South Carolina Books

I cannot write a review as I bought the book for a gift for my 99 year old uncle for his birthday.

Zimler's book is a triumph of modern fiction: an absolutely gripping narrative of love and loss set against a backdrop of fantastic historic drama. Zimler rises to the incredible quality of his bestselling The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon. The characters are rich and fully realized, and their conflicts are vital and real. They grow throughout the book, so that by the end you feel a real intimacy with them. The period setting is elegantly realized; you feel as though you are living in these far-away times, going to the bird market, observing the early forms of racism, encountering the ravages of the Inquisition. This is a story of family too, and the close bonds of the central characters are extremely vivid. I loved this book. Read it at once.

As an avid reader who has been ritually disappointed by the so-called "literary" sensations of the past year, it is a true joy to find a book with a heart and soul, written by an author at the top of his game.This mesmerizing, beautifully written tale of the friendship between a freed African slave and a bereaved child will make you weep on every page, such is the realism of emotion Zimler packs into each page. He is distinctly not an author given to mawkish sentimentality. This is the unputdownable book of the year that thoroughly deserves a wider audience. It is, as the flap copy suggests, an out-and-out masterpiece.

Richard Zimler's second novel, Hunting Midnight, casts as its central character a descendant of the title character in his first novel, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon. The new work is set in Porto, Portugal, in the early 19th century, 300 years after the first novel.
Because it contains a wide range of ingredients - a South African Bushman, a Scottish winegrower in Portugal, South Carolina slaves, child abuse, characters' artistic pursuits, Beethoven, reverence for nature - it is perhaps more universal in its appeal than the first book.
But it also has its Jewish (and Kulanu) components, such as the narrator's discovery that he is descended from Jews, and the occurrence of an anti-Jewish pogrom in Porto.
The author writes skillfully as the voice of the young Scottish-Portuguese half-Jew as well as that of a slave girl in the American South. He also imparts a seemingly deep knowledge of Bushman belief and culture, in addition to snatches of Portuguese and Hebrew, and departures into Jewish philosophy and Scottish song and literature. The story-telling style is tight, with straightforward prose that builds up tension and suspense effectively.
These disparate elements might seem a bit too much, but it all works well together, and Hunting Midnight is a great read of almost-epic proportions. While The Last Kabbalist was also a mesmerizing, suspenseful experience, it was more parochial. The first novel was a best-seller in Portugal and did well internationally. The second novel, being truly universal, may well do even better.

Zimler's book is a triumph of modern fiction: an absolutely gripping narrative of love and loss set against a backdrop of fantastic historic drama. Zimler rises to the incredible quality of his bestselling The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon. The characters are rich and fully realized, and their conflicts are vital and real. They grow throughout the book, so that by the end you feel a real intimacy with them. The period setting is elegantly realized; you feel as though you are living in these far-away times, going to the bird market, observing the early forms of racism, encountering the ravages of the Inquisition. This is a story of family too, and the close bonds of the central characters are extremely vivid. I loved this book. Read it at once.

This is a great book all fans of UNC basketball will enjoy. Jimmy does a great job of sharing an "inside" look of that championship team!

super insider information gives a real life perspective to players and team--great book for UNC and basketball enthusiasts

This is a great book for Tar Heel fans everywhere who are old enough to remember that magical year 1982 when the Tar Heels captured Dean Smith's first National Championship. Great stories and memories from a great player who many of us think was the driving force behind that Championship. If you are a Tar Heel fan and 1982 was one of those great years for you and you have not read this book, then buy it and read it right now!!

If you graduated from UNC in 1982, this is second only to the Bible as the best book you'll ever read. If you're a Tarheel, this is a MUST HAVE!
Scott Fowler's (of Charlotte Observer fame) writing is the best. Jimmy "Bossman" Black proves he can write as well as he can lead a championship team.

How 'bout dem Heels, they are the NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!

A pleasure to read. As a Tar Heel who knew Jimmy, I am not surprised by the candidness and honesty of his writings. The '81-'82 Tar Heels were an amazing team. Jimmy's book provides a personal perspective that brought back many memories. Any fan of college basketball should read this.

This book is almost like having a conversation with Sen. Hollings. I really miss him and hope we'll have Senators more like him in the next two elections.

