Who the hell is Ralphy? That’s the question WHO THE HELL IS RALPHY? answers. The short answer is that he’s Ralph Cover, an Australian farmer and rancher who has specialized in herding sheep. But to leave it at that would be a serious understatement. Cover’s life has been so full and rich that that anyone expecting a literary equivalent to the Australian TV show “MacLeod’s Daughters” will be in for a big surprise.
Cover starts with a little background on himself and some memories of growing up in rural New South Wales, remembering times of cultivating and drying hay, a failed “science experiment” that caused his father’s shed to catch fire, and his early experiences with Australian football at boarding school. Cover goes on to talk about the many adventures that followed – a stint playing in a football club in his mid-twenties, playing rugby in America, cruising at high speeds down the road in his “ute” (what the Australians call an El Camino-like pickup truck), his herculean efforts to save his cabin from flood waters, hitchhiking through Australia and New Zealand, and, by the way, wool production. Not to mention loving portraits of his family, especially his daughters.
Cover also pulls no punches in WHO THE HELL IS RALPHY? with his opinions of the issues of the day. He talks at length about technology, the Australian economy, the proliferation of garbage and its impact on the environment, and the effects of climate change. Cover also goes at length to discuss the arrival of European settlers to Australia, including is own ancestors, and descries the fortitude it took for them to tame and cultivate the landscape. Cover is wonderfully patriotic about his homeland, describing it as a fertile and productive country, but he also takes care to stand up for the need to preserve and sustain its resources.
At 88 chapters and 400 pages, WHO THE HELL IS RALPHY? is longer than it needs to be, and it could use some considerable editing. However, the more mundane parts of the book should not distract the reader from understanding the essence of this man. On the whole, WHO THE HELL IS RALPHY? is a thoroughly entertaining, colorful, and eye-opening journey through one man’s incredible and productive life.
WHO THE HELL IS RALPHY? is a thoroughly entertaining journey through the incredible life of a colorful Australian rancher.
~Steven Maginnis for IndieReader