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Lake of the Ozarks: My Surreal Summers in a Vanishing America
Beloved TV host Bill Geist pens a reflective memoir of his incredible summers spent in the heart of America in this New York Times bestseller.
Before there was "tourism" and souvenir ashtrays became "kitsch," the Lake of the Ozarks was a Shangri-La for middle-class Midwestern families on vacation, complete with man-made beaches, Hillbilly Mini Golf, and feathered rubber tomahawks. It was there that author Bill Geist spent summers in the Sixties during his school and college years working at Arrowhead Lodge -- a small resort owned by his bombastic uncle -- in all areas of the operation, from cesspool attendant to bellhop.
What may have seemed just a summer job became, upon reflection, a transformative era where a cast of eccentric, small-town characters and experiences shaped (some might suggest "slightly twisted") Bill into the man he is today. He realized it was this time in his life that had a direct influence on his sensibilities, his humor, his writing, and ultimately a career searching the world for other such untamed creatures for the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and CBS News.
In Lake of the Ozarks, Emmy Award-winning CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Bill Geist reflects on his coming of age in the American Heartland and traces his evolution as a man and a writer. He shares laugh-out-loud anecdotes and tongue-in-cheek observations guaranteed to evoke a strong sense of nostalgia for "the good ol' days." Written with Geistian wit and warmth, Lake of the Ozarks takes readers back to a bygone era, and demonstrates how you can find inspiration in the most unexpected places.
Before there was "tourism" and souvenir ashtrays became "kitsch," the Lake of the Ozarks was a Shangri-La for middle-class Midwestern families on vacation, complete with man-made beaches, Hillbilly Mini Golf, and feathered rubber tomahawks. It was there that author Bill Geist spent summers in the Sixties during his school and college years working at Arrowhead Lodge -- a small resort owned by his bombastic uncle -- in all areas of the operation, from cesspool attendant to bellhop.
What may have seemed just a summer job became, upon reflection, a transformative era where a cast of eccentric, small-town characters and experiences shaped (some might suggest "slightly twisted") Bill into the man he is today. He realized it was this time in his life that had a direct influence on his sensibilities, his humor, his writing, and ultimately a career searching the world for other such untamed creatures for the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and CBS News.
In Lake of the Ozarks, Emmy Award-winning CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Bill Geist reflects on his coming of age in the American Heartland and traces his evolution as a man and a writer. He shares laugh-out-loud anecdotes and tongue-in-cheek observations guaranteed to evoke a strong sense of nostalgia for "the good ol' days." Written with Geistian wit and warmth, Lake of the Ozarks takes readers back to a bygone era, and demonstrates how you can find inspiration in the most unexpected places.
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First published January 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 453 reviews
September 21, 2021
Rounding up from 3.5--although published in 2018, this has a sixties-feel. Perhaps due to the fact that Geist had the idea to write this memoir nearly forty years before the date of publication. His career kept him busy for decades and then he found time to pen this memoir. Since I live in Missouri and have been a vacationer in the Lake of the Ozarks area I found it to be amusing and enlightening. That part of the state has changed drastically since Bill's days at the Arrowhead Lodge. I especially enjoyed his Uncle Ed story. That guy should have written a memoir. He sounded like quite a character.
May 27, 2023
Read this during a road trip to (where else?) Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks!
June 7, 2019
This couldn't be less interesting and boring. I took a shot figuring I didn't know a lot about the area and that there might be some interesting route 66 type stories but at last a resounding no.
July 17, 2019
This light, entertaining book is perfect for reading on a summer afternoon. Turn on the electric fan, pour a glass of lemonade, let go of today's concerns, and let Bill Geist amuse you. From reading other reviews, I am going to take a guess that if you enjoyed his pieces on Sunday Mornng, you'll enjoy the book, and if not, not. It doesn't pretend to be great literature. It's simply fun. Probably I should give it 3 stars, but dang, I needed some mental refreshment today, and the book delivered!
May 5, 2019
Actual rating 2.5. I received an advanced reader copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.
