Born and bred in the tough inner city slums of Summerhill in Dublin, Bill Cullen was one of fourteen children. A street seller from the age of six, Bill left school at thirteen to make a living. Dublin in the '40s and '50s was a harsh place, rife with unemployment and poverty, but the Cullens were blessed with the qualities of determination, good humour and an abundance of love. The lessons Bill learnt from his grandmother stood him in good stead as he progressed from selling dolls and cinema tickets on street corners to a job in a Ford card dealership and eventually to head a company with a turnover of more than GBP250 million. The Bill Cullen story is an account of incredible poverty and deprivation in the Dublin slums. It highlights the frustration of a father and mother feeling their relationship crumble as they fight to give their children a better life. It's a story of courage, joy and happiness.

It's a Long Way from Penny Apples

CULLEN, Bill

Biographies & Memoirs

Hodder Paperback

Golden Apples: Six Simple Steps to Success: From Market Stall to Millionaire: A Wealth of Wisdom You Can't Afford to Ignore

Professionals & Academics

Hodder Paperbacks

At 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing just 110 pounds, Bob Harper was&nbsp;below the minimum size requirements for US military service. As the&nbsp;demand for manpower increased, rules were bent, Harper's deferment&nbsp;was retracted, and he was drafted into the Army. Harper was deployed to&nbsp;the European front and survived 35 combat missions as a B-17 ball turret&nbsp;gunner. Based at airfields in England, Bob and the 381st Bomb Group&nbsp;flew brutal missions over heavily defended industrial centers in Germany.&nbsp;Harper was shot down twice and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.&nbsp;Through his letters home, combat reports, and extensive interviews with&nbsp;author Bill Cullen, Harper describes his harrowing experiences on board&nbsp;the Flying Fortresses of the Eighth Air Force. Cullen's interviews with&nbsp;Harper, who is still alive as of the completion of the manuscript, took place&nbsp;over a period of years, and it is the anecdotes from the interviews that&nbsp;drive the majority of the narrative. The ball turret was located underneath&nbsp;the aircraft and was a confined, intense, and unique environment from&nbsp;which to experience combat during the Second World War. Readers will&nbsp;find Harper, who went on to a successful business career after the war, to&nbsp;be an insightful, witty, and engaging storyteller.

Flying Fortress Gunner: B-17 Ball Turret Gunner Bob Harper's 35 Combat Missions over Germany

Leaders & Notable People

Schiffer Military History

Tis better to be born lucky than rich.... There are many ways to confront tragedy and hard times. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt's tragic--and ultimately uplifting--tale of how one man overcame adversity and found happiness in the New World is a compelling story that has touched thousands of readers. It's a Long Way from Penny Apples is another view of the Irish experience, another man's journey out of the grinding poverty that held an entire generation of Irishmen in its thrall. Poverty and its ills can rend a family apart and ruin countless lives, leaving individuals on their own to find their way, if they can, out of that despair and on to a new life. But not every family gives in to defeat. Sometimes the choice is to not leave anyone behind... and out of that love, a family can come together, using all their talents to bring all of their loved ones to a better place. Bill Cullen was lucky enough to have one such family. Born and bred in the rough inner city slums of Summerhill in Dublin, Bill was one of fourteen children. Selling on the streets from the age of six, be it fruit, flowers, newspapers, Christmas decorations, football colors, or programs, was a means of putting food on the table for Bill and his family. He finished school at thirteen to go on the street fulltime. In 1956 Bill got a job as a messenger boy for a pound a week at Waldens Ford Dealer in Dublin. Through hard work and unrelenting determination, Bill was appointed director general of the company, in 1965. Bill went on to set up the Firlane Motor Company which became the biggest Ford dealership in Ireland. In 1986 he took over the troubled Renault car distribution franchise from Waterford Crystal. His turnaround of that company into what is now the Glencullen Group is a business success story-the group now has an annual turnover of 250 million. Bill Cullen's story is an account of incredible poverty and deprivation in the Dublin slums. It highlights the frustration of a father and mother feeling their relationship crumble as they fight to give their children a better life. It's a story of courage, joy, and happiness--of how a mother gave inspiration and values to her children, saying to them, "The best thing I can give you is the independence to stand on your own feet." It's a Long Way from Penny Apples is nothing less than a modern-day Horatio Alger story, told with humor and love; a heartwarming tale of redemption and overcoming adversity by one of the most famous self-made men in Ireland

Historical

Forge Books

Tis better to be born lucky than rich....
There are many ways to confront tragedy and hard times. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt's tragic--and ultimately uplifting--tale of how one man overcame adversity and found happiness in the New World is a compelling story that has touched thousands of readers.
It's a Long Way from Penny Apples is another view of the Irish experience, another man's journey out of the grinding poverty that held an entire generation of Irishmen in its thrall.
Poverty and its ills can rend a family apart and ruin countless lives, leaving individuals on their own to find their way, if they can, out of that despair and on to a new life. But not every family gives in to defeat. Sometimes the choice is to not leave anyone behind... and out of that love, a family can come together, using all their talents to bring all of their loved ones to a better place.
Bill Cullen was lucky enough to have one such family. Born and bred in the rough inner city slums of Summerhill in Dublin, Bill was one of fourteen children. Selling on the streets from the age of six, be it fruit, flowers, newspapers, Christmas decorations, football colors, or programs, was a means of putting food on the table for Bill and his family. He finished school at thirteen to go on the street fulltime. In 1956 Bill got a job as a messenger boy for a pound a week at Waldens Ford Dealer in Dublin. 
Through hard work and unrelenting determination, Bill was appointed director general of the company, in 1965. Bill went on to set up the Firlane Motor Company which became the biggest Ford dealership in Ireland. In 1986 he took over the troubled Renault car distribution franchise from Waterford Crystal. His turnaround of that company into what is now the Glencullen Group is a business success story-the group now has an annual turnover of 250 million. Bill Cullen's story is an account of incredible poverty and deprivation in the Dublin slums. It highlights the frustration of a father and mother feeling their relationship crumble as they fight to give their children a better life. It's a story of courage, joy, and happiness--of how a mother gave inspiration and values to her children, saying to them, "The best thing I can give you is the independence to stand on your own feet."
It's a Long Way from Penny Apples is nothing less than a modern-day Horatio Alger story, told with humor and love; a heartwarming tale of redemption and overcoming adversity by one of the most famous self-made men in Ireland

It's a Long Way From Penny Apples

2003 Mercier Press jumbo trade paperback, 12th printing. Irish import. Bill Cullen (Golden Apples : Six Simple Steps to Success). There are many ways to confront tragedy and hard times. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt's tragic--and ultimately uplifting--tale of how one man overcame adversity and found happiness in the New World is a compelling story that has touched thousands of readers. It's a Long Way from Penny Apples is another view of the Irish experience, another man's journey out of the grinding poverty that held an entire generation of Irishmen in its thrall. Poverty and its ills can rend a family apart and ruin countless lives, leaving individuals on their own to find their way, if they can, out of that despair and on to a new life. But not every family gives in to defeat. Sometimes the choice is to not leave anyone behind... and out of that love, a family can come together, using all their talents to bring all of their loved ones to a better place. - Amazon

It's a long way from penny apples

Mercier

Our Trilogy: Poetry for Connection & Purpose

Literature & Fiction

Poetry

BookBaby

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