The banana sculptor, the purple lady, and the all-night swimmer : hobbies, collecting, and other passionate pursuits / Susan Sheehan and Howard Means.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sheehan, Susan, 1937-2026.

Contributor:

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Means, Howard B.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Leisure--United States.

Leisure.

Collectors and collecting.

United States.

Hobbyists.

Collectors and collecting--United States.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Sheehan, Susan, 1937- (autograph) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Physical Description:

299 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Simon & Schuster, [2002]

Summary:

We Americans love to look at ourselves. How we vote, where we work, what we think about church and school -- studying ourselves is a national pastime. What has been missing in all this self-examination, until now, is a book about the greatest national obsessions of all: the hobbies we pursue, the collections and amateur sports to which we devote so much of our lives. The Banana Sculptor, the Purple Lady, and the All-Night Swimmer chronicles the amazing variety of ways in which we relax, compete with others and ourselves, and indulge some of our richest fantasies. Here are wonderfully warm and witty accounts of Americans as they: attempt to swim all the Great Lakes, often in horrible conditions; quit a job and begin raising sheep to accommodate a newfound passion for spinning; eat at every McDonald's in the nation; carve The Last Supper from wood; cross all the world's suspension bridges; build huge banana sculptures; roller blade, scull, and bake; and collect marbles, Noah's arks, talking birds, and much more. In these pages you'll meet a marvelous array of ordinary people who do unusual things, sometimes to extremes, as they define for themselves worlds of imagination, contest, and excellence. These are people who thrill to the chase and sometimes plain wear themselves out having fun, whether it's flying kites as big as a king-size mattress, canoeing in the Canadian wilderness, or meticulously recording the daily details of their everyday existence. In Working, Studs Terkel gave us an unforgettable oral history of the working life of an earlier generation. The Banana Sculptor, the Purple Lady, and the All-Night Swimmer is a history for our own times -- of the passionate pursuits by which so many of us define ourselves and of the universal search for happiness and a sense of fulfillment. Maybe you'll find yourself in the forty people profiled here. Maybe you'll find a hobby that you'll want to make your own. Either way, your life is likely to be enriched, just as the lives of the people you will read about are enriched by the depth of their commitment and the beauty of their accomplishments.

Contents:

Part 1 Artful Expressions

1. Doug Fishbone: Lots of Bananas 15

2. James Pettus: Essential Natures 21

3. Robin Tarbell-Thomas: To the Fair 27

4. Ann and Sam Ritter: To Fly 35

5. Leonard Lauder: The Beauty of Small Things 42

Part 2 Thrill of the Chase

6. Alexandra Stafford: Food of Life 51

7. David Hanschen: On the Road Again 58

8. Barry Popik: First Words 64

9. Cathy Henderson: Buried Treasures 70

10. Henry Sakaida: The Go-Between 75

Part 3 Going to Extremes

11. Gig Gwin: Wordly Riches 85

12. Jim Dreyer: Far Shores 91

13. Peter Holden: Macs Without End 101

14. Marietta Phillips: Bossing Around 107

15. Roger Swicegood: Song of Myself 114

Part 4 Pleasures Small and Large

16. Cathy Runyan: Got Her Marbles 125

17. Peggy Dickson: Bird Brains 132

18. Harry Kloman: Matters of Fact and Fiction 138

19. Judy Konnerth: Two by Two 145

20. Steve Spreckelmeier: All Steamed Up 152

21. Patricia Corrigan: "Thar She Blows!" 160

Part 5 Motion Pictures

22. Lisa Ball: Snow Job 167

23. Steve Everett: Blade Runner 173

24. Mike Gaines: Hot into the Corner 180

25. Jim Murphy: Call of the Wild 187

Part 6 Callings

26. Jerry Traufler: Masterwork 197

27. Walter Pforzheimer: I, Spy 202

28. Claire Miller: Family Ties 209

29. Ted Furey: For God and Man and Old Ireland 218

30. Rose Kramer: Spinning Yarns 226

Part 7 The Sporting Life

31. Tom Blake: Tiger! Tiger! Burning Bright 233

32. Robert Strupp: Good Deals 240

33. Kim Eisler: Odds-on Favorite 246

34. Larry Kahn: Tiddly Wonks 251

35. Matt Dodyk: Holing Out 258

Part 8 Passionate Pursuits

36. John Sylvester Jr.: The Things We Die for 267

37. Sonia Young: Color Me Purple 274

38. Claudia Perry: Love of the Game 279

39. Daniel Chapin: Route Man 287

40. Don Betty: Crossover Artist 290.

Local Notes:

Gotham Book Mart Collection copy has dustjacket retained.

Gotham Book Mart Collection copy signed by the author.

ISBN:

0743201221

OCLC:

49407923