Tennessee Books

Awesome! I've read other books by Ms. Files and I believe this is by far her best work. The way she was able to take us back and forth between time and events was amazing. After I got into the reading, I began to wonder how she would tie it all together, but she did a beautiful job. I would suggest this book to those who are open minded and not quick to judge. I really believe this is a wonderful tale of redemption and breaking the painful cycles of history.

Instead of turning on the TV, buy this book and read it...you will finish it in a jiffy. X-Cellent read! Nothing negative to say....it's ALL GOOD!

Sheer brilliance. Normally, it takes me forever to complete a book but I couldn't out this book down. From the first sentence I was a slave to this story; or should I say stories. The characters were real and the storytelling process was hypnotic. I think I'll pass on looking into the background of my own family, though. It has been years since a book owned me the way this book has. For months I've had several unfinished books lying around the house. I took this one to work and came straight home and read it. If I could give it more stars I would. I just finished it this minute and would love to read more by this author.

Brother-sister incest plays a big role in this story as does the drug dealing business and everything that goes along with it, including murder, violence, prostitution and perversion. The characters Hailey, Benny, Walter and Evan depict homosexuality on one level or another. There is a strong voodoo undercurrent and to a lesser degree the importance of education plays a subtle part.
Admittedly this book was a thumb turner but it was much too tragic. Many of the characters in the story ended up dead - none by natural means. For me this story needed more balance.
However I give kudos to the artistry of the author!

This book was outstanding!!! From the first chapter to the very end, I couldn't find myself putting the book down. I had to finish it once I started. I actually made my co-worker drive so I could spend the hour trip finishing the story, and I was 5 pages from done by the time we pulled up to our apartment building.

This book follows the story line of one family through at least 4 generations. The writings were so off the wall it sucked me into the story. I could literally see the characters in front of me acting out the scenes. I couldn't believe that this story engrossed me so deeply. I thank Ms. Files for writing this story. I am definitely passing this on to some friends. I just have to finish compiling my list of recently read stories. My library is steadily growing. I can't wait to add my next 70 books I have on the way.

The choice of copies of _The Streetcar Named Desire_
(required reading for high school academic English
this summer) seemed to narrow down to ones with
lurid covers or this plain one. Unfortunately, the text
is almost like a typewritten script--small print and
a little hard to read.

This classic play by Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) is relentless and compelling. Few readers are un-affected by these pages, even more so than with The Glass Menagerie. The story concerns a Blanche, a troubled former southern belle who moves in with her married sister Stella in New Orleans. Blanch lives off pretensions and delusions, and we quickly sense she's headed for a fall. Her sister Stella doesn't see Blanche clearly, and worries that Blanche's presence will cause trouble with her abusive-but-loving husband. That husband is Stanley, a loud brute who's dominating persona both attracts and repulses us. Stanley is also a realist, and he easily sees through Blanche's pretensions. Readers sense the two are headed for a collision, with little doubt as to who is likely to win. Perhaps Mitch, Stanley's kind-hearted friend who likes the still-pretty Blanche can save the day, but has he the strength?

This relentless drama carries quickly to the bitter conclusion from the strength of its characters. Some find this play depressing, but most find it fascinating. The superb 1951 film starring Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando is equally (some say more) compelling.

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."

Blanche's final decree before being taken away to the insane asylum is an ironic remark which Tennessee Williams uses to harshly criticize the promiscuous lifestyle of Miss DuBois in his classic "A Streetcar Named Desire." Moreover, it is a testimony to how Blanche sets herself up for disaster.

Blanche DuBois is the southern belle whom the play revolves around, and she is certainly a character to be remembered for the ages. She escapes her deeply immoral past by fleeing to her sister Stella's homely apartment in New Orleans, only to discover that it is a complete cultural departure. A high-maintenance chauvinist upon arrival, Blanche is critical of everything in Stella's life, from her husband to her living arrangements. Blanche is dishonest about her past, lies about her alcoholism and covers up affairs with students--the complete opposite of moral perfection. Her constant affairs with unknown men back in Laurel caused Blanche to be kicked out of a two-bit hotel, and her affair with a teenage boy lost Blanche her job, illustrating Blanche as a wanton woman.

