Teacher Man

If you never pay attention to any of my recommendations, you really should pay attention to this one: read Frank McCourt's "Teacher Man." It is indisputably the best book I've read this year. In fact, it's probably the best book that I've read since my Lit Hum teacher decided to deviate from the Core and let us read Pasternak.

In my opinion (and I read a lot of books, so maybe my opinion counts for something) Frank McCourt is one of the best contemporary authors in this country.

"Teacher Man" was the first book of his that I read. It is his third book, and I think, his best. It chronicles his 30 year career as a high school English teacher in the New York City public school system, starting out in McKee Vocational High School in Staten Island, and culminating in Stuyvesant High School. McCourt's writing style is natural and clear, and he doesn't need to turn to complex prose because his story is so good. The book is fantastic, and regardless of what your background is, or what your interests are, you will relate to the story. It's about New York, and immigration, and high school, and teaching, and Ireland, and war, and poverty, and motivation, and smart kids, and stupid kids, and good people who want to help, and other people who don't know better, and excuse notes, and racism, and epiphanies. It is very funny, and also very sad. I was inspired, and I hope that you will read it.