I came across David Stone’s book, The Garden of What Was and Was Not, on a random Amazon.com search one day. I was immediately captured by the title and after reading the product description I decided to contact the author to see if he was willing to send a copy for me to review. Mr. Stone gladly agreed and I had a copy of the book in the mail in just a few weeks. I think what caught my curiosity the most was the subtitle: The Autobiography of X. I immediately considered Malcolm X, but the cover of the book doesn’t indicate that this book might be about him, and indeed it’s far from it. The Garden of What Was and Was Not is actually a fictional autobiography of a man named Peter McCarthy, as if he is telling his life story to the author. It begins in the 60s, but don’t think this is a nostalgic walk down memory lane for a baby boomer reminiscing about the Beatles, Vietnam, Elvis, drugs, peace, and all the hippie culture that today’s generation is left only to read about in the back of their history books.
I have to admit I haven’t always been a fan of history. And even today I find myself more intrigued by the events our history books left out, or the people of our pasts who are just as important but less celebrated. The fabulous fifties were my parent’s era, not mine. But what attracted me to Jim Chambers’ book was actually two things: the cover and the fact that it’s a personal memoir (although Jim says it’s not!) and not just a historical account.