So where is this "kindness of strangers" that Blanche so respects? The irony lies in that Blanche has not always been treated well by strangers, and that her relationships with these sorts of people often fare poorly, and so the fact that she relies on them for the welfare of her life is paradoxical. Williams condemns Blanche of her loose lifestyle, sleeping around with various men whom she does not know, and ultimately sentences her to the insane asylum, demonstrating that those with lifestyles like that of Blanche will merit the same fate. The southern belle image which Blanche allegedly epitomizes soon fades, and Williams takes this fact and emphasizes it to the audience. All of this adds up to a cornucopia of shameful aspects which Blanche attempts to hide from by deluding herself in fantastical images. Blanche has always differentiated herself as being more idealistic than realistic, and so her retreat into her fantasies is no surprise--she needs to escape the harshness of the real world. She herself is fading, and so her mentality follows.

It is an important lesson which Williams teaches us about distinctions between reality and unlikely fantasies. Despite the fact that the real world may bring obstacles and roadblocks, as shown through the relationship between Stanley and Stella (which I won't delve into as my focus is on Blanche), living in reality is always a better idea than drowning yourself in fantasies. Blanche carries with her a whole plethora of stigmas and taboos that Williams deems necessary for her loose character, so that he may, in turn, teach lessons of morality to the audience. Blanche is a complex character that we can all learn from, and Williams makes that clear through the intricate development of Blanche. "Streetcar" is certainly one of the most interesting plays that I have ever read, and it is definitely a necessary component to the shelf of American classics.

Born in Columbus, Mississippi, Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) endured a difficult childhood and adolescence before suddenly exploding to national and then international fame with the 1944 play THE GLASS MENAGERIE. He would go on to create a dozen or so more that were equally famous--but he is perhaps best recalled for the 1947 drama A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, which he drew from a number of personal sources and the time he spent in the New Orleans' French Quarter, in which the play is set.

Like many of Williams' plays, the story is remarkably sordid. Blanche DuBois is aging "Southern Belle" who arrives to visit her sister Stella and is shocked to find Stella married to a bruitish Stanley and living in squalid conditions. Her social pretensions anger Stanley, who chips away with them without remorse or pity until Blanche's facade begins to crack and an ugly series of truths about her past emerge: a scandalous suicide, an equally scandalous series of affairs. Blanche is unable to confront either past or present realities and so spins into psychosis while most of those around her remain largely indifferent to her plight.

But if the material is sordid, Williams juxtaposes it with tremendous delicacy, even poetry. Blanche acquires the tragedy of a frightened, hunted animal who has sought safety only to find herself inside the very trap she had sought to escape, increasingly fearful, increasingly alone, and ultimately pitable in her inability to fend off her tormentors. It is a vivid portrait, and many regard the role of Blanche as one of the tests of a great actress.

The original 1947 New York play starred Jessica Tandy as Blanche, Marlon Brando as Stanley, Kim Hunter as Stella, and Karl Malden as Blanche's would-be suitor Mitch. A slightly later English production starring Vivien Leigh, however, ran into significantly greater censorship issues in London--and when Leigh replaced Tandy to film STREETCAR with Brando, Hunter, and Malden the material ran afoul of movie censors, who forced numerous changes and cuts. Consequently, if your idea of STREETCAR arises from the celebrated film, you may be somewhat surprised: the play goes quite a bit further than the film ever dared.

Williams is frequently accused of being sordid for the sake of sordiness, and there is some truth to this accusation; as the years passed he was less and less able to balance the sexually charged nature of his stories with the same degree of insight he brought to his earlier works. But this not true of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, a remarkably complex piece with meticulously expressed ideas, images, and thematic choices. There is a reason it remains celebrated fifty years after it first appeared on the stage: it is indeed a masterwork, utterly unlike anything that had gone before and distinctly superior to everything which borrowed from it after it proved success. A great work by a great artist.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

This is probably the most famous piece of literature from the US that I hadn'd read yet, until now. Nor watched as a play or movie. And still I seemed to know everything about it.
Having just read Gore Vidal's memoirs, where he calls TW the 'glorious bird', I was motivated to finally get acquainted with the streetcar. What fun. It is Gone with the Wind updated for the 20th century. It is the downsizing of rural gentry. It shows downward social mobility in a narrative framework of Southern Gothic. It is powerfully vulgar and perceptive. It is so politically not correct. ('Polacks are like Irish, only less highbrow.')
But with all the mad fun, let's be clear about this: despite the popular use of the term 'tragic' for the descent of Ms. Blanche into madness, this is not really a tragedy in the full sense of the word. Being a piece of stage writing makes it one only in the sense of not being a comedy. What it is, it is a really great melodrama.
A word about the genius casting for the movie: Marlon Brando dominated it more than the text justifies. Gore Vidal says in his memoirs that Kazan actually destroyed the play by pushing the Blanche character into 2nd row. He says that TW did not mind, since it made him famous.

