Book Description
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio introduces Evelyn Ryan, an enterprising woman who kept poverty at bay with wit, poetry, and perfect prose during the "contest era" of the 1950s and 1960s. Standing up to the church, her alcoholic husband, and antiquated ideas about women, Evelyn turned every financial challenge into an opportunity for innovation, all the while raising her six sons and four daughters with the belief that miracles are an everyday occurrence. The inspiration for a major motion picture, Evelyn Ryan's story is told by her daughter Terry with an infectious joy that shows how a winning spirit and sense of humor can triumph over adversity every time.
Download Description
Stepping back into a time when fledgling Madison Avenue ad agencies were active partners with consumers and everyday people saw possibility in every coupon, Terry Ryan tells the story of her mother, Evelyn, who kept her family afloat writing jingles and contest entries. It is a compelling drama of a woman who defies the church, her husband, and antiquated views of housewives to seize every opportunity to secure a happy home for her ten children. Entering contests on TV, on the radio, in newspapers, and through the mail, Evelyn Ryan won every appliance her family ever owned, not to mention bicycles, watches, a jukebox, cars, even trips to New York, Dallas, and Switzerland. But it wasn't just the winning that was amazing; it was the timing. If a toaster died, one was sure to arrive in the mail from a forgotten contest. Days after the bank called in the second mortgage on the house, a call came from the Dr. Pepper company: Evelyn was the grand prize winner of their national contest -- and had won enough to pay the bank. From the frenetic supermarket shopping spree to the clever entries that captured the imagination of contest sponsors everywhere, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio is about one woman whose joy for life overshadows both lean times and her husband's alcoholism to raise children who seek out their own winning ways.
Customer Reviews:
Great Read.......2007-08-28
Well written true account about a family of 12. Mother is creative in her ways to keep the family feed and happy. Do not pass up this book for a great read.
An incredible family.......2007-06-04
This is a story that just shines with hope for the underdog. What a resourceful mom to keep her family afloat while her husband's alcoholic self destruction rages on. A highly intelligent and witty woman, Terry Ryan's mom is an everyday hero! This a very funny, funny book!
The Truth about Alcoholism.......2007-04-28
A great movie, based on a true story. All comments aside regarding the acting (although I thought Moore and Harrelson were at their best) I saw it as a sad portrayal about the effects of alcoholism - I would highly recommend it as an "eye opener" for young people who are dealing with drug and alcoholism issues. It is pretty clear about the life-long ill effects of one's choices. It reminded me of the book, "The Glass Castle", by Jeannette Walls.
To Be Chewed and Digested.......2007-04-24
I heard random references to this movie a while back, and I've seen the DVD on the shelves at Blockbuster. The cover of the movie makes it look like some kind of "Yours, Mine, and Ours" farce (not the older version, which is still solid gold, but the lame, slickened-up, modern version of a story that didn't need modernizing) so I've purposely avoided renting it. But while looking through the nonfiction section at the library recently, I saw it in the biographies: The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less. I was intrigued - not just because I didn't know the movie was based on a biography, but also because I hadn't heard the subtitle before. What do you mean "25 Words or Less?," the writer in me wondered (I was less interested in the 10 kids part). I grabbed the book and entered the world of 1950's and 60's midwestern America. The world of the "contest era." The world of the poor, put-upon, persistant Ryan family.
Contests today are, by and large, contests of luck. You pull the instant win cap off your Sprite. You get Park Place on the McDonald's Monopoloy Board. You're the 3rd caller in to the radio station. In the 1950's and 60's, though, major corporations sponsored contests with *huge* payoffs, the bounty going to entries written (typically) with 25 words or less. Jingles, limericks, you name it. Dial soap, Jello, Burma Shave. And many, many others. Send in proof of purchase with your cleverly written entries, and you might win big. Evelyn Ryan sure did. LOTS of times!
