TUGMAN'S PASSAGE

New York: Random House, 1982. First Edition. First Edition. Hoagland, Edward. TUGMAN'S PASSAGE. New York: Random House Inc, 1982. First Edition. 8vo., Anthology. Collection of 14 essays by master of prose narratives, Edward Hoagland. Subject matters moves from Johnny Appleseed to tugboatmen of New York City and to street life in Cairo; the pains and dilemmas of being male or female, young and old in America; and, the natural history owls, swallows, foxes, toads, and juneberries. $35 - John Updike, called Hoagland "the best essayist of my generation." Edward Abbey called him, "A master of the personal essay." Essays on Cairo street life, New York City tugboatmen, nature, writing, gender roles, travel writing and other topics. "A personal recollection of the author's travels touching on a variety of themes including natural & cultural history. "Hoagland's love of solitude and silent observation of wildlife rather than social conversation may have resulted from a severe stammer that still persists. This stammer has, according to Hoagland himself, influenced how he writes: 'Words are spoken at considerable cost to me, so a great value is placed on each one. That has had some effect on me as a writer. As a child, since I couldn't talk to people, I became close to animals. I became an observer, and in all my books, even the novels, witnessing things is what counts.' His reluctance to speak may account for his desire to write--and be read--and for the sensitive visual, tactile, and olfactory images in his writings." - Dictionary of Literary Biography.