Book Description

When you ́re eighteen you don ́t get tired, you don ́t get cold, nothing terrible will ever happen, and you can do anything with one hand tied behind your back. Say hello to Gail Stuart, the protagonist of With One Hand Tied Behind His Back: The Life and Times of Gail Stuart. He ́s an eighteen year old college freshman falsely accused of stealing a midterm Geology test. Presuming they ́re nabbed, test thieves get an F for the test, possible expulsion, and, if the police are involved, arrest for a high misdemeanor. But what if new information makes the case a felony, which it does, despite the fact that the word evidence seems to have disappeared from the language. Gail is then joined by bribable and buyable administrators, dodging and ducking department heads, a cowardly martinet from the board of regents, and a babble of noble, corrupt, and partly corrupt students, fraternity blokes, instructors, proprietary secretaries, anxious editors, sleazy reporter, attorneys, cops, and local citizens, all either hoping Gail is innocent or that he takes the rap. How he overcomes his dilemma is further convoluted by other avocations and unplanned adventures, a full course schedule, a sorority hasher ́s job, a fraternity membership, a couple of physical altercations, and even his own retail business. With One Hand Tied Behind His Back also presents the Stuart family. Roderick Bruce Stuart II, Gail ́s father is a descendant of Charles II of England. His family has lived in Minneapolis since the 1860s. Gail ́s mother, Charlotte Fairfax Stuart, comes from renegade Swiss mercenaries, degenerate French apaches, and more civilized Virginia farmers. Find out what she does with her life and how it influences her son. Finally, With One Hand Tied Behind His Back presents the Midwest college scene of 1954 where the expanding economy of post World War II and the GI Bill have increased the number of students, including women. One of them, the self assured and competent Rebecca Brickerhaus, will share and adventure or two and fall in love with Gail Stuart. Ah, yes. How could it be otherwise.