Coming Home Crazy

Author's Bio:

Though born in the middle of the North American continent, Bill Holm (his last name means "island" in Old Norse) is a devotee of islands as well as an essayist, musician, and poet. His books include Eccentric Islands, The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth, The Dead Get By With Everything, and Box-Elder Bug Variations. When he is not island hopping, he lives in Minneota, Minnesota and teaches at Southwest State University.

Quotes:

"[A] fantastic expedition into the whims, absurdities, smells, tastes and wonders of modern Chinese life. . . . Holm provides a warm, wise and unrelentingly witty guide to surviving China."—San Diego Magazine

"Entertaining, thought-provoking and touching. After reading his book, you won't look at the United States or China the same way."—Philadelphia Inquirer

"I love it. It is the best book on China I have read for a long time."—Nien Cheng, author of Life and Death in Shanghai

"The warmth, courage and enduring spirit of the Chinese people permeate the pages of Coming Home Crazy."—Charleston News and Courier/Evening Post

"Holm provides a warm, wise and unrelentingly witty guide to surviving China.”—San Diego Magazine 

Teachers' Comments:

"Holm’s sensitive, humorous, irreverent and perceptive view of Chinese life and his equally critical, irreverent and sharp perception of American culture in light of his Chinese experience suits my course well."—Po-shek Fu, Colgate University, New York

"Clear vibrant writing or personal reflection on experience in a society whose culture is so very different from America."—Melvyn Hammarberg, University of Pennsylvania

"My students seemed to have learned more about themselves and their culture even though the subject of the book is about China."—Xian Liu, Drury College, Missouri

"Accessible to my students, while showing them what really good writing is."—Marjory Kinney, Bowling Green State University, Ohio

"It shows the students that anything (a Swiss army knife) is material for writing. . . . It’s rich. It excites students. It’s local. It shows them themselves from another perspective."—Beth Weatherby, Southwest State University, Minnesota