Reading the essays of Craig Nagel is like enjoying a good, unhurried visit with a good friend, one who is thoughtful, insightful and articulate-the welcome companion who's good to have around and to be around. He's fun. Nagel simply exudes charm and common sense-and he writes so well. (He's a gentle philosopher of the commonplace.) He's also organized. His brief sketches flow so nicely together. Just perusing his preface-well, there's none like it -will convince all thinking readers they're in for a real treat. And they are: he's that good. Dr. Art Lee Prof. of History (ret.) Bemidji State University

Reading the essays of Craig Nagel is like enjoying a good, unhurried visit with a good friend, one who is thoughtful, insightful and articulate-the welcome companion who's good to have around and to be around. He's fun. Nagel simply exudes charm and common sense-and he writes so well. (He's a gentle philosopher of the commonplace.) He's also organized. His brief sketches flow so nicely together. Just perusing his preface-well, there's none like it -will convince all thinking readers they're in for a real treat. And they are: he's that good. Dr. Art Lee Prof. of History (ret.) Bemidji State University

For twenty-five years readers of the Lake Country Echo in north-central Minnesota have enjoyed the biweekly column by Craig Nagel called "The Cracker Barrel." His essays have been photocopied and sent to friends, cut out and taped to the wall, read aloud at group meetings, reprinted in area newsletters and, on occasion, praised or damned in letters to the editor. Nagel's observations of the world around him-sometimes witty, sometimes philosophical, always fresh and unique--have earned him a loyal following. Now, from the hundreds of essays that have appeared through those years in the Echo, he's chosen the best and put them in book form. Join him as he contemplates the mystery of the night sky on a midnight walk at 30 below zero, stares eyeball to eyeball in the chicken coop with an intruding Great Horned Owl, paddles his way through an autumn marsh as he and his wife harvest wild rice, and reflects upon the mystical resurrection of early-spring frogs, who days before were entombed in frozen mud. His insights offer the reader a walk down a road less traveled, to moments filled with peace and quiet wonder. Enjoy the magic of A Place Called Home.