Teacher Man: A Memoir (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780743243773)

Nearly a decade ago Frank McCourt became an unlikely star when, at the age of sixty-six, he burst onto the literary scene with Angela's Ashes, the Pulitzer Prize -- winning memoir of his childhood in Limerick, Ireland. Then came 'Tis, his glorious account of his early years in New York.

Now, here at last, is McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. Teacher Man is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises he faces in public high schools around New York City. His methods anything but conventional, McCourt creates a lasting impact on his students through imaginative assignments (he instructs one class to write An Excuse Note from Adam or Eve to God), singalongs (featuring recipe ingredients as lyrics), and field trips (imagine taking twenty-nine rowdy girls to a movie in Times Square!).

McCourt struggles to find his way in the classroom and spends his evenings drinking with writers and dreaming of one day putting his own story to paper. Teacher Man shows McCourt developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as, five days a week, five periods per day, he works to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent adolescents. McCourt's rocky marriage, his failed attempt to get a Ph.D. at Trinity College, Dublin, and his repeated firings due to his propensity to talk back to his superiors ironically lead him to New York's most prestigious school, Stuyvesant High School, where he finally finds a place and a voice. Doggedness, he says, is not as glamorous as ambition or talent or intellect or charm, but still the one thing that got me through the days and nights.

For McCourt, storytelling itself is the source of salvation, and in Teacher Man the journey to redemption -- and literary fame -- is an exhilarating adventure.

Author: Frank McCourt
ISBN-10: 0743243773
ISBN-13: 9780743243773
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Language: English
Published: 11/15/2005
Pages: 272
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.54h x 6.36w x 0.96d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.9
Point Value: 14
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 105982 / Teacher Man: A Memoir


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 09/12/2005 pg. 60
Kirkus Reviews 09/15/2005 pg. 1014
Booklist 09/15/2005 pg. 4
Library Journal Prepub Alert 07/01/2005 pg. 55
Library Journal 11/01/2005 pg. 86
People Weekly 11/21/2005 pg. 57