From Publishers Weekly
A 101-year-old retired laborer who enrolled in a literacy class near his Dallas, Tex., home at the age of 98, George Dawson now reads and writes on a third-grade level. From Dawson's eloquent words, co-writer Glaubman, a Seattle elementary school teacher, has fashioned two engrossing stories. First is the inspiring saga of how someone who was the grandson of a slave managed to navigate the brutally segregated small Texas town of Marshall, where Dawson was born, without losing his integrity or enjoyment of life. Although he worked from an early age and was never able to attend school, Dawson credits his strong family, especially his father, for giving him the skills to survive. His father told him to work hard, to do no wrong and always to avoid trouble with white people--advice that was brutally underscored the day he and his father witnessed a white mob lynching a black neighbor. The other theme running through these recollections is the institutionalized racism of the American South. Hardened to the entrenched discrimination that excluded him from good jobs and "white" restaurants and rest rooms, Dawson protested just once, when a woman for whom he was doing yard work expected him to eat with her dogs. Despite the harsh conditions of his life, he considers himself fortunate to have enjoyed food, housing, friends and family (he has outlived four wives and fathered seven children). This is an astonishing and unforgettable memoir. Agent, Harriet Wasserman. (Feb.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Dawson, a black manual laborer who learned to read at age 98, has written a memoir that stands apart from other end-of-the-century texts and from the history generally recorded in textbooks--but is essential to an accurate understanding of this century. The product of a collaboration between Dawson and high school history teacher Glaubman, the book juxtaposes significant events of the century with Dawson's personal experiences. Although he endured hardship, Dawson's positive philosophy sustained him to a ripe old age. Written in a simple, conversational style, this volume will be valuable for general readers and in college classes. A welcome addition to any academic or public library.---Theresa McDevitt, Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


USA Today
Dawson has become a literary hero, a testament to the power of perseverance.


From Kirkus Reviews
The memoir of George Dawson, who learned to read when he was 98, places his life in the context of the entire 20th century in this inspiring, yet ultimately blighted, biography. Dawson begins his story with an emotional bang: his account of witnessing the lynching of a young African-American man falsely accused of rape. America's racial caste system and his illiteracy emerge as the two biggest obstacles in Dawson's life, but a full view of the man overcoming the obstacles remains oddly hidden. Travels to Ohio, Canada, and Mexico reveal little beyond Dawson's restlessness, since nothing much happens to him during these wanderings. Similarly, the diverse activities he finds himself engaging inbootlegging in St. Louis, breaking horses, attending cockfightsnever really advance the reader's understanding of the man. He calls himself a ``ladies' man'' and hints at a score of exciting stories, but then describes only his decorous marriage. Despite the personal nature of this memoir, Dawson remains a strangely aloof figure, never quite inviting the reader to enter his world. In contrast to Dawson's diffidence, however, Glaubman's overbearing presence, as he repeatedly parades himself out to converse with Dawson, stifles any momentum the memoir might develop. Almost every chapter begins with Glaubman presenting Dawson with a newspaper clipping or historical fact and asking him to comment on it, despite the fact that Dawson often does not remember or never knew about the event in question. Exasperated readers may wonder whether Dawson's life and his accomplishments, his passion for learning despite daunting obstacles, is the tale at hand, or whether the real issue is his recollections of Archduke Ferdinand. Dawson's achievements are impressive and potentially exalting, but the gee-whiz nature of the tale degrades it to the status of yet another bowl of chicken soup for the soul, with a narrative frame as clunky as an old bone. -- Copyright ©2000, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


The Christian Science Monitor
A remarkable autobiography....The feel-good story of the year.


Review

"        I tell people not to worry about things, not to worry about their lives. Things will be all right. People need to hear that. Life is good, just as it is. There isn't anything I would change about my life."

"        For almost four years, I had gotten used to being alone. It didn't bother me none. Back at our farm I was most often the first one up. There was lots of chores to do, but sometimes, shutting the door quietly, I would lean against the logs and look at the sky and take a few moments for myself. Inside, the cabin had the comfortable feel of people. Outside, it was empty and lonely and I had grown to like that too. I liked to look at the stars on the still and quiet mornings and listen for the howl of the coyotes."

"        I had never seen a car before and that model T was beautiful. It was polished black with a shiny brass radiator cap. The top could come down, of course, and it was something to see. It worked in town, but wasn't too practical. We didn't get a lot of rain, but when the rain came down it was often a downpour. Our roads turned to mud, and the autos just couldn't make it. After a good rain, I saw cars being towed by a mule or a team of horses. Most people agreed as to how those cars were close to useless, but I still liked them anyway."