Lake of the Ozarks is a time hop. The reader is transported to the 1960s, peering into the past as though through a portal into the author's summers spent in the Ozark mountains. The sense of nostalgia is contagious, and I found myself smiling back upon memories that weren't at all my own, but were universal in their themes: growing up; the freedom of being away from home for the first time, and the haphazard jolt of pseudo-adulthood that comes with that; family formed by proximity and shared experience; the painful but hysterical experience of a terrible but somehow enlivening, all-consuming job; and the uncanny experience of moving between two very different worlds, and uncovering very different parts of yourself within them.
I chuckled, I cringed, I narrowed my eyes in disapproval while snorting in amusement. The dry humor and vivid scene-painting work well together, and the book reads like a movie plays. What details weren't provided were easy to fill in, and though I maybe couldn't describe individual characters too well after finishing, the place that is the Arrowhead Lodge came alive with vivid personality.
My main complaint, though, is the lack of an overarching...well, purpose. The book does an excellent job of transporting the reader to a different time and place. But outside of the introduction and postscript, it's unclear what the point of that transporting is. Is Geist telling us the story of how he grew up? Of the rise and fall of this pocket of tourist culture? As entertaining as the thematically-grouped exploits that make up most of the book were, I found myself wishing for some sort of story line or progression to follow. What I felt was lacking though was a story: a beginning, a middle, an end, with a problem or challenge that needed to be hacked away at and overcome, and transformation of the main character that we could watch and track as it unfolded.
Reading this book was like a tiny little vacation. I used the phrase "time hop" intentionally; this really felt like I was dropped out of the sky into a completely different landscape. The change was thorough and vibrant, and the personality of this place and time shines through. Reading this book felt like jumping into a lake, and being submerged by a murky, "other" world as the water overtook me. I just wish there had been something of a plot, like a current to carry me down the river once I broke back through the surface.
Lake of the Ozarks is a time hop. The reader is transported to the 1960s, peering into the past as though through a portal into the author's summers spent in the Ozark mountains. The sense of nostalgia is contagious, and I found myself smiling back upon memories that weren't at all my own, but were universal in their themes: growing up; the freedom of being away from home for the first time, and the haphazard jolt of pseudo-adulthood that comes with that; family formed by proximity and shared experience; the painful but hysterical experience of a terrible but somehow enlivening, all-consuming job; and the uncanny experience of moving between two very different worlds, and uncovering very different parts of yourself within them.
I chuckled, I cringed, I narrowed my eyes in disapproval while snorting in amusement. The dry humor and vivid scene-painting work well together, and the book reads like a movie plays. What details weren't provided were easy to fill in, and though I maybe couldn't describe individual characters too well after finishing, the place that is the Arrowhead Lodge came alive with vivid personality.
My main complaint, though, is the lack of an overarching...well, purpose. The book does an excellent job of transporting the reader to a different time and place. But outside of the introduction and postscript, it's unclear what the point of that transporting is. Is Geist telling us the story of how he grew up? Of the rise and fall of this pocket of tourist culture? As entertaining as the thematically-grouped exploits that make up most of the book were, I found myself wishing for some sort of story line or progression to follow. What I felt was lacking though was a story: a beginning, a middle, an end, with a problem or challenge that needed to be hacked away at and overcome, and transformation of the main character that we could watch and track as it unfolded.
Reading this book was like a tiny little vacation. I used the phrase "time hop" intentionally; this really felt like I was dropped out of the sky into a completely different landscape. The change was thorough and vibrant, and the personality of this place and time shines through. Reading this book felt like jumping into a lake, and being submerged by a murky, "other" world as the water overtook me. I just wish there had been something of a plot, like a current to carry me down the river once I broke back through the surface.
June 6, 2019
Emmy Award winning CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, Bill Geist, writes a humorous and often poignant coming of age memoir about the summers he spent working at his uncle’s resort in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.
Geist’s experiences harken back to a time before cell phones, computers, microwaves, and “political correctness” existed. It’s a nostalgic look at a “simpler” time with likable, eccentric characters and youthful antics… and it’s a light, enjoyable read!
Geist’s experiences harken back to a time before cell phones, computers, microwaves, and “political correctness” existed. It’s a nostalgic look at a “simpler” time with likable, eccentric characters and youthful antics… and it’s a light, enjoyable read!
