South Carolina Books

Having recently move to South Carolina I was facinated by wealth of history of Black Americans here. I've visited some museums and cultural events as well as book stores. Familiar history of Black in SC is abound. However...I wanted to know more about the history that excluded from main stream. Mr Fordham's enlightened me to several brave and courageous Black South Carolinians. His stories were very relevant and history rich. I like the fact that the stories he presented were of people I've met or descendants of those heroes. Although very informative I wished it was a larger manuscript. I know there many more stories to tell. I'm looking forward to other works for Mr. Fordham.

Mr. Fordham is a compelling storyteller. His "True Stories of Black South Carolina" contains historical accounts of familiar subjects which are wonderfully unfamiliar. This is because of his deep and exhaustive research and his ability to write about this material from a fresh perspective.

I am sixty-four years old and found myself reading "True Stories of Black South Carolina" with the eagerness of a child. Each chapter is a story of African American history. Some stories are personal and poignant; some are humerous and light-hearted. Some chapters relate tragic events in a personal context so that you not only learn about the event, but experience the intense and complex feelings involved.

Each story tells of a shared history of joy and sorrow, credit and blame, wisdom and foolishness. Throughout these stories Mr. Fordham has woven threads of hope and courage.

Whether you read his book for the abundance of history it contains or just for the sheer pleasure of a story well told, this book delivers.

Loved the series ! My only disappointment is that it is over !
Vicky Hunnings is a wonderful author and I look forward to her next book. Hers are books I will keep for years and read more than once.
Chris Sloan

Vicky Hunnings has done it again. In book #3, Hunnings weaves another intriguing tale of murder and deception in the SC lowcountry. From the opening line to the last paragraph, readers are held captive by the trail of blood leading from Paris to Belize to the southern coast. Marissa Langford, a main character from Hunnings' first book, reappears on Hilton Head Island, assuring additional conflict for Shark and Dell. The reader will be amazed at the surprising twists and turns as the story unfolds, but nothing can prepare for the startling ending. A masterful tale, told by a master story-teller.

Naomi Williams' novel is a finely crafted piece that expresses all the rich heritage of Southern fiction through the person of a female protagonist that speaks to a universal audience. The novel's protagonist, Liza, will captivate all those who have ever felt constrained by society through her deeply rooted desire to breech boundaries imposed on her from without, and the novel's other characters wrap Liza in a rich quilt of human responses to her passionate personality that will speak to all readers, regardless of their age or their background. Williams' profound style evokes character and place so that we can almost smell the thick Lowcountry mud that borders the banks of the "Two Rivers" that shape Liza's life.

Naomi Williams's first journey into published prose explodes in the first description of the South Carolina lowcountry she has committed to memory and experience. As Williams's young protagonist, Liza Marion Brown, searches feverishly for a violet among the daisies, we are seduced into her lifelong quest for color in an insular world of bland expectations and bleak hopes. Clinging to her mother's legacy of butterbeans and Paul Scarlet roses, Liza uses the past to secure a future of dreams hard-fought, but realized. This imaginative, resourceful protagonist will seduce you down her river and into her heart, revealing family secrets, shattering expectations, and renewing your faith in the endurance and intelligence of the individual. If you live north of the Mason-Dixon line, you need to embrace this new emblem of Southern feminism and lay to rest the beleaguered and banal Scarlett as your symbol of all this region epitomizes. Two Rivers is not only an eye-opener -- it is the breath and soul of the human journey.

I broke my own heart by moving away from the old grandmotherish mountains. But David Yates' Valle Crucis brought it back to me in the Northwest by portraying that mountain community so gorgeously. This is a photographic love story written to Western North Carolina, and also to East Tennesseans (I was one all my life). This book works as a coffee table book, and should be more vastly promoted so that the rest of the world can see what I have always known: Appalachia is the most beautiful region on earth.

We have visited the places written and photographed for this book. The photos are so vivid and realistic. We came across this book in a general store and sat in the rockers enjoying every page.

This is such a useful book it compells a statement. If you visit the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area or North Carolina, or if you live there, this book is an extraordinary guide, written with a sensitivity to place, attractions, events, history, excitement of being there, which makes it a stimulating guide. I have passed places often, but only after I read about them in this book did I see them and experience them. She's done a first-rate job of writing about and explaining an area many people think they already know, but will now realize there is more to learn. Thanks.

