Statman book review
Ms. Jan Statman reviews Raisins and Almonds . . . . and East Texas Oil.
Sept 20, meet and Greet at 5:30 PM and Book Review at 6:00 PM.
AT: Kilgore Public Library
301 N. Henderson Blvd
Kilgore, Texas
THE BOOK: 
RAISINS & ALMONDS…… and East Texas Oil is the story of the Jewish contribution to the Great East Texas Oil Boom, told in the words of those who lived it. Twenty-four people describe the same events from vastly different points of view in the same way that different threads are gathered to weave the fabric of a community.
Mike Marwil’s eyewitness description of bringing in Dad Joiner’s first discovery well takes the reader directly to the well site.
Norman Balter’s stories of shoveling coal as fireman on a cross-country freight train give us a feeling for Depression days, when people were down-and-out and desperate to survive.
Milton Galoob tells how he couldn't afford tires for his truck: "I drove all the way from Oklahoma to East Texas on two tires and two rims."
Irving Falk shares the emotions of a seventeen- year-old who found himself alone and obliged to make his way in the oilfields: "I was completely in awe. I didn't know whether to look up, down, or look out for traffic."
Sam Krasner swears he didn’t ride into town on a turnip truck; he "rode in on a truckload of seven-inch pipe!"
They all gathered from many exotic corners of the world to find themselves in the most exotic place of all—East Texas during the Oil Boom. Their recollections make the times come alive again in this historical work that reads like a novel.
THE AUTHOR:
Ms. Statman is best known as an award winning visual artist whose paintings are owned by museums in Italy, Spain and the USA. She is author of several books including, "The Battered Woman's Survival Guide," "Wet Paint," and co-author of "Living With Environmental Illness."
She wrote the Final Word column for the Dallas Morning News, Arts Column for the Longview News Journal, and Artist's World for the Longview Post. Her feature stories have appeared in such magazines as Texas Homes, Texas Scene, National Flyer, Republic Scene and American Women.
Her writing awards include Exceptional Merit Media Award, National Women's Political Caucus & Radcliffe College 1997, Two National Federation of Press Women's National Communication Awards, fourteen Texas Press Women, Inc. Communications Awards and Byliners of Corpus Christi, Texas-wide Writing Competitions.
Ms. Statman is a graduate of Hunter College in New York City. She is married to Max Statman and lives in Longview.
CONTACT:
Kilgore Public Library
Phone: (903) 984-1529
Jan Jaynes
Home:(903) 984-8134
Work: (903) 984-7178
E-mail jjdetails48@aol.com
|