Evelyn Ryan always had a knack for writing, and enjoyed a short career writing the op-ed column at her step-grandmother's newspaper when she was a young woman. But then came marriage - to a hard-drinking, hard-working Irish Catholic man named Kelly - and one by one, ten active children. A career in journalism was out of the question, but Evelyn kept her writer's fire alive by filling mountainous piles of notebooks with quick poems and anecdotes, many of which she sold to area newspapers. She also spent countless hours at the ironing board, combining her everyday household chore with the inspiration to write catchy jingles for major contests. For Lucky Strike cigarettes:
Send me laundry, send me dough
Send me Luckies to send my beau
I'm true to him, he's true to me
And we're true to Luckies, eternally.
She won $25 for that entry, money crucial to the care of such a large family, and with a father that typically drank the better part of his weekly paychecks.
Terry Ryan, one of Evelyn and Kelly's daughters and the author of this biography, includes many of the little jingles that won her mother some big and not-so-big prizes. She tells of a housefull of won appliances, the trip to New York for her mother and brother after a particularly large win, the Christmas her mother bestowed the kids with won presents she had been stashing in her closet all year long. Terry writes of some close calls - medically, financially, domestically. Her writing is so totally engaging that you laugh and cry and feel every little emotion just like you would if you were just one more child in that brood of Ryan kids. You want to cheer when they cheer for another prize win, you want to yell and scream when their father loses his judgement to the beer (again), you feel the anxiety of waiting every day for the postman - Pokey - as they wait to hear from the bank (on the foreclosure) or the brand (for the contest win that just might save the day).
It's not all serious, though. There are many moments of clear gaiety. Like when they learn their cat can open doors (by turning the KNOB!). Or when that same cat adopts an orphaned chick as a member of her newest litter. The frequency with which Evelyn forgets she has hidden food in the dryer (and fuses cake donuts, bananas, you name it, into the fibers of the clothes!). Or Evelyn's method for mending her girdle, keeping the oven door on, fixing the melted gears in the family car. I laughed loud and long at the story of their garbage disposal - a tempermental beast that only worked on occasion. They kept it switched "on," and whenever they heard the trap start to churn - day or night, tragedy or no - all the kids would clamor into the kitchen and start feeding the piles of trash into the sink. There are also moments of pride, like when two of the Ryan boys are selected to play minor league baseball, or when some of the other kids get scholarships for school.
Almost all of Evelyn's writing came from the ready-made material all around her - her family. As a result, many of her poems portray the wonders and worries of family life, and I really identified with them. For instance:
Lawn Time No See
When I survey
my barren plot...
Long stamping ground
For tyke and tot...
I must conclude
It's clear (alas!)
One cannot grow
Both kids and grass!
I also love this one she wrote about her boys, whom she helped as often as she could with their progress and success in sports:
Fielder's Choice
There are moms who can cook,
And moms who can sew,
And moms who will come
When they're beckoned;
But give me that pearl
Of a mom-type girl...
A mom who can slide
Into second.
And finally, letting her guard down just a little to vent:
Complaint
Forgive me if I mutter, Lord,
Against my bitter cup;
But why can't bread `n' butter
Ever land with the butter up?
These types of poems often earned her anywhere from $1-$25, but it was the corporate contests that really kept this family afloat. The whole affair was a business to Evelyn, as it was to many (many!) people in those days. There were 4 unofficial "rules" to any entry, above and beyond filling out the necessary forms and making sure to include the proofs of purchase. All entries needed to be written thus:
1. Make your statement.
2. Use a conjunction like "yet," "while," or "so."
3. Use a series of three nouns ("the mystic three").
4. Include an unusual word or turn of phrase (called a "Red Mitten"), preferably at the end.
There were societies formed for the improvement of a contester's skills or for the socialization of people hooked on this lucrative hobby. Evelyn herself joined a charming group of women called the Affidaisies (a play on the word "affadavit," documents necessary for winners to claim big prizes). In the book, Terry begins to see her mother as a person as she learns what contesting means to her. It's the fulfillment of a dream, really, that makes Evelyn so passionate about what she does. It may not be the writing career she envisioned, but in a way, the contesting life allows Evelyn to be outspoken, independent, and keep her mind engaged on more than just cleaning up after 10 children.
