Beyond the Palouse

This book deals with the writer's struggle to be able to leave his small unnamed hometown and seek Adventure wherever he could find it. He discovered he enjoyed traveling somewhere and then writing about the experience. An example would be when he traveled from Auburn, California to Los Angeles and then across the United States to New York City and boarded a troop ship bound for Europe. Gradually he left the wheat country of the Palouse, attended three different colleges and was eventually drafted into the U.S. Army. His military experiences are exaggerated in some respects and are laced with anger, fear, comedy, and frustration. He was employed briefly with two different newspapers, met the famous Count Basie, crusaded against college apathy and tried unsuccessfully to teach teenagers in public schools on three separate occasions. He married, had three children, moved to California, worked at many different jobs, traveled throughout that State and continued writing nonfiction, mainstream stories, and memoirs. Over three-fourths of this material is the truth as he knew it and lived it. Some of it is not happy or dramatic. Not all of the characters he writes about are good, sweet people who live without pain or conflict. In conclusion, the writer learned that just as he hoped Adventure was to be found Beyond The Palouse.