Alabama Books

Cattle in the Cotton Fields is a wonderful account of thecattle history in Alabama. I was very impressed by the writing ofMr. Blevins. I highly recommend it to anyone who might be interested in the subject matter.

After having met Robert on one of his trips to Fort Myers, FL, I was delighted to be in his company. His best friend, James Redfield, wrote Celestine Prophesy and it changed my life. I feel Robert's will do the same. His angst at the loss of his father at a very early age certainly guided the path of his life. He finally worked through his pain and wrote a very giving, worthwhile book to help others. I suggest it very highly for anyone who wants to learn to leave the pain behind and begin to live life as we were meant to -- with great joy! Bekki Shanklin-Spicer, co-publisher, Fort Myers Life magazine.

State constitutions don't get the attention they deserve. They are important historical documents, and they have considerable influence on state and local government. Alabama's constitution is, according to the scholars and journalists who know it well, one of the longest (more than 315,000 words) and worst. In recent years, a grassroots movement for a new constitution has spread across the state. So the timing is right for a rigorous look at the history and practical consequences of the current document. "A Century of Controversy" serves as a terrific primer for understanding how this constitution came to be, how it has survived for more than 100 years and how it continues to impede home rule and good governance generally. Along with furthering debate about constitutional reform in Alabama, this book should inspire students of other state constitutions to take up their pens.

Martha Byrd was a good historian, and she wrote a good biography of Claire Chennault--leader of the AVG Flying Tigers, commander of the 14th Air Force, and founder of the airline that became the CIA's Air America. Writing about Chennault isn't an easy job (I know, because I wrote a history of the AVG) because he was part genius, part crackpot, and all-over trouble for his superiors. Byrd did a superlative job of sorting myth from fact, and of telling the unvarnished truth about Chennault without ever losing sight of his great humanity and his tactical brilliance. Seek out this book, second-hand or in a library, and hope that it will be republished.

Well written and documented it provides a nice overview of issues that Cherokee women faced.

Before the United States was a country, colonial burial grounds were called graveyards. They were unattractive, unhealthy and unsafe places of alcoholic gravediggers, grave robbers, partly dug up corpses, and poisonous gases.

Then, in 1778, French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau was buried in a white marble tomb on the Isle des Peupliers. This grave set the standard of beauty in nature for the 52-acre Pere-Lachaise cemetery outside Paris, in 1804. From France, the first rural garden cemetery of winding lanes, white sculptures and tombs, family care, and cultivated grounds in the United States was Mt Auburn, outside Boston.

In contrast, historic Magnolia, Old Catholic and Sha-arai Shomayim cemeteries were within the city limits of Mobile, Alabama. They were laid out in city-managed and -owned grids, with streets meeting at right angles. Like the rural cemeteries, though, they had artistic entrance gates, fences, plantings and sculptures.

Then, during the 1850s horticulturist Adolph Strauch took markers, trees and walls away from Spring Grove cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio. He favored mausolea large enough for entire families, kept up by hired staff under a director or superintendent, in open lawns. With the War between the States such lawn-park cemeteries made room for soldiers' rests, such as in Mobile's Magnolia cemetery. The design for these special burial plots and for national cemeteries, such as at Gettysburg, grew out of Frederick Law Olmstead's New York Central Park.

In 1913 entrepreneur Hubert Eaton laid out the first memorial park in the United States, at Forest Lawn cemetery, in Glendale, California. Hired groundskeepers worked easily around slender vases of artificial flowers, limited sculpture, large group vaults, and ground-level bronze plates. Forty years later, the port city's first memorial park opened, as Mobile Memorial Gardens, on the city's west side.

According to author John S Sledge, Mobile's CITIES OF SILENCE have become unattractive, unhealthy, and unsafe. This time around it's from inner city blight, grave robbing, vandalism and weeds. This time around, the answer may be, not in another remodeled style of burial grounds, but in successful historic preservation. In fact, Mobile already has clean-up campaigns, save our cemeteries societies, and walking tours. All this could, once again, make cemetery, from the Greek word for sleeping chamber, the perfect word for Mobile's historic Ahavas Chesed, Church Street, Magnolia, Old Catholic, and Sha-arai Shomyaim cemeteries.

What separates good coaches from great coaches? What makes aprogram of college basketball successful? What motivates collegeathletes to excel? In almost all cases it's the coach, and over the years Cliff Ellis has made a habit of winning wherever he has gone.

From the beginnings in Cumberland Junior College and South Alabama, to his days with Clemson and Auburn, Ellis has put to together winning program after winning program. Ellis has taken many college players and guided them, taught them and most importantly given them the chance to succeed.

The book is more than just basketball, it's the story of a man who more than coach. As you'll read Ellis is also a teacher, author and very talented cook, the book has some of his "famous" recipes included.

Sports Publishing hits the game winning shot with this inspirational autobiography...you'll find the money is well worth it.

This book is a delightful surprise, with a wide range of well-crafted short stories sure to entertain any fan of the genre.
A few of them resonate with the reader long after the book's finished, particularly a tale involving the history of a backwoods baptismal pool, and a married couple's slow and sweet farewell after the wife is diagnosed with a terminal illness. I'll read them again after a year or two- the ultimate compliment to a short story collection!

For the student of Alabama/Georgia history or Creek Indian history, this is the most complete and comprehensive eye witness journal that exists of daily life among the Creek Indians in the 1795 to 1819 time period. This is not a book written by Hawkins but a collection of his daily journals over several years of life among the Creeks.

Hawkins is one of the few educated men (ex US Senator from North Carolina) who lived among the Indians, ate with them, treated with them, talked to them in their homes and counsels, and made daily journals. I consider it one of the most important tools I have seen for learning about Creek Indian life in the Georgia/Alabama area.

One of the most interesting accounts is when Hawkins is "accosted" in the night by an amorous Creek lady who offers herself as well as her wordly goods to his management. At the time he is getting on in age with a bad case of gout and she is 25 years old. It seems that he turned her down but the fine details of the incident are most interesting and revealing of customs.
For all intents and purposes, Hawkins is the leader of the Creek nation after Chief McGillivray's death (1793) untils its demise in the Alabama/Georgia region.
Some of the most interesting parts of the book are the speeches or talks given by the various town chiefs. The names of all the chiefs, traders,and white residents are listed as well as the people who travelled through the country and had to get passports from Hawkins. The book is full of Creek terminology which is colorful and descriptive such as "he who cannot get enough land" and similar things. Hawkins delights himself in learning and recording the language.

Its apparent that the Creek Indians loved and trusted Hawkins and that he had their best interests at heart, although he was a US government employee bound to do the will of Jefferson which was to "civilize" the Native tribes which in the end caused them to implode in a civil war which destroyed the Creek Nation established in Alabama and Georgia.
This is an invaluable tool for the scholar and a fun read for the casual student. It is packed full of fine details, lists, bookeeping entries, which can easily be scanned over by those who dont need the details. There are gold nuggets here for the research scholar.

Thanks to the Alabama Press for publishing this important historical account.

Robert Inman is the author of genial southern novels such as "Dairy Queen Days" and a keen observer of the human condition. He is also one of the best guides to the writing life, as sampled in the final chapter of his autobiography "Coming Home, Life, Love and All Things Southern". Inman takes a clear-eyed look at the southern style of life and the reasons we southern people are the way we are. The stories and reminices are tender and warmharted and a treat to read. The best part of thei book is Inman's explaination of why we in the south always ask "who are your people?" and the way we try to find the common link. As Mr. Inman says, we are just trying to say "I am prepared to like you, and would be honered to be your friend...". A wonderful read, a joy for its warmth and quick wit.