Every so often while reading Fritz Hollings' autobiography I had to stop and ask myself a question: Was there really ever such a person in American politics? Someone who actually ran for office with the intention of making his city, state and country better places? Someone who would admit to mistakes -- and even to a little political expediency -- and who then tried to make up for it? Someone unafraid to make fun of Sam Donaldson to his face on national television?

This book should have been published by a mass market imprint and renamed to sell to a larger audience. But it's part of Hollings' charm that he hides the fascinating and candid narrative of his political life behind a practical and well-meaning title. He really wanted government to work for the people -- as a state senator, governor and U.S. Senator -- and often he succeeded. Unfortunately, he never made it to the White House, but that's an American political story best told by a historian of our locked-up, frequently suffocating two-party duopoly. There isn't quite room for a Fritz Hollings in a system that requires the president to be the leader of his party before he is the leader of his country.

I first met Senator Hollings when I was writing a book about NAFTA and there is no more intelligent, or acerbic critic of "free trade" dogma than he. But Hollings' book is replete with other engrossing stories where his honest differences with the mainstream of his constituency and of the Democratic Party placed him in the role of dissident. From racial integration in the early 1950s to Iraq in the early 20th century, we get the always forthright account -- sometimes first-hand -- of how political reality in America conflicts with political honesty. And through it all shines Hollings' utter lack of cynicism -- his determination to make the system work, no matter how corrupt it may be.

Making Government Work ought to be read by anyone who wants to know more about Brown V. Board of Education (the little known story of the Summerton 60 was particularly enlightening for me), trade politics, campaign finance, and the Senate vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq. But even if you're not a student of recent American history, or if you disagree with Hollings on his positions, you'll enjoy his sense of humor. A great politician tries to inspire, of course, but a truly effective politician knows just when to make his audience laugh. Along with Robert Dole, Hollings is the best I've ever heard, with or without a script.

Rarely has Senator Fritz Hollings used his renowned wit to more devastating effect than when he was interviewed in 1990 on the ABC program, This Week with David Brinkley. Some weeks earlier he had reportedly bought a bargain-priced Korean-made suit on a field trip to Seoul. Given his role as a leading critic of Korean dumping in the American textile market, the alleged purchase was the sort of trivia that passed for news in some quarters. Although Hollings had arrived at the ABC studio expecting to talk about the federal government's worsening budget deficits, the interviewer Sam Donaldson lost no time in getting to the nub of the matter: whether or not Hollings was at that moment wearing the notorious suit.

"Senator," Donaldson said, "you're from the great textile-producing state of South Carolina. Is it true you have a Korean tailor." Before Hollings could respond, Donaldson pressed on: "Let's see the label in there. What is the label in there?"

"I bought it," Hollings replied, "the same place right down the street where, if you want to personalize this thing, you got that wig, Sam."

The entire studio erupted. The blustery -- and bewigged -- Donaldson had had, if not his head handed to him, at least his tonsorial codpiece. But he was to exact a terrible revenge. Although Hollings had previously been a favorite on the program, Donaldson made sure that the courtly Southern Senator (and a man who still sports a full head of hair -- all evidently securely attached to its owner) was never invited back. Hollings had insulted a vain and not overly intelligent member of the new aristocracy of Big Foot media interviewers and for punishment he would be cast into outer darkness.

In "Making Government Work," an autobiographical account of the steadily worsening problems that have engulfed the American political system in the last six decades, Hollings tells this anecdote as an illustration of how America has lost its way. Politicians, he writes, "are failing people because journalists too often are in the business of pursuing sideshows and not looking at the big picture." His point is, of course, irrefutable. But there is a deeper moral here that Hollings is too polite to state explicitly: while, by the standards of his trivia-obsessed profession, Donaldson might claim to have been within his rights in bringing up the alleged purchase, his insulting tone was utterly inexcusable. No decent person should have been addressed in such a way. That a member of the U.S. Senate should be so addressed bespeaks a degree of decay in the American body politic that bodes ill for the entire future of American democracy.

In dissecting what has really happened to the American empire since its zenith in 1945, Hollings enjoys an unrivalled command of his material. Few if any political actors have played at such a high level for so long. A life-long Democrat, he was elected to the South Carolina legislature in 1948, became governor in 1958, and entered the U.S. Senate in 1966.

Hollings's place in history rests on his leadership role in addressing three of the most serious policy problems of the era -- the federal budget deficits, the trade deficits, and the depradations of the K Street lobbying system. Readers of this book will not be disappointed in the space he allocates to each.

