The Education of a Yankee by Judson D. Hale

Written with a delightful sense of irony and a profound tenderness, The Education of a Yankee is an engaging memoir that skillfully reveals the grand, eccentric, and occasionally tragic history of a very unconventional family.

Judson Hale was born into Boston's very proper Brahmin world, the son of a wealthy father who loved sailing and horseback riding and a beautiful, talented mother who loved opera and sang professionally. But readers expecting a conventional account of New England privilege will be delightfully surprised. The fate of Hale's older brother, Drake, led his parents to embark on a dramatic, extravagant, and visionary undertaking that changed the family's history and brought a remarkable adventure to the small town of Vanceboro, Maine. So began an idealistic and wonderful dream that was to shape Hale's childhood and adolescence, but which ended differently from what his parents had envisioned.

The Education of a Yankee, at once funny and touching, is full of marvelous anecdotes about life on this unusual farm. We watch anxiously as he finally meets his brother, Drake, and see him wrestle with the challenges of joining the family-owned Yankee magazine, which, under his editorial direction, has become the third largest regional magazine in the country.

• Publisher: Bauhan Publishing
• Paperback
• Print length:‎ 272 pages
• Item Weight:‎ 1.06 pounds
• Dimensions:‎ 6 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Jud Hale is the Editor Emeritus of The Old Farmer’s Almanac; Jud was the 12th editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac (since 1792!) and joined the parent company Yankee Publishing in 1958 as an Assistant Editor. For many years, Jud appeared each fall on television shows throughout North America, including “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “CBS This Morning,” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” 

Born in Boston and raised on a dairy farm in Vanceboro, Maine, Hale graduated from Dartmouth College (Class of 1955) in 1958. He also served with the Third Armored Division as a tank commander from 1955 to 1957. He is married to Sally Huberlie of Rochester, New York. They have three married sons, Judson Jr., Daniel, and Christopher, and seven grandchildren.