Reviews

"Bill Stokes' rollicking memoir of his newspaper days is wonderful reading, overflowing with the famous (Jimmy Carter, Elizabeth Taylor), the infamous (Ed Gein, Pappy Frye) and the wackily colorful - too many to list here. I'm on the record earlier saying Bill was one of the very best newspaper writers ever to type in the Midwest, and I stand by that assessment even while learning here that his own mother once wrote a letter to the editor criticizing his column. Bill's book makes me mourn for the days when, as a friend once put it, poets wrote for newspapers. You'll love his memoir. And I haven't even mentioned the monkeys."-Doug Moe, columnist, author of The World of Mike Royko"Bill Stokes' look-back at his newspaper career is as beautifully written and insightful (and hilarious) as his well-crafted observations of nature over the years. You will never look at the Statue of Liberty quite the same again."-Kathy O'Malley, former Chicago Tribune columnist/ WGN radio host"A true wordsmith with an eye for the unusual and only the truth as documented by a sharp observer!!!!"-Sam Martino, former Milwaukee Journal investigative reporter"The best writer Wisconsin has produced in my lifetime."-Rob Zaleski, former Madison newspaper columnist and author of Beyond the Badge"I'm a sucker for books on the glory days of journalism. Print journalism. Is there really any other kind? The best journalism is really storytelling. And one of the best storytellers in Wisconsin was Bill Stokes. The stories Stokes relates are forever fresh, because real people lived them, and one of them wrote them down."-Rich Eggleston, former Associated Press reporter"This is very good stuff-a wonderful mix of hilarity and seriousness. I especially liked the writing about the Lawtons-people would say where are they now when we need them?"-Harry Peterson, former UW administrator, lobbyist, political advisor"Bill Stokes is still proving that fact is stronger and a lot more fun than fiction. From what really happens in Wonewoc on an August night to the salacious habits of Wisconsin barn cats to interviewing monkeys in Madison trees, Bill has set truth to type in ways that probably are no longer legal."-George Hessellberg, former columnist and author of Dead LinesAs I went about soliciting blurbs from a few surviving friends, it occurred to me that blurbs from those who have passed on would be interesting, imagining of course that they somehow had read Treeson and were agreeable to expressing an opinion of it. It was too much outrageousness to resist: Agnes Stokes, mother: "Billy's book Treeson demonstrates the habit he developed as a little boy of never putting anything away."John Lawton, fishing and hunting friend: "Stokes was not always the clearest thinker and Treeson proves that in spades."Rob Anderson, cousin and childhood pal: "His book Treeson shows that Bill is still falling off his horse, but he gets back on."Bob Shepard, Black Army friend from Chicago: "I once served Bill pig ears as part of introducing him to soul food. Treeson shows that some soul-if not the pig ears-stayed with him."Mrs. Adams, first-grade teacher: "I taught Bill to read, and some of Treeson indicates it was a reasonable thing to do."George Rogers, early co-worker: "Treeson shows Bill's typically good writing and bad spelling."Doc, Springer Spaniel hunting dog: "While dogs can't read, they can chew-and Treeson is not a bad chew. It tastes like trees."