This Trifling Distinction: Reminiscences from Down East [Paperback]

Unparalleled tall tales and heroes wander freely through this collection of John Gould's "reminiscences" of life in Maine. Here you'll find stories of unlicensed Maine guide Flint Johnson and his group of Yankees and Red Sox ball players, the time L.L. Bean invited the whole town of Freeport to help him choose the best ax, and Gould's grandfather's claim to have fired the shot that started the Battle of Gettysburg.

Gould does not wish his memories to be in any way taken as an autobiography, but rather they are intended to convey just how much fun he has had living and writing in Maine.Born and bred in Maine, John Gould (1908-2003) was well known for his acerbic Yankee wit. Over his life he wrote dozens of books and for an astounding sixty-two years was a regular columnist for the Christian Science Monitor. Despite his literary fame, he would always claim that he was, first, last, and always, a farmer.