"While Mike Magnuson may not be a prophet you would choose to follow, his stark unsparing vision will follow you. This is a savagely written, deeply disturbing book. Put it down now if you want to sleep well tonight." -- Tony Earley
 The Fire Gospels takes place in the McCutcheon River Valley in Wisconsin during a long-standing drought. Through characters like Grady McCann, a hardworking maintenance man at an old folks' home; his wife, Erica, a strangely evangelic Catholic; and Lucky Littlefield, the local weatherman turned preacher who enjoins his viewers to "pray for rain" at the beginning of each broadcast, The Fire Gospels tells in vivid detail the story of the drought and how the townspeople are seduced into believing that Lucky will pull them through their time of struggle. When a rampant fire breaks out in a neighboring town, though, it becomes clear that Lucky is a first-rate phony, and it is every man and woman for themselves as Grady, Erica, Lucky, and the others fight for their lives against a ferocious natural disaster.
Mike Magnuson has written an unforgettable novel, a tale at once sinister, comic, and always compelling, and one told through the voice of an author who is unlike any other: with a vision as stark as it is true and possessed of a style of astonishing beauty.

The Fire Gospels: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Magnuson, Mike

United States

HarperCol

Dewy, a black man, and his partner, Gunnar, a white Wisconsin farmboy, spend their time working as "repo men" in a tough inner-city neighborhood, until an unresponsive customer triggers a tragedy that sends Gunnar's life hurtling out of control. A first novel. $30,000 ad/promo.

Right Man for the Job, A Novel

Harpercollins

In the slapstick tradition of A Confederacy of Dunces comes Lummox -- part farce, part treatise on what it mean to be a man in America, part true-life tale of a twenty-something man stumbling through the Reagan years, all of it funny in a way that will warm your heart.
The lummox is Mike Magnuson, your friendly neighborhood big guy with a foul mouth, a spare tire around his midsection, and a tender heart, and these are his years working in factories, hanging out in taverns, befriending reprobates, going to college, having troubles with the law, and living with crazy jazz musicians and with lesbian separatists. When a mysterious phantom enters his life, he sets himself on a quest to discover the true meaning of lummoxness, and what he learns along the way is both shocking and hilarious.
Written with honesty and selfeffacing wry humor, Lummox is an exceptional story of manhood at a time of its redefinition, a book that will leave you laughing out loud in recognition and cheering for lummoxes everywhere.

Lummox: The Evolution of a Man

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Gunnar and Dewy are "repo" men -- one white, one black -- who work for a furniture and appliance rental company in a tough, inner-city neighborhood. Dewy, a foul-mouthed realist, happily takes Gunnar under his wing and tries to teach him how to maneuver safely through the dangers of the Columbus, Ohio, streets. Together they devise increasingly ingenious ways to reclaim properly from their most recalicitrant customers. They become fixated in particular on a woman who will not respond to any of their attempts to repossess her furniture. Both Dewy and the customer refuse to give in. And thus the stage is set for a series of events that send Gunnar's life spiraling out of control.

The Right Man for the Job: A Novel

Harper-perennial

The Fire Gospels takes place in the McCutcheon River Valley in Wisconsin during a long-standing drought. Through characters like Grady McCann, a hardworking maintenance man at an old folks' home; his wife, Erica, a strangely evangelic Catholic; and Lucky Littlefield, the local weatherman turned preacher who enjoins his viewers to "pray for rain" at the beginning of each broadcast, The Fire Gospels tells in vivid detail the story of the drought and how the townspeople are seduced into believing that Lucky will pull them through their time of struggle.

The lummox is Mike Magnuson, your friendly neighborhood big guy with a foul mouth, a spare tire around his midsection, and a tender heart, and these are his years working in factories, hanging out in taverns, befriending reprobates, going to college,having troubles with the law, and living with crazy jazz musicians and lesbianseparatists. When a mysterious phantom enters his life, he sets off on a quest todiscover the true meaning of lummoxness, and what he learns along the way is both shocking and hilarious.
Written with honesty and self-effacing wry humor, Lummox is an exceptional story of manhood at a time of its redefinition, a book that will leave you laughing out loud in recognition and cheering for lummoxes everywhere.