"Walking Raleigh/Durham" by Rebecca C Mann is a "must buy as a Christmas present" for friends or family currently living in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill region. As a former Durham resident, I would have loved to have possessed the history, culture, geography and walking oppotunities supplied by Mann's little book. The maps are clear and well drawn and include specific distances and safety considerations. The local architecture and lore are fun and enlightening, and it all fits into a coat pocket with ease. While I intend to send copies to Durham and Chapel Hill friends who walk for exercise, I'm also sending my 65+ year old parents a copy. With descriptions of museums, parks, and historic sites one passes on different walks, it will give my parents something to do after they've watched poor Carolina lose yet another football game. If you need to give a UNC-CH, NC STate, Duke, or Peace College bound student a high school graduation present they'll really appreciate, this book would be it. Better yet, buy it for their parents, who are much more likely to use it during campus visits to their offspring than are the students themselves, since the latter spend most of their time searching for on campus parking spaces. On my next visit to the Triangle, I'm taking "Walking Raleigh/Durham" along.

I was at NCSU in 1983 and reading this book was like reliving that dream season. Well written and engaging!

It's hard to find a book about the Pack that is bad. It's a good read for any true Wolfpack fan --a good trip down memory lane. The picture section in the middle of the book is nicely done and a good addition to the text. Would recommend for any NC State fan!

In this book, Ash analyzes the Southern experience in areas invaded by Union troops during the Civil War. Whereas most other studies on this subject deal with a specific town or locality, Ash's book presents an inclusive synthesis that examines the commonalities of the occupation throughout the South. Three main themes direct his study of occupation. One examines how Northern policies regarding the South during occupation developed over the course of the war. Another theme appraises how three different geographical segments of the South experienced occupation (garrison towns, the Confederate frontier, and no-man's land). Finally, Ash looks at how occupation by Federal forces led to internal conflicts between Southerners of varied political, social, and economic groups.
In Ash's study, three important hallmarks of the South were its social hierarchy, its rural communalism, and its race relations. These elements worked in combination to create a unique society that Northern invaders perceived as both backward and foreign. Because of the cultural disparities between the North and the South, the arrival of Union occupying troops was a greatly feared occurrence by Southerners. However, initial Southern interactions with Union troops proved to be less volatile than was originally thought. Despite Northern attempts to remain equitable and lenient within occupied areas, Southern recalcitrance persisted. The continuation of these rebellious attitudes forced Union troops to adopt a harsher policy in their administration of the occupied South, leading to further antagonism between the Union military and Southerners. The "hard policy" of Union occupation also increased existing internal conflicts in the South, such as those between slaves and their masters, Unionists and their secessionist neighbors, and poor whites and the propertied elites. Thus, with the Union control of the South and the disruption caused by this occupation, the established elements of Southern culture (social hierarchy, rural communalism, race relations) could no longer provide a completely cohesive society.

A very interesting view of the other side of the Civil War. Ash takes the reader on a trip to the South and shows how life changed after the Union Army invaded. The book gives an overall look at the entire South, showing exactly how different regions were effected. Also includes many quotes from actual residents and cites from Southern newspapers, each giving the reader a true vision of what it was like to live there during the Civil War. A wonderful addition to a Civil War collection, especially if you are interested in the South.

Excellent information about healing, herbs, and African American midwives in the antebellum period. Highly recommended for readers interested in health, birthing, and midwives in the African American community during that time. Unexpectedly, also great art!

So many people attribute African American healing to other cultures, particularly European Americans or Native Americans. While there were bound to be cultural sharing, Professor Sharla Fett makes it perfectly clear that enslaved Africans brought their own wisdom with them concerning farming and healing, as well as certain medicinal plants, with them to the Americas during the Middle Passage. "Working Cures" is an outstanding contribution to understanding distinctly American contributions to healing made by African Americans. Fett also presents the history of conjure, root doctoring, midwifery and a great deal more as it relates to medicine and healing in the African American community. Fett also illustrates the mind/body/spirit, holistic approach of African healing employed by African Americans. "Working Cures" is essential reading for those interested in learning the unique aspects of African American healing in the United States.

this mini book was an informative and recent read. good to get if you are planning a vacation or relocating to atlanta area.

Ron Tagliapietra has done a great job of tracking down what must be almost every waterfall in the state of South Carolina. If you are a waterfall fanatic who wants to see every fall possible, this book is well worth the wait. Even if you are a casual fan, this book is full of useful information for finding those hidden gems.