The Boyhood Memoirs of A. E. Hotchner: King of the Hill and Looking for Miracles Volume 1

King of the Hill is A. E. Hotchner s memoir of his impoverished childhood in St. Louis, originally published in 1972. Hotchner s story is one of ingenuity and spirit in the face of economic hardship during the Great Depression. Left to live alone in a rundown hotel while his traveling salesman father is on the road, his mother is hospitalized, and his younger brother is sent to live with relatives, young Hotchner s determination to survive overcomes the challenge of keeping his situation secret.

Looking for Miracles is a sequel to King of the Hill, originally published in 1975. The story takes place in 1936, three years after King of the Hill, when Hotchner bluffs his way into a job as a summer counselor at a camp in the Ozarks. The story is poignant and uplifting, as well as hilariously entertaining.

Bound together for the first time, these two boyhood memoirs of Hotchner s will touch readers with their truth, innocence, and joy. Hotchner s ability to convey times of intense hardship in warm and witty language attests to his stature as one of America s great storytellers.