A Boy Called Combustion: Growing Up in 1940s Mississippi

Heartwarming and hilarious, A Boy Called Combustion celebrates the adventures of childhood, the bonds of family and the joys of life in the 1940s South. Bill Keeton - nicknamed "Combustion" for reasons readers will immediately understand - grew up as part of the Fondren family, a clan large enough to give its name to a section of Jackson, Mississippi. Accidentally knocking down his grandparent's garage, "helping" neighbors paint their house and his uncle's car and denting his mother's brand new stove with his BB gun, young Billy constantly surprised all who knew him. The boo's linked stories savor the vivid imagination behind a child's comic exploits, the wisdom gained in the aftermath, and the colorful family and friends who shared both the lessons and the fun. A Boy Called Combustion is a memoir deeply rooted in a particular time and place: the Mississippi of the 1940s, where folks never cook from prepared mixes and kids have a weekly date with the movie serials. Yet it is timeless American story of life, love, laughter, maturation, and the gifts of family strength.