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Jean Shepherd

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In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash Hardcover – January 1, 1966

by Jean Shepherd (Author), Richard Smith (Illustrator)

4.6 1,517 ratings

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A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana, reissued in a strikingly designed paperback edition.

Before Garrison Keillor and Spalding Gray there was Jean Shepherd: a master monologist and writer who spun the materials of his all-American childhood into immensely resonant--and utterly hilarious--works of comic art. In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash represents one of the peaks of his achievement, a compound of irony, affection, and perfect detail that speaks across generations.

In God We Trust, Shepherd's wildly witty reunion with his Indiana hometown, disproves the adage "You can never go back." Bending the ear of Flick, his childhood-buddy-turned-bartender, Shepherd recalls passionately his genuine Red Ryder BB gun, confesses adolescent failure in the arms of Junie Jo Prewitt, and relives a story of man against fish that not even Hemingway could rival. From pop art to the World's Fair, Shepherd's subjects speak with a universal irony and are deeply and unabashedly grounded in American Midwestern life, together rendering a wonderfully nostalgic impression of a more innocent era when life was good, fun was clean, and station wagons roamed the earth.

A comic genius who bridged the gap between James Thurber and David Sedaris, Shepherd may have accomplished for Holden, Indiana, what Mark Twain did for Hannibal, Missouri.

Print length

264 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Doubleday
Publication date

January 1, 1966
ISBN-10

0006419321
ISBN-13

978-0006419327
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00005W5S1
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday; First Edition (January 1, 1966)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0006419321
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0006419327
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds

Best Sellers Rank: #2,986,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 1,517 ratings

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Steve Woodburn

What a fun trip down memory lane…

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2024

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I worked on-air in radio for 20 years and love learning about the history of famous DJ’s and old-time radio (pre-television). I’d never heard of Jean Shepard, which surprised me, but have of course seen A Christmas Story a hundred times or more and stories from this book play a central role. He tells nothing of his radio days as a “shock jock” here (decades before Howard Stern), but stories of growing up in industrial Northern Indiana during the depression. Both the leg lamp and the Red Ryder BB gun stories you see in A Christmas Story are here along with many other memories baby boomers will fondly recall. And I never knew, which this book doesn’t reveal as it was written long before A Christmas Story, is that Jean is the narrator in the movie as well. Hope you enjoy this fun gaze back in time.

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clb

A must have for A Christmas Story fans

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2024

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This is the book that A Christmas Story is based on. It was nice to read the additional details and stories that were not part of the movie.

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Christopher

Don't just watch the movie! Read this book!

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2022

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There's another review that said to forget about reading this book and to only watch the movie, I couldn't disagree more with that person. They found some of the descriptions to be offensive. This is an old book written about the depression era of the1930's. I didn't find it offensive but I also expect certain narrower perspectives from the past. Disregarding this, the story is quite well written and in the same spirit as the movie. The difference is that it doesn't solely focus on Christmas but it still has an older Ralph as the narrator of memorable moments in his life. It's funny and generally relatable. The way they were able to take a few memories from the book and make it into a classic movie is quite impressive. I now have an even greater appreciation for the movie. There's a lot of other moments that are left out that make this book worth reading. I didn't quite like the ending and felt that it needed more because it just came off as abrupt but overall I found it to be highly enjoyable.

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Elizabeth B. Milhans

Love Jean Shepherd!

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2023

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I’ve been meaning to get around to reading the source of my favorite Christmas movie for years. Finally got around to it, and it did not disappoint! Shepherd’s descriptive and detailed wording had me laughing out loud!

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‘Yota fan

My mom loves this book

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023

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It’s a well-made, soft, cover book. What can I say, except for that the subject material is quite hilarious, and was actually the subject matter for the Christmas story movie.

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Patrick D. Malley

Easy read, fun to read!

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2023

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Read this in 1996 and laughed from cover to cover.

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2024

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Wanted to check it out since I watch A Christmas Story every year.

Neat to see where some of the scenes for that originated.

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023

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Fast shipping, Item as described

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LUISFE

Si quieres leer de donde salió A Christmas story, cómpralo

Reviewed in Mexico on January 18, 2023

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Éste es un libro publicado en 1966; lo cual no es ni bueno ni malo sino que lo acoto simplemente para dar "ubicación temporal", pues es muy diferente leer un conjunto de anécdotas pseudo ficionales y pseudo reales de la infancia, escritas en una década, que en otra.

Es el libro de donde se hizo el guión para A Christmas Story, una película que ya ha tenido por mi parte su respectiva reseña, y que vale la pena ver y disfrutar. En mi caso, fue por esa razón que adquirí el libro,, para conocer la materia prima del filme, que mucho me gustó.

Fue escrito por Jean Sheperd; que cabe aclarar es un autor, no autora (aunque se llame Jean y no John).
La dedicatoria nos hace levantar la ceja: "A mi madre, a mi hermano menor, y al resto de la pandilla..." Traduje casi textual.
El levantamiento de ceja es porque en ella no se menciona al padre, pese a que, tanto en libro como en película, resulta importantísimo personaje... Mmmh... (de nuevo, levantamiento de ceja).

El libro se divide en 31 apartados, cada uno con un titulo como invitación a su lectura y señalado con número romano.
Realmente creo que se pueden leer en el orden que uno decida, porque no hay en el libro lo que conocemos como una narrativa lineal.
Más bien se trata de una serie de situaciones que, casi, cada una de ellas inician y terminan en su propio apartado.

El arranque es el bar de Flick, ya adulto, amigo de la infancia del narrador. Ambos rememorarán escenas y sucesos de su infancia. Es decir, cada apartado.

La gran mayoría de lo que presentó A Christmas Story en pantalla, se encuentra en el número X, que, (traduzco nuevamente) se llama Mi viejo y el premio especial lascivo , que anunció el nacimiento del arte pop. Y en el numero IV viene la anécdota del decodificador pedido por correo para descubrir secretos de un programa radial; y así podríamos hacer la relación entre libro y filme, pero ¿cuál sería el punto?

Creo que hay que leer el libro; en especial si se desea, como mencione al inicio, saber cuál fue la piedra primigenia que dio origen a la película. Pero aún si no, yo lo leería. Al menos una vez.

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Betty85

Arrived sooner than expected!

Reviewed in Canada on December 4, 2022

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Great transaction. The book was in good condition as described, and it arrived within just a couple of weeks… earlier than the estimated arrival.

Andrea

Supurb Storytelling

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2018

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I read this brilliant book several years ago, having been a huge fan of the iconic film it inspired, 'A Christmas Story'. In fact I gave copies of it to my dad and brothers, who found it as hilarious as I did. Jean Shepherd's laconic wit, sharp observational humour and storytelling are sublime and transport the reader back to his 1930s childhood in the industrial town on the frozen shore of Lake Michigan. Written a generation before Bill Bryson, Jean Shepherd's writing shares the ability to make his readers laugh out loud. I have bought this latest copy to replace my old one which is worn out! Highly recommended.

Niloc

Great book if you are a fan of the movie a Christmas story

Reviewed in Canada on June 28, 2020

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I watch A Christmas Story every year and I am a big fan of the movie. I had never read anything by Jean Shepherd before. This book expands upon many different parts of the movie so you get much more detail in stories such as the leg lamp etc. There is a few stories that are not part of the movie but are quite interesting. Overall a great book.

kathrin kirkman

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2014

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I love Jean Shepherd books, this was a great read. It brings that era to life.

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