From Thunder to Breakfast

by Gene K. Garrison, Hube Yates

This book was written by Gene K. Garrison about Hube Yates, which, for the purposes of "From Thunder to Breakfast," took place when Hube was an excited 11-year-old ranch boy living in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The family of nine made the arduous and adventure-packed journey to Phoenix, Arizona in two covered wagons. The year was 1914. Yates eventually became a Phoenix fireman, horseman, part-time minister, hunting guide and dude wrangler. His experiences, from the hilarious to the heroic, lasted into his seventies, and so did his special gift for charming an audience. He had a great memory for detail, and described his adventures in a warm, down-to-earth style, full of image-rich phrases. A middle-aged cowboy was "all silver around the ears. He had gray-blue eyes as clear as crystal. He also looked like the kind of guy you'd like to have on your side if you had any trouble." Although this sounds as though it's a man's book, Western style, reviewers, especially of the feminine gender, also see Yates' gentle, tender, caring side. True, he saved lives and won the Carnegie Hero's Medal for a dangerous exploit, but his sensitive, caring nature was disengaged only when he was going through a practical-joke period. Hugh Downs wrote the foreword to this book. He said, in part, that Yates "is able to relate the simplest event with uncontrived humor that is simultaneously subtle and powerfully funny. " He didn't overlook Yates' character, adding, "Every subject or event that intersects his life, every experience he files in his almost computer-like memory is stamped with the grace of an outlook that is humane and helpful, devoid of self-centeredness or bitterness, and amused by most of the cosmic panorama." Even though Hube Yates was a Southwesterner of the highest order, a man we should try to emulate, people were drawn to him because they loved to listen to him talk. Listening to him via the pages of "From Thunder to Breakfast" is the next best thing. Author Gene K. Garrison was careful to catch his speech patterns and colloquialisms. People who knew him can hear him talk when they read this book.

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Gene K. Garrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love seeing reviews of my books, especially when they get five-star ratings. FROM THUNDER TO BREAKFAST is a memoir about Hube Yates, a pioneer to Arizona in 1914 when he was eleven. I was lucky enough to meet him in the 1970s and smart enough to suggest that I write about his life. He was to be the storyteller and I the author. I was fascinated listening to him talk. That's why I wrote the book in his voice. People have told me that they could hear him speak as they read the words. An added attraction: Hube had a great sense of humor.

We have had fine reviews by professionals, but this is my favorite unsolicited reader review:

From Thunder To Breakfast, February 12, 2010
By Chuck G. Van Horn "Lane Admirer"
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: From Thunder to Breakfast (Hardcover)
As I knew Hube personally, I wanted to read the book to see if it really outlined the guy I knew. The author did a remarkable writing on Hube. If you are interested in Arizona and the west's life styles or knew Hube, it is well worth reading of this terrific gentleman.

[Leat Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just learned of this book a month ago. Hube Yates is my great uncle and I heard one of these stories when he was visiting my grandfather when I was a young girl. It is nice to read the actual version after all these years.
His father wrote a book, finished by a daughter, and his brother Joseph (my grandfather) wrote a book about that trek to Arizona.

I enjoyed this book so much...and appreciate the value to family heritage and history...that I purchased 17! I have given them to all my siblings and all my father's siblings as Christmas gifts this year.