Tennessee Books

This book is meta-fiction on steroids - the story loops and turns on itself, addresses the readerlove directly, retraces the same ground time and again and then jumps to another reality. The cleverness of Foreman's writing reminds me of John Barth, but Foreman takes his readers into the heart of the Tennessee river country instead of Barth's Chesapeake, carrying us along as he searches for the key that will win back his lost love, the beautiful and frequently remembered Abigail. Foreman's is a finely detailed land of home-made beer, four-wheelers, Civil War reenactors and folks trying to find love, live without it or live with it once they've found it. Foreman travels through this country, lookin' for love in all the wrong places, like Huck Finn in hell, and you go eagerly along, wondering which new memorable character you will meet and what in the world can happen next.
My only quibble is the ending. There were a few early hints that this might be a religious book, but to bring God in at the end to quiet the author's (and he hopes Abigail's) soul, seems to me something of a deus ex machina device.
Still, this is an entertaining book for Christians, meta-fiction fans or anyone else. And Abigail, honey: Never has there been a more creative lover - take the guy back.

We met Walt in LA today. What a great guy. He volunteered at the LA Dream Center and was working with inner city kids. I am eager to get my hands on his book -- he's very passionate about his work which is an admirable characteristic for an author. He also writes screenplays that should make it to the big screen someday.

This is a collection of satires written by Ambrose Bierce. The collection containes a number of lesser known short works by the author, all dealing with political satire. Bierce bills himself as another Voltaire or Swift; however, I don't think the writings in this book compare to the works of those authors. Reading the satires in this book reminds me more of the writings of Lucian and the story of the "Adventures of Baron von Munchausen". These later works are more bizzar and off the wall than the former works. A few of the stories come close to the writings of Swift (e.g., "Ashes of the Beacon, "A Scientific Dream", and "Annals of the Future Historian"); however, I found most of the stories not on par with the stories of Voltaire or Swift. There is a reason these stories are not well known and Bierce had a difficult time finding anyone who would publish these.

The best part of the book is the second half of the writings. There are a collection of essays by Bierce with political topics. These elaborate on many of the ideas touched on in the stories.

I am a huge fan of Bierce (along with Mark Twain), I was hoping to find some rare gems with this collection. I have used Swift for years in my AP European history classes, I was hoping to find something usable from Bierce in my AP U.S. history classes - but in the end, I really found nothing I can use. The collection is interesting and if you are a Bierce fan, you should read these stories, especially the essays.

Overall good collection, but will be of interest most to those individuals who are Bierce fans, or fans of satire. Reminds me more of Lucian rather than Voltaire or Swift.

It seems incredible that much of the work in this volume has not been widely available since the publication of Bierce's Collected Works more than ninety years ago. It seems particularly incredible in the case of the two long satires, "Ashes of the Beacon" and "The Land Beyond the Blow", since these constitute perhaps his most sustained attack on the absurdities of American society, and contain some of his most pointed and iconoclastic writing. Bierce himself seems to have held them in high regard, but until the Collected Works no publisher took an interest. "The Land Beyond the Blow" is a voyage to strange lands, undertaken courtesy of a large hairy fist applied to the narrator's eye; the various customs and other foibles of the peoples encountered serve to parody the government, judiciary, public taste, dog lovers, etc., etc., of Bierce's own time and place. "Ashes of the Beacon" purports to be "An Historical Monograph Written in 4930" and gives a few indications concerning the lamentable failure of "self-government" in America. It is less amusing and more analytical; and while practically everyone will find much in it to disagree with, there is also plenty to think about. Though generally conservative (with some startling exceptions) and frequently pigheaded, Bierce is neither a fool nor a hypocrite, and he makes his points with thoroughgoing clarity. His work as a whole is (among many other things) a lifelong battle against woolly thinking, murky logic and bad writing, and the pieces in The Fall of the Republic are no exception. Besides the long satires, the book includes a number of short essays on such topics as capital punishment (which Bierce favours), insurance (which he does not favour), temperance (which he demolishes completely) and the Decay of the Nose (upon which he is coolly judicious and commendably straight-faced). A further section is devoted to the Annals of the Future Historian, a series of pieces in which the Future Historian's misconceptions and presuppositions serve to point the reader towards uncomfortable questions not only about the present but, by implication, about the possible misconceptions and presuppositions embedded in our own perception of history. There is also a scholarly and sympathetic critical introduction by the editors who, in hunting out this work and making it available to a general readership, have done satire, literature and the rest of us an immense service.

