Buffalo Man: Life of a Boy Giant on the Minnesota River

"Buffalo Man" is serious fun. It is about a giant child’s growing body and awakening mind. In the spirit of Rabelais and Swift, "Buffalo Man" is the story of a Gargantuan child, aptly nicknamed “Gar”—who was born out of the sky in 1848. He lands in the pasture of a Métis trading post along the Minnesota River. The following chapters record Gar’s upbringing, baptism, adventures, and education as a physical phenomenon and a dawning prodigy. Episodic, comic, ironic, scatological, and mystical, "Buffalo Man" tells of the 1850s childhood of this Paul Bunyan of the river, living among the Métis, Natives, French-Canadians, New Englanders, and other European settlers along the Minnesota River during territorial times. A zany mix of myths, storytelling, singing, dancing, games, and jokes, "Buffalo Man" introduces the reader to Minnesota’s last giant in a world that has no more room for giants.

Joseph A. Amato is married and, now retired, lives with his wife Catherine in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Amato received his B.A. in History from the University of Michigan; his M.A. in History and Folklore from the Université de Laval, Québec; and his Ph.D. in History from the University of Rochester, New York. In 1969, Amato began teaching at Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) in Marshall, Minnesota where he was a founder of the History Department and Rural and Regional Studies Center. Acknowledged for his innovative use of history, Amato has written many books on European cultural, rural, regional and family history. Recently, he has published books of poems and short stories. Buffalo Man arises out of a lifetime of exploring the rich and diverse lives of traditional people.