I used to love reading “The Great Brain” series by J.D. Fitzgerald, seven awesome books about growing up Mormon in turn-of-the-century Utah. Although these stories might be categorized as fictionalized memoirs, when I was a kid it was enough to know that they were great books. I remember being amazed at just how easily the Fitzgerald boys got in trouble with their parents and their community, even without the aid of any modern technology. One of my favorite stories in this series told how the Fitzgeralds were the first in their town to purchase an indoor toilet. The neighbors (quite understandably) thought that Mr. Fitzgerald had finally lost his mind, and when the toilet was flushed for the first time a young J.D. thought his house had exploded! The best part of the story, however, took place when the author’s older brother, T.D., came up with an idea to charge their friends admission to see the new toilet! For only the price of five cents, one small nickel, these children had the opportunity to witness a modern wonder of technology. Is there any wonder why a young T.D. Fitzgerald was known as “The Great Brain”?
Many of our favorite books from childhood naturally fade away with the passage of time, relegated to the treasure troves of used bookstores. I’d almost forgotten about “The Great Brain” series myself, at least until I began compiling a list of books for young boys to read as part of another online project. That’s about the time when I came across “Finding Fitzgerald”, this cool fan site dedicated to the writings of John Dennis Fitzgerald. The creator did an amazing job in assembling a complete bibliography, as well as links to background material for all of the locations used in Fitzgerald’s stories. There’s even a few clips from “The Great Brain” movie, which I had no idea even existed!
If you’ve never read any of the books from “The Great Brain” series, you’re definitely missing out. “Finding Fitzgerald” is a great opportunity to correct that shortcoming, as this webpage is a perfect example of a niche site done right.