Having read Patricia Cornwell's and then all the Jefferson Bass (Jon Jefferson and Bill Bass) novels, it was a foregone conclusion that I would have to read Death's Acre and I'm glad I did. Bass and Jefferson are excellent a writers as well as researchers and this book kept me page-turning far into the night (and yes I slept well afterword). It reads just like a novel and keeps you interested with facsinating information but never grossed out. I'm now over halfway through their next one printed in 2007 "Beyond the Body Farm". What's next?

I do not question this Author's intelligence or scientific knowledge. I do however, find this author's racial biases at times to be a little more than I can handle. Had he just stayed with pure scientific explanations regarding skeletal differences among the three main classifications: caucasiod, negroid and mongloid this book would have been rated by me as 6******'s However, when one is subjected to hear that the reason there are no black olympic swimmers is because their skulls are a tad thicker than a white person's I get more than annoyed and irritated.
I would think the Editor should have been a little more diligent and deleted the more obvious comments.

Death's Acre
Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson

I am fascinated by forensics and the details that can be discovered through forensic work. So, when I got a chance to interview Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson on a book panel, I was thrilled. I have to admit that neither of the men were what I expected, but that's all right. But, I was very impressed with both of them and I've enjoyed the books they have written together.

For people who aren't familiar with Dr Bill Bass, he is a world renowned forensic anthropologist and he has worked on a huge number of cases. At one point in those cases, he realized that it would be beneficial if there was a scientific way to determine how long a body had been dead. This would make it much easier for police, attorneys etc to make a case against a suspect. If the time of death is narrowed down to several days - it can be hard to debate an alibi, but if the time of death can be narrowed down to a more limited time frame, that makes an alibi more necessary and more useful.

This is one of the things that prompted the development of the "Body Farm" at the University of Tennessee. The Body Farm was started by Dr Bass and it was originally an acre - therefore "Death's Acre". Dr Bass and the UT students study the various stages of death and decomposition in a wide variety of conditions. It is fantastic research which is very helpful in crime solving.

I could rattle off all kinds of great stories and examples that were in the book, but that would take the fun out of it for you. I will tell you that there is death, gore and sorted details. It could be more gory, but there is plenty of detail. I think it was handled very well and should appeal to many people who are interested in forensics and forensic anthropology. I highly recommend the book and it gives you an interesting overview of many aspects for Dr Bass' life.

I admit that I had a tough time getting into the beginning, but give it a chance. The case studies are great. When I talked with Dr Bass, he looked at my copy of the book and noticed all the paper clips on the pages (there are a lot). He asked me what they meant. When I told him those were all the examples that I want to include in my future mysteries. He gave me a huge smile and said he was very glad he could get me thinking. Its a fantastic resource for mystery writers and entertaining for people who are interested in forensics.

Nikki Leigh

This book keeps your interest the entire way. The information was fascinating, informative from a science perspective, and gross all at the same time. Definitely a great book! I also enjoy reading about Dr. Bass' career.

If you are interested in forensics, this is the book for you! It tells how the study of forensics developed and how Dr. Bill Bass was involved in devoloping and establishing it as an instrument to solve crimes and identify bodies. It is very readable and easy to understand without a medical or legal background. The book however is not for the squemish or faint of heart. It gives extremely detailed descriptions of bodily decay and crimes in the recent past. I found the book to be very interesting and informative. Well worth my time and money!

Unique amongst most presidential biographies, which devote the majority of their pages to the pursuit and practice of the presidency, Brands' biography is more personal, devoting only 125 of 525 pages to Jackson's election and presidency, the rest to his full and violent life. This quote from Brands, spoken in context of the nullification (States Right) fight during Jackson's term, could well be his life's epitaph: "Jackson lived in a world of struggle. And the struggle never ended."

Jackson's continuous struggle as an adult was for the preservation of the Union, during a time when the preservation of the Union was often tenuous and its eventual dissolution in the not-distant future assumed by many. Jackson's repeated mantra, as he expressed in a toast in defiance of the states-rights nullifiers: "Our Federal Union--it must be preserved." His policies and actions, vilified or praised, must be viewed through this prism.

