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Outrageous Hero The B.T. Collins Story | 
 enlarge | Author: Maureen Collins Baker
Publisher: Bryce Hill Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $20.00
You Save: $9.95 (33%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 515497
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 312
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0979869749
EAN: 9780979869747
ASIN: 0979869749
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
A book about the life of California's maverick politico, B.T. Collins, war hero, public servant, and double amputee.Definitely not a war story, but the story of a warrior, a chronicle of a hero in the making, of courage beyond the battlefield, and a love of country that transcended any political party. Poignant, often hilarious tale of a life lived with gusto, of an American original who touched you to the very raw. Irascible, irreverent,and annoyingly politically incorrect, B.T. made you laugh when you wanted to cry, cry when you had never cried before over things like the "Stars and Strips" or the "Star Spangled Banner." He was brutally honest and unyielding when it came to principles. No one was ever blase about B.T. Collins.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
BT August 20, 2008
I do not believe that I have ever laughed and cried so much reading the same book than I did from "Outrageous Hero." As one who spent several late "Torch Club" nights with BT and later had the privilage of working with him in the Wilson Administration,I believe his sister, Maureen Collins Baker, has done the Nation and California a tremendous service with her appropriately poignant remembrance of her brother, BT. This book should be required reading for everybody who thinks he or she has a reason to whine about their Country but who have never served it in any capacity. We could indeed use the candor, courage and integrity of 3 million BT's about now. Thank you Maureen for writing this book. God, I hope I spelled everything correctly. Michael B. Neal, Loomis, CA
Martin Curry said it right!!!! July 30, 2008
"After reading Martin Curry's review I'm hooked -- I'm definitely
going to read Outrageous Hero."
Outrageous Hero will make you proud to be an American July 29, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This story will grab you by the heart. It will make you cry and it will make you laugh. You will never look at your life in quite the same way again. "Outrageous Hero" is the compelling story of B.T. Collins, a genuine American original - a tough talking, straight shooting, dedicated, fun-loving, full-blooded American hero. Here's a man of the people who volunteered for the Green Berets in Vietnam, where a grenade ripped off his arm and his leg. When he picked himself up, he managed to put himself through law school and then worked as the key man for two California governors of opposite parties.
Writer Maureen Collins Baker brilliantly presents this colorful maverick's life, warts and all. It's an emotional roller coaster that will make you proud to be an American. I first met Collins in 1967 while recuperating from my own wounds at an Army Hospital in Pennsylvania. He's been my hero ever since. Now, with Baker's fast-paced biography, he will be all of America's hero as well.
What patriotism is all about July 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Some people hang flags in their front yard, some have bumper stickers...
Some only celebrate on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July with a hamburg or hotdog. It's not just fireworks and an occasional parade. It means so much more. The men that have fought for our country, now and then deserve the highest recognition and so much more. B.T. Collins was a hero of all heroes. Maureen Collins Baker captures this and pulls you in from the front page with the true story of an american hero, a believer from the moment he was born. A true patriot. He had a vision of what this country was and what it should be. If only everyone could have those same visions, the U.S. would be a better place to live. While I was reading this, I reflected on the ways of the world today, the corrupt politics and how there are holes where the values of the american dream used to be. I think everyone should read this remarkable book. If everyone could just go back to the American roots and values- and believe. Turn your dreams and hopes into reality- and, most importantly, never forget to support our American troops. They are fighting for you and me. Maureen Collins Baker is an extremely talented writer that gives you a glimpse of B.T. After the laughing and crying, by the end of this clever story, you will feel like you knew him all along even if you did not get the honor to meet this Outrageous Hero.
Hard to capture BT - but this book does it June 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I knew BT. I've worked in Sacramento for more than 30 years. He was a string of contradictions. Yet this book captures who he was. It begins with his funeral- which was a series of events that brought together his friends in the Cathedral and at a wake and in the memorial that he worked so hard to create to remember the veterans of Vietnam.
BT, that was how he was known in Sacramento, worked for Jerry Brown and Pete Wilson. He also served as the deputy Treasurer under Tom Hayes. At the end of his life he served as my Assemblyman. He had a fierce wit. In his last campaign, I decided to do some calling for him and got a personal note back from him wondering whether I was employing my time appropriately - if I had enough time to call for him, I had too much free time. That was BT, a bit outrageous about the people but always respectful of the underlying dignity of the public process.
He lost an arm and a leg in Vietnam and yet one of his campaign buttons was of a hook and sometimes referred to himself as Captain Hook. When he headed the California Conservation Corps he drank a glass with Malathion to prove it was safe. His older sister brings together all the things that made him who he was - all those funny quirks yet a strong sense of values that pervaded what he did.
This book is an inspiration.
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