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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less by Terry Ryan (2002, Trade Paperback)

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You are purchasing a Good copy of 'The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less'. Condition Notes: Pages and cover are intact. Used book in good and clean conditions.

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Product Information

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. Stepping back into a time when fledgling advertising agencies were active partners with consumers, and everyday people saw possibility in every coupon, Terry Ryan tells how her mother kept the family afloat by writing jingles and contest entries. Mom's winning ways defied the Church, her alcoholic husband, and antiquated views of housewives. To her, flouting convention was a small price to pay when it came to securing a happy home for her six sons and four daughters. Evelyn, who would surely be a Madison Avenue executive if she were working today, composed her jingles not in the boardroom, but at the ironing board. By entering contests wherever she found them--TV, radio, newspapers, direct-mail ads--Evelyn Ryan was able to win every appliance her family ever owned, not to mention cars, television sets, bicycles, watches, a jukebox, and even trips to New York, Dallas, and Switzerland. But it wasn't just the winning that was miraculous; 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 in its national contest--and had won enough to pay the bank. Graced with a rare appreciation for life's inherent hilarity, Evelyn turned every financial challenge into an opportunity for fun and profit. From her frenetic supermarket shopping spree--worth $3,000 today--to her clever entries worthy of Erma Bombeck, Dorothy Parker, and Ogden Nash, the story of this irrepressible woman whose talents reached far beyond her formidable verbal skills is told in The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio with an infectious joy that shows how a winning spirit will triumph over the poverty of circumstance.

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Simon & Schuster
ISBN-10
0743211235
ISBN-13
9780743211239
eBay Product ID (ePID)
2028015

Product Key Features

Book Title
Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or less
Author
Terry Ryan
Format
Trade Paperback
Language
English
Topic
Women, General, Literary, Advertising & Promotion
Publication Year
2002
Genre
Biography & Autobiography, Business & Economics
Number of Pages
352 Pages

Dimensions

Item Length
8.5in
Item Height
1in
Item Width
5.5in
Item Weight
13.1 Oz

Additional Product Features

Lc Classification Number
Ct275.R8964 A3 2001
Reviews
The New YorkerThis plucky middle American chronicle, starring an unsinkable, relentlessly resourceful mother and her Madison Avenue-style magic, succeeds on many levels -- as a tale of family spirit triumphing over penury, as a history of mid-century American consumerism, and as a memoir about a woman who was both ahead of her time and unable to escape it., The New Yorker This plucky middle American chronicle, starring an unsinkable, relentlessly resourceful mother and her Madison Avenue-style magic, succeeds on many levels -- as a tale of family spirit triumphing over penury, as a history of mid-century American consumerism, and as a memoir about a woman who was both ahead of her time and unable to escape it.
Table of Content
Contents Foreword by Suze Orman Part One 1. The Contester 2. Rhyme Does Pay 3. Supermarket Spree Part Two 4. The Sleeping Giant 5. Father of the Year 6. Too Damned Happy 7. Defiance 8. Tickle Hills Part Three 9. Poet Laureate 10. Giant Steps 11. Name That Sandwich Part Four 12. The Affadaisies 13. Round Robin 14. Going, Going, Gone Part Five 15. Hell and High Water 16. Mrs. Etchie 17. Such a Thing as Destiny Part Six 18. Rock Bottom 19. Her Weight in Gold Epilogue: A Truckload of Birds Afterword by Betsy Ryan
Copyright Date
2001
Lccn
2001-018379
Dewey Decimal
977.1/14043/092 B
Intended Audience
Trade
Dewey Edition
21
Illustrated
Yes

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4.6 out of 5 stars based on 5 product ratings

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Most relevant reviews

5 out of 5 stars
by quiltn689707loJun 10, 2013
Book about less complicated times; this is why women should run the world.
This book was purchased for a book club selection. This was a sweet story told from the perspective of a child in a [large]family in the 50s. It was about a time in our country's history when women stayed at home and kept house and took care of her children regardless of the job her husband held. It taught a lesson on how to stay within your means but somehow manage to acquire extra money just when it was needed most. The story served to only endorse my belief that women are the stronger of our species and yet the more underrated. Where a can-do never-say-never spirit pays off.
5 out of 5 stars
by notacloudinthes...Jun 18, 2015
A fun and interesting read that left me wanting to know this family better.
Terry "Tuff" Ryan gently and joyfully shares the life and times of the Ryan family of Defiance Ohio. They were poor, they were many, but they had Mom. And Mom had strength, courage, and a gift. I laughed, I cried, I cheered. I'm honored to have read this lovely story. I bought the book after seeing the movie and wanted to know the details of the story. You know, the book is ALWAYS better than the movie. ;)
3 out of 5 stars
by icelanddottirSep 05, 2010
The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio
Thin slice of small-town 1940’s-1950’s impoverished American family whose matriarch sustains their finances by brilliantly witty jingles and blurbs written for American consumer product competitive contests. (These delectable tidbits appear throughout.) However, the story-line seems incongruously upbeat for such dire family circumstances of alcoholism, and abuse. Between the mother’s preoccupation with contesting and the father’s drinking, the distressing undercurrent of the book remains that the ten children were largely an unsupervised bunch. Enjoyable for the display of the unique talent of “the prizewinner”.
5 out of 5 stars
by car12209May 15, 2019
the Prize winner of Defiance, Ohio
thanks for the quick response
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
5 out of 5 stars
by slea1959Jan 29, 2010
Love It!
I saw the movie and thought I would like to read the book. Haven't started it yet but know I will love it. Would recommend it to everyone.

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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less by Terry Ryan (2002, Trade Paperback)

About this product

Product Information

Product Identifiers

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Additional Product Features

All listings for this product

Ratings and Reviews

Most relevant reviews

Book about less complicated times; this is why women should run the world.

A fun and interesting read that left me wanting to know this family better.

The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio

the Prize winner of Defiance, Ohio

Love It!

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