With only 125 pages to cover the highlights of Jackson's two-term administration--the nullification crisis, the Bank of the United States war, the (aborted) annexation of Texas, and relocation of the Southeastern Indian tribes across the Mississippi--the details are brushed over in summary form. But Brands captures the heart of the progression of American political leadership from republicanism to democracy, from federalists to Whigs to Republicans, from anti-Federalists to republicans to Democrats, from Washington to Jackson--and Lincoln, the connection Brand makes in the final paragraph.

Complete and truthful. Jackson was a onery old coot and a great president and military hero. Brands does a very good job of covering his life and times. A good read.

Since I live close to the area where Andrew Jackson was born (while I am a native North Carolinian, South Carolina seems to have the most evidence for claiming him as a native born son since one of the pieces of evidence was that Jackson himself claimed to have born in South Carolina), I had natural interest in reading about his life.

Overall I would say the book is a good read - the story gets off to a good start in describing Jackson's early life but does seem to drag on in other periods.

Among the areas covered by Brands include:

1. Jackson's early life and how he was orphaned at an early age.
2. Participation in the American Revolution.
3. Training and experiences as a lawyer.
4. Move to Tennessese.
5. Military experiences with Indians and the War of 1812.
6. Political alliances and his many political enemies.
7. Marriage to Rachel Donelson.
8. Later life.

I would have like to have seen some more maps that pertained to his travels and military battles - doing so would have made it easier to follow some of the narrative.

Still, a good read on "Old Hickory". Recommended.

H.W. Brands writes a detailed, fact-laden biography that treats Jackson with sincerity, but not excessive bias. The book is serious as well as alluring in that it maintains elements of the sweeping myth of the West - so relevant to Jackson and early America.

More than half of the book deals with Jackson's life prior to his inauguration in 1821. While this may seem excessive, the context is critical to understanding Jackson and evaluating his legacy. As the first congressman for the newly formed frontier state of Tennessee, Jackson seems unfit for the laborious political maneuverings of Philadelphia and more apt to lead by the sword. With draconian discipline he succeeds brilliantly on the battlefield, crushing the Creek Indians and defeating the British in New Orleans in one of the most lopsided victories in American history. The people revere him as a fearless hero and maverick who is less inclined to listen to the Washington elites than to follow his own code forged from frontier experience - an experience rooted in dueling, drinking, slaves, Indian slaying and horses as well as in initiative, courage and persistence through immense hardship, of a sort unknown in the East.

Jackson's fame, and infamy, ultimately propels him to the South Lawn where he hosts a raucous inauguration party, in stark contrast to his presidential predecessors. Again, Brands largely explains the most important acts of Jackson's presidency - the tariff, the bank crisis, Indian policy and western expansion - in terms of the lessons learned on the frontier as well as Jackson's instincts to preserve the Union at all costs - which fills the void left by his own deceased biological family.

The end result is erudite and entertaining - a scholarly portrait peppered with stories of the frontier - that leaves the reader with a fuller understanding of Jackson and, despite Old Hickory's glaring flaws, at least a grudging respect for Jackson's courage, emotional devotion to the Union and embodiment of the hopes and fears of the American people. "His strengths were their strengths, his weaknesses were their weaknesses," writes Brands. More than anywhere else this was true of the American West.

Although it is 550 pages, this biography served as an excellent introduction to the life of our seventh President because I started the book almost wholly ignorant of this fascinating American patriot. This is the second H.W. Brands bio I have read. His bio of Benjamin Franklin was a better book but Andrew Jackson is, by no stretch, a disappointment.

Jackson was the first of many Presidents to realize that one doesn't have to know a thing about politics or even like politics to rise to this nation's highest office through popular vote. Actually, that makes sense. After all, the average American neither likes nor understands anything about politics. He spoke as the man of the people while simultaneously placing himself far above them & ruling with an iron will and fist. As a retired general who was renowned for his fearsome temper, he was used to being obeyed or else. Old habits die hard. Jacksonian Democracy seems to be: democracy is great as long as I'm in charge or, to paraphrase Jefferson "all men are created equal but some men are more equal than others." Jackson was a self-made man through considerable leadership and intellectual talents. He not only knew he was more capable than the next man, he had proof.