March 6, 2020
Expectations vs. reality. I expected this book to remind me of my vacations in the Lake of the Ozarks region. The ones I spent there involved camping, but the author's summers involved working at Arrowhead Lodge owned by his extended family. I expected the book to tell more about other things in the area that might trigger memories of my time there. Unfortunately the book was more of a memoir of his own exploits rather than of visiting attractions in the area that no longer exist. Ultimately I just didn't care about his exploits. His humor attempts seemed geared toward a crude masculine audience. I do believe my family ate at Arrowhead Lodge once. I don't remember whether it was a good or bad experience. I'm not sure why I bothered to finish reading the book.
December 16, 2022
Subtitle: My Surreal Summers in a Vanishing America
This is a charming memoir of the author’s teen-year summers spent working at his uncle’s resort at Lake of the Ozarks in the mid 1960s. He was a busboy, a bellhop, a dishwasher, a janitor, a kids’ counselor, a groundskeeper, a chauffeur, a delivery man. He did any and all distasteful jobs and enjoyed the company of a bevy of lovely young women who served as housemaids and/or waitresses. The pay was abysmal, but they got free room and board, a fair quantity of beer, and, perhaps most importantly, a certain sense of independence. They also occasionally got pretty nice tips, which virtually all the staff used to help pay for their college educations. They made some life-long friendships, and a few romances led to marriage.
While my current sensibilities were sometimes appalled at the behavior these teens engaged in, I had to admit to fond memories of some of my own summer jobs, and especially of the summer staff I met at a local lake resort when I was singing with a band who was performing at the resort supper club one summer. Ah, the indestructability of youth!
This is a charming memoir of the author’s teen-year summers spent working at his uncle’s resort at Lake of the Ozarks in the mid 1960s. He was a busboy, a bellhop, a dishwasher, a janitor, a kids’ counselor, a groundskeeper, a chauffeur, a delivery man. He did any and all distasteful jobs and enjoyed the company of a bevy of lovely young women who served as housemaids and/or waitresses. The pay was abysmal, but they got free room and board, a fair quantity of beer, and, perhaps most importantly, a certain sense of independence. They also occasionally got pretty nice tips, which virtually all the staff used to help pay for their college educations. They made some life-long friendships, and a few romances led to marriage.
While my current sensibilities were sometimes appalled at the behavior these teens engaged in, I had to admit to fond memories of some of my own summer jobs, and especially of the summer staff I met at a local lake resort when I was singing with a band who was performing at the resort supper club one summer. Ah, the indestructability of youth!
July 17, 2019
I went into this one expecting a wacky tale of a family vacation gone awry - something akin to Jean Shepherd's Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss, but instead I got rambling, unfocused reminiscences of Geist's time spent trying to get laid whilst working at a seedy resort. The essays lacked the warmth and humor that this type of book requires, and it seemed that Geist himself was not very interested in the people about whom he was writing.
But, my husband loved it, so maybe it was just me . . .
But, my husband loved it, so maybe it was just me . . .
September 2, 2019
This was an absolutely delightful book by the author of "City Slickers", Bill Geist. It's a memoir of a man who spent his high school and college summers working, doing everything and anything at a lodge in the Ozarks in the 60's. Bill came from Illinois, like I did, so I felt a connection with his experience at the lake and it brought back memories of a similar experience I had. And so much of the book reminded me of a time gone by when the world was so less populated, less politically correct, and simpler(?).
The author's uncle and aunt owned the lodge and they were true characters, but the book is filled with colorful characters---and the setting itself is like a character. I had recently watched the television series :"Ozark" and was surprised to read in the book what I had heard in the show: that Lake Ozark has more miles of coastline than the coast of California. I wonder now if the book and/or the series will spur a resurgence of popularity of the area, though it certainly sounds like it's plenty popular now as it is.
As much as I enjoyed the book, I agree with the author's statement at the beginning of the book about how sad it is to look back at memories of loved ones who have preceded us.
