Chesapeake Boyhood: Memoirs of a Farm Boy

This book is a warm, personal look at a time and places on the Bay that are forever lost to most of us. It is such a pleasure to meet characters and hear about practices and community living of a by-gone era. I'm biased--I love the Bay. And while this book satisfies my interest in learning more about life on the Chesapeake, it's also a wonderful tale of an American boy's life in a rich and beautiful setting. It's a great bedside book.

Loved the book, couldn't wait for the next chapter. Easy to read. Turner has another book East of the Chesapeake and it is a must also. After you read the first one it's nice to check out his museum. In his books he has such an interest in people, he finds something interesting in anyone he seems to meet. Very enjoyable writer.

Dr. Turner writes with dry wit and intimate understanding of the beauty, complexity, and mystery of the Eastern Shore of VA.

With the recent purchase of a 1926 farmhouse on Hoopers Island on Maryland's Eastern Shore, I wanted to learn more about life on the Bay. My family and I hoped this book would shed light on perhaps a gentler time, with a return to "the basics." William Turner has written a wonderful account of his life growing up on the Chesapeake Bay in the 40's and '50s. The stories are entertaining, with laughs, as well as gasps, as well as tears. My sons, ages 10 and 6, beg me to retell his stories on our drives to our new Eastern Shore retreat home. From bear sightings to pig butchering to duck hunting adventures to sinking boats in the dead of winter, William Turner paints vivid images in our minds of life on the Chesapeake Bay during a time of neighborly help and family closeness. He is an artist, and shares his sketches in this book as well, which further brings home the true meaning of his stories. This is a treasure!