I found this book to be funny, inspiring, sometimes sad, but altogether uplifting. Terry dedicated the book to her late mother, but also "the little bit of Evelyn in all of us". I'd like to think there IS a little bit of Evelyn Ryan in me. I'd like to think that I could have the same passion for my family and for writing that she lived every day. I'd like to think that I have the wits about me to survive just about anything. I'd also like to think that I have some of the faith she showed in getting through some very rough times. I'll leave you with one last poem, something Evelyn wrote in her final days and that Terry read aloud to her siblings as they were gathered around Evelyn's deathbed. It gives an idea of just what may have fueled this amazing woman through more than 80 years of an incredible life:
Every time I pass the church
I stop and make a visit
So when I'm carried in feet first
God won't say, "Who is it?"
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio.......2007-03-11
An absolutely wonderful story, well written and hard to put down. I've shared this with family and friends who all enjoyed it immensely.
Product Description
Evelyn Ryan, wife of an alcoholic husband and mother of ten children, lived in a small town in a time and place when women did not seek "jobs." When finances ran low, feeling desperate, she turned to her parish priest who suggested she "take in laundry." Ryan had to laugh at the advice because she could barely keep up with her own family's washing and ironing. A lesser woman might have succumbed to poverty, but she was determined to keep her family financially afloat and to teach her children that the life of the mind was important. In the early 1950s, Ryan started entering contests, composing her jingles, poems, and essays at the ironing board. She won household appliances, bikes, watches, clocks, and, occasionally, cash. She won a freezer, and several weeks later, she won a supermarket shopping-spree. When the family was faced with eviction, she received a $5000 first place check from the regional Western Auto Store. Ryan's unconventionality and sense of humor triumphed over poverty, and her persistence makes the reader cheer her on.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book and Movie.......2007-03-21
This was a great book. I love true stories and this was very interesting. It had a little drama and laughs and many uplifting moments. What an amazing woman and story. (The movie was almost as good as the book, worth checking out).
A Prize Winning Story.......2006-10-17
I've read this book, I own a copy. Aside from being an excellent memoir of life in the smalltown Midwest of the 50's and 60's, it also gives memorable views of other things, large families, the experience of living with an alcoholic, contesting, but more than anything, it speaks to being able to find success in a life that seems hopeless. Evelyn Ryan was a winner because she decided she would be one and she passed that on to her children. It is hard to read of the struggles and the abuse the father inflicted on his family, but it is joyous to read of the triumph of the human spirit in such conditions.
A moving and entertaining memoir with depth.......2006-04-26
This is one of the best family memoirs I've ever read. I laughed, cried and cheered this woman of courage, wit and faith. Why watch a C+ movie? Read the A+ book for the real Evelyn who was so much deeper than just a chipper housewife with a knack for winning contests.
A great story about a great woman.......2004-10-03
I loved this book, and am sure I will enjoy reading it again at some point in the future. Evelyn Ryan had 10 children and an alcoholic husband, who managed to drink away a significant proportion of his earnings, leaving her barely able to feed her family, never mind provide for other costs (unforeseen and known). One of the most inspirational aspects of this book is Evelyn's attitude - she doesn't appear to have wasted much time feeling sorry for herself or ranting and raving at her weak husband, rather she just gets on with finding a way to remove barriers and to do the best by her family. As the title suggests, a significant proportion of the family's income comes from Evelyn's skill and success in entering (and winning) competitions - from cars and large cash prizes, to appliances and suitable Christmas gifts, she wins them all. Her daughter obviously inherited her talent with words, for she has written this account of growing up (poor but essentially happy) in a large family in 1950s and 1960s small town America in a way which has you completely hooked - from the little humorous events which make you laugh out loud, to the heart-warming moments which almost bring tears to your eyes - a great story about a great woman.