"I didn't like to think about all of them and all of that, vaporized by the passage of time. It confused and angered me, time putting its jackboot on our necks as it stole our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, our favorite people and places, our health, our breath. What right does it have, death? When I meet it, I'll give it the finger. Best I can do."
The author's uncle and aunt owned the lodge and they were true characters, but the book is filled with colorful characters---and the setting itself is like a character. I had recently watched the television series :"Ozark" and was surprised to read in the book what I had heard in the show: that Lake Ozark has more miles of coastline than the coast of California. I wonder now if the book and/or the series will spur a resurgence of popularity of the area, though it certainly sounds like it's plenty popular now as it is.
As much as I enjoyed the book, I agree with the author's statement at the beginning of the book about how sad it is to look back at memories of loved ones who have preceded us.
"I didn't like to think about all of them and all of that, vaporized by the passage of time. It confused and angered me, time putting its jackboot on our necks as it stole our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, our favorite people and places, our health, our breath. What right does it have, death? When I meet it, I'll give it the finger. Best I can do."
May 16, 2019
Sometimes it is simply great to read a book that's just plain fun, and makes you laugh almost on every page. Lake of the Ozarks is the hilarious chronicle of Bill Geist unique coming-of-age in a different place, the Ozarks, and a different time. This is a quick read, charming, witty, and thoughtful...just plain memorable.
A brief description from the publisher:
Before there was "tourism" and souvenir ashtrays became "kitsch," the Lake of the Ozarks was a Shangri-La for middle-class Midwestern families on vacation, complete with man-made beaches, Hillbilly Mini Golf, and feathered rubber tomahawks.
It was there that author Bill Geist spent summers in the Sixties during his school and college years working at Arrowhead Lodge-a small resort owned by his bombastic uncle-in all areas of the operation, from cesspool attendant to bellhop.
What may have seemed just a summer job became, upon reflection, a transformative era where a cast of eccentric, small-town characters and experiences shaped (some might suggest "slightly twisted") Bill into the man he is today. He realized it was this time in his life that had a direct influence on his sensibilities, his humor, his writing, and ultimately a career searching the world for other such untamed creatures for the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and CBS News.
In LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Emmy Award-winning CBS Sunday Morning Correspondent Bill Geist reflects on his coming of age in the American Heartland and traces his evolution as a man and a writer. He shares laugh-out-loud anecdotes and tongue-in-cheek observations guaranteed to evoke a strong sense of nostalgia for "the good ol' days." Written with Geistian wit and warmth, LAKE OF THE OZARKS takes readers back to a bygone era, and demonstrates how you can find inspiration in the most unexpected places.
A brief description from the publisher:
Before there was "tourism" and souvenir ashtrays became "kitsch," the Lake of the Ozarks was a Shangri-La for middle-class Midwestern families on vacation, complete with man-made beaches, Hillbilly Mini Golf, and feathered rubber tomahawks.
It was there that author Bill Geist spent summers in the Sixties during his school and college years working at Arrowhead Lodge-a small resort owned by his bombastic uncle-in all areas of the operation, from cesspool attendant to bellhop.
What may have seemed just a summer job became, upon reflection, a transformative era where a cast of eccentric, small-town characters and experiences shaped (some might suggest "slightly twisted") Bill into the man he is today. He realized it was this time in his life that had a direct influence on his sensibilities, his humor, his writing, and ultimately a career searching the world for other such untamed creatures for the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and CBS News.
In LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Emmy Award-winning CBS Sunday Morning Correspondent Bill Geist reflects on his coming of age in the American Heartland and traces his evolution as a man and a writer. He shares laugh-out-loud anecdotes and tongue-in-cheek observations guaranteed to evoke a strong sense of nostalgia for "the good ol' days." Written with Geistian wit and warmth, LAKE OF THE OZARKS takes readers back to a bygone era, and demonstrates how you can find inspiration in the most unexpected places.
May 17, 2019
You know how there are different types of great days? It could be gorgeous weather and a family trip to the beach. It could be hanging with friends at a sporting event that turns out better than planned. Or it could just be hanging with a buddy, sitting on a porch watching the Sun set, while tossing back a few cold ones. Well "Lake of the Ozarks: My surreal Summers in a Vanishing America" is the latter. It's like hanging with a friend, sharing easy banter, and enjoying it as much as anything else you've ever done.
