His anthology brings alive the history of the past century and carries us into the current one through poems, stories, and commentary. The poems Thompson compiles are poignant and funny and serious. The original songs he wrote and played-and continues to play at age 93-tell their own stories. Thompson's personal remembrances bring times long past into focus.
We won't forget Blackie, the bull that terrorized a town, or the girl in the little blue hat. He makes us feel the loneliness of a wartime soldier confined to a hospital bed overseas. The personal foibles he shares make us laugh, and we can share in his pride of family. He makes us understand that these are the things that make life rich.
The people and events that took place on a bluff high above the Mississippi take on life in this volume. Their history becomes a living, breathing thing-a heritage worth remembering.
