Wilkes-Barre, PA may not be Bedford Falls but it is a great place to lead a wonderful life. It may not be Mayberry, but it is my hometown where I grew up. Wilkes-Barre is the setting of this wonderful warm-hearted book about a town that through their lives kept delivering goodness to its people. Highlighting a life growing up in the wonders of Wilkes-Barre, Brian W. Kelly uses his own life as an example of how many other lives grew up in the wonders of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Brian began his adventurous life or so it seems with a 26" bike that as he grew up, could take him anyplace in the City. It eventually took him “uptown” where he was able to do many things including fulfilling his deep desire to have a train set to go around the family Christmas tree each year. Unlike most great stories, those in this book are true and they all happened in Wilkes-Barre, PA, a real city. The book is not just a mechanism to tell great stories and discuss a wonderful city, however. In addition to the stories, this book takes a look at the wonderment of selected Wilkes-Barre sections, venues and activities and even offers some nice additions that could make the City even more special. This book about growing up in Wilkes-Barre is a true story about a great place told through the eyes of a young man who, from birth leads a wonderful life in a wonderful town. He is still alive and like most youngsters, he grew up to be an adult and become a senior citizen while gaining a lot of accomplishments. The plot begins by discussing things that happen to a kid growing up from birth in our town to newer chapters of his life. It then moves to the special attributes of Wilkes-Barre from its beginning to the 1950’s and then it continues to today. Not all of Wilkes-Barre can be covered in a book about one person growing up, but we try. To teach more about our City, more than ten years ago Brian wrote a lengthy book and refreshed it just this year. Its title is Wilkes-Barre, PA: Return to Glory 2025 and it is available on Amazon and other booksellers . He gave free copies of its original version to the King’s College Library and the Osterhout Free Library. Feel free to read it there. The topics discussed in this book include the following: Home-made Bicycles, Junkyards, Model Trains, Youth Work, Neighborhoods, Kids activities, Sports, Organized Baseball, Grade Schools, High Schools, Local Colleges such as King’s, Odd jobs, IBM, Authored Books, Glory Days, Public Square, Uptown, Dances, Places to go, the Mines, City Sections, etc. This book covers more than what a kid growing up in Wilkes-Barre would encounter during his lifetime. A number of stories in this book have a Christmas theme with some Christmas events. Not all books end well--not even those with Christmas themes. Yet, this book contains some incredibly entertaining true stories that will not disappoint any reader. Many of the endings are outstanding and all are for the enjoying. If this book were not true, it would still make a great Christmas story and a great Christmas gift. Since it is true, it makes it even more special, especially for me. I am the little boy in the story who grows up by experiencing life in Wilkes-Barre, PA to conquer the world. Thank you for reading it… It could only happen in a great town such as Wilkes-Barre, PA.