May 30, 2021
Bill Geist is indeed a funny guy. With this honest and revealing look at his summers working for his Aunt and Uncle in a remote hotel, he explains his generation and, hopefully, educates future generations a bit. He really is an observer of human behavior and has a way of telling it that evokes smiles and uproarious laughter. The Ozark (and Ozark like) parts of America are important insights into who we are and that alone is worth the read. A great little book by a great American.
July 9, 2019
Hailing as I do from Missouri, I was almost giddy with excitement to crack open this nostalgic collection of anecdotes from one of the state’s biggest attractions. The author is a famous TV news journalist so I what could go wrong? Plenty, let me tell you. The book promised to be a fun recollection of the author’s summers working at his uncle’s motel on the shores of the Lake in the 1960’s. Instead, it can best be described as a flaccid collection of pointlessly dull stories that lurches drunkenly from one topic to another. I could almost feel the author wishing he had some actual good stories to tell instead of this ragged assortment of boring non-events. Does he think his G-rated romantic fumblings are lusty and naughty? Well, they’re not even though he tells them like they are. I was continually put off by the bizarre way this book leapfrogs from one topic to another, then it might go back eventually to finish the story, or maybe not. It’s a breezy read, padded like a high school book report with generous margins, lots of line spacing and larger than normal fonts. The book also includes a bunch of photos that look like they spilled out of an old shoebox in a storage locker—neither curated or needed, just there to eat some pages.
August 19, 2019
Bill Geist is a guy I would love to meet in real life and just sit down and listen to him talk for an afternoon. The man entertains me with his nostalgic stories. I believe we are close to the same age so when he talks about his childhood and teen years, I'm right there.
This book is a memoir of the summers he spent at his Aunt Janet and Uncle Ed's Arrowhead Motel on Lake of the Ozarks. He may have been a relative but nepotism never reared it's ugly head. Bill was a poorly paid bellhop/dishwasher/cook/waiter/janitor just like all of the other high school and college aged young people who worked the 41-room motel every summer. When they weren't at work, they spent their time drinking beer and trying to hook up with the perky waitresses. The Arrowhead was full of quirky characters and Bill introduces the reader to all of them. The 60's and 70's were a simpler time and Geist made me feel right at home.
This book is a memoir of the summers he spent at his Aunt Janet and Uncle Ed's Arrowhead Motel on Lake of the Ozarks. He may have been a relative but nepotism never reared it's ugly head. Bill was a poorly paid bellhop/dishwasher/cook/waiter/janitor just like all of the other high school and college aged young people who worked the 41-room motel every summer. When they weren't at work, they spent their time drinking beer and trying to hook up with the perky waitresses. The Arrowhead was full of quirky characters and Bill introduces the reader to all of them. The 60's and 70's were a simpler time and Geist made me feel right at home.
July 14, 2019
This is the perfect book for Baby Boomers who remember going to a resort on a lake for summer vacations with their family. These establishments were everywhere in this country. Younger readers probably have never experienced such an establishment. For reference they should stream the movie "Dirty Dancing." Then they'll get the picture.
Bill Geist may be in ill health now, but he can still churn out a laugh out loud memoir of his summers working at his uncle's Arrowhead Lodge on Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. And he tells his tale with hilarious affection. From working basically for tips to his lust for a waitress working at the lodge, he had me laughing through the whole book.
This is a quick read. It shouldn't take anyone longer than a weekend to finish it. So pack it in your beach bag this year and enjoy.
Bill Geist may be in ill health now, but he can still churn out a laugh out loud memoir of his summers working at his uncle's Arrowhead Lodge on Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. And he tells his tale with hilarious affection. From working basically for tips to his lust for a waitress working at the lodge, he had me laughing through the whole book.
This is a quick read. It shouldn't take anyone longer than a weekend to finish it. So pack it in your beach bag this year and enjoy.