Lummox: The Trials and Triumph of a Modern Man with More Muscle Than Money (and a Whole Lot of Heart)

Arts & Literature

A few years ago, the closest Mike Magnuson thought he would get to participating in a sporting event was sitting in the local bar, slamming pitchers of beer and watching the NFL playoffs on TV. He was thirty-eight years old, smoked a pack a day, drank a case or two of beer a week, and carried 250 pounds of weight on his five-foot-ten-inch frame. Getting on a bicycle for a peddle around the block could have been dangerous in his condition, let alone trying to keep up with a group of racer-fit riders for forty-five miles at a clip, but that is just what Mike decided to do. He was sick of it all—the booze, the cigarettes, and the heft. He could have been seriously hurt. But he wasn’t. In Mike’s words, he was merely “handed his proverbial fat ass on a platter” three times a week and kept coming back for more. Heft on Wheels charts in hilarious detail every curve in Mike Magnuson’s 180-degree journey from the big guy at the back of the pack to the lean, mean racing machine setting the pace for the group. Along the way we meet his friends, colleagues, and family and learn how even a healthy obsession can have its uphill climbs. For a start there’s the starvation diet and the nicotine patches, not to mention the skin-tight XXL cycling outfit and the insanely unrealistic goal of completing the Bridge to Bridge Incredible Cycling Challenge—proudly billed as “100 Miles of Pure Hill”—within the year. Yet, through it all, Mike never loses his sense of humor (though after having a quick conversation with God on one particularly grueling hill, he does believe he has come within spitting distance of losing his mind). Filled with triumph, heartbreak, and hilarity, Heft on Wheels is an unforgettable book about getting from one place to another, in more ways than one.

Heft on Wheels: A Field Guide to Doing a 180

Sports & Outdoors

Harmony

Take one very large guy. Add booze, cigarettes, and an extreme amount of junk food. Mix in a wry, self-effacing wit. Throw in a bike. The result? Heft on Wheels, a potently funny look at turning your life around, one insanely unrealistic goal at a time. Not that long ago, Mike Magnuson was a self-described lummox with a bicycle. In the space of three months, he lost seventy-five pounds, quit smoking, stopped drinking, and morphed from the big guy at the back of the pack into a lean, mean cycling machine. Today, Mike is a 175-pound athlete competing in some of the most difficult one-day racing events in America. This irreverent and inspiring memoir charts every hilarious detail of his transformation, from the horrors of skin-tight XXL biking shorts to the miseries of nicotine withdrawal. Heft on Wheels is an unforgettable book about getting from one place to another, in more ways than one.

Biographies

Crown

A hilarious and essential illustrated field guide that breaks down the tribes of the bicycling community: from the spandex-clad weekend warriors to the hipsters on street bikes who love to laugh at each other (and themselves) Anyone who rides a bike knows the bicycling world is made up of tribes. From tattooed messengers to pretty urban hipsters to grouchy shop owners, they may look like they live on different planets, but they are united by their abiding love of bikes—and often their total disdain of other members of this insular world. Bike Tribes is the Preppy Handbook of bicycling, replete with one-of-a-kind illustrations that taxonomize the special habits, clothing, preferences, and predilections of cyclists. Mike Magnuson, an avid rider, bicycling expert, and longtime contributor to Bicycling magazine, covers the basics of racing, etiquette, and apparel and gear, including running commentary on cycling culture, poking holes in practically every pretension in the cycling world. Bike Tribes is a fun romp through the various subcultures in the bike community—bound to appeal to newcomers and grizzled cyclists alike.

Bike Tribes: A Field Guide to North American Cyclists

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Rodale Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Magnuson, Mike. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Magnuson, Mike

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Magnuson, Mike. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Fire Gospels: A Novel

Right Man for the Job, A Novel

Lummox: The Evolution of a Man

The Right Man for the Job: A Novel

The Fire Gospels: A Novel

Lummox: The Trials and Triumph of a Modern Man with More Muscle Than Money (and a Whole Lot of Heart)

Heft on Wheels: A Field Guide to Doing a 180

Heft on Wheels: A Field Guide to Doing a 180

Bike Tribes: A Field Guide to North American Cyclists