Georgia Books

This book is very special to me because a lot of it is about my family and the local area where they came from. The picture on the front is of my Granddaddy's grocery store, Nick's Grocery, and the woman in the story, Ms. Nick, is my grandma. All the stories brought back fond memories of my childhood. I'm taking my copy home to the Hudson-Jones reunion this summer to have Georgia autograph it. Enjoy!

Georgia Green Stamper is a versatile writer who can succeed at humor, nostalgia, social commentary, and gentle satire. The columns and essays in this collection cover events in Kentucky from the colonial period through the day before yesterday. In her stories, a grandfather does his Christmas shopping in the local village after the tobacco is sold and he has a little cash money and a modern wife finds herself lost and disoriented in the overabundant material diversity of a modern mega-store, a high school basketball coach integrates a rural team peacefully, farmers hold their places together with baling wire, grandchildren test the limits of their courage, and a young girl learns how to be an adult woman with gentle guidance from a village of grandparents, parents, teachers, and friends. Georgia laughs with them and cries with them. Not many writers can do both.

Georgia Green Stamper has been compared to Bailey White and praised by the likes of Silas House and Leatha Kendrick. That should tell you something about her before you even pick up her wonderful book of essays that so powerfully evoke a simpler time and place. But when you open that book and start to read her essays you will be taken in by the rhythm and cadence of her language. You will feel like you have stepped back in time and you will laugh at some of the essays and no doubt wipe a few tears with others. This is storytelling at its best. Her voice wisely and triumphantly celebrates a people who are sometimes overlooked because of their poverty and ranking as common folk. But there is much that we can learn from these people and Georgia eloquently brings this to light in her essays.

Georgia's essays speak to the common threads that bind us, the simple moments in life that make us smile or muse or laugh or cry. I cried from start to finish during the essay Shan's Shoes that took me back to the emotions of September 11th, and I laughed out loud at the essay about babysitting the author's two-year-old grandson.

Some of the essays offer up bits of wisdom, others are simply a bridge to memories we store from the passages of our own lives. In either case, her observations are gently woven into stories that read as if the author herself was sitting across the table, sharing her thoughts over a cup of tea.

This book belongs on every night stand in America. (I just bought a second copy for the guest room, and I think I'll insert a bookmark for guidance, as soon as I can decide which of my favorites deserve that prize.)

"You Can Go Anywhere From Here" has earned a spot on my perfect-for-almost-everyone gift list, and I definitely will be watching Amazon for more books by this author.

This is a good book. If I had to cateogrize its content with one phrase I would say it is a "celebration of family." But, it is much more than that. While family is at the core of most of the pieces, from great grandparents to grandchildren, there is also the appreciation and love of the culture that surrrounded and surrounds the family and that was created and is being created by the family.

One of the strongest attributes of the author is that she can switch gears from being very serious and thought provoking to being downright funny. She ranges from Harper Lee's appreciation of the beauty of simple, sometimes imperfect, reality to a humorous observation of that same reality in the style of Erma Bombeck or Jean Kerr. If you want to read material that provokes good memories of the people and places of your life this is the book to buy.

This is also the art of oral history at its best. Reading this book will remind people over the age of fifty of remembrances they heard on their front porches, or those of their grandparent's, on dark nights with light from the moon and a lamp in the front room providing the only illumination to the scene. What a treat to be taken back to a peaceful scene like that accented only by the occasional crack of the screen door slamming shut. For the younger generations this book will implant an idea of how important it is to keep your family alive through memories -- sad, happy and humorous memories. This book will make you feel good.

My good frend vents toled me bot this book here, I like game warden. dey need to get out of uncomfortable cotton/poly blend shirts and britches and wear BVDs say my other good friend johnny.

I have two friends, he he

Super book. I worked for and with the author. After reading a lot of Game Warden books, this is the best. I did this for a living and it is a must read for any outdoorsman, woman or, cop, game warden or anyone that wants to laugh one second and have the hair to stand up on your neck the next.

The author's experience and story-telling talent fill this book with wonderful human interest stories. I would recommend to anyone.

As an outdoorsman and retired Ranger, I have read several books about Gamewardens. I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Sgt. Hethcox portrays the humor and hardships a Ranger experiences while performing his/her duties. It was easy to identify some of the characters even with the name changes. Is Sgt. BIGGERS who I think he is? It also brought back my memories of similar cases that I came in contact with during my career with Georgia Game and Fish. Having worked my first and last days with him, Honor describes the author and MOST that wear the Green and Grey. Thanks Jim, for taking the time to put it on paper.