Hollings is perhaps best known for his efforts to rein in the U.S. budget deficits. He had been a budget hawk since his days as governor of South Carolina and in the U.S. Senate in 1974 he hit the theme hard. He returned it to again in partnering two Republican Senators Phil Gramm and Warren Rudman in pushing through the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings balanced budget legislation of the 1980s. The legislation was severely weakened by a constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court. Remedial efforts have not worked because, in Hollings's account, successive presidential administrations -- Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II -- have "brazenly violated the law."

The soaring budget deficits have been a contributory factor in an even bigger and less tractable problem, the trade deficits, but the main cause of the trade deficits, as Hollings shows, is a fundamentally wrong-headed American trade policy. He identifies fellow Democrat Jimmy Carter as the President who did most to put the United States on the the course to industrial emasculation and ever-increasing foreign indebtedness. The basic problem is that the present policy is merely "one-way free trade." America may open its markets all its wants but if other nations do not reciprocate, the net effect is that American industries bleed to death. With the American current account deficit now running consistently at around 5 percent of gross domestic product or more, the Bush administration has daily to go hat in hand to other nations, most notably China, to scrounge the finance to make ends meet. For somebody who remembers as clearly as Hollings does how things used to be, America's predicament is truly unbelievable. In 1966, the year Hollings entered the Senate, America enjoyed a _surplus_ of 0.4 percent of gross domestic product. Indeed the United States did not incur a single deficit in the 1960s and trade deficits did not become "baked in" to the American economic structure until the Carter era.

Underlying the budget and trade problems is the lobbying problem. The Supreme Court again has much to answer for because, in the Buckley v. Valeo decision of 1976, it vitiated a major Congressional effort to stop dirty money polluting American democracy. Hollings is undoubtedly right that this ruling has not only utterly corrupted the American political process but has undermined the collegiality that once characterized the Senate. As Hollings points out, in earlier times when money played a less important role, Senators frequently spent the weekends in Washington and socialized with one another. That helped encourage a spirit of bipartisan cooperation in which Senators worked together -- much of the time at least -- in the national interest. These days they have no time anymore. They are on the road every weekend scrounging funds for their next campaign -- and in any case they are too busy outdoing one another's soundbites to focus on the sober task of legislating wisely.

While the policy issues provide the meat in this important book, many readers will particularly relish Hollings's recollections of the fascinating personalities he has known over the years. He devotes a chapter, for instance, to the Kennedy family. Having met Robert Kennedy as far back as 1954, he forged a close relationship with the Kennedys that among other things resulted in his delivering his crucial anti-Catholic state to John F. Kennedy in 1960. Such was the degree of intimacy he enjoyed in the Kennedy circle that, as he records in this book, he more than once was treated to the off-color side of JFK's wit.

He also has much to say about Robert Kennedy, whom he refers to throughout as Bob rather than Bobby. (Although that may seem slightly strange to the younger generation, Robert Kennedy generally styled himself as "Bob" in notes to friends. The press's preference for "Bobby" appears to have been inspired by JFK.) The Fritz-Bob relationship was evidently generally very cordial. But JFK's all-elbows younger brother more than once got Hollings's dander up. One telling episode concerns Robert Kennedy's run for the presidency in 1968. As a preparatory move, Kennedy decided to go on a tour of the nation publicizing some of the worst slums. One destination he planned to hit was in South Carolina -- at least it was until word reached Hollings's ears.

Hollings writes:

"As soon as I heard of Kennedy's plans, I picked up the telephone and told Kennedy I was working to do something about hunger in South Carolina.....He responded that everything had been arranged. I didn't understand the problem, he added....At that point I had had enough. 'Now look here,' I shouted. 'You go down there there, and I am going to get on a plane and go straight up to Harlem [in New York state, which Kennedy represented]. I am going to call every TV station, and then I am going to walk right through Harlem for four or five days, everywhere I can, and find every rat eating every child's eye out. And everywhere I go, I'm going to say why isn't Kennedy here? I am going to have a New York hunger expose at the very time you have yours in South Carolina.'"

South Carolina was dropped from Kennedy's itinerary.

Kennedy had learned what Sam Donaldson was to discover in 1990 -- that Fritz Hollings is not someone to tangle with lightly.

