A Prairie Home Commonplace Book

On July 6, 1974, in a small concert hall at Macalester College, A Prairie Home Companion debuted as a live radio show in front of an auspicious audience of about twelve people. It "was about as awful as a show could possibly be, and we have the tapes to prove it," recalls host Garrison Keillor. Thankfully, the show improved considerably over the years and today over two-and-a-half million listeners tune in each week to hear that friendly, familiar mix of music, humor, and storytelling.

The dictionary defines a "commonplace book" as a notebook in which one records quotations, poems, extracts, and memorabilia. In A Prairie Home Companion's 25th year, Keillor and friends compiled a commonplace book of amusing facts, recollections, scripts, behind-the-scenes photos, recipes, commercials—a whole alphabet of fun from "Autoharp" to "Zenith."

Heavily illustrated with over 100 photos, plus new, previously unpublished material by Garrison Keillor, it all adds up to a complete picture of a much-loved part of popular culture and one of America's favorite radio programs.