Oh, Johnny a novel
A talented athlete, Johnny Wrigley firmly believes that someday he will play major league baseball. But on the way to his dreams, Johnny finds his life unexpectedly taking a detour. In April 1944, Johnny is a newly minted marine on a troop train heading west for California, where he will be shipped...
| Main Author: | Lehrer, James. |
|---|---|
| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Random House,
c2009.
|
| Edition: | 1st ed. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: |
A talented athlete, Johnny Wrigley firmly believes that someday he will play major league baseball. But on the way to his dreams, Johnny finds his life unexpectedly taking a detour. In April 1944, Johnny is a newly minted marine on a troop train heading west for California, where he will be shipped overseas to fight in the Pacific Theater. At a brief stop in Wichita, Johnny gets off the train and falls in love... As a flamethrower operator on the suicide squad in Peleliu, Johnny sees the worst of battle. Scores of his fellow soldiers are killed around him, but memories of Betsy Luck (the private name Johnny has given his Kansas love) keep him safe. Yet nothing prepares Johnny for the combat in Okinawa -- and the terrible events that will haunt him forever. Two years later, Johnny is back in Wichita, searching for the girl he wants to marry. But fate has different plans for Johnny, his long-dreamed-of baseball career, and the girl whose memory helped him survive.--From Amazon.com. |
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| Physical Description: |
221 p. ; 22 cm. |
| ISBN: |
9781400067626 (acid-free paper) 1400067626 (acid-free paper) |
| Author Notes: |
James Charles Lehrer was born in Wichita, Kan., on May 19, 1934, to Harry Lehrer, who ran a small bus line and Lois (Chapman) Lehrer, a teacher. He earned an associate degree from Victoria College in Texas in 1954 and a bachelor¿s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in 1956. From 1959 to 1961, Mr. Lehrer was a reporter for The Dallas Morning News. He joined the rival Dallas Times Herald, where over nine years he was a reporter, columnist and city editor. He also began writing fiction. His first novel was Viva Max! (1966). In 1970, Mr. Lehrer joined KERA-TV, the Dallas public broadcasting station, where he delivered a nightly newscast. In 1972, he became PBS¿s coordinator of public affairs programming in Washington. In 1973 he joined WETA-TV in Washington, became a PBS correspondent and met Mr. MacNeil, a Canadian who had reported for NBC-TV and the BBC. Mr. Lehrer won numerous Emmys, a George Foster Peabody Award and a National Humanities Medal. He and Mr. MacNeil were inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 1999. His memoirs were: We Were Dreamers(1975), A Bus of My Own(1992) and Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates (2011). His plays were Chili Queen (1986), a farce about a media circus at a hostage situation; Church Key Charlie Blue (1988), a dark comedy on a bar flare-up over a televised football game; The Will and Bart Show (1992), about two cabinet officials who loathe each other; and Bell (2013), a one-man show about Alexander Graham Bell. James Lehrer passed away on Thursday 01/23/2020 at the age of 85. |