"Making Government Work" is a wise, well written, and consistently absorbing analysis of the epochal crisis now facing the American nation.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this candid assessment of contemporary politics. Really wish that he would have been able to share such wisdom/ that such wisdom would have been heeded while yet in elected office. Highly recommended for those who are deeply concerned about the future of our country & how corrupting money has been to the "body politic".

That's the title of the most practical "political" book you'll ever read. It is a user's manual for representative democratic government, written by former Senator Ernest F. (Fritz) Hollings of South Carolina, who spent six impressively productive decades in public service.As a reporter and campaign worker, I've known Fritz Hollings since he was the movie star-handsome "boy governor" of South Carolina in 1960 and JFK's invaluable ally in rounding up southern votes to gain the presidency. "Fritz" is a master politician; even more, he is a tireles public servant who truly tries to make government work for everyone he represents. Hollings has a razor sharp wit and a natural gift for memorable story-telling. He takes the reader behind backroom closed doors and into dark corners of political intrigue and describes how vitally important things get done. Hollings, who has been called "a visionary workhorse," focused throughout his career on putting government on a sound financial basis and promoting economic development and job creation. In a half century in Washington, he sponsored legislation on the budget, telecommunications, defense, trade, the environment and space exploration. In 1975, he pushed through the Automobile Fuel Economy Act and tried to launch an energy conservation revolution. In his presidential campaign a decade later, he sounded the earliest warnings against "outsourcing" and the loss of essential American manufacturing jobs overseas. Americans need to read and embrace his practical messages in this remarkable book and follow Fritz's lead. Richard J. Whalen www.richardwhalen.com

Another fabulous cookbook by my favorite southern cooking author. I've already tried a recipe and it was a huge hit with my family. PS -- They don't particulary like grits.

This is a terrific guide to real southern good food, centering around grits and, of course, shrimp. The truth is that grits are very closely related to polenta, and they can be great. This book is a terrific guide to good grits & good shrimp as they are eaten in the South. I am a California inhabitent myself, but this food is good. The receipes also are not too complicated and good for family or guests.

There seem to be three basic reactions to grits; in the Southern U.S. it's "Yum, grits!" In the rest of the U.S., "Yuk, grits!" From outside the U.S. ask, "What the heck are grits?"

As a Yankee, I had to read up to learn that grits are white corn kernels with the hull and germ removed by treatment with lye, cooked into a thick porridge. Polenta is similar and may be substituted, but you'll lose the characteristic hominy flavor.

Grits date to the earliest days. In 1607, settlers at Jamestown were met by the local Indians with a slumgullion of boiled ground white corn that they called "rockahomine." The first English appearance of the word (always in the plural) appeared in 1725 according to the OED: "The bigger kind of Oat-Meal, which is call'd Greets, or Corn Oat-Meal."

Dupree has done a brilliant job of celebrating and describing one of the best variations of grits which evolved in South Carolina's Low Country - the coastal strip around Charleston. Shrimp abounded in the region's coastal waters and enhanced the nutritious but bland grits. Shrimp and grits became wakeup grub, or "breakfast shrimp."

Dupree's history of the dish, and her recipes are excellent, the photographs and printing are clear, and the binding is excellent. A perfect introduction to grits and shrimp, and if you want to skip the grits, the book has great value for shrimp lovers.

I've included a recipe for shrimp and grits by my friend Robin Garr, the editor of the Wine Lovers Page and author of The 30 Second Wine Advisor: Learn about wine in 30-second tastes -- quick, easy & fun. The dish has migrated to Louisville Kentucky, 700 miles from the nearest salt water, where a number of restaurants offer excellent variations. Robin's recipe matches the best recipes that Dupree has to offer.

Robert C. Ross 2008

I had checked this book out sooo many times from our Public Library I was finally compelled to get online and find a copy for keeps!!! I absolutely love this book... I guess you can tell I love Shrimp and Grits too!
This book is a jewel from cover to cover. There's some history that was great to learn but the recipes are awesome. If you're like me, this is one for your culinary library. Read, Eat, and Enjoy!