This is a great book for any type of reader! It's not just a "man's outdoors" kind of book. It was extremely interesting and it is an easy reading book too! I couldn't put it down, and before I knew it, I had read the entire book! I highly recommend it for men and women alike!

I thought this book was terrific. I love Georgia O'Keefe and I've traveled to Lake George a couple of times, and it proved fascinating for me personally. But it's also a great read for anyone looking for a smart mystery. The main character has lots of wit. I can't wait for the next one.

Spectacular fall foliage and the beauty of the Queen of American lakes (Lake George) serve as the back-drop for an entertaining murder mystery involving the theft of previously unknown paintings by Georgia O'Keefe. O'Keefe fans in particular will enjoy the historical background that leads to the "discovery" of lost art. A great beach book.

Anne White has spent her life as a writer, editor and librarian. She has had short stories published in several magazines, including McCall's, Career World, Lake George Arts Project Literary Review, and Glen Falls Post Star. She holds degrees in English and Library and Information Studies. Affinity for Murder is her first novel. She lives in Glen Falls, NY.

Ellen Davies is occupying her uncle's old house in Lake George. Georgia O'Keeffe is one of Lake George's most notable figures, during the summers she spent in Lake George with her husband. Ellen is set to interview an art expert acquaintance of her new friend Diane's who is staying at her and her estranged husband's bungalow when they discover smoke, a fire in the bungalow...and a dead body:

"The partially burned body of a man lay on his side facing away from me. The handle of a long, thin knife or letter opener protruded from his back. Blood had puddled up around the wound and formed a grotesque strawberry mark on the man's tweed sport coat. The smell coming from the body and from the singed hair was sickening enough but it was the face, when I leaned sideways to look at it, that really started my stomach churning."

Anne White has written a thorough entertaining tale with punch lines galore, masterful description, and a plot intricate enough to pull the reader along until the final exciting denouement. Using Georgia O'Keeffe as a backdrop, her story has a "what if" and "it could happen" air about it that is compelling. Ms. White knows her O'Keeffe, and the stories and descriptions of her painting and life alone are enough to make this a great mystery. But, not content to rest on her laurels, Ms. White proceeds to write just about the perfect mystery.

An Affinity for Murder has it all...great characterization, action, eloquent writing, a heroine who is fun to follow, and a crackerjack plot line. She hides the culprit until the very end, and adds a witty twist just for fun. Excellently done, Ms. White! We would all love to keep following Ellen Davies! She is devilishly independent, intelligent, and savvy.

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

This mystery put all five of my senses right back in the beautiful Adirondacks where I was born and raised and lived untill I was 19. I could smell the wet leaves on the tall trees alongside Bolton Road and see their beautiful array of colors cluster after cluster. I could hear the wakes of the lake smashing against the docks at times and feel the smack of the cold Lake George air on my exposed face on a late October night. I could taste that freezing rain on my tongue during one of the most thrilling nights of the story. I am still thinking about all the characters, weeks after finishing the book,and hoping that Ellen and her friends return in a sequel. And yes, I have this feeling that if Georgia O'Keeffe and Anne White had had the opportunity to meet one another, they would have been best of friends.

Anne White's cozy small town mystery AN AFFINITY FOR MURDER delights by continuing her Lake George mystery series with a different sleuth, a journalist pursuing a story. Georgia O'Keefe's painting take center stage in this mystery.

Ellen Davies plans a feature story on the artist Georgia O'Keefe who spent her summers at Lake George. When she goes to visit an art critic Edward Maranville for background material, she discovers a fire and a body burned beyond recognition and a knife stuck in his back. As Ellen pursues the story, a group of paintings hidden in a locked closet vanish. Only the painting of the black iris remains behind but even that painting might become a dangerous possession. As Ellen researches her Georgia O'Keefe story, danger lurks in unexpected places as a murderer follows her path.

