This is the story of an oil and gas landman. It is one that begins with a childhood in the Philippine Islands that improbably segues into teaching high school in South Dakota and then leads to becoming a '70s traveling musician, long hair and all. When it became time to pursue a more sustainable endeavor, Gene began an apprenticeship as a landman, starting out one frigid winter in North Dakota. As he gradually learned the ropes, he turned his early experiences into a successful career in the oil business. The highs and lows, economic successes and failures, and the pure boom-bust cycles of the oil business are all chronicled here. Through it all, Gene's creativity and ability to laugh at life's absurdities-and there are plenty of those in the book-have sustained him. This is a classic American success story, one not to be missed.