You don't have to be from the South to LOVE Nathalie Dupree's Shrimp and Grits.
And who would have thought that an entire cook book on these lowly, but Heavenly ingredients could be so varied, so intriguing and so straight forward.
Every kitchen should have this cook book on the shelf.
Tomie dePaola (from New Hampshire)

Like another reviewer, I also have the pleasure of knowing Joe Martin. And while I knew of some of his remarkable achievements, I was astounded to read of many more. Like Joe, I have ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. He, and his book, have inspired me to live life with joy, love, purpose, hope and faith notwithstanding the ravages of this disease. His book, like Tuesdays With Morrie, should inspire anyone and everyone. But while Morrie spoke as a dying man, Joe, with the same terminal illness, speaks with the vitality of a man truly living life to the fullest.

Laura Murphy Atlanta, Ga.

Mr. Martin's book is an inspirational and moving work for anyone to read, regardless of your position in life. If you've ever faced adversity, there is something to be learned about courage and optimism from this book. His candor, humor, and vision will inspire you and give you a sense of appreciation for this life we have. My mother is suffering from a degenerative disease, and this book gave me a new sense of perpective on what she and many others face as they battle each step of their disease. As a North Carolinian, I am proud that this brilliant writer and powerful soul is a leader for our community, and has been able to reach out and touch so many other lives. This book will make you cry, make you laugh, and most importantly, give you inspiration and appreciation for what you have.

I found this first person account co-authored by Joe Martin, who has ALS, very inspirational. Joe allows the reader to share his feelings of frustration as well as to grasp the depth of his convictions that life should be celebrated and cherished. Ross Yocke's commentary throughout the book provides an additional source of information which is helpful for the reader to gain perspective about Joe Martin's life with ALS. This short 178 page book pulls the reader into Joe Martin's reality, and allows the reader to share his religious and moral convictions, as well as to revel in his wonderful anecdots. This book reminds me of Tuesdays with Morrie. I hope others will enjoy reading On Any Given Day as much as I have.

Joe Martin and his family (family, friends and bank colleagues) are the greatest support system. Joe's life inspires, challenges and motivates all to do more. His will to live is refreshing, unbelievable given the impact of ALS on his body but not on his mind or spirit. For anyone facing disease, stress or looking for meaning, this is a must read.

It's a quick read and doesn't leave you down -- but instead deals with a tough subject -- living with a terminal disease -- with reality and purpose. You will learn how "you can live like this"

I cannot add much to the previous reviews-- all of with which I agree-- except this: Mr. Martin is, first and foremost, a writer. Indeed, he has ALS, and that is much of what he writes about here. But his lean, athletic style, keen observation and outstanding sense of humor would entice me to read router bit catalog copy, if Mr. Martin wrote it. I'm in search of his short story published in the Crescent Review (malcolm@walkaboutpress.org-- if anyone finds it first) and am hopeful he is at work on something else for us to enjoy and think about.

This is more than a book to me, Sassafras, Cypress and Indigo opened doors in thought and creativity in me that I wasn't aware existed. These three taught me things of my culture, (after all, I am a Geechee), men, family and love. This book is your Mama's cooking, Christmas morning, sprituality outside your door, and the man you've been looking for, all in one place. I have cried with this book, written poetry with this book, loved with this book. I know that I should probably go into the storyline, the characters, and all that, but the only thing I really want to say is, BUY THIS BOOK! Read it and be prepared to love it.

This is my first time reading anything from Ntozake and I am very impressed with her writing. I like her literary style, content and excellent character development. I like the magical, mythical, poetic, familial, spirtitual and culinary elements delivered in this book. Highly recommended for avid readers of black authors...excellent for you library.

this book left a lasting impression on me, and as I was just reminded of it, I wanted to excite other people's interest in a joyous read. after and while reading about the lovely 3 sisters, my daughter and I invented 3 puppets and called them by the sister's names. Perhaps I remember and recommend this book because it is one you can enjoy with an adolescent.

A gift from Mama, one from their dead Father, and one from Santa, each found through a kind of scavenger hunt by clues left for each child under the Christmas tree, and each savored by the individual Child privately, free of "rivalries, jokes, and Christmas confusions."

What a marvellous, inventive Christmas tradition. If I had family, I would initiate this idea. The Christmas chapter is my favorite in this whole book. I also enjoy the recipes scattered throughout the book! I've tried a few and they're great!