Book Description
In this remarkable book, 103-year-old George Dawson, a slave's grandson who learned to read at age 98, reflects on his life and offers valuable lessons in living as well as a fresh, firsthand view of America during the twentieth century. Richard Glaubman captures Dawson's irresistible voice and view of the world, offering insights into humanity, history, hardships, and happiness. From segregation and civil rights, to the wars, presidents, and defining moments in history, George Dawson's description and assessment of the last century inspires readers with the message that-through it all-has sustained him: "Life is so good. I do believe it's getting better."


Download Description
George Dawson was born the grandson of a slave in Marshall, Texas, on January 18, 1898. His four brothers and sisters attended a school for black children, but George, the oldest, had to go to work to help the family make ends meet. He was just eight years old when he first left home to live at and work as a farm hand on a white family's farm. But from his warm and loving parents Dawson inherited a positive life philosophy, based on focusing on how much they had rather than how little, and on wise observance of others, and common sense.Richard Glaubman captures Dawson's personality, philosophy, voice and amazing life story, from his early years in Marshall -- his jobs as farmhand and sawmill worker, to his attraction to a white girl which he handled to protect them both, to his departure at 21, when he said goodbye to his family, and hopped a train to find his way in Memphis. Throughout this story, "Life Is So Good" captures Dawson's techniques for survival, and the history of the nation, as seen through Dawson's eyes -- segregation and race relations in the South, the First World War, the invention of the automobile and the airplane, the desegregation of baseball, and more.Dawson worked many jobs in his 101 years, including laying railroad ties. He was married twice, widowed twice, and raised seven children. At 98, long after he retired, a local teacher offered to teach him to read, and he realized he was tired of making an "X" for his signature, he wanted to be able to read the Bible and the newspaper. After learning his alphabet in half a day, Dawson has learned to read, print and write.Throughout his story, Dawson repeats the message that has sustained a happy life, thathis father passed on to him at an early age: "life is good. I do believe it's getting better." So good, also, are his ways of being and being happy, his wisdom and knowledge about survival, joy, people, and life.

FROM OUR EDITORS

George Dawson, a slave's grandson, had lived a full and productive life, but something was missing. Then he defined the problem and determined its solution: At the age of 98, he learned how to read. An unforgettable autobiography.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

What makes a happy person, a happy life? In this remarkable book, George Dawson, a 101-year-old man who learned to read when he was 98, reflects on the philosophy he learned from his father--a belief that "life is so good"--as he offers valuable lessons in living and a fresh, firsthand view of America during the twentieth century.

Born in 1898 in Marshall, Texas, the grandson of slaves, George Dawson tells how his father, despite hardships, always believed in seeing the richness in life and trained his children to do the same. As a boy,George had to go to work to help support the family, and so he did not attend school or learn to read; yet he describes how he learned to read theworld and survive in it. "We make our own way," he says. "Trouble is out there, but a person can leave it alone and just do the right thing. Then, if double
still finds you, you've done the best you can."At ninety-eight, George decided
to learn to read and enrolled in a literacyprogram, becoming a celebrated
student. "Every morning I get up and Iwonder what I might learn that day.
You just never know."

In Life Is So Good , he shares wisdom on everything from parenting
("With children, you got to raise them. Some parents these days are
growing children, not raising them") to attitude ("People worry too much.
Life is good, just the way it is").

FROM THE CRITICS

USA Today

Dawson has become a literary hero, a testament to the power of perseverance.

Christian Science Monitor

A remarkable autobiography....The feel-good story of the year.

Publishers Weekly

A 101-year-old retired laborer who enrolled in a literacy class near his Dallas, Tex., home at the age of 98, George Dawson now reads and writes on a third-grade level. From Dawson's eloquent words, co-writer Glaubman, a Seattle elementary school teacher, has fashioned two engrossing stories. First is the inspiring saga of how someone who was the grandson of a slave managed to navigate the brutally segregated small Texas town of Marshall, where Dawson was born, without losing his integrity or enjoyment of life. Although he worked from an early age and was never able to attend school, Dawson credits his strong family, especially his father, for giving him the skills to survive. His father told him to work hard, to do no wrong and always to avoid trouble with white people--advice that was brutally underscored the day he and his father witnessed a white mob lynching a black neighbor. The other theme running through these recollections is the institutionalized racism of the American South. Hardened to the entrenched discrimination that excluded him from good jobs and "white" restaurants and rest rooms, Dawson protested just once, when a woman for whom he was doing yard work expected him to eat with her dogs. Despite the harsh conditions of his life, he considers himself fortunate to have enjoyed food, housing, friends and family (he has outlived four wives and fathered seven children). This is an astonishing and unforgettable memoir. Agent, Harriet Wasserman. (Feb.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal