My Life as a Landman

This is the story of an oil and gas landman. It is one that begins with a childhood in the Philippine Islands that improbably segues into teaching high school in South Dakota and then leads to becoming a ’70s traveling musician, long hair and all. When it became time to pursue a more sustainable endeavor, Gene began an apprenticeship as a landman, starting out one frigid winter in North Dakota. As he gradually learned the ropes, he turned his early experiences into a successful career in the oil business. The highs and lows, economic successes and failures, and the pure boom-bust cycles of the oil business are all chronicled here. Through it all, Gene’s creativity and ability to laugh at life’s absurdities—and there are plenty of those in the book—have sustained him. This is a classic American success story, one not to be missed.