Anne White's AN AFFINITY FOR MURDER is a wonderful mystery read with a small town atmosphere. The reader sees another dimension to Lake George itself with her historical research as Anne White turns her focus on new characters as they explore part of the town's history and small town rumors. With the exploration of Georgia O'Keefe's work and her history in Lake George, Anne White adds a richness to this mystery through her sensuous descriptions of Georgia O'Keefe's flower paintings as well as discussions of the artist's technique, her relationship with the famous photographer Alfred Steiglitz and other corners of the art world. AN AFFINITY FOR MURDER is unforgettable --- a delight for mystery and art fans! As Anne White turns her vision to the art history of the Lake George town, the series grows organically, giving both newness and familiarity as the reader re-enters the wonderful community of Lake George.

I am a middle school teacher who found this book full of useful ideas which I have incorporated into my poetry unit. I also have Ms. Heard's book, For the Good of the Earth and Sun,and I found this one (Heart)to contain more practical lessons on poetry mechanics. She describes the how-to's of poetic language, form, rhythm and rhyme, etc, which were easily adapted to fit my students' needs. I did have to do a lot of reading and typing (no ready-to-copy pages) but it was worth the effort. I esp loved the heart mapping and the six-room description process.

Georgia Heard's book Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School suggests ways for teachers to help students have positive, successful experiences with appreciating poetry and creating their own poems. Heard gives poetry workshops for teachers and has worked in many classrooms with students at different grade levels in schools across the country. Her book, Awakening the Heart, reflects how far our understanding of the teaching of poetry has come: students will not come to see themselves as poets if poetry instruction is relegated to a "poetry unit" after state tests have been administered.

Heard's book reaches out to teachers who haven't taught poetry in a workshop format before in that it offers the same descriptions of poetry and poetic terms that she uses when she speaks to students, reteaching us the essentials of poetry as we prepare to teach others. She gives examples of directions useful in explaining the centers to students, and includes student work produced in classrooms Heard has worked in. The reader gains the confidence that taking time to gain inspiration from Heard's minilessons, coupled with dedication to a positive classroom environment that integrates poetry into daily life, will really help students to become poets who read poetry with understanding and craft it thoughtfully.

Ms. Heard has put together exercises and knowledge to create a stunning list of usable classroom exercises. She uplifts even the most discouraged teacher heart and gives you the renewed vigor to attack ignorance while inspiring others to find the light within.

This is a wonderful book for both the new and the experienced teacher hoping to bring depth and breadth to their classroom poetry programs. I used it as a first-year teacher of writing, but ended up buying a second copy after sharing-out my original with a colleague with substantially more experience.

For starters, the book is well-written and concise. For busy teachers (is that a tautology?) this means you will really read and really use it. It has all the elements that keep such readers engaged: practical classroom ideas, samples of student work, segmentation of topics into smaller components and, wide-ranging perspective.

Most importantly, however, the book has PASSION! Heard launches you with an introduction entitled "Poetry, Like Bread, Is for Everyone". She maintains this level of enthusiasm through to the last page, where she quotes Matthew Fox to the effect that "The Celtic peoples... insisted that only poets could be teachers... knowledge that is not passed through the heart is dangerous."

I agree - passion HAS TO BE the core of a poetry program in elementary or middle school. Amidst the wash of demand for reading and writing more expository material that standardized testing has brought to the writing class, passion and poetry have often slipped to the background. The poetry 'program' can become a quick trot through narrow 'tricksie' forms like name-poems and shape-poems. Kids need more. You do too.

Heard offers a wonderful suite of approaches to poetry 'centers' in a chapter on "Making a Poetry Environment." These include listening, illustration, performance and music centers as well as poetry windows, amazing language center and a handful more. The centers-based approach can be hard to manage unless properly prepared, but it is a wonderful way to build fluidity into a process that otherwise suffers from rigidity of task or schedule. This book will offer strong support for such an approach.

In the chapter discussing "Writing Poetry", Heard takes the metaphor of the door as entryway, suggesting, among others, the "observation door", the "concern about the world door" and the "wonder door." She then moves to the details of crafting of poetry with a "toolbox" metaphor and a nice collection of tools. In this as in the earlier instances, her pedagogical metaphors will serve your students but also serve to structure your planning and presentation of concepts. Heard concludes with a chapter about the observational element of the poet's craft - what she terms "sharpening outer and inner visions", and a number of useful appendices.

I'm certain this book will light-up your enthusiasm for a poetry-based classroom.

