"In his stirring, deeply reflective memoir, Michael Shurgot reveals how his childhood in a loving, multiethnic family in a predominantly working-class neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, proved surprisingly essential to his eventual calling as a scholar and academic. From memorable antics at home with his exuberant Irish mother and reserved, sports-minded Ukranian-Polish father to the post-WWII atmosphere of muscle cars and romantic misadventures, this rich account reveals how an unlikely urban setting fostered an accomplished man of letters. With humor, heart, and unvarnished honesty, Could You Be Startin' From Somewhere Else? Sketches from Buffalo and Beyond will captivate anyone who wonders how his or her past helped form a thoroughly satisfying present."--Back cover.