Weeds in Bloom: Autobiography of an Ordinary Man

by Robert Newton Peck

With over 60 books published, including the breathtaking A Day No Pigs Would Die , Robert Newton Peck has had an illustrious writing career. Now, in an autobiography as unique as he is, Peck tells his story by writing about the people who have meant the most to him throughout his life. From his roots as a poor Vermont farmer's son to his years as a soldier in World War II, from his term slogging away in a paper mill to his semi-retirement in Florida, Peck shows us people most never see—the desperately poor, the hopelessly uneducated. People Rob considers "weeds in bloom."

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography, Biography

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Robert Newton Peck is an American author of books for young adults. His titles include Soup and A Day No Pigs Would Die. He claims to have been born on February 17, 1928, in Vermont, but has refused to specify where. Similarly, he claims to have graduated from a high school in Texas, which he has also refused to identify. Some sources state that he was born in Nashville, Tennessee (supposedly where his mother was born, though other sources indicate she was born in Ticonderoga, New York, and that Peck, himself, may have been born there). The only reasonably certain Vermont connection is that his father was born in Cornwall.

Peck has written over sixty books including a great book explaining his childhood to becoming a teenager working on the farm called: A Day no Pigs would Die

He was a smart student, although his schooling was cut short by World War II. During and shortly after the conflict, he served as a machine-gunner in the U.S. Army 88th Infantry Division. Upon returning to the United States, he entered Rollins College, graduating in 1953. He then entered Cornell Law School, but never finished his course of study.

Newton married Dorothy Anne Houston and fathered two children, Anne and Christopher. The best man at the wedding and the godfather to the children was Fred Rogers of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood fame.

A Day No Pigs Would Die was his first novel, published in 1972 when he was already 44 years old. From then on he continued his lifelong journey through literature. To date, he has been credited for writing 55 fiction books, 6 nonfiction books, 35 songs, 3 television specials and over a hundred poems.

Several of his historical novels are about Fort Ticonderoga: Fawn, Hang for Treason, The King's Iron.

In 1993, Peck was diagnosed with oral cancer, but survived. As of 2005, he was living in Longwood, Florida, where he has in the past served as the director of the Rollins College Writers Conference. Peck sings in a barbershop quartet, plays ragtime piano, and is an enthusiastic speaker. His hobby is visiting schools, "to turn kids on to books."

—From Wikipedia

For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/robert-n...

Reviews

[Sharon]

Short, pleasant and readable memoir without being saccharine. Robert Newton Peck comes off as an opinionated old coot, and I doubt he would disagree with that assessment. The characters he describes are vivid and memorable. Makes me eager to read his fiction again.

[Miss Lilli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had my students read A Day No Pigs Would Die. I never wanted to read that book, because the title sounded boring. I assigned it, because I needed another book for the class to read. The class was a literature class in which we only read banned or challenged books.

It turned out that I loved the aforementioned book. It inspired the class to research the Shaker religion; interesting. There are only 2 left Shakers in the United States. I'm not surprised.

I requested Weeds in Bloom for a Christmas gift, because it was mentioned in A Day No Pigs Would Die.

I love Peck's style. His word usage is entertaining. For example, "Elliot, who was a descent guy had all of the practical intelligence of crouton...." or "....I bent her a grin."

He is (or should it be "was" since he died in June 2020 at the age of 92) unafraid to use hyperbole, metaphors, and similes.....and my personal favorite - start sentences with a participial phrase! Did you know that he wrote 65 books! This one was worth reading.

Second time I've read this book and I enjoyed it even more than the first time. The first read through I annotated in black pen and this time I annotated in red pen. It was fun to read my annotations from the first read. Peck's style is great. I had some fun using AI to examine some of the rhetorical devices Peck used.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Endearing until the epilogue. I’m glad he saved his moral insights for the end.

Borrowed from Elizabethtown KOA

[jimtown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this autobiography up at the library the other day and I think it's going to prove to be a lyrical lesson in the written word. I read the introduction last night and it was so delightful, something that needs to be savored and sucked on like a candy to prolong the sweetness of it.

I'd read one of Peck's books, a long time ago, called A Day No Pigs Would Die. I don't know why I picked it up but despite it's blatant, almost startling descriptions of life on the farm, I enjoyed it so much as a teenager that I'd asked my dad to read the book and he said he enjoyed it too.

I know Robert Newton Peck has written many books and just a glimpse at the beginning of this one tells me why they were so well received. Even though he says the book is not so much about him as it is about the people he's met, I'm looking forward to following him along his way.

I finished this short and sweet autobiography last night. It was a good story of a life well lived and very enjoyable. I would recommend it to anyone.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed the story of the life and times of Robert Newton Peck. Was his youth a hard one? Yes? Is he a good man? Oh, yes. Has he met a lot of interesting people in his life? Most definitely yes. Were they people that stand out as people that everyone should meet? Not necessarily because we would view them differently because of who we are. But in the eyes of Robert, they are something special. And he shares those people in this book. Who is Robert? For one, he is a writer, but he is also extremely down to Earth. That is what makes this story so interesting . . . he is just like us.

So, if you are looking for a great book about an ordinary man, Weeds in Bloom is the book for you.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lovely little book. I read my copy of A Day No Pigs Would Die to tatters, and I read a couple of the Soup books, but somehow failed to pick up anything else by Peck. This is a little book of reminiscences, of people and jobs and places that have contributed his life, but I wouldn't call it an autobiography by any stretch. Parts of it made me tear up, especially the parts with old dogs. Some of it was almost too folksy, but I'm a city slicker. Well worth reading.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nicely written, simple book full of the common sense and wisdom learned from those that aren't normally considered "learned." Every chapter is a story about a different person the author has had contact with in his life. Very easy read and well worth the time.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read. More about the people he's met than about himself. Interesting characters from rural settings - real people that shaped his life and he'll never forget.

Short book - each chapter about someone new.

[Bonnie Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Peck has reached into the raw, slimy meat of humanity and brought out the pearls. In these humorus and sometimes soul wrenching portraits of his fellow man, Mr. Peck reveals his own rich history.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy his writing, and it was good to see a bit of what had inspiried him in his life, and how he researched his characters and places.

[Bailea]

Is this fiction