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The Winter War: The Russo-Finnish War of 1939-40
William R. Trotter
Manufacturer: Aurum Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Finland
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ASIN: 1854108816 |
Book Description
The governance of natural resources used by many individuals in common is an issue of increasing concern to policy analysts. Both state control and privatization of resources have been advocated, but neither the state nor the market have been uniformly successful in solving common pool resource problems. After critiquing the foundations of policy analysis as applied to natural resources, Elinor Ostrom here provides a unique body of empirical data to explore conditions under which common pool resource problems have been satisfactorily or unsatisfactorily solved. Dr. Ostrom first describes three models most frequently used as the foundation for recommending state or market solutions. She then outlines theoretical and empirical alternatives to these models in order to illustrate the diversity of possible solutions. In the following chapters she uses institutional analysis to examine different ways--both successful and unsuccessful--of governing the commons. In contrast to the proposition of the tragedy of the commons argument, common pool problems sometimes are solved by voluntary organizations rather than by a coercive state. Among the cases considered are communal tenure in meadows and forests, irrigation communities and other water rights, and fisheries.
Customer Reviews:
Addressing the Collective Action Problem.......2007-08-02
Ostrom attempts to refute the belief that only through state and or market-centered controls can commonly pooled resources (CPRs) be effectively governed. Ostrom writes, "Communities of individuals have relied on institutions resembling neither the state nor the market to govern some resource systems with reasonable degrees of success over long periods of time" (p. 1). Governing the Commons sets out to discover why some groups are able to effectively govern and manage CPRs and other groups fail. She tries to identify both the internal and external factors "that can impede or enhance the capabilities of individuals to use and govern CPRs."
The first section of the book examines both state-controlled and privatization property rights regimes, and illustrates failures in both regimes; namely, that central authorities often fail to have complete accuracy of information, have only limited monitoring capabilities, and possess a weak sanctioning reliability. As such, a centralized governing body may actually govern the commons inaccurately and make a bad situation worse. In the case of privatized property rights regimes, Ostrom illustrates two main points: 1) it assumes that property is homogenous and any division of property will be equitable; and 2) privatization will not work with non-stationary property (fisheries, for example).
After discussing the state-controlled and privatization property rights regimes, Ostrom attempts examine the causes of successful CPR governance, and the catalysts which lead to failure. Being part of the "new institutionalist" school, Ostrom seeks to examine the rules, structures, and frameworks within the various CPR governance structures. Ostrom has discovered a number of "design principles" within the successful CPR governance cases. These principles include: 1) a clear definition of boundaries, 2) monitors who either are appropriators of the resource or accountable to the appropriators, 3) graduated sanctions, 4) mechanisms controlled by the appropriators used to mediate conflict and when necessary, change the rules, 5) a congruence between the rules used and the local conditions.
In other words, Ostrom suggests that these "design principles," form a cooperative institutional structure. If the correct institutions are in place, the players will see cooperation as the best means to gain optimal outcomes. These mechanisms create a confidence between players that defections will be minimal, and those that do defect will be sanctioned accordingly. Additionally, the institutional structures create an environment in which resources are distributed in such a way that all (or at least most) players benefit. As such, many of these institutional structures must be accompanied by a good deal of trust between players. This can only be developed over time and is most likely to succeed when the number of players in the CPR is reasonably small.
One of the most important works in the social science literature published in the last 100 years.......2006-12-30
"Governing the Commons" has become a classic, not only within the literature of political science, but more broadly throughout the social sciences. In the book, Elinor Ostrom argues brilliantly and compelling for a third way of avoiding Garrett Hardin's "tragedy of the commons," in addition to privatization (conversion of the commons to private property) or government regulation (conversion of the commons to public property). Though numerous examples, Ostrom demonstrates how users of common property resources have managed, in various places around the world, to sustainably manage those resources through local, self-regulation. In other words, common property regimes can avoid the "tragedy of the commons."
Ostrom recognizes that common property management regimes do not always work. Indeed, the seem to fail as often as they succeed. To explain why this is the case, and to help predict the likelihood of success or failure, Ostrom develops an elaborate and very useful model of common property success/failure. In the 15 years since she published "Governing the Commons," that model has not been significantly improved by other scholars. Her book remains as current and important today, as it was when she first published it in 1990. It is required reading for all social scientists, indeed anyone, interested in resource conservation and property systems.