Politics is the art of compromise and Jackson was never a compromiser. A smart man of strong passions, he brooked no insult & did not suffer fools kindly. He seems to have considered anyone who disagreed with him in the slightest a fool. Jackson had that peculiarly abrasive personality that brought out the worst in anyone who disliked him & even caused much hesitation in those who supported him. Jackson's epitaph could fairly have read "loved, hated but never ignored." As a younger man, Jackson repeatedly demonstrated a singular lack of self control manifested in a hot-head and itchy dueling finger. He also seems to have unhesitatingly relished killing "the enemy" whether the enemy of was the misbegotten Indians or the wicked British. A slaveowner & expansionist, Jackson squarely alligned himself with the furtherance of American interests, whatever the collateral. Ignorable orders and bendable laws were hardly impediments to his goals. The ends justified the means. As an older man, he seemed to mellow and become more thoughtful but the lion could still roar and his claws, though usually retracted, were still very sharp and powerful. He was never a very intellectual nor spiritual man but had a surprisingly compassionate side to his personality in regards to his family. He was a strict Literal Constitutionalist and struggled incessantly against Interpretationalists. For a supposed common man of the people, he was strikingly conservative in his policies and Presidential demeanor.

Brands spends a tremendous amount of time on Jackson's pre-Presidency life and not nearly enough on the contentious elections that sent his rival, John Q. Adams and then himself to the Presidency or on Jackson's two terms. Now I need to read a book or two specifically about Jackson's political career. A long, rewarding and unhesitatingly recommended read for anyone looking to familiarlize themselves with Old Hickory.

This book was highly recommended by a friend/colleague. In fact he generously lent me his copy. The stories in this book are all real sad life stories. The images of each patient encounters are still very vivid on my mind and they all left big scars in my heart. It literally tore my heart apart when I read through the painful description of their sufferings till their last breath. They reminded me of the deficiency of our health care system (a big agenda item awaiting the next president-elected to tackle, if at all possible. we know it won't happen during this presidency for sure when the nation's focus is put on "war" and "combat"). There is so much more we, especially the health care professionals, can, should and must do to care for those who are tormented by ailments (both curable and incurable.) On the one hand, it saddened me to realize how ignorance, prejudice and selfishness of mankind can tear us apart. On the other hand it gave me hope knowing that there is always someone, like Dr. Verghese, who is heroic, selfless and willing to sacrifice for those who suffer. He is the perfect role model for all those who dedicate their life to health care.

This book has excellent insite to the challenges of people with HIV. Great read!

I happened across this book and was immediately drawn into it. The author is a remarkable human being with deep empathy and sympathy with some of the first casualties of the AIDS epidemic. As a Tennessee native, this story was very interesting to me; it chronicles the spread of the disease not long after the disease was recognized. The personal stories of all concerned are engrossing, and it's heartbreaking because in those early days the medical profession had nothing to offer the sufferers--and suffer they surely did, regardless of how they contracted the disease, and the book includes stories of those who got it through blood transfusions. The human connections between this Indian doctor who was born in Ethiopia and the people of east Tennessee, made at the most basic level, are what makes this book powerful; yet the author does not excuse his own shortcomings which eventually led to the failure of his marriage. I couldn't put it down and finished it in about 3 days - and then immediately got his other book, The Tennis Partner. (Another reviewer said this is fiction - but it's nonfiction. I found it in the biography section of the public library.)

My Own Country is Abraham Verghese's unique recount of his experience fighting AIDS at the dawn of the epidemic. Like other infectious disease specialists, Verghese is immediately immersed in AIDS, and it soon dominates his profession. the author traces the penetration of the disease as the city comes to grips with AIDS and its unwanted victims. Often without the support of his colleagues and family, Verghese treats an ever increasing number of patients. Including the estranged brother of a colleague, a gay couple intent on breaking it`s taboo, and man and his wife who contract AIDS through a contaminated blood transfusion. Though this memoir, Verghese reveals his own confusions about homosexuality, and wrestles with the his own sympathy for his patients and the prejudices of his colleagues. As one of his nurses says "'I don't think we should have bothered in the first place...he deserved what he got and I don't see why we should have to take care of him.'"
Verghese can become wearisome in his consistent use of the term "miracle center" to describe his workplace and tends to drone on at many points, becoming unnecessarily detailed when writing about the specifics in his work and family life which somewhat take away from his insights. Also, Verghese's family is obviously important to him, and he hints time and time again at problems with his wife, however he never fully develops their relationship. "My work with AIDS in the community fell into this chasm between us. AIDS was like another wild friend, a friend from a different social stratum, a friend I indulged but no longer brought to the house or even discussed with her." Despite this, the author tells a terrific, unforgettable story of the not only the lives and feelings of the patients, but everyone it affects.