I was completely absorbed by it. I had read a few of the author's short stories and assumed there would be powerful imagery in his novel as well. But I was still unprepared for the vividness and force of the pictures he created.

Firefighting is far from my personal experience, but I could identify throughout the book with the characters' approach-avoidance to the lure and danger of fire. Similarly, I could relate to the alternating boredom and exhilaration of the job. The intricacies of small-town Italian political machinations were a revelation but totally believable.

Based on events in the author's life while fighting forest fires in Italy, Fire On Mount Maggiore is a novel about a firefighter plagued with survivor's guilt after a terrible blaze slaughters five men in his brigade. Caught amid rumors and suspicions of flawed firefighting operations, corruption in the management of state lands, serial arson, and influence of the criminal underworld, he embarks upon an exploration into the conspiracy. Winner of the 2004 Peter Taylor Prize for the Novel, Fire On Mount Maggiore blends the realism of firsthand experience with a suspenseful saga of adventure, danger, and a glimpse into the darkness of men's hearts. Highly recommended.

This was an amazing book and I could not put it down. It touched on so many emotions and often brought a tear to my eye. Keane is a captivating storyteller and I felt I was right there with the richly-developed characters throughout the book. This story will stay with you long after you finish reading it. A wonderful read!

Reviewed by Danielle Feliciano for Reader Views (1/08)

Carter Lee is the true definition of a workaholic. He has no life and no connections outside of his professional environment. He is accessible around the clock and demands the same of his coworkers. It is this unrelenting drive that brings Carter's supervisor to force a one-week vacation on him. Carter now faces a week with no email, no cell phone, and strict instructions not to work at all. At the same time, Carter's mother calls requesting he help sit with his dying grandfather as she has other obligations this particular week. With nothing else to do and a sense of family obligation, Carter packs his bags and travels from the chaos of Atlanta back to the small town in Tennessee that he grew up in.

This series of events brings Carter to his grandfather's home where he finds piles of journals documenting his grandfather's life. Carter begins reading these journals and soon finds himself immersed in getting to know a grandfather with whom he has never had a relationship. The time he spends in Tennessee combined with the journals and a brief encounter with his grandfather help Carter truly reevaluate his life and move on to be the person he wants to be.

This book is written in a number of points of view, jumping from first person to third person narrative, which at times became confusing. There were points where the book was overwritten and I would have liked to have had more journal entries included to help develop the story. The author did a wonderful job of telling a strong story of family and self in a very simple way. With minimal characters and a subdued setting, the point of the story never got lost. The story was beautiful and moving and left the reader feeling very satisfied with the story told in "Five Days in Autumn."

In 1935, $25,452.32 was a fortune. Enough to kill or be killed over. When a paroled ex-Union miner discovers he must face a corrupt bank president and an amoral, murdering prison guard to get his money, it's dynamite! Jimmy Stewart is great in the movie role as Matty Appleyard, a gentle man with an iron core, as the aging actor was from a small coal mining town. It is odd to see George Kennedy as a vicious prison guard, and Strother Martin as a bashful ex-con, their roles reversed fom "Cool Hand Luke." Davis Grubb writes much from experience, telling a spooky tale of a hypocritical Sunday school teacher/prison guard who stalks the cons much like Harry Powell in "Night of the Hunter". He weaves the lives of poor West Virginia folks, outcasts of the Depression, prostitutes, as all the same good backbone of society. The book ends with a positive note, as the people were against banks and cheered to see Matty finally get his money and the banker get his come-uppance.

