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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
by Terry Ryan
ISBN: 0743211227
ISBN-13: 9780743211222
Format: Hardcover
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Summary
The vacations, appliances, and automobiles of the Ryan family were the spoils of Terry Ryan's mother's skill at writing just the right jingle. Twenty-five words or less won bicycles, televisions, a jukebox, and trips to New York and Switzerland for her family. This memoir shares the details of Terry Ryan's childhood, as it draws a moving picture of Evelyn Ryan, a mother who defied her alcoholic husband, her church, and the judgement of other housewives to provide for her family by entering-and winning-dozens of contests. THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO inspired a 2005 film starring Julianne Moore as Evelyn Ryan.
Customer Reviews
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Media Reviews
"An uplifting tale of domestic martyrdom, told with a remarkable lack of self-pity that forces us to put our own sorrows into perspective."
-- Kirkus
"Helped by her siblings' memories as well as her own, Ryan's remarkable, engaging memoir stands as a testimonial to her mother's success in carrying off a prize far greater than cars, washing machines or piles of much-needed money - bringing her children through potentially horrific times with their spirits intact. In its delicate balance of the comic, the tragic and the occasionally insane, THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE OHIO leaves a sense of wistfulness at never having met this woman, and perhaps a fleeting regret at what might have been had she not been stuck in such circumstances - a sentiment Evelyn Ryan herself wouldn't have stood for. She wasn't one for regrets, or for letting other people define her. "
-- San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
"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."
-- New Yorker
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published date: 2001
Size: 5.75 x 8.75 inches
Weight: 1.2 pounds
Pages: 352
Publisher's Notes
A woman describes her mother Evelyn's struggles with poverty in the 1950s as she tries to build a happy home for her ten children, with the help of wit, poetry, and prose during the contest era of the 1950s and 1960s.
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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Terry Ryan
Simon & Schuster. Used - Good. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped daily. Over one million satisfied book lovers read with Experienced Books. 2001. Hardcover. Good condition, showing modest signs of wear. BINDING IS SOFTCOVER; Substantial aging/yellowing of text pages. Price or other sticker on cover. Some rubbing on cover. Cover/spine has minor creases and/or small tears. Cover has some wear on edges. Moderate age spots/foxing on text pages. ( more information) Offered by Experienced Books LLC (United States)
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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Terry Ryan
Simon & Schuster. Used - Good. Ex-library. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped daily. Over one million satisfied book lovers read with Experienced Books. 2001. Hardcover. Good condition, showing modest signs of wear.EX-LIBRARY with typical library markings, attachments and wear. Dust jacket: Acceptable. ( more information) Offered by Experienced Books LLC (United States)
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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Ryan, Terry, and Orman, Suze (Foreword by), and Ryan, Betsy (Afterword by)
Simon & Schuster, 2001. Illustrated. Trade paperback. Very good. No dust jacket. tight clean copy, slight edgewear. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 352 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. ( more information) Offered by teepee (United States)
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13)
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THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Ryan, Terry
New York: Simon & Schuster. Very Good- in Very Good- dust jacket. 2001. Hardcover. ISBN: 0743211227. Used in boards and DJ. A clean reading copy. Moderate bumping to the spine ends and edges. Rubbing and edge creasing to the DJ. ; B/W Photos; 8vo 8" - 9" tall. ( more information) Offered by Ciaokatz Books (United States)
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15)
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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Ryan, Terry
New York, NY, U.S.A.: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Ex-library from a local retirement community, this book has two library stamps on the first page but no other library markings. Both book and dustjacket are slightly rubbed at extremities else but text is clean, binding is straight and jacket is whole and bright and now in acid-free Brodart. Free tracking number within the U.S. . First Printing. Binding is Boards. Near Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. ( more information) Offered by Athena's Book Shop (United States)
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16)
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The Prize Winner Of Defiance, Ohio How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Ryan, Terry
New York: Simon and Schuster. Hardcover. 2001. 1st Edition. 8vo . Fine in Fine DJ. B&W Photographs. DJ price clipped. The story of an 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 . ( more information) Offered by Chris Hartmann, Bookseller (United States)
