Gene Howard's Blunt Letters Gene Howard — Growing up in a small town, early in the last century — what was that really like? To Gene Howard, who was born in 1917 in the tiny town of Blunt, South Dakota, those were good times, but hard times, too.

These fascinating letters describe them all: the stolen hours of fishing and fun, the slow summer days for a small boy who ran his uncle's horse-drawn mowing machine from can-see to can't-see, and the enterprise and initiative that built the real west into this wonderful country of ours. You'll gain insight into the fierce privations of the Great Depression, and, best of all, share the warm sense of belonging in a place where everybody really does know your name! (Illustrated with photographs. $4.95)