One Man's Christmas

Leon Hale’s well-known gift for touching the humanity in all of us finds the ideal subject in this personal recollection of Christmases he has known throughout his life. Originally published in 1984 and long out of print,One Man’s Christmas highlights the warmth and humor for which this legendary writer is so beloved. Whether Hale is scrambling to put together a new toy for his children on Christmas Eve, racing around to buy last minute, often misguided gifts, or reliving his family’s fraught holiday on a hardscrabble sheep farm during the Great Depression, the unique sensibility that has endeared him to generations of readers shines through every word. These are stories to savor by oneself or to read out loud to loved ones of all ages during the holiday season, when we discover again in our own memories the reasons why this time of year is so special.

Leon Hale is the award-winning longtime columnist for the Houston Chronicle, and before that,The Houston Post, author of eleven books including regional bestsellers, Home Spun and Supper Time. He has received the prestigious Lon Tinkle lifetime achievement award from the Texas Institute of Letters as well as awards for fiction and non-fiction from TIL, the Headliners Foundation, United Press International, and the Associated Press, among others. Last year the Texas Newspaper Association Foundation elected him to their Hall of Fame. Retired in 2014 from column writing after a 65-year career, Hale blogs at blog.chron.com/leonhale, tweets @leonhale1921 and may be visited at leonhale.com and facebook.com/leonhale.