conventional theory applied to odd cases.......2002-05-22
Ostroms' book covers a variety of cases where allocational difficulties arise. She employs sound economic reasoning in analyzing a number of cases where ordinary property rights enforcment is difficult. This book illustrates how vital institutional arrangements are in managing natural resources. Self-described environmentalists should read this book to see how many of the problems that concern them can actually get solved. The history in this book is made interesting through the application of economic concepts. This is not light reading, but it surely is interesting- for serious readers.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Southern Economic Journal, published by Southern Economic Association on July 1, 1993. The length of the article is 826 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. (book reviews)
Author: Gordon L. Brady
Publication:
Southern Economic Journal (Refereed)
Date: July 1, 1993
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Volume: v60
Issue: n1
Page: p249(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
The quintessential A-Z guide, this is a book that anyone interested in birds will want to have close at hand. First published more than twenty years ago, this highly respected reference volume has been fully revised and updated. It captures the fundamental details as well as the immense fascination of North American bird life in a style that is authoritative, yet fresh, witty, and eminently readable.
Both a practical handbook for amateurs and a handy reference for seasoned birders, it provides accounts of the basic elements of birdlife, as well as a wealth of easy-to-access information on such subjects as bird physiology and anatomy, terms and jargon, name definitions and etymology, and ornithological groupings.
Readers will discover everything from the color of a dipper's eggs (glossy, white, and unmarked) to the number of species of woodpeckers in the world (216). They will also find more than one hundred of the best-known and most colorful colloquial names for birds, alphabetized and briefly defined. Collective nouns relating to birdlife--for example, "an exaltation of larks"--are included in the "Nouns of Assemblage" section. Biographical sketches of persons responsible for describing or naming a significant number of North American species are also included, as well as handsome and accurate illustrations by Gordon Morrison. And for those who want to go beyond reading about their favorite birds and take to the great outdoors, the book offers still more useful information: descriptive entries on a selection of the best-known birdwatching spots of North America.
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Bad Birdwatcher's Companion
Manufacturer: Naxos of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
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ASIN: 9626344466
Release Date: 2007-05-22 |
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- Anything you want to know about birds
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The Birdwatcher's Companion
Christopher Leahy
Manufacturer: Wings
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Birdwatching
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ASIN: 0517189089
Release Date: 1998-03-10 |
Customer Reviews:
Anything you want to know about birds.......2001-11-13
If you're interested in a subject, there are times that particular concepts or words come up that you simply don't understand. What is "fossorial"? What is "scansorial"? How do baby birds get out of their shells? What is migration all about?
While the internet is a great resource, it doesn't always have what you're looking for, and the information can be quite wrong depending on the source. That's where an encyclopedia like this comes in handy.
Yes, it's pretty hefty at over 900 pages. It's a solid tome for your bookshelf. But there are times that it comes in SO handy while reading your latest birding magazine, or when someone asks you a question you simply don't know the answer to.
If you can track this down, it's well worth having!
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The Birdwatcher's Companion
Barry Kent MacKay
Manufacturer: Key Porter Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Nature & Ecology
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ASIN: 1550134671 |
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The Birdwatcher's Companion
Janann V. Jenner
Manufacturer: Smithmark Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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| Birdwatching
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ASIN: 0831708794 |
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Birdwatcher's Companion (Pocket Companion)
Ronnie Sellers Productions
Manufacturer: Sellers Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Birds
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Reference
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Birds
| Animal Care & Pets
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ASIN: 1569063516 |
Book Description
This pocket-sized hardcover journal is designed for bird enthusiast. It has 180 lined pages divided by 6 colorful, subject-specific tabs; Sightings, Observations, Events, Behavior, Field Guides and Rresources. Each companion also features a nameplate and clear, zippered pocket for easy storage of notes and sundries.
Books:
- The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (P.S.)
- The Reluctant Tuscan: How I Discovered My Inner Italian
- The Story of the Trapp Family Singers
- The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
- The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
- Theodore Rex (Modern Library Paperbacks)
- Thinking In Pictures: and Other Reports from My Life with Autism
- This Boy's Life: A Memoir
- Three Weeks with My Brother
- Through Our Enemies' Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America, Revised Edition
Books Index
Books Home
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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana (Today Show Book Club #3)
The Lemon Jelly Cake (Prairie State Books)
Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family
These is My Words
