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Teacher Man

A Memoir

By Frank McCourt

(86)

| Hardcover | 9780743243773

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Book Description

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 YContinue

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.

Critics

  • What curriculum?

    Teacher Man by Frank McCourt Fourth Estate £18.99, pp258 Frank McCourt's stock in trade is writing about his own life, and so this follow up to Angela's Ashes and 'Tis details his life as an English teacher in New York high schools. To say he didn't ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

  • TEACHER MAN: A Memoir

    Picking up where his second book of memoirs ended, Frank McCourt, fresh off a stint in the Army and newly graduated from New York University, decides to begin teaching. He never imagined though that it would turn into a career. Teaching was just some ... (read full critics)

    teenreads published on Thu, 16 Sep 2010

8 Reviews

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  • 1 person find this helpful

    "Teacher Man" by Frank McCourt

    Having a challenging childhood; being a late bloomer; having taught for about 30 years; and being 67 made me the perfect candidate to read this novel. I had gone to Hong Kong from mainland China and was spending my day in the Swindon English Book Store behind the grand old Peninsula Hotel when my e ... (continue)

    Having a challenging childhood; being a late bloomer; having taught for about 30 years; and being 67 made me the perfect candidate to read this novel. I had gone to Hong Kong from mainland China and was spending my day in the Swindon English Book Store behind the grand old Peninsula Hotel when my eye struck the name of Frank McCourt on a paper back and I felt the need to read it. Now I feel the need to read "Angela's Ashes" and "'Tis", so next time in Hong Kong it's...

    I have always wanted to write, but have been too busy living life to the extremes and chaulking up experiences that I could some day write about. Those extremes may have been just too extreme to share and it seems that the skeltons are just too great to be released from the closet.

    Roger Humbke in Guangzhou

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    Roger Humbke said on Jan 30, 2010 about the Paperback edition | 1 feedback

  • the old(er) young Frank

    I started to read the book and thought I had wasted my money. Where was my little Frank looking at the world with his sensitive eyes? Then I took a break and thought that life goes on for everyone and a little child, will have to grow up eventually..and this is when I actually FOUND him. Don't stop ... (continue)

    I started to read the book and thought I had wasted my money. Where was my little Frank looking at the world with his sensitive eyes? Then I took a break and thought that life goes on for everyone and a little child, will have to grow up eventually..and this is when I actually FOUND him. Don't stop looking, Frank is there in every page, in every line. He did not lose his way to look at a world always too strange for him. Goodbye little old-young Frank...we will miss you.

    I draw an arrow from left to right, from FEAR to FREEDOM. I don't think anyone achivies complete freedom, but what I am trying to with you is drive fear into a corner

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    jaahbaba said on Dec 23, 2011 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • An enjoyable book with which all teachers will identify to some degree. An honest look at the making of a good teacher.

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    Mbrizz said on May 22, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Ci mancherà Frank McCourt

    Frank Mc Court was born in 1930 in Brooklyn, NY, and grew up in Limerik, Ireland. He returned to US in 1949 and for 30 years he was a teacher in New York City high schools. He became famous with "Angela's Ashes". He died in July 2009. This book is a tribute to teachers; thank you Mr McCourt for insp ... (continue)

    Frank Mc Court was born in 1930 in Brooklyn, NY, and grew up in Limerik, Ireland. He returned to US in 1949 and for 30 years he was a teacher in New York City high schools. He became famous with "Angela's Ashes". He died in July 2009. This book is a tribute to teachers; thank you Mr McCourt for inspiring me too.

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    Antonia said on Feb 8, 2010 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • I appreciate his ironic sense of humor and common man style.

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    Ben said on Sep 27, 2009 | Add your feedback

  • This was not at all what I expected....I was so excited to read...since my husband teaches...but it was one of those books I just wanted to finish..I would have put it down but I kept thinking I would maybe miss something...I never did!

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    Jane said on Aug 17, 2009 | Add your feedback

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9780743243773 Hardcover $26.00 $22.23 bn.com
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$26.00 $22.35 The Book Depository
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