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The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened by Don Robertson — book cover

The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened

by Don Robertson
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Overview

If there was one genuine truth that Morris Bird III thought he understood, it was that the world forever and relentlessly changed. But only in one direction—from simple to complicated.

When he was nine, Morris Bird III learned the meaning of bravery. Now, at seventeen, he's on the verge of adulthood . . . and he's fallen in love. But it's 1952 and the Korean War hangs over his head like a dangling sword—and his prickly, complicated relationship with his cold and silent father has never been satisfactorily resolved. When Morris's own mortality stares him in the face, he learns what it truly means to become a man.

The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened is the final book in Don Robertson's classic trilogy featuring one of the most endearing characters in American literature.

Synopsis

If there was one genuine truth that Morris Bird III thought he understood, it was that the world forever and relentlessly changed. But only in one direction—from simple to complicated.

When he was nine, Morris Bird III learned the meaning of bravery. Now, at seventeen, he's on the verge of adulthood . . . and he's fallen in love. But it's 1952 and the Korean War hangs over his head like a dangling sword—and his prickly, complicated relationship with his cold and silent father has never been satisfactorily resolved. When Morris's own mortality stares him in the face, he learns what it truly means to become a man.

The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened is the final book in Don Robertson's classic trilogy featuring one of the most endearing characters in American literature.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Morris Bird lives with all the bittersweet humor that fills the adolescent mind, and Robertson reports it with a gentle, warm, loving hand.”

About the Author, Don Robertson

Don Robertson (1929-1999) wrote eighteen novels, including two others featuring Morris Bird III: The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread and The Sum and Total of Now. The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened was made into a movie starring James Earl Jones.

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Editorials

Cleveland Plain Dealer

"If it plucks a half dozen times on heartstrings, it is because the novel is about decent, engaging people trapped by an inevitable anguish which too often incinerates the souls of the undeserving."

Detroit Free Press

"If you have ever been, or loved, a 17-year-old boy, get this book and read it and marvel at the tremendous naturalness with which Mr. Robertson writes."

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Morris Bird lives with all the bittersweet humor that fills the adolescent mind, and Robertson reports it with a gentle, warm, loving hand."

The New Yorker

"Mr. Robertson is a writer of real magnetism, who can make a Midwestern American city shimmer the way the suburbs of Paris or the side streets of London shimmer in other books."

Durham Morning Herald (NC)

“There is a full portrait of a funny, bright, quixotic, confused, and sometimes pathetic youngster...full of adolescent problem, wishes, and hopes. Robertson has a talent for catching the nuances of young life, expressing them in a gruffly flippant style, mixed with wry pathos.”

Durham NC Morning Herald

"There is a full portrait of a funny, bright, quixotic, confused, and sometimes pathetic youngster...full of adolescent problem, wishes, and hopes. Robertson has a talent for catching the nuances of young life, expressing them in a gruffly flippant style, mixed with wry pathos."

Detroit Free Press

“If you have ever been, or loved, a 17-year-old boy, get this book and read it and marvel at the tremendous naturalness with which Mr. Robertson writes.”

The New Yorker

“Mr. Robertson is a writer of real magnetism, who can make a Midwestern American city shimmer the way the suburbs of Paris or the side streets of London shimmer in other books.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer

“If it plucks a half dozen times on heartstrings, it is because the novel is about decent, engaging people trapped by an inevitable anguish which too often incinerates the souls of the undeserving.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Morris Bird lives with all the bittersweet humor that fills the adolescent mind, and Robertson reports it with a gentle, warm, loving hand.”

Book Details

Published
September 1, 2009
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
288
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780061868146

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