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Braving Home (home page)
"The old homily 'there is no place like home' has never been more poignantly and wittily revealed than by Jake Halpern in these lovely vignettes."--Studs Terkel
"Jake Halpern's collection of precarious lives, beautifully written, is witty and deeply thoughtful, funny and heartbreaking all at once. In exploring these settlements of literally marginal eccentrics, he repeatedly brings the truths of life to the surface in the most moving way. Not for a long time have I read a book so good and so wise."--Robert Stone "A splendid and engaging account of stubbornness in modern America. ... A strangely fascinating and endearing study of human beings' singular capacity to be noble, foolish, courageous, heroic and out of their minds all at the same time. In short, it's terrific." --Bill Bryson, from Book-of-the-Month Club News "Jake Halpern's first book might be called the anti-real estate guide. He takes us to godforsaken places and shows us why a person might love them - a lucid look at the habits of hermits, and an intriguing meditation on the nature of 'home.'"--Ted Conover "Grueling reporting of the kind that leads to a sober, yet heartfelt view of the world. Braving Home is old fashioned journalism in the best sense."--Robert D. Kaplan "Halpern's flair for description enables readers to easily visualize the environs of these hard-scrabble homekeepers . . . Halpern has carved a creative niche for himself as the New Millennium's skewed answer to the late Charles Kuralt. This is perceptive writing that illuminates the human condition." -- Publishers Weekly, April 28, 2003 "Compelling, well-told tales of people living, literally, on the edge." -- Evan Serpick, Entertainment Weekly, June 20, 2003 "Jake Halpern . . . has a gift for writing with humor and compassion about the lives of ordinary people." -- Elaine McArdle, Boston Magazine, June 2003 "Impressive meditations on the power of place." -- Outside Magazine, July 2003 "Irresistible and funny . . . What's so enchanting about 'Braving Home' is Halpern's infectious sense of wonder, his willingness to be amazed, and his absolute respect for the people he visits." -- Caroline Leavitt, Boston Sunday Globe, July 20, 2003 "[Jake Halpern] has the sensitivity and intellect to see what makes someone cling to what seems like nothing, and the skill as a writer to create scenes that capture the essence of each place, each person." --Cheryl Harris Sharman, Miami Herald, July 20, 2003 "There can be little questioning of the author's swashbuckling spirit, creative approach, and ability to win cooperation - and friendship - from the most willfully mulish codgers on either side of the Pecos." -- Marc Luce, The Christian Science Monitor, July 10, 2003 "Halpern pursues these questions with a curiosity and keen sense of adventure that permeate his wonderfully readable profiles. The author's off-the-beaten-path stories will keep readers turning the pages of this unusual book." -- Martin Brady, BookPage, July 2003 "This is an American reality tale told with compassion, gentleness and humor. . . a new American storyteller steps up to the plate." --Julie Foster, Denver Post, July 13, 2003 "Jake Halpern takes his readers on a quixotic travelogue beyond the bounds of daily heroism. . . . That sense of meaning is apparent in all of these 'brief lives,' which Halpern chronicles with insight and panache. Braving Home combines an evocative grasp of setting with characters who linger in the memory, people whose devotion to their native abode awakens similar feelings closer to home." --Ed Voves, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 21, 2003 "In his affectionate portraits of these extreme homeowners . . . he gives us riveting proof of the mysterious grip of hearth and home." -- Andrew Goldstein, Radar Magazine, Summer 2003. "A memorable commentary on the bizarre, extreme and otherwise outre places in which people actually choose to roost." -- Elle Magazine, July 2003. "'Braving Home' is an entertaining and lovingly rendered portrait of stalwart, somewhat eccentric characters who know not only the location, but also the true worth of their real homes. . ." -- Frances Lefkowitz, Body & Soul, August 2003 "This amusing book . . . is like a stay-at-home adventure, with all the excitement but none of the hardship . . . This is the perfect book for armchair travelers interested in virtual visits to 'extreme locations.'" -- David Pitt, Booklist, May 15, 2003 "It's fun . . . he writes well and has an eye for detail." -- Elizabeth Crowley, The Wall Street Journal Weekend Journal, June 27, 2003 "Halpern's believe-it-or-nots are sprinkled with entertaining Americana, history, and a light sketch of the alternative-sanity tenants of the uninhabitable." --Thornton Sully, San Diego Union-Tribune, July 13, 2003 "[Halpern's] voice is a welcome one; he is a fresh, spirited chronicler of a rare breed of people." --John McMurtrie, San Francisco Chronicle, July 20, 2003 "Offers a rare glimpse at some of the wildest dwelling spots imaginable, and the feisty characters who just won't leave them." --Kalee Thompson, National Geographic Adventure, August 2003 "Part travel, part adventure, and mostly fascinating insight into the minds and lives of Americans who call the most dangerous places . . . home." --Richelle Thomson, American Way, August 1, 2003
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