February 14, 2020
This memoir would remind you of Caddyshack or Red Oaks -- except it's true! If you are familiar with the Lake of the Ozarks, the people are types you've met, and even if you have never been there before, it's a great description of what it was like to come of age in the 50's and 60's. A short book, but absolutely delightful and amusing reading.
September 26, 2019
There were some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments and Bill Geist is entertaining but most of it was rambling with no clear direction or thread really tying it all together. Just a set of memories centered around summers working at Lake of the Ozarks.
June 8, 2019
Flat, not so funny or clever reminiscing book that would have been better if Bill Bryson had written it. In fact I’m pretty sure he had a very similar memoir. I had expected a better experience.
July 6, 2019
Audiobook. I think the humor better translates when read - the narrator was kind of flat. This reminded me of Caddyshack and other 80’s summer movies of debauchery and shenanigans.
December 9, 2022
2.5 rounded up
Some funny stories.
Some funny stories.
October 9, 2023
4.5 🌟
I enjoyed that more than I thought I would.
"What right does it have, death? When I meet it,I'll give it the finger. Best I can do."
I enjoyed that more than I thought I would.
"What right does it have, death? When I meet it,I'll give it the finger. Best I can do."
July 9, 2019
Brought back memories of a place that no longer exists but holds a special place in my heart as we currently enjoy the next generation of Lake of the Ozarks. It’s one man’s story and know there are many more from the many old resorts that families enjoyed back in the day.
July 17, 2025
3.5 but i’m rounding down!
this book was simply just fun. i don’t know why there’s so many negative reviews?
it’s just an older man reflecting on his time in the 60s/70s of his summers at his aunt & uncle’s hotel. it’s fun. getting to read about a simpler time is fun.
yes he is a white man, but he wasn’t an overly white man. bill did a great job recounting his summers in the ozarks. as someone who visits every summer, it was fun to read about dogpatch since it is still around and just hear of the former times.
super quick and short read!
this book was simply just fun. i don’t know why there’s so many negative reviews?
it’s just an older man reflecting on his time in the 60s/70s of his summers at his aunt & uncle’s hotel. it’s fun. getting to read about a simpler time is fun.
yes he is a white man, but he wasn’t an overly white man. bill did a great job recounting his summers in the ozarks. as someone who visits every summer, it was fun to read about dogpatch since it is still around and just hear of the former times.
super quick and short read!
July 3, 2021
I love CBS Sunday morning and Billy guiest. This book is written exactly like one of his interviews. Very informative, keeps you on your toes, and makes you laugh. Growing up on the lake I loved to read the history and felt like I could envision his summers spent at arrowhead lodge
April 19, 2020
I love vintage vacation memorabilia and this book was a fun romp through a 1960s Missouri hotspot before Big Tourism came to town. Bill Geist fancies himself a humorist and he is a funny writer, but I was most interested in the descriptions of the original vacation business at the Arrowhead Lodge built in the 1950s. This huge log building with antiques and stone fireplaces was the quintessential lakeside getaway for Midwesterners of all ages. Bill worked there as a teenager and enjoyed getting to know his fellow employees who were putting themselves through college on wages of $800 per summer. "We learned to work hard at Arrowhead. But we were free, unsophisticated, and easily amused, drinking lots of beer, laughing uproariously, dancing like wild banshees in the Pow Wow Room, pushing fully-clothed, cavorting colleagues into the pool, heading down to Ron's Town House, a dance hall below the dam, having late night repasts at Evelyn's Rathskeller..."
Bill’s fond memories occasionally veer into raunchy situations where he is obsessed with losing his virginity, which I could have done without. I preferred the history of the place and its quirky brand of memorabilia. "Seeing as how this was the Ozarks and all, there was Hillbilly Golf and lots of hillbilly-themed souvenirs, too, like corncob pipes and floppy, cone-shaped hillbilly hats...Dogpatch was something of a theme park all its own, a big souvenir store, plus Old Bob's Cabin, a hillbilly jail, an animated graveyard with protruding, wiggling toes..." He really does capture a certain time in the American mid-century imagination. Bill's Uncle Ed and Aunt Janet were the colorful proprietors of the lodge in its heyday. "Ed wore sunglasses - back when only movie stars and Ed wore sunglasses - and silk floral shirts - way, way back before Jimmy Buffett. He wore Bermuda shorts and expensive leather sandals purchased in London...two fingers of his left hand rested lightly on the bottom of the steering wheel. Two fingers of his right cradled a cigar as naturally as if he'd been born with it there." I can see it all now.
