Ben Neely

Ben Neely

Award Winning Author

New Release

A Well Misspent Youth

Riding the Wild Waves of a Fisherman’s Life

Take a Journey back to 1973 with young Ben Neely aboard the Alley Cat, battling gnarly swells to chase albacore off Oregon’s rugged coast in a memoir brimming with adventure, humor, and a young man’s passion for the sea.

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About the Author

Ben Neely

Ben E. Neely, PE, is a guy who’s been shaped by the ocean’s wild heart. His dad, Harry, a true adventurer, took their family sailing across the Pacific in a scrappy thirty-two-foot boat, from San Francisco to Hawaii and Australia. Those trips built Ben tough. At nineteen, he was out on trollers off Oregon’s coast in 1973, wrestling with storms and laughing with roughneck crews. He later became an engineer, raising a family, but the sea never let him go. In his seventies, fighting dyslexia, he poured his soul into A Well Misspent Youth, reliving his fishing days with grit and a grin. He used tech to polish his words, making sure his story rang true. Dedicated to his dad, Ben’s tale is about chasing dreams and loving the sea’s raw power. It’s a life lived loud and free.

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Editors' Review

Great book! Living in Coffeyville during my HS and Junior college years, I didn't realize how much history there was...some good, some bad. But, I will go to my grave thinking Coffeyville was the best place to grow up. Preston did a great job!
Mike Cole
Great book, it answers a lot of questions I’ve had over the years. Being raised in the area and family living in Southtown, I heard a lot of stories. Stories that family never elaborated on in front of children. People did what they had to do in order to survive back then. I take pride in what my grandfather and others did to support their family. Also explains my own wild side during my youth. I was just carrying on a family tradition. Hopefully all that ended with my youth. Great read, we have a rich history.
Steven C. Alter
This is a great read for anyone interested in a time when Oklahoma and Kansas were still pretty wild and wooly. Many years ago, my great-uncle entertained me with tales of his wild youth (gambling and bootlegging) rubbing elbows with gangsters in "Southtown". As I read this book, I realized he wasn't kidding! It's a very interesting and lively tale and I recommend it to all.
John Steve

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