This based-on the author's true-story details the time he was just starting out as a doctor. He picked a Hospital in smalltown United States where he would be the infectious disease specialist. Suddenly, cases of AIDS appeared even in that small town. It was the 80's epidemic and as it spread from the big cities AIDS victims were met with fear and a lack of compassion from most doctors. Verghese was one of the few who truly listened to and cared for his patients through such a terrible disease.

Interest in this particular Civil War memoir increased due to its being frequently quoted and referred to in the documentary series on "The Civil War" that aired on PBS stations almost twenty years ago. Thankfully, the success of the series caused "Company Aytch, or a Side Show of the Big Show" to be reprinted.

As a narrative device, film maker Ken Burns compared and contrasted the recollections of Samuel R. Watkins, a Confederate soldier who served in the Western theater of operations (principally in Tennessee and Georgia), with the diary entries of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, a Union soldier from Rhode Island. Both men saw significant combat action and both survived the war.

Although Rhodes recorded his immediate observations, Watkins began his memoirs after the war had ended and his book was published seventeen years after the Army of the Tennessee had surrendered. He had the advantage of being able to meditate on his experiences and I found his book to be of greater interest as a result.

I have read both "All for the Union" (Rhodes) and "Company Aytch" (Watkins). While both books have much to recommend them, I am partial to the latter. As a writer, Watkins produced more profound opinions. There seemed to be more color, humor, poetry and reflection in his prose. Rhodes seemed dull and factual in his summaries which often culminated with the slogan "All for the Union." I do not mean to diminish Rhodes or his military service in any manner, but Watkins is simply a better writer.

The conclusion of Watkins book is quite moving. It was memorable when broadcast on television and it is no less memorable when read from the printed page.

Mr. Watkins tells a humble and epic story. A confederate private shares his unique perspective. Reveals the grim realities of a glorious cause going from bad to worse and back again. It is truly amazing he survived four years of warfare. Most often death was easier than survival. General Bragg routinely court martialed his troops with a firing squad for deserters. Further punishments like barreling, whippings and deprevations were routine. It got better under General Johnston and worse again under General Hood. The soldiers alternatively cursed and praised the war, its' cause and the Generals. Yet like in all wars, the men fought for each other. So many soldiers met their Maker, whereby Watkins extolls their virtues and praises. Eloquently written and graphically descriptive. Sam's survival is a testimonial to God's protection. Written in the 1880's.
READ the book and you will find a friend from the ages.

Sam Watkins himself describes it best himself,A Side Show to the Big Show. This Book describes the War For Southern Independence, from the eyes of a common Private in the Confederate Army. He was in it from the Start to the End. I've read it 5 times, I enjoy it more each time!! A MUST for anyone studying the WAR!!

There are seveal diary books which are like Co. Aytch however for some reason I could relate to Sam Watkins. When I'm asked about the Civil War/War of Nothern Aggression, I tell them to start their study of that time with two books: Co. Aytch and Testament:A Soldier's Story of the CIvil War by Bobrick. Both books are a 5 star in my humble opinion. After reading those two then go on and read whatever you want.

Surely themost informing view of the pasr is the personal diary or even memoir. Often in the military genre we find that what is written in a diary after the battle offers a ver different view than the mrmoir written some time later. Sam Watkins's memoir is the exception. I doubt a diary wou read substantially different from this book. Sam is a mature man who sees through the gloss and temporary glory of the moment both on the field and from his armchair. If you forget the name on the cover, you can believe the person responsible for it goes by the nom de plume of Mark Twain. This is not a book for the military library, it bellongs in every library.

This is an amazing book. I finished it in 4 days and started all over again. Not for children though.

"Mr Suttree...the new day commences and contrary to conduct befitting a person of your station you betook yourself to various low places within the shire of McAnally and there did squander several ensuing years in the company of thieves, derelicts, miscreants, pariahs, poltroons, spalpeens, curmudgeons, clotpolls, murderers, gamblers, bawds, whores, trulls, brigands, topers, tosspots, sots and archsots, lobcocks, smellsmocks, runagates, rakes, and other assorted and felonious debauchees."