I'm not going to analyze this book and try to guess at what the author was trying to do. Seems to me only the author could do that, anyway. All I can do is review this book based on what I got out of it. Besides a new Christmas ritual and some great recipes, what I got out of it was, a beautiful story about a mother and her three daughters, each with their own unique gifts: Sassafrass the weaver, Cypress the dancer, and Indigo the voodoo priestess/midwife. Their mother, Hilda Effania, wants the best for her girls, but she knows they each have to make their own way in the world; and when at the end of the story her three grown girls are reunited in the celebration of the newest member of the family, she lets them know that no matter what, they can always come home. I think this is a beautiful message, and I'm surprised this book hasn't become a movie by now. Not that being on video would improve the story, far be it; in fact, most movies based on books are so intent on sensationalism that it ends up being nothing like the book (think Waiting to Exhale). It's just that, if done right, it could become the type of touchy-feely message film that Touchstone films or even Hallmark should have jumped on long ago.

This is my favorite book, and I don't own/enjoy a lot of fiction. I've had this book about ten years now, my book has a better cover, and I enjoy pulling it down every Christmas just to read the Christmas day story again and again.

I'm seeing some references to this book as reading for grade schoolers. I think that may be a mistake. I wouldn't recommend this book for a young (prepubescent) child; the drug scenes and the passages involving sexuality are a little intense, I think, even though today's children are a lot more worldly about such things thanks to cable!

One of the best books I have ever read. From the first page I was drawn into this world completely and never looked back. One of those rare books that I was devastated to have end, and moped around for months afterward with nothing to read because I knew nothing would be able to equal it. Miz Shange's lyrical prose is incomparable, beautiful and devastating in it's ability to make an intimate connection with the reader. I consider it a 'Must' read.
If you ever have a chance to see Ntozake Shange read in person, which I have, don't miss the opportunity. She is as rare and wonderful as her writing.

This book reminds me of the simple qualities of my childhood, the small adventures and clear view of life are presented with the refreshing clarity of Dr. Bresee's writing

Clyde Bresee experience as a youth in the South gives us a view that is not shaped by the Southern Culture but comes through as an objective on looker that understood the plight of the slave and the free men. Plantation Life after cotton and war.Priceless.

I live on James Island, where Clyde Bresee's autobiographical story takes place. I expected it to be so-so, but have of late been determined to read anything that comes my way about James Island, so...well, what a real surprise. Deftly written, evoking a sense of place and time and people that is still part of the underlying fabric of the place and culture. Highly recommended.

Clyde Bresee does a wonderful, colorful job in this memoir of coming of age on a plantation on South Carolina's James Island. The simplicity of life as a boy exploring nature mixed with complex feelings and observations of race unfold as dancing prose. As a regular visitor of nearby Folly Island, this books allows one to travel the sea island as if you are there.

This book offers a delightful walk through the south of the 1930's. The culture is penetrated through a child's uncluttered horizon. Coupled with a mature sifting of events this book offers wonderful insight into the healing, fragile and unique culture of Charleston. Wonderfully written, this book offers a charming notch of history.

Sandra Johnson is an amazing storyteller! She brought the account of St. John's Baptist Church and the seige upon it to life for all of us who have had the good fortune of discovering this book. It is the incredible journey of hate and love and the enormous range of emotions in between. It is also the tale of unlikely friendships, terrifying and horrifying events, injustice, and the hope and promise of racial harmony. This is a book that I personally hope will be brought to the big screen -- so all those folks who aren't readers will be exposed to this story. (Film producers: somebody out there please take note!) I firmly believe that the entire world needs to learn of Standing on Holy Ground -- it truly is one of the handful of "must read" books. It would be wonderful if every high school or college literature class would somehow use this book as required reading. It has much to offer about friendships, volunteerism, racial inequities, dedication and hard work, and perseverence in the highest form. We should each take it upon ourselves to spread the word of this book, for it was by accident that I learned of this extraordinary tale. I was not surprised that Ms. Johnson was awarded the coveted Christopher Medal for her effort in bringing this true story to life. I anxiously await her next book with her special gift to convey emotions, report facts, mesmerize the reader, and spin the tale to the upmost. Don't keep us waiting Ms. Johnson!!

A really good book - easy to read and follow. The author makes you feel as if you have known Ammie personally, along with all the other players in this story. For most of us, we have not been exposed to the prejudice and hatred that exists around us and the pain and heartache that is produces. It brought me to tears several times, but it also warmed my heart. I highly recommend this book to all.

I was introduced to this book by Ammie's daughter, Christy. Christy played an integral part in my new book "Angels and Quilt Pieces...Our Journey with a Katrina Family" - which will be available July, 2007. Christy was one of our "Angels" and gave us the "quilt pieces" story and theme.