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17)
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The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Ryan, Terry
New York, NY, U.S.A.: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Cover has rubbing along the bottom edge of spine. Dust jacket has fold crease and some edge wrinkles. Otherwise, this is a clean, tight book.. ISBN: 0 7432 1122 7. 2nd Printing. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. FAMILY UNITED STATES OHIO BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY GENERAL SOCIAL SCIENCE SOCIOLOGY MARRIAGE. ( more information) Offered by Donna Kupp's Books (United States)
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19)
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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Ryan, Terry
Riverside, New Jersey, U.S.A.: Simon & Schuster. Hardcover. 0743211227 This book has a little shelf wear as well as a few marks on the jacket. Stepping back into a time when fledgling Madison Avenue ad agencies were active partners with consumers and everyday people saw possibility in every coupon, Terry Ryan tells the story of her mother, Evelyn, who kept her family afloat writing jingles and contest entries. It is a compelling drama of a woman who defies the church, her husband, and antiquated views of housewives to seize every opportunity to secure a happy home for her ten children. Entering contests on TV, on the radio, in newspapers, and through the mail, Evelyn Ryan won every appliance her family ever owned, not to mention bicycles, watches, a jukebox, cars, even trips to New York, Dallas, and Switzerland. But it wasn't just the winning that was amazing; 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 of their national contest -- and had won enough to pay the bank. From the frenetic supermarket shopping spree to the clever entries that captured the imagination of contest sponsors everywhere, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio is about one woman whose joy for life overshadows both lean times and her husband's alcoholism to raise children who seek out their own winning ways. . Very Good. 2001. Reprint. ( more information) Offered by Cupboard Maker Books (United States)
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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Ryan, Terry; Orman, Suze
Simon & Schuster. New; May have light shelf wear and ink mark (remainder mark) on outer edge. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! 2001. Hardcover. 1.25 x 8.8 x 5.82 Inches; 352 pages; <P> <I>The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio</I> 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. <P> 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. <P> 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. <P> 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 <I>The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio</I> with an infectious joy that shows how a winning spirit will triumph over the poverty of circumstance. . ( more information) Offered by E & A DISCOUNT (United States)
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23)
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The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Ryan, Terry
New York, NY, U.S.A.: Simon & Schuster, 2001. DJ, is clean and colorfully illustrated paper. Cover is red textured paper on boards . Spine is white paper with metalic blue lettering. Cover, Pages and Binding are clean and tight. Forward by Suze Orman.. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 8vo. ( more information) Offered by Top Notch books (United States)
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24)
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The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Ryan, Terry
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. The heart-warming book upon which the 2005 film, starring Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern, was based. Review copy, with press release laid in.. 1st Printing. Hard Cover. Fine/DJ Near Fine. Octavo. ( more information) Offered by Browse Awhile Books (United States)
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27)
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The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less
Ryan, Terry
New York, NY, U.S.A.: Simon & Schuster, 2001. OOP ~ First Edition ~ FINE/NEAR FINE ~ This copy appears unread, and is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting. Dj has very minor shelving wear. THANKS FOR LOOKING . ISBN: 0-7432-1122-7. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. 1.25 x 8.80 x 5.82. FAMILY UNITED STATES OHIO BIOGRAPHY AUTOBIOGRAPHY GENERAL SOCIAL SCIENCE SOCIOLOGY MARRIAGE. ( more information) Offered by O.L.D.BOOKS by O.L.Davidson (United States)
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28)
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The Prize Winner Of Defiance,Ohio:How My Mother Raised 10 Kids On 25 Words Or Less
RYAN, TERRY
New York. 2001. Simon & Schuster. 1st American Edition. Fine In Dustjacket. Foreword By Suze Orman. pages: 351 pages. Cover: Cover by Patricia Holt. keywords: Autobiography America Women Family. ISBN: 0743211227. April 2001. keywords: Autobiography America Women Family. inventory # 28869. ISBN: 0743211227. ( more information) Offered by Zeno's (United States)
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