Throughout his long literary career, August Derleth wrote dozens of stories about a cantankerous farmer living on the outskirts of Sac Prairie (the fictitious village in Wisconsin based on Derleth's own hometown, Sauk City). Along with his neighbors, Joe and Louisa (Lou) Stoll, Gus becomes involved in all manner of issues-romantic, legal, political, and personal-in tales that combine humor and poignancy. What strikes us above all is Gus's love of...