Bill’s fond memories occasionally veer into raunchy situations where he is obsessed with losing his virginity, which I could have done without. I preferred the history of the place and its quirky brand of memorabilia. "Seeing as how this was the Ozarks and all, there was Hillbilly Golf and lots of hillbilly-themed souvenirs, too, like corncob pipes and floppy, cone-shaped hillbilly hats...Dogpatch was something of a theme park all its own, a big souvenir store, plus Old Bob's Cabin, a hillbilly jail, an animated graveyard with protruding, wiggling toes..." He really does capture a certain time in the American mid-century imagination. Bill's Uncle Ed and Aunt Janet were the colorful proprietors of the lodge in its heyday. "Ed wore sunglasses - back when only movie stars and Ed wore sunglasses - and silk floral shirts - way, way back before Jimmy Buffett. He wore Bermuda shorts and expensive leather sandals purchased in London...two fingers of his left hand rested lightly on the bottom of the steering wheel. Two fingers of his right cradled a cigar as naturally as if he'd been born with it there." I can see it all now.
September 17, 2020
I really wanted to like this. I'd read other things by Bill Geist and thought they were great. I have been to Lake of the Ozarks and worked, while in high school, as a dishwasher and cook in a bar/restaurant. I thought I'd really relate and relive memories of that time with his stories.
Sadly, that wasn't the case. Geist throws stories together that, to me, don't have a great payoff. It's like looking through an old photo album and randomly remembering people and quick events. "Here's a snapshot of Pete. Oh, wait, I just remembered something about Pete... The waitresses were cute. Yeah, I'm remembering one..."
Also, the opening of the book seemed to offer a comparison of today's age with that of ago. Bill's coming of age and how he got to where he is now and comparing that life of rural Missouri to the faster-paced, world is his stage life. That, too, fell short.
There are some funny and nice moments, but you just have to dig for them. It's only 190 or so pages, so it can be read in a day. There is repetition, so it even moves faster from chapter to chapter. It's worth a read, just don't expect a brilliant look at days gone by.
Sadly, that wasn't the case. Geist throws stories together that, to me, don't have a great payoff. It's like looking through an old photo album and randomly remembering people and quick events. "Here's a snapshot of Pete. Oh, wait, I just remembered something about Pete... The waitresses were cute. Yeah, I'm remembering one..."
Also, the opening of the book seemed to offer a comparison of today's age with that of ago. Bill's coming of age and how he got to where he is now and comparing that life of rural Missouri to the faster-paced, world is his stage life. That, too, fell short.
There are some funny and nice moments, but you just have to dig for them. It's only 190 or so pages, so it can be read in a day. There is repetition, so it even moves faster from chapter to chapter. It's worth a read, just don't expect a brilliant look at days gone by.
May 31, 2019
Had some good moments (the descriptions of Uncle Ed, throwing yourself a fake 21st birthday party to be served alcohol even though you're really underage), but at the end, I was a little disappointed. I found myself wanting to go back and watch some of Geist's stories, like hearing the inspiration for a story about an ironing competition. I would think his experiences would be enough to write several books; I was not aware he served in Vietnam. I wondered what the purpose of the book was; I am a bit young to remember some of these things, but could appreciate some of the objects of days gone by. For readers younger than I, I am not sure how they would connect or appreciate it.
September 3, 2019
This was the most entertaining memoir I’ve read to date. Bill’s dry humor and storytelling skill had me laughing out loud. I was enjoying his stories so much that I was actually surprised when I reached the end - I didn’t realize how far I’d gotten into the book! I wanted the story to keep going.
July 24, 2019
A really fun memoir for anyone who grew up watching Dirty Dancing or Caddyshack. Bill Geist puts you right back into those days when lake resorts ruled and 42 room motels were the place to be.
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