This Gangster Novel set in the mystical town of Glory West Virginia has had more than it's fair share of grinding corruption and poverty during the Great Depression.On April of 1935,3 men were released from the Glory Jail boarding a train but returning to Glory to the bank.They were carrying a satchel filled with $25,352 and 32 cents.That was Blood money for the corrupt bosses of that time.With an array of both good and evil characters,makes this an extrordinary eerie suspense novel in the same tradition of Davis Grubb's prior novel"The Night of the Hunter" which both books were made into movies.The reknowned movie classic"Fools Parade"1971 starring Jimmy Stewart,a young Kurt Russell (at the time rarely seen in a non-disney film) and George Kennedy has unfortunately never been released on vhs/dvd in the U S.Video Distrbutors both large and small should aggressively pursue the release of this great gem that's sadly been overlooked!! Meanwhile,enjoy the book!!Finally,thumbs way up for the late,great Moundsville-Clarksburg, West Virginia author" Davis Grubb" who has entertained millions with his captivating novels!!Good Show!!Also,Thomas E. Douglass is planning to do a biography on the reknowned Davis Grubb and hopefully it will be out in the near future for all to enjoy!!Hurry up!!

Late author Jim Keith dedicated his book "The Gemstone File" to the the Queen of Conspiracy Mae Brussell. Mae pre-deceased Jim by about ten years.

Bruce Roberts conveyed his letters to Mae Brussell in 1972. At the time Mae placed them in a file she labeled "Gemstone File", giving the letters the name that made the collection a staple in the conpiracy world. In the spring of 1974 Mae Brussell opened up her home to a writer named Stephanie Caruana and allowed Caruana access to her volumnious files, including, but not limited to, the Gemstone File.

Caruana's interaction with her host Mae Brussell is well publicized as is her distain for Brussell, a researcher far ahead of her time so well respected by her followers that they labeled themselves Brusselsprouts. Caruana wrote a 23-page synopsis of Roberts' letters that came to be called "The Skelton Key". There are many versions of her work but in almost all cases the "Key" concludes by emphasizing that the only way to spread the secrets of the key is for each reader to take an active part, copy it and pass it on. An urgency to do so quickly is stressed by saying something like "The game is nearly up. Either the Mafia goes -- or America goes." The very shared secret and the need to join this closed club fighting for America's survival lent credibility to Roberts' letters that they would not have possessed had they been published unedited and in their entirety. His complete, unedited works have never seen the light of day and therefore, the Gemstone legend lives on unchallanged until Jim Keith wrote the Gemstone File in 1992, six years before his strange death.

Keith accomplishes in this 213-page book what others have been unable or unwilling to do. He allows many people of various beliefs and widely diverse intellect to write their own opinions of Bruce Roberts' work. The opinions are as diverse as the subjects they critics find interesting. The common demoninator is the fact that, with a single exception, they do question the validity of Roberts' assumptions and his conclusions.

The sole exception - the only person who accepts Bruce Roberts' words as gospel - is author Stephanie Caruana. Caruana states on page 43 that her intent at the time she wrote the Skelton Key was not to "describe Bruce Roberts" but to "outline events". Then Caruana says that if her intention had been to describe Bruce Roberts, she would have said that he, as far as she knew, was brave, tough, real, a player and not a sideline sitter; sometimes scared, very angry.....Caruana concludes this statement by saying he wasn't "trying to enter the world of James Bond" - he WAS James Bond, or his own version of it.

Jim Keith's chapter from pages 110 to 132 is an excellent example of one writer's attempt to objectively examine the Gemstone File - a legend that took on a life of its own with Caruana's Skeleton Key.

Unfortunately Jim Keith's valiant effort to shed light on the darkness that was Bruce Roberts only succeeds in surrounding The Gemstone File in more fog then San Francisco on a summer day.

virginia mccullough
Curator of the Mae Brussell Collection

IT IS NOT FAR FROM THE TRUTH and keith wants people to know about what is going on out there..I think that is good since there is so much lies and deceitfulness..I am glad he takes a stand for it..that is why I am also glad to be a Christian to..I know first hand about secret societies..I was in the black dragon for years.

This book was very helpful in giving me hiking directions to various waterfalls listed in the book. He also has pictures and ratings of most of the falls in his guide.
I must have seen about 19 different waterfalls when I visited Tennessee last June and it was one of the best vacations I ever had!

This is an excellent book for Tennessee waterfall enthusiasts. Mr. Plumb must have done a lot of in-depth research as his detailed directions to the trailheads and waterfalls are quite accurate, and his descriptions of the waterfalls themselves are vividly fitting. Amy and I have been to over 100 waterfalls in Tennessee and this book pointed out several waterfalls that we had never heard of. This book is a great tool to have while exploring the splendors of Tennessee!

The late Mr. Landrum has written an interesting puzzle regarding the theft of a valuable painting and the murder of a local "character". The chapters of the book are written by different members of the town of Borderville - Tennessee and Virginia. You will probably enjoy chapters by some of the authors more than others (I personally enjoyed the chapters by Henry Delaporte and Harriet Gardner Bushrow the best), but the charm of the book is the way it fleshes out the interesting community of Borderville. The mystery begins when Helen Delaporte, president of the local historical society discovers that the valuable painting left to the society is a fake, and a recent one at that. Having a million-dollar painting stolen from the society while she is president is too much for Harriet, so she goes to work trying to figure out how and who forged the painting. Shortly after the theft of the million-dollar painting is announced in the local newspaper, musician and friend to local artists, Randy Hartwell is found murdered in his home. Does the murder have anything to do with the theft, or is it merely a crime of passion as the local police believe? Harriet and her friends work to solve this interesting puzzle, giving us an amusing look at the town of Borderville and its residents. The mystery portion of the book is actually a small reason to read this story, much more involving is Borderville and its residents with their quirks, foibles and follies - just like any other small town. A perfect book to enjoy with a nice cup of tea.

Graham Landrum Slips on a Peale, Otherwise Known as the Historical Society Murder Mystery/// Carolyn Schafer/// I feel compelled to warn you that when Mrs. Helen Delaporte asked me to write up this book report (the Old Orchard Fort chapter of the NSDAR is serious about getting its inches of publicity), I balked. I had so many things to do--a thunderstorm had blown branches all over the yard, the cat needed to be taken to the vet, well, you get the picture. And that is precisely the point. Helen, her husband Henry, and their friends had solved, rather cleverly I think, the disappearance of a Charles Willson Peale portrait (bequeathed by Mrs. Alberta Chamberlain to the Ambrose County Historical Society--Helen was elected president, of course), and that nice Mr. Landrum agreed to help them, once again, write it up. God rest his soul. Helen told me to forget about everything for just one afternoon and sit down with this manuscript and a toddy and enjoy, and I did just that. Now some people might think ladies of our generation don't know how to live, but I assure you we do. And so do our men. In fact, I'm writing this report while my husband is lunching with the new regional governor at Rotary Club. Now, I don't want to expose any surprises or red herrings, but I do believe readers will enjoy the rolicking romps of Mr. Landrum's arthritic sleuths and artistic suspects, roaming about Borderville, Tennessee and Virginia. And you might learn a thing or two about art, music, and manners along the way. There's plenty of poetry, ballet, and mayhem during this puzzling predicament to spice the story up just like a country stew. I'll admit I was rather shocked by the waterbed, skinnydipping, nude photography, and gum chewing, but dear Harriet Gardner Bushrow insists those parts, no pun intended, were necessary to help her discover who purloined the Peale portrait and replaced it with a fallible forgery. And Harriet was rather clever in baiting her traps; her grasp of local genealogy served her well as she figured out how to procure DNA samples (and I'm sure no one will turn her in for mail fraud). Well, I've got to go. Helen and Harriet are knocking at my door. We have a busy afternoon planned. First, we have a music recital to attend, and then we must go by the florist to pick up patriotic petals to place on DAR markers at the cemetery (I do hope we don't find any corpses like last time . . . ) I just wish that sweet Mr. Landrum could ride along with us just one more time for a new adventure. He has such a way of understanding us ladies. Now you treat yourself right and take an afternoon to enjoy this book and a nice toddy. It really is something nice.

The Jeweled Heart of Rosemont Castle will leave you guessing at the outcome until the last page. Who will win the heroine's heart and love? Pick up a copy today to find out how this gothic/romance ends. This tale embraces the twilight hour, when romance is in the air and passion rouses the senses. This tale is a compelling, suspenseful, and passoinate lovestory.

"Annie Guinn's carefree, vagabond life with the man she knew as her father came to an end when Elias lay dying...and whispered to Annie that she must find her real father and claim her inheritance as the chatelaine of Rosemont Castle. But the heartfelt welcome Annie received as Lewis Montford's long-lost daughter was spoiled by the whispered hostility of the other memebers of the odd, isolated household deep in the mountains of Tennessee. Hardest to bear was the chilling resentment of Montford's handsome, dark-eyed stepson, Christian Belissaud, a skilled winemaster who stood to inherit the fabled Montford vineyards and the castle as well. And when the impetuous Annie confided to him that she meant to find out why and how her mother had disappeared-or perished-she knew from Christian's look of alarm that she was in danger, and not from him alone...Annie's return had reawakened a deadly plot that she alone must unravel...before she became the next victim..."

Investment and insurance industry professional Renee Russell presents Kate's Pride, a novel set in the aftermath of the American Civil War. Pregnant and deserted by the man who promised to marry her, spurned by her wide network of kin and "kissing cousins", Kate is confronted with the harrowing task of building a new life on the ashes of the old. A powerful tale, vividly descriptive, about a strong woman confronted by difficult choices, and daunting repercussions.

Kate's Pride is one woman's family history brought to life in novel form. Author Renee Russell took the very colorful and inspiring story of her ancestor, Kate Randsome, and wrote a novel based on the facts she was able to glean about her life.

Kate was a very tough and determined woman. Left pregnant by her unscrupulous boyfriend in post-Civil War Tennessee, she had to deal with the prejudices of a very conservative rural southern area. When even her sister turned against her, Kate was forced to take a job working for a sickly, elderly woman. Unfortunately, the elderly woman had a very randy son who took this opportunity to force himself on Kate, threatening her with ruin if she didn't comply. The result was a second fatherless child, another son.

Out on her own again, Kate tried to make peace with a sister still unwilling to bend. She ended up staying on with a former slave and her family. Though they had every reason not to take pity on her, the family was filled with charity. Kate had a safe haven in which to bear her second baby.

Ultimately Kate struck out on her own, sharecropping to make a living. She scraped by, through her own determination and the kindness of others, until one day a tragedy happened that came closer to devastating her than anything had done before. Still, even in the face of unimaginable loss Kate moves forward, head held high.

The story is told within the framework of a manuscript given from Kate to her son. She asks him to one day give the story to his own daughter, when she's older and ready to deal with the story of her grandmother. Kate feels it's important for her story to go forward, and it is absolutely important for stories like this not to be lost. Future generations deserve to know the struggles of their ancestors. It reminds them what sacrifices others have made so that they're able to live their own lives. Keeping these family stories alive is a very noble thing.

Kate's Pride is a good example of the sort of genealogical record we should all consider leaving as our legacy. Even if you don't know the stories of those who came before you, you know your own story, and that's one of the most important legacies all of us can leave.