The Legend of the Barefoot Mailman: a novel

"Winningly satiric" ~Paula Friedman, The New York Times Book Review A story of big dreams and lost shoes, The Legend of the Barefoot Mailman examines how truth becomes fiction in a joyful and hilarious satire of Florida tourism. Josef Steinmetz is a young immigrant seeking fortune in 1880s South Florida. Earl Shank is a small-town postmaster with an entrepreneurial spirit. When fate delivers Josef like an errant letter into Earl's hands, their disastrous lives become the stuff of legend. Originally published in 1995, this 20th Anniversary electronic reprint features a new forward by the ghost of fictional New York Times Reporter, John Thomas.

A story of big dreams and lost shoes, The Legend of the Barefoot Mailman examines how truth becomes fiction in a joyful and hilarious satire of Florida tourism. Josef Steinmetz is a young immigrant seeking fortune in 1880s South Florida. Earl Shank is a small-town postmaster with an entrepreneurial spirit. When fate delivers Josef like an errant letter into Earl's hands, their disastrous lives become the stuff of legend. Originally published in 1995, this 20th Anniversary electronic reprint features a new forward by the ghost of fictional New York Times Reporter, John Thomas. "Winningly satiric" ~Paula Friedman, The New York Times Book Review "An engrossing and highly entertaining tale...The author is a gifted storyteller whose rich style and language provide genuinely treasured moments for all readers." --David A. Berona, Library Journal "A marvelously piquant satire on the American Dream taken to ludicrous extremes...Fleming's insights into mythmaking are keen, and his narrative skills and humor finely honed. A marvelously inventive, thoroughly enjoyable tale about our capacity for self-invention, adaptability, and perseverance." --Donna Seaman, Booklist (**starred review**)

John Henry Fleming is the author of Songs for the Deaf (a story collection), The Book I Will Write (a novel-in-emails), and Fearsome Creatures of Florida (an eco-conscious literary bestiary). His short stories have appeared in journals such as McSweeney’s, the North American Review, Mississippi Review, Fourteen Hills, and Carve, and have been anthologized in 100% Pure Florida Fiction and in The Future Dictionary of America. His awards include a Literature Fellowship from the State of Florida. He has a PhD in Creative Writing from The University of Louisiana-Lafayette, and is the founding editor of Saw Palm: florida literature and art.