Cloud of Expectation

About the Book

Cloud of Expectation: American classic in the making Summer, baseball, and Ricky Nelson . . . the fi rst stirrings of rock ‘n’ roll on the radio . . . bicycles, soda pop, and puberty on the way . . . kids suspended between the Farm World, the Town World, and the Great World. There’ll be no more books like this because times, as they say, have changed. Take it as a gift from way-back-then to now; or a critic might call it the Last Train from Mayberry. “An accomplished, lyrical vision of a locality over several generations.” --- Kirkus Reviews “I so enjoyed your fi rst book --- I couldn’t put it down!” --- Gertrude Barnstone “Rich with personal and historical detail and sparkling with clear and concise diction, the book succeeds in revealing the bygone, small-town life not only of Arkansas but also . . . of an earlier and simpler America as well.” --- Larry D. Thomas 2008 Texas Poet Laureate

About the Author

Mike Westphal is a carpenter, and a bar owner somewhere in Texas. He’s seen fire, and he’s seen rain.