A Yankee From the West

A Yankee from the West (1898) is a novel by Opie Read (1852-1939), the Nashville-born humorist and journalist who founded the Arkansaw Traveler, one of the most popular American humor weeklies of the 1880s. Published by Rand, McNally and Company of Chicago, the story follows Milford, a newcomer seeking work and a fresh start in a rural Illinois community, and it trades on the contrast between city manners and country life that Read mined throughout his career. The book also holds a curious place in the history of American slang: it is credited with putting the phrase ‘there’s a sucker born every minute’ into print. A silent film adaptation followed in 1915. Read wrote roughly sixty books and drew large crowds on the lecture circuit, and this novel catches him at the height of his popularity. Free PDF download available on BDeBooks.