I was fighting tears before I finished the first chapter. I thought we had come farther than this. What broke my heart was not just that a few twisted individuals would commit such atrocities, but that the victims did not trust the system to come to their aid. That speaks volumes. We still have a long way to go and Sandra's book has made that abundantly clear. Those who helped turn things around for this church are true heros and much braver than I.
Betty Wilson Beamguard

STANDING ON HOLY GROUND is compelling and thought-provoking and reads like fiction, but becomes all the more riveting and terrifying when you realize it's a true, unadulterated story of the modern-day South and the racism that still exists. But it is also a story of triumph and how two women, against all odds, brought a community together -- a community that reached out beyond the town, the county and the state and effected thousands of concerned citizens in America. Sandra E. Johnson's prose is solid, unbiased, but also visceral an unblinking in its re-telling of the obstacles and challenges faced by two friends (one black, one white) and their fight to save a rural country church from hated and racism. This is a "must-read"!

Sandra E. Johnson has created a masterpiece in journalism! No bias can be found anywhere in her book--only the facts. As the story unfolds, one truly begins to feel as he or she were treading on Holy Ground (page after blessed page). Upon reading this book, no one can ever say againg that the truth is boring or that real stories must be embellished for artistic flare and entertainment. Johnson's words hammer home every riveting detail in a fashion that makes the reader feel as if they are gliding through a well-written novel. Who needs fiction when you can have this kind of truth?

Through telling of how diverse people banded together to rebuild St. John Baptist Church, Sandra Johnson shows the world that love, faith, hope and a spirit of unity can come together to work miracles. It is a message that she proclaims to us all and we're the better for it.

Most of us grew up believing that the Civil War ended the moment Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S. Grant at Appomatox Court House in Virginia. One can only assume that his came about as a part of the deification of Lee and the promotion of the 'Lost Cause' doctrine that was so popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Historically, most things regarding the Confederacy have always begun and ended with Lee. Thanks to the scholarship and hard work of Mark Bradley, we now have a much more accurate picture of how the war ended and the major roles played by Joseph Johnston and W. T. Sherman well after Lee's surrender.

As a companion to Bradley's earlier work on the Bentonville battle, 'Last Stand in the Carolinas', 'This Astounding Close' creates an extremely satisfying conclusion. But, as a stand alone work, 'This Astounding Close' is a tremendous asset in its own right.

If you want a comprehensive blow-by-blow description of the battles of Averasboro and Bentonville, read 'Last Stand in the Carolinas'. For a valuable capsule summary of the battles, combined with a complete historical account of the negotiations leading up to the surrender, 'This Astounding Close' fills the bill wonderfully!

Without doubt Bradley's book does justice to each side all the way from the Generals to local people in
Chapel Hill to Raleigh. It fails to note Bennett Place was in Orange County at the time. Durham county did not exsist
until 1868 when it was carved out of Orange Co. I had a 3 Great-grandfather, CSA Col, who was killed at Bentonville, NC
James Henry Neal.
His daughter lived until 1935 when she died in Atlanta Ga. She as a child of 6 living in Atlanta Ga.during the
"March To The Sea" Gen. Sherman set-up his HQ in her mother's kitchen, my gg-aunt Louise Neal, served Sherman biskets.
I have many hand-written letters by John White and his daughters Laura and Delia who discussed Chapel Hill
immediately after the war in 1865.John White eventually became U.S. Postmater in Chapel Hill for three years and later left that job to be Orange County Sheriff twice.
Bradley's book is a wealth of knowledge of events ocurring on the local scene.
Sherman conducted several military trials in Raleigh of civilians and soldiers alike. I have original documents and judgements of the
officer's tribunal. Each were charged with various offenses from plundering to murder.AT least 2 soldiers and 1 civilian were
sentenced to death,only to have Grant void the verdicts with Pres.Andrew Johnson's permission.

Mark Bradley has written a most excellent account of the last days of the Civil War in North Carolina between Joseph Johnston and William Sherman. Being a North Carolina native and having visited and traveled through many of the places in the book, I was particularly interested.