Such are the characters and such is the language of Suttree, a novel about Cornelius Suttree, who in 1952 has abandoned his life of privilege because of his relationship with his father and has opted instead for the life of a river rat, living in a shoddy houseboat under the bridges of Knoxville, Tennessee and eeking out a living as a fisherman. When not checking his lines, he spends his time drinking, fighting, in jail, wandering through the woods alone, and hanging out with the dredges of society.

The world of Sutree is an underbelly of grime and muck, populated by a violent, immoral, idiotic but usually likable cast of characters. Suttree himself is one of the more noble of them, but the most enjoyable is a hare-brained schemer named Harrogate. Suttree meets the "country mouse" (as he calls Harrogate) in the workhouse after Harrogate is arrested for engaging in repeated carnal relations with watermelons. Later in the book Suttree finds him shooting poisoned meat from a slingshot, killing bats which he then delivers to the local hospital for a bounty ($1 per bat), and then again Suttree discovers him in a cave unconscious after his plan to dynamite a tunnel under the city and into a bank vault goes awry.

It takes awhile to care for Suttree, partly because he doesn't seem to care about much himself. But by the end of the novel, McCarthy has given us enough, in small pieces here and there, that we have in Suttree a deep, well-rounded and sympathetic, if flawed, character. All the big names have been thrown around by critics describing this book--Twain, Joyce, Steinbeck, Faulkner--but I feel like McCarthy is his own. Just as quintessentially American as Twain or Steinbeck, but wholly original. I'm actually surprised to say that I may like this book better than some of his later, more sparsely written novels. It's really really good.

In my opinion, this is Cormac McCarthy at his absolute finest. The story of Suttree, the homeless vagabond, is so utterly compelling that time just falls away as you're reading it. If you've never read McCarthy (*gasp!*), this would be a helluva great place to start. This story haunts me.

I enjoyed this book very much. I have enjoyed all the books I have read by Cormac McCarthy. They don't always end happily but are true to life.

I've just read Suttree. As did McCarthy's later book, The Road, Suttree gave me the feeling of knowing, or having known, the protagonist, and liking him very much.

These stories set in the Appalachian mountains are incredible! This one is about a certain stretch of the mountains that are haunted by an eighteenth century pioneer woman. The present day plot is set in this area, and the two times run parallel to each other. I find it hard to describe this since the concept is so unique, but I do know what I like, and I like these stories very much. I recommend that you begin with the first book and read in order (this is the third in the series). In this book we see Martha come into her own as she works as a deputy. She is on the trail of an elderly escaped convict and this man's path seems to cross with a bunch of other present day people, as well as the ghost of the eighteenth century woman. I know it sounds far-fetched, but believe me it is not. This book is incredibly well-written.

This was a book club selection. We had not done a mystery and it was a fun, easy book.I enjoyed a few Tony Hillerman's, similar regional mystery novel idea. I had noticed that the author had a following and decided to try it. I did enjoy it. A multi-layered novel with multiple story lines that end up merging in unexpected ways. The criminal elements were a little transparent and predictable (I won't spoil anything by expanding on that). My parents are from Appalachia. This aspect of the writing I found to be top notch. She knows the subject, she writes from the heart. Appalachians are discriminated against and pre-judged ruthlessly and without criticism because it is not a particular race. The "ignorant hillbilly" slur has existed as long as most degrading slurs, and is condoned by the media and our society. Sharyn McCrumb gives her readers a glimpse into a complicated, sometimes closed culture that has many beautiful aspects to it. The religion, the customs, the loyalty, and the unique music are both interesting and mysterious. More importantly, these 1st, 2nd and now 3rd generation Americans helped build this country. From the anti-establishment bootleggers to the mine wars of the 1920's, it is a culture rich with history,tradition, scandal, and tears. Not to be overlooked. Bravo to Sharyn McCrumb.

This novel makes such a strong statement about the destruction of a culture and its environment through the use of mystery, suspense and well-drawn characters. It also questions conventional perceptions of heroes and villains and thus revises the myths that the author is drawing on. That's what makes it so brilliant. She Walks These Hills in the best book I've ever seen from Sharyn McCrumb. I am in awe of her achievement.

After a hard week of Reality, She Walks These Hills is a rare treat. McCrumb's ability to take one away from the concerns and intricacies of one's own day-to-day life is astounding.

