| The Grand Incendiary: A Biography of Samuel Adams |  | Author: Paul Lewis
Publisher: Dial Press
Category: Book
Buy Used: $1.55
Used (7) from $1.55
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 3697776
Pages: 403
ASIN: B0006C90KI
Publication Date: 1973
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Davy Bowman s dad looks forward to Halloween more than a kid, and Davy s brother, Bill, flies B-17s. Davy adores these two heroes and tries his best to follow their lead, especially now. World War II has invaded Davy s homefront boyhood. Bill has joined up, breaking their dad s heart. It s an intense, confusing time, and one that will spur Davy to grow up in a hurry. This is one of Richard Peck s finest novels a tender, unforgettable portrait of the World War II home front and a family s enduring love.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Charming, funny, heartwarming October 14, 2008
S. Eshbach (USA)
This was a simply delightful book to read. If you are interested in what America was like during World War II, this will take you there. You'll meet the Bowman family. Father fought in World War I and son Bill has volunteered to fly a bomber in World War II. This book tells of the sacrifices willingly made by the average American to support the war, of the comraderie of families and friends around the block, and of how difficult it was to see an older brother leave for the Great War. Peck tells us lots, using humor and charm to temper the message. A must read for any junior high students.
Tears and a hug July 30, 2008
Veronica R. Tabares (Seattle, WA USA)
I will admit that I began reading this book, got about to the 2nd chapter, and stopped. For whatever reason I just was not in the mood for this particular story.
But week later I decided to give it another try and I picked it up again. I am extremely glad I did. Because for me, the magic moment when I began to 'live' the story happened right about the 6th chapter. From that point on, I was hooked. You could not stop me from finishing the book.
By the end my eyes were tearing up with a variety of emotions, and I felt that I had really lived through WWII. I wanted to give the entire Bowman family a big hug for sharing their experience with me.
Richard Peck is such a great writer!
Entertaining June 16, 2008
Lady Naava
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Davy Bowman is growing up during WWII in Illinois and must deal with the changes going on around him. His brother, a pilot trainee joins up... his father, a WWI vet owns the local gas station and they are expected to ration food, rubber, gas, and other precious staples. He and his best friend travel around on their bikes savaging metal for the war effort.
This was an entertaining (and educational) story of how a country pitched in to help each other during a time of crisis. I particularly enjoyed reading about the various characters that inhabited the town, and the cantankerous old teacher Miss Titus that put a mousetrap in her purse to thwart the class bully. My only complaint is that this book wasn't longer.
Well worth a listen for adults and kids alike.
Dr. Mary Hollowell / Teacher EDU / Clayton State University January 3, 2008
Mary Hollowell (Clayton State University)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Will Davy's fighter pilot brother survive World War II? This is the central question in Richard Peck's latest novel. The novel sweeps the duration of the war. While Davy's older brother trains for war then flies in raids, Davy and his best friend, Scooter, man the homefront. They collect rubber, paper, and scrapmetal. Ironically, their large collection of newspaper is stolen from their wagons by Boy Scouts.
The seriousness of the war is constantly being broken by the eccentricities of Davy's neighbors, and no one is better at portraying cantankerous seniors than Richard Peck. From the gruff Mr. Stonecypher with a still in his basement to Mrs. Titus, a scrawny woman in sackcloth who totes a shotgun, to Mrs. Titus's ninety-seven-year-old mother who still believes the Civil War is raging, they are all hugely entertaining and diverting. When Mrs. Titus is called upon to serve as a long-term substitute teacher in Davy's class, she takes on the class's unlikely bully, a round girl named Beverly with two equally large cronies. The bullies are no match for the elderly Mrs. Titus who puts a rattrap in her purse to catch their pilfering fingers.
Peck ingeniously blends seriousness and lightheartedness, the ordinary and the extraordinary. A highlight of the book is the Old Jalopy Parade, in which junk cars are paraded to the scrapyard. Davy rides high in Mrs. Titus's ancient Pan American. With a spine-tingling conclusion, this book is grand historical fiction.
 I hate to spoil the party, but... August 27, 2007
Tim Byers (Indianapolis, IN USA)
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
I grew tired of this book about halfway through and put it down. The prose is perfect, the imagery vivid, but nothing kept pulling me further into the book. I feel hesitant criticizing the award-winning author, but I can't imagine a middle school boy reading this book unless he had to, because nothing much really happens.
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