his first novel was so bad that it would hurt both of their reputations, he nonetheless sent it to an editor, and that editor happened to like the Navajo stuff.

In this wry and whimsical memoir, Hillerman offers frequent backward glances at where he found ideas for plots of his books and the characters that inhabit them. He takes us with him to death row, where he interviews a man about to die in the gas chamber and details how this murderer became Colton Wolf in one of his novels. He relates how flushing a solitary heron from a sandbar caused him to convert Joe Leaphorn from husband to widower, and how his self-confessed bias against the social elite solved the key plot problem in A Thief of Time.

No child abuse stories here: The worst Hillerman can recall is being sent off to first grade (in a boarding school for Indian girls) clad in cute blue coveralls instead of the manly overalls his farm-boy peers all wore. Instead we get a good-natured trip through hard times in college; an infantry career in which he "rose twice to Private First Class" and also won a Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart; and, afterward, work as a truck driver, chain dragger, journalist, professor, and "doer of undignified deeds" for two university presidents. All this is colored by a love affair (now in its fifty-fourth year) with Marie, which involved raising six children, most of them adopted. Using the gifts of a talented novelist and reporter, seventy-six-year-old Tony Hillerman draws a brilliant portrait not just of his life but of the world around him.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Don't look for a way to make money; find a way to make a living doing what you like to do anyway. Otherwise you're just raising ransom to buy your life back," said Barney Hillerman to his younger brother Tony, now in his 70s, a beloved mystery and nonfiction author (The Great Taos Bank Robbery; etc.). But Hillerman's nurturers were many, starting with his fearless mother, who as a teenager at the turn of the century established an Oklahoma homestead by herself. Even as death claimed her husband and WWII took Barney's life, Lucy Hillerman insisted that her youngest son follow his heart into soldiering. The author shares his humble beginnings in Potawatomie County, Okla., his parents' backgrounds and their strong Catholic faith, before devoting eight of 30 chapters to his military stint, which ended when he was 20. After recovering from a major injury, Hillerman, by a "fortuitous typo," was left off the homeward-bound list and thus set "on a collision course with two Navajo marines... and with the Enemy Way ceremonial their family was holding.... That put me in contact with the people I would love to write about." He details military people and places that he incorporated into his Navajo mysteries; a particularly predatory fellow from his training days, for example, became the bad guy in The People of Darkness. His wife, Marie, shuns personal attention, focusing instead on her husband and his work. They both take joy in their biological and adopted children. Hillerman is best with the many characteristically vivid descriptions of people, places and events. He deftly details his work and personal life, yet the man himself remains largely a mystery. Fans, however, will never be disappointed by this utterly delightful memoir. 16 pages b & w photos not seen by PW. (On sale Oct. 2)Forecast: Hillerman's fans will turn out en masse for this.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Winner of both Edgar and Grand Master awards and former president of Mystery Writers of America, Hillerman (Hunting Badger and many others) has written a memoir that is sure to become another best seller. He relates his childhood in Oklahoma during the Depression, his service in World War II, his university education, his career in journalism and academia, and his eventual turn to writing mysteries. The entire book will appeal to his fans, but the first half is intensely gripping. Enlisting in the army even though he was exempt, Hillerman became an infantryman and served during the Battle of the Bulge. He tells of his experiences in battle, including being severely wounded. Like so many of his generation, Hillerman returned home, married, and carried on with his life. He relates all of his experiences with honesty and humor. This memoir is sure to provide his fans with much to consider and should also introduce him to new readers. Highly recommended for all collections.
- Ron Ratliff, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1st edition (October 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060194456
• ISBN-13: 978-0060194451
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #949,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tony Hillerman was the former president of the Mystery Writers of America and received its Edgar® and Grand Master awards. His other honors include the Center for the American Indian's Ambassador Award, the Silver Spur Award for the best novel set in the West, and the Navajo Tribe's Special Friend Award. He lived with his wife in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Friend of the Dineh, January 7, 2002

By 

Ron Hunka (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir (Hardcover)

"Seldom Disappointed"
Tony Hillerman
ISBN 0-06-019445-6

I am one of those readers Tony Hillerman writes about in this memoir who does not like mysteries but reads his books. Like those folks, the Navajo cultural stuff is what interests me. Well, maybe there is something more than that. It is Tony Hillerman's remarkable ability to tell a story.

Hillerman grew up in Oklahoma, the son of poor parents for whom he had much respect. The title of his memoir comes from something his mother used to say, that one who did not expect too much from life was seldom disappointed. This was an outlook not uncommon to Hillerman's generation. Also, like many young men of his generation, he went off to the war in Europe.

As a combat infantryman, Hillerman won the silver star, the bronze star, and got blown-up by a mine. Yet there is little bitterness in him about the war. This is one of the few memoirs relating to WWII in which a former soldier describes the opposing German soldiers as "other teenagers". The casual manner in which Hillerman writes about his war experiences and later about his literary success seems to reflect a stoic outlook about "that short run toward the Last Great Adventure".

After the war, a couple of years studying journalism at the University of Oklahoma led to work as a reporter in Texas, Oklahoma, and eventually New Mexico. Fifteen years of newspaper work and being editor of the Albuquerque paper led to some connections with the University of New Mexico and its journalism department. Hillerman taught there for about fifteen years until he lost his enthusiasm for teaching and wanted to write.

Hillerman learned the Navajo culture from Navaho acquaintances who sensed his sincere interest. Having attended eight grades at an Indian school in Oklahoma and having had Indian playmates helped put him at ease with the people. He came to understand the Navajo ceremonies and values, which he made use of in his stories. For authentic and respectful portrayal of Navajo (Dineh) culture in his books, the tribe declared him "Special Friend of the Dineh".

In this memoir, one learns the origin of some of the material in Hillerman's books. For example, one of his villains is based in part on a death row killer who asked Hillerman and the Santa Fe AP bureau chief to write about him so that his mother might claim his body. It seems that he had been abandoned as a child by his mother and did not know her whereabouts.

Hillerman's "breakout book", my favorite, came in 1988 with the publication of "Thief of Time", about the theft of artifacts from Indian ruins for sale to collectors. It was his first book to make the "New York Times" bestseller list, and doing that, Hillerman explains, guarantees an author very large sales due to the way it is used by bookstore managers for ordering books.

At the end of this memoir, Hillerman reflects back positively on seventy five years of life. "They've been far better than anyone deserves", he writes.

By the way, Hillerman says that he interrupted a Navajo police novel to complete this memoir. I am looking forward to it.

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never Disappointing, October 4, 2001

By 

Kent Braithwaite (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir (Hardcover)

As an Anglo author who writes a mystery series starring a Latino private eye, I have always felt a strong kinship with Tony Hillerman, an Anglo author who writes mysteries starring Navajo tribal police officers. I found this autobiography a fascinating read. SELDOM DISAPPOINTED was never disappointing. From the days of his youth growing up in Oklahoma to his days of success here and now, Tony Hillerman tells a great tale. It is the greatest story he's ever told. His memories of his mother are particularly touching, as is his affectionate comments about his wife and children. Then, of course, there is his professional career. Read SELDOM DISAPPOINTED as soon as you can. You won't be disappointed.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Autobiography with feeling, April 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir (Hardcover)

Tony Hillerman tells a touching story of a great writer from Brokaw's "greatest generation" and his rise to literary success and acclaim. His views of small town Oklahoma during the depression are sensitive and yet lively. His recounting of the struggles of a foot soldier in World War II are moving, especially to a fellow veteran of a different era. The true story is a window into the soul of a man who could create Jim Chee, and more importantly, Joe Leaphorn.