The book is not so much a detailed account of the last battles in North Carolina (Bentonville, Averasboro, Wyse Fork, Fort Fisher, etc.) as it is the military and political maneuvering between the two generals - Johnston in attempting to gain favorable surrender terms for his army and Sherman attempting to be lenient with the South at the end of the war. Indeed, aside from the aforementioned battles, most encounters between North and South during the last days in North Carolina were no more than brief skirmishes.

I particulary enjoyed reading the accounts of the Union occupation of Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and Goldsboro. Having lived in Goldsboro and Raleigh earlier in my life, I enjoyed reading the accounts. Also interesting were the accounts of the Rebel occupation of Greensboro and Charlotte.

Throughout the book, Bradley manages to incorporate several interesting anecdotes: the unfortunate luck of Rebel Lietenant Walsh from Texas, the marriage of Northern General Atkins' courtship and marriage to a Chapel Hill lady, etc.

Bradley's writing style is interesting and maintains a fine balance between being a free-flowing read, just like his excellent Battle of Bentonville title.

Read and enjoy! Highly recommended.

The Civil War didn't officially end with General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. General Joe Johnston's Army of the South and General Kirby Smith's forces in the Trans-Mississippi still remained in the field.
This is the story of the situation in North Carolina facing Johnston and Union General William Sherman after the Battle of Bentonville. The author presents both sides of the story along with the political pressures from Richmond and Washington.
There is not an abundance of information about Johnston's eventual surrender of the Army of the South and other forces under his command. The author is a leading authority about the 1865 North Carolina Campaign and presents an entertaining, interesting and scholarly review of the events after Bentonville.

Mark Bradley has written an excellent companion book to his "Last Stand in the Carolinas," which has currently gone out of print. In this volume, Mr. Bradley picks up where he left off, following Johnston and Sherman from Bentonville to the surrender of the Army of Tennessee at Durham, North Carolina. Bradley's writing is, as in his other book, great!

But missing from "This Astounding Close," are the excellent maps created the very skilled cartographer Mark Moore. The maps provided are not bad--they are actually quite good--but they could have been better. The small numbers of maps left me wanting more, especially ones detailing the smaller skirmishes taking place during the maneuvering in North Carolina. If the maps had been better and mpre plentiful, I would have given the book five starts instead of four.

Being from the South, I have always considered Sherman and his subordinates nothing short of the devil-incarnate. But from this book, I gained a new respect for these men and saw the softer side of them. Bradley depicts how John "Black Jack" Logan saved Raleigh from destruction at the hands of raged Federal troops intent on avenging Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Mr. Bradley also told of how lenient Sherman was toward the surrendering Confederate troops and toward the civilians of North Carolina, especially after the surrender. Sherman even offered Johnston and his troops much kinder terms than those given to Robert E. Lee at Appomattox! But Northern politicians saw these terms as too soft and evetually gave Johnston the same terms given to Lee.

This is a very good book; no doubt a great addition to my rapidly growing Civil War library. Before reading this volume, I knew next to nothing about Johnston's surrender at Durham, North Carolina, in the Bennet Farmhouse. If you are a Civil War buff get this book; if you are a military history buff, get this book! I got it, and am happy I did.

This book is absolutely fantastic. We've driven half or so of the tours so far, and would highly recommend it to anyone who lives or frequently visits western NC. The best part of the book is the historical information. You could drive past a historically important site and never notice it or understand the significance of it, but this book helps keep you aware of even the smallest details. Watch out for the mileage numbers- it may seem like a 90 mile tour will only take a little while, but count on no more than 2 tours per day. And don't expect Carolyn to tell you when the pavement ends- that's part of the adventure I suppose!

Certainly gives you what you need to know to visit these lovely places.
Highly recommended.

Since I recently moved to North Carolina, spending my free time towards the mountains became a must. Carolyn has saved me countless hours of researching where to go and what to do. I am glad to find such an informative book.

This will lead you to interesting places that are mostly not well known. The views are stunning. A hiker on the Appalachian Trail said the view from Wayah Bald is the best on the trail. The only problem we had is that road numbers have been changed to names, but most of the numbers were still in fine print on the signs.

I was introduced to this book by a friend and ended up buying the whole series! If you want to know more about western NC and spend your days enjoying a well written dialog that accurately directs you to place the other guides don't even mention, Buy this book. If you want a restaurant guide look elsewhere. I can wholeheartedly recommend the entire series from this publisher. Similar to the "off the beaten path" series only better, written by life long residents that obviously love their home state!