She encourages all five of your senses to participate...her characters become your friends and the mystery and history of the Appalachians become part of your own past for a short time. You root for the good guy, boo the bad guy and in the end, can rest easy knowing that everything worked out the way it was supposed to.

SHE WALKS THESE HILLS by Sharyn McCrumb draws you deep into the culture of the Tennessee mountain county. Nora Bonesteel has the sight and she sees many things before they happen. It is not a comfortable, life but Nora has learned to live with it.
An urban graduate student, Jeremy Cobb begins a backpack trip into Nora'S mountains to trace the paths of Katie Wyler who was captured by the Shawnee. Jeremy isn't equipped to walk the hills and abandons his meager supplies as he fights to survive until he can reach help. The spirit of Katie walks to same path.
Hiram Sorley has escaped from prison and is also making his way home. His status as a local folk hero impedes Sheriff Spencer Arrowood in his search. All parties both living and dead travel paths where no man can follow in the complex novel.
A story that will stay with you for a long time.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and SINS OF THE FATHRS.

boy find these by accident and can't get enough of them. have to read all night to finish .

Excellent book, suspenseful, a definite page turner. This is another one of a series of "Shadows" books by Kay Hooper. This book draws you into the world of the paranormal, delivers mystery, and a bit of romance. I certainly didn't guess who the culprit was, and I'm usually good at doing so. Highly recommend her books. Received in perfect condition, and quick and easy transaction.

This is enough for me, I can't take any more of these preposterous stories. FBI doesn't use Kevlar vests? No they would rather depend on a handy healer! Surrre.

Don't waste your money

Unique as each of Kay Hooper's books are. Even a skeptic would be enthralled by her psychic storylines. I am proud to now own each and every book from the Bishop series to date. I would recommend this book and all others in the series to anyone who liked to curl up with a good book. Especially if they didn't mind staying up until the wee hours of the morning just to finish the book - as I did. Two thumbs up!

With this book Kay Hooper managed to have me looking in every closet, double checking my doors... It was a great supernatural thriller that I recommend to all that can stomach it. I wasn't too keen on the Weje Board but Kay managed to tie it all together!

A wonderful story, thoroughly enjoyed, and similar to my family history. The book was not, however, well written.

The Jew Store was both charming and telling. The author was insightful, but always kind and her humor was gentle.

This is an exquisitely written memoir that reads like fiction. What a talent to take what is true and create a story! In the 1920's, my grandparents ran a "Jew store" in Lawrenceville, Virgina, but left after a year during which the KKK made it known they were unwelcome. My grandfather became a "Jew peddler" in North Carolina, and much of this story rang true with the tales I was told as a child. Residents looked on the "Jew peddler" with suspicion, but also with awe because he brought the big city with him. He was expected to be sophisticated; his opinions were taken seriously. During the Great Depression, one North Caroina farmer gave his daughter to my grandfather because she was starving. He took her home to Norfolk, Virginia, to raise with his own five children, and a life-long relationship ensued.

My book club enjoyed this book and had a lively discussion.

This was a definite surprise me novel. I picked it up for no other reason than the shocking title. This has become one of my favorite books, and she, a favored writer. I love how she brings the people from her childhood to life in the reader's mind, the language, the sayings, a delightful Southern Yiddish flavor. This book has been passed among friends and allowed us to have an interesting discussion with 3 generations of Southern women.

The authenticity of detail hit me over and again, describing not only how it felt to be Jewish in white anglo-saxon Prodestant Tennessee, but the way everyone was: open armed but not altogether open minded, graciously phrasing back-talk, helpful when you least expected it, back-stabbing the same way, and sugar-coating every topic but money. When it came to money, you didn't pay protection after the fact, like industrial cities; you first worked for permission. Fabulously The Jew Store tells this tale! True to my own memory is the white woman whose lemon merangue pie was acclaimed, only it was her cook's. The cook, called that but doing cleaning, gardening, child rearing, and everyting else. Learning to listen backwards if you wanted to know what someone was actually saying, as in "we're so glad you came over and didn't even call!" The sugar-coated talk from mean, angry men. The social standing that harked to who-knew-where... This was the small mill town I grew up in in NC, too. It produced the fragile sounding Southern-belle diction that was good for date bait 'up north,' as her daughter found out; but that belied the resolve of strong, smart women with wonderful senses of humor, as shown in her characters. Anyone who grew up in a small mill town in the South prior to -- say 1970 --- met plenty of folks just like these. How glorious to have this touching volume of remembrances.