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Description

Nearly a decade ago Frank McCourt became an unlikely star when, at the age of 66, he burst onto the literary scene with "Angela's Ashes, " the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir of his childhood in Limerick, Ireland. Then came '"Tis, " his glorious account of his early years in New York.

Now here at last, is McCourt's long-awaited audiobook about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. "Teacher Man" is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises he faces in public high schools around New York City.

"Teacher Man" shows McCourt developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as he works to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally-charged or indifferent adolescents. McCourt's rocky marriage, his failed attempt to get a Ph.D. at Trinity College, Dublin, and his repeated firings due to his propensity to talk back to his superiors ironically lead him to New York's most prestigious school, Stuyvesant High School, where he finally finds a place and a voice.

For McCourt, storytelling itself is the source of salvation and in "Teacher Man" the journey to redemption -- and literary fame -- is an exhilarating adventure.

About the Author

Frank McCourt was born in 1930 in Brooklyn, New York, to Irish immigrant parents, grew up in Limerick, Ireland, and returned to America in 1949. For thirty years he taught in New York City high schools. His first book, Angela's Ashes, won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the L.A. Times Book Award. In 2006, he won the prestigious Ellis Island Family Heritage Award for Exemplary Service in the Field of the Arts and the United Federation of Teachers John Dewey Award for Excellence in Education. He lives with his wife, Ellen, in New York and Connecticut.