I used this book as a basis for starting a poetry study in my classroom of 4th graders. The information and ideas that Ms. Heard gives are fantastic. It helps you create an poetry friendly environment, not just a few lessons. My students responded whole-heartedly to the suggested activities. The heart map activity was one of their favorites. She gives advice on how to help children write from their hearts and access true emotion (as opposed to writing about surface feelings,"I like my Nintendo"). This is the best poetry book for classroom instruction that I've found. Also, it is an easy and quick read.
I saw her speak on this book at Regis University in June 2003, she is an engaging speaker and it made me love the book even more.

It goes beyond talent. Stafford captures your heart as each shell he finds opens a new passage way for the reader to explore. Stories which cause us to question our beliefs, our thoughts of people, and our inner most feelings. I've read and reread this book and would highly recommend that you do as well.

Fifty years ago Anne Lindbergh inspired us by drawing analogies between found sea shells and the role of womanhood. Now, Richard Dobson Stafford has done the same for men. He reminds the reader that the world has changed for both men and women. This would make a great Father's Day gift. Wit and good sense! 50+ Magazine, Raleigh, North carolina

There is wit and good sense in what Stafford writes as he shares how his spirit was reawakened while examining his newly found shells. If there is one word to sum up this book it is "grace." This would make a splendid Father's Day gift, so forget agonizing over another tie or aftershave lotion. Women, too, will find the book to be compelling. A thought provoking book! It would make a good read for a book club. Mae Woods Bell- Rocky Mount Telegraph

This book offers a look into a man's life of whom we know nothing. It allows us to hear his life story through an interesting comparison of sea shells. This book is great for all ages, but especially good for moms and dads whose son(s) or daughter(s) is about to go to college. A definite "Must read" book for the whole family.

Looking for a new way of understanding your life? Beyond the Beach delivers a powerful message for every father, grandfather, and son. This is a wonderful companion piece for Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea. A must for your summer reading...see you at the beach! Mike Fitsko, New Braunfels Herald New Braunfels, Texas

Being a true southerner I seriously questioned the ability of a "Yankee" to write a quality and unbiased biography of someone that the south considers "one of our own".

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised to find a tremendous amount of information which proved to be both interesting and intruiging. Most importantly, I learned something. Dr. Brasch did an incredible amount of research on Joel Chandler Harris, his works, his life and his legacy. The material in this work is presented in such a way that you walk away feeling that Mr. Harris was an author willing to take chances in a time that taking chances wasn't considered politically correct. It is also presented in such a way that the reader comes away with a sense of the true south in a time of racial uprising and disruption.

The Uncle Remus series has and always will be a part of the southern heritage - learning about its creator should be part of the mandatory cirriculum set forth in the higher educational forums of not only the south, but those across the country. Joel Chandler Harris has proven to be a character worth studying. I would not have believed this had I not picked up this book.

For those who enjoy biographies, this is a must read. An added bonus is the attractive artwork on each page as well as the high quality photographs depicting Joel Chandler Harris, his home and his surroundings.

This is a fascinating book. Anyone interested in the story behind the characters we knew as children--Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Uncle Remus--would find Walter Brasch's thorough research, his extensive collection of photographs and illustrations, and his thoughtful treatment of recent and current debate over the work of Joel Chandler Harris to be well worth an investment of $... and a few hours of pleasurable reading.

While the tales of Uncle Remus are some of the most notable American folk tales, the name of their author Joel Chandler Harris is less known, and many have no awareness of this preserver of Afro-American dialect and folklore. Brer Rabbit, Uncle Remus & The 'Cornfield Journalist' uses primary sources from letters and newspaper accounts to diaries and art to provide a cultural biography of Harris, a man who lived in the South and preserved a tradition which might otherwise have been lost. Involving and engrossing, yet scholarly in research and depth.

I have seldom read a book more enjoyable than this history of one of the greatest storytellers in America. This was a newspaper editor who created the stories of Brer Rabbit and Uncle Remus, yet was one of the most liberal voices in America after the Civil War. This is a nicely-illustrated book, one that explores all sorts of themes, including why the author is no longer remembered, and whether Brer Rabbit is racist, or whether people who haven't read the stories made him out to be racist.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in history, sociology, journalism, popular culture--or just learning about life.

Very informative book. I learned so much about my African heritage. I thought the name 'BRASCH' was a strange name for a brother. Who knew a white man could teach me so much about my roots!! It took me a long time to read the book because each chapter was full of information. I had to give my brain time to process it all. I was sorry when I had read the last chapter. I live near Atlanta and plan to visit the home of Joel Chandler Harris.

I bought several copies to send as gifts to relatives.

This book captures the entire deep south experience from a boy's point of view. The creeks and fields, as well as the dirt, comes alive with Davis' descriptions. He aptly tells of Southern relationships, community, and the hardships that were endured as a part of life. What a delightful find. I hope that Davis will continue to write such treasures!

I am a teacher of literature and I highly recommend this book for all ages. I am suggesting it for my bookclub read this month!

Ironically, I read this book on Christmas Eve. However, it's message can be realized at any time of the year. The book's focus is on a twelve-year old boy during the final months of his grandmother's life. His relationship with her and her "final lessons" are very heart warming. No nail-biting plot, nor exploding ending, but I finished the book feeling renewed. If you want a feel-good book with no profanity, violence or sex, give this book a try. Recommended to all readers of Christian fiction.

This was a different type of book. You know in the first paragraph what goes on at Christmas, but the book is then a lead up to those events. It is an interesting look at family and struggle in the poor rural south. The truth you find out about Joe I suspected, but it was a realistic ending for the time and place. I think in the end you see that these months in 1942 are what changes a boy into a man who can make something out of himself, instead of following in his uncle's footsteps.

As I read this, I kept thinking of my grandmother, whose childhood was very similar. This is a good read for teens and adults alike, as it is told from the viewpoint of an older man as he remembers seven months of his childhood during 1942. A teen struggling to find him/herself can relate to this young man growing up in a small town torn between the draw of the world and the love of home. Those who grew up in a rural or small town, will identify greatly with the lifestyle and story presented. It features no profanity or other adult-content imagery. It is sweet without being sappy, so enjoy!

I also loved this because the descriptions and way of life recalled are part of my own past. I am young, but this tells a life similar to my ancestors and brings this way of living to reality for me.

This book has saved me major $ from the sale of my home to the purchase of a new one. Mr. Howard cover it all from credit cards, credit reports, buying cars etc..... This book was written for me (the consumer)and I will recomend that all my friends buy, plus I have bought serveral copies for Christmas gifts...

This book should be the most dog-eared volume in any household where watching finances is a priority. Howard and Meltzer explain the ins and outs of consumer issues in an easy-to-understand and thorough manner. As co-author of a consumer book (Debt Free: Your Guide to Personal Bankruptcy Without Shame), I recommend this guide. John M. Caher

This book, the third edition of a worthy effort, has been superseded by Howard's GET CLARK SMART (2000), which is the fourth edition, with numerous changes and updates. The more recent book is published with no reference to the earlier editions and under a different title, so the unwary consumer is liable to buy either the outdated edition, or (as in my case) both editions, without realizing that he's getting two versions of the same book. This is ironic, given the author's reputation as a consumer advisor.

Clark takes his talk show and puts it into book form for those who can't hear him. This geek can speak, and his simple tips will save you money, time, aggrevation and embarassment. Buy it for someone who needs tips but is too lazy or shy too ask! He has a crack staff behind him, and while they differ on saving money, they all know they owe Clark a huge thanx for taking them to Italy for $200 apiece. One money-saving idea will pay for the book, and your friends will literally start calling you "Clark".

Clarks newest book is excellent!!! Well written andeasy to read. It is a good read cover to cover, or as a flip thorughreference for what you need at the current time. This book has already saved me the purchase price. However, a word of Clark like advice: I bought mine at costco and Clark even signed it. Dennis

"The Dark Side of Hopkinsville" is a collection of short stories written by the distinguished African American journalist Ted Poston. Mr. Poston was a reporter for the New York Post for years. When joined the paper, he became the first black reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper.

Theodore Roosevelt Augustus March Poston spent his early years in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, the youngest of eight children. His parents were educators with his father often called upon to settle disputes of fact among the men of the local community.

These stories are about segregation, the complexion game, social pretension and how silly these issues really are. Set in the early twentieth century, they cover the final idyllic years of Ted's childhood before the death of his mother. These stories are not angry, they are humorous and entertain as well as educate.

The character's are vivid and well developed. Mr. Poston is efficient yet thorough in developing them vividly in remarkably few words. There's Rat Joiner, Ted's best friend from Billy Goat Hill. Rat is Huck Finn to Ted's Tom Sawyer. There's Mrs. Nixola Green head of the `Blue Vein Society'. The membership was reserved for Negroes of light-complexion enough to see their veins. Knee Baby Watkins a kid that absolutely, positively refuses to walk. Mr. Fertilizer Ferguson who's rough exterior (and smell) hides his entrepreneurial genius. The humorous cast of characters goes on.

This slim volume necessarily includes "The Revolt of the Evil Fairies" Ted's most anthologized story. (If you haven't read it, you know nothing about African-American literature.) In it he rebels against the complexion discrimination perpetrated by Black people by other Black people in the context of a school play.

Mr. Poston led a long and successful career as a journalist. This reviewer just wishes he'd written more fiction than this gem he has left us.

While this book is about life for a Black child in rural Knetucky in the early 1990s, much of this will be easy for people of almost any background to relate to.

This look on a Black child's life is not entirely the fun stuff of Bill Cosby's Fat Albert or the grimness and despair of Richard Wright's Black Boy, but it combines the good and the bad to prevent it from being either rose-colored memories or gloom-despair-and agony-on-me. We get the fun of beign a kid and palying games and getting into srapes with your friends as welll as the brutal racism and classism of the times in whcih Ted Poston had lived. This would make a good cartoon series or movie (anyone at Disney listening)?

In either case, it would be a good idea of older folks from the pre-television era would read this book with the kids and talk about it afterwards.

Truly one of the most fascinating books of the decade. It is the African American version of The Little Rascals. It is an amazing tale of friendship, and a community that truly lives the African proverb, "It takes a whole village to raise a child." This books gives meaning the prejudices even within the same race and social class in a fun loving,yet serious way. The Dark Side of Hopkinsville should be read by children of all ages. The adventures of several friends during the turn of the century will affix your mind to yester year. It will bring back memories of your childhood and the wonderful experiences you shared with your closets classmates and friends. You will remember the times you "cut out", of school to go fishing or perhaps wish you would have. There are stories that you haven't told for perhaps decades. Reading this book will recall familiar stories from days gone by, it will make you smile, laugh, cry and at times wonder why. But, through it all you will realize that you made it over and suddenly you are here and you are still here. As I read the story it helped me realize that although things change they somehow stay the same. There is really nothing new under the sun. There is a Rat Joiner who still whipps the Kaiser. Some people are meant to stay alive even after they are gone so generations after generations can meet them, they are meant to be known for ever, such is the case with the characters in this book.

Truly one of the most fascinating books of the decade. It is the African American version of The Little Rascals. It is an amazing tale of friendship, and a community that truly lives the African proverb, "It takes a whole village to raise a child." This books gives meaning the prejudices even within the same race and social class in a fun loving,yet serious way. The Dark Side of Hopkinsville should be read by children of all ages. The adventures of several friends during the turn of the century will affix your mind to yester year. It will bring back memories of your childhood and the wonderful experiences you shared with your closets classmates and friends. You will remember the times you "cut out", of school to go fishing or perhaps wish you would have. There are stories that you haven't told for perhaps decades. Reading this book will recall familiar stories from days gone by, it will make you smile, laugh, cry and at times wonder why. But, through it all you will realize that you made it over and suddenly you are here and you are still here. As I read the story it helped me realize that although things change they somehow stay the same. There is really nothing new under the sun. There is a Rat Joiner who still whipps the Kaiser. Some people are meant to stay alive even after they are gone so generations after generations can meet them, they are meant to be known for ever, such is the case with the characters in this book.

As a child my grand-daddy "Rat Joiner" often called Ted Poston's name and I never paid close attention that he was a real person and best friend to my grand-daddy. After growing up leaving home, my mother Anna Joiner Harvey "Rat Joiner's" daughter, informed me that a lady by the name of Kathleen Hauke came to Hopkinsville interviewed many residents and initiated a book signing of "The Dark Side Of Hopkinsville". As I eagerly read the book in one sitting I happily recalled some of the stories grand-daddy told of Ted Poston over the years. The annedotes are heart warming and so real to almost anyone who lived in a southern or rural setting. The experiences and relationships forged in the book among the various characters can be applicable to most of our lives. The challenges that were over come by the characters as children encourage us all that life is one test after the next. With deep rooted faith,family and friends we can overcome any obstacles in life. This is evident in that Ted Poston and Theodore Roosevelt "Rat" Joiner, came from such humble beginnings and made outstanding contributions in life. Ted became a noted author and reporter and "Rat Joiner" left a long line of descendents (over 350 grand and great-grand children alone).

Bill Belleville's Deep Cuba book is part Cousteau adventure tale, part natural history, part cultural history, with a smattering of Hollywood documentary drama. It is enjoyable and engrossing to read- a must for those interested in protecting our fragile environments. Belleville's sensitivities and attention to detail give us greater understanding of the pristine waters and lands of Cuba, a place that seems so far away, yet is in reality right next door. Like many readers, I have grown up during a time when Cuba has been "off-limits." Ironically, this embargo has in many ways protected the environment by keeping masses of American tourists away. How lucky we are to be able to visit this magical place through Belleville's enlightening account.

When the author climbed aboard the research boat hired by a Discovery Channel film crew bound for Cuba, he gained entry to two engrossing stories. One covers the exploration of Cuba's coral reefs, sunken ships, and sharks, whose mysteries are elucidated live-on-location by Discovery's consultant scientists and cultural experts. This story is by turns exotic science, pure travelog, and just plain spooky - expedition members in a submersible find two complete sets of diving gear hundreds of feet below the safe diving range, in an area where divers were known to have disappeared. Belleville's deep dive in the little sub hangs in mid-book like a luminous bubble of science, poetry, and spookiness.

The second story is a weird tale of the making of a documentary film. It's unnerving to see the innards of the "documentary" process exposed. For instance, Belleville watches as the camera bypasses scientists who lack sex appeal or sound-bite savvy. Or, although Fidel Castro's visit to the expedition's ship makes great reading, it evidently makes bad vibes in Filmland, and is cut. And Belleville's account of the debate over whether the word "forbidden" should be used in the film title is hilarious.

These two narrative lines intertwine to weave a fascinating path around, and even into the throbbing and troubled heart of - gasp! - the forbidden island of Cuba.

The title of this book seems straightforward and explanatory enough. Yet, the content is far more complex, and thankfully, the author is more than up to the task of explaining broad concepts of oceanography, of documentary film making, and the oddball politics that have embargoed Cuba over the last 40 or so years. But more than anything, this is just a really well-told story that takes the reader along on an expedition to a place that few Americans have ever seen. Belleville seems to have a lot of experience as a scuba diver before this trip, and his acumen as an 'underwater naturalist' is much appreciated by this reader. So too is his exacting descriptions of daily expeditionary life---which at time is hilarious, enlightening, dangerous, and at times downright ironic.

The chapter describing Castro's visit when the expedition is in Havana is refreshingly candid---and quite a hoot, as well. Belleville knows how to craft a good story, and has the stylistic tools to do it.

Thematically, the author tries very hard to make a solid case for the need for more funding for ocean research---as well as for diplomatic relations that will finally let the leaders of the U.S. and Cuba manage their regional waters under one umbrella. As an educator specializing in marine sciences, I think the ecological connection between our country and Cuba is one of the great under-reported stories of our time. My deepest gratitude to Belleville for having the fortitude to tell it---and to tell it with great style.

Bill Belleville, author of "River of Lakes: A Journey on the St. Johns River," again takes us down to the water to quench our thirst for adventure. In "Deep Cuba," we set sail with him aboard an expedition vessel for a journey that plies the waters of both politics and discovery.

Through his poetic telling, the island's previously unexplored waters come to life, populated by everything from mysterious bioluminescent creatures and toothy sharks to the simple souls whose livelihoods come with the tides. We meet a variety of Cubans, among them a harbor master who boards the ship and skillfully guides it to port, two scientists who join the expedition in a rare show of cooperation between Cuba and the U.S., and a group of boys who frolic among the watery mangroves of a distant island during a break from their studies of becoming boat captains. And late in the book, there is Castro himself, who boards the ship with his inquisitive intellect.

We witness, too, the dynamics of an expedition driven by filmmaking -- in this case, a documentary for the Discovery Channel, which funded the voyage. Belleville lets his keen observations of the personalities of the expedition ebb and flow through the narrative, and it soon becomes apparent that relations between the filmmakers and scientists are at times as chilly as those between the U.S. and Cuba. We learn first-hand how science can take a back seat to the wants of filmmakers, even on such a rare expedition as this.

Throughout the book, there is much high adventure. Belleville descends 2,000 feet under the surface in a mini-sub, and he dives reefs and plunging ledges that teem with fish. In one harrowing chapter, he even loses his way during a night dive in open water.

The book is a page-turner, to be sure. But along the way there is much to be learned as Belleville weaves scientific findings and cultural observations seamlessly