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Ted Gup
Hardcover | Pages: 384 pages Rating: 3.58 | 2454 Users | 600 Reviews
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| Title | : | A Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness & a Trove of Letters Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression |
| Author | : | Ted Gup |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 384 pages |
| Published | : | October 28th 2010 by Penguin Press (first published 2010) |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. History. Biography. Autobiography. Memoir. Historical |
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An inspiring account of America at its worst-and Americans at their best-woven from the stories of Depression-era families who were helped by gifts from the author's generous and secretive grandfather.Shortly before Christmas 1933 in Depression-scarred Canton, Ohio, a small newspaper ad offered $10, no strings attached, to 75 families in distress. Interested readers were asked to submit letters describing their hardships to a benefactor calling himself Mr. B. Virdot. The author's grandfather Sam Stone was inspired to place this ad and assist his fellow Cantonians as they prepared for the cruelest Christmas most of them would ever witness.
Moved by the tales of suffering and expressions of hope contained in the letters, which he discovered in a suitcase 75 years later, Ted Gup initially set out to unveil the lives behind them, searching for records and relatives all over the country who could help him flesh out the family sagas hinted at in those letters. From these sources, Gup has re-created the impact that Mr B. Virdot's gift had on each family. Many people yearned for bread, coal, or other necessities, but many others received money from B. Virdot for more fanciful items-a toy horse, say, or a set of encyclopedias. As Gup's investigations revealed, all these things had the power to turn people's lives around- even to save them.
But as he uncovered the suffering and triumphs of dozens of strangers, Gup also learned that Sam Stone was far more complex than the lovable- retiree persona he'd always shown his grandson. Gup unearths deeply buried details about Sam's life-from his impoverished, abusive upbringing to felonious efforts to hide his immigrant origins from U.S. officials-that help explain why he felt such a strong affinity to strangers in need. Drawing on his unique find and his award-winning reportorial gifts, Ted Gup solves a singular family mystery even while he pulls away the veil of eight decades that separate us from the hardships that united America during the Depression. In A Secret Gift, he weaves these revelations seamlessly into a tapestry of Depression-era America, which will fascinate and inspire in equal measure.
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| ISBN: | 1594202702 (ISBN13: 9781594202704) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Ohioana Book Award for Nonfiction (2011) |
Rating Epithetical Books A Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness & a Trove of Letters Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression
Ratings: 3.58 From 2454 Users | 600 ReviewsComment On Epithetical Books A Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness & a Trove of Letters Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression
This book was so great for capturing the times in an engaging way. I highly recommend this for history lovers.Note: This is not a Christian book and a couple of swear words. However the history was very good and worth it.For me, this was an important read. It explained why my mother saved rusty screws in old tins, according to size and couldn't understand why I bought decorative shower hooks when she had perfectly good ones in another tin in the basement. These stories taught me something. That our own meagre securities are minor. We have not been tested as our parents were. Our luxuries are frivolous by comparison. I could only read a chapter at a time, mulling over each family before moving on to the next.
I enjoyed this story. I enjoyed it so much that when it disappeared during my recent move, I was more than annoyed. I'm anxious to finish it as soon as it turns up, but my review will be the same, no matter what. Simply put, this is just a captivating book. It's a fascinating look into the lives of every day people during the depression. It's the story of a generous man, who wasn't immune to the troubles of the time, but a man who, during the Christmas of 1933, found himself better off than most
This book gave me a huge insight about the Depression. This book is about a man, Sam Stone, who places an ad under a false name in the Canton, Ohio newspaper offering $10 to 75 needy families for Christmas in 1933 if people will write to him and explain why they need the money. He had so many replies he decided to help 150 families with $5 each. The author intermingles Sam's life story with the stories of the people who wrote the letters to Sam. The letters were stored in a suitcase which was
I found this book by accident (on the "available now" section of NC digital library), and I'm glad I did. A Secret Gift is a really interesting account of the author's grandfather's hidden past, including his anonymous generosity to his fellow townspeople during the Depression. The grandfather placed an add in the newspaper just a week before Christmas, offering $10 anonymously to those in need who wrote to him explaining their plight. ($10 isn't anything to us, but then it was more than a
It is difficult to read about the hardships that faced the nation in 1933, but it is always good to learn from our history. Ultimately, this book shows many facets of the goodness of humanity. Recommended.
A true account of a benevolent gentleman giving money to 75 needy families during a Christmas of the Great Depression. The author is the grandson of this "secret Santa" and in discovering the suitcase containing the ad his grandfather placed in the newspaper as well as the replies he also uncovers his hidden family history. I've not read much of this era and found the accounts of the people who replied both uplifting and admirable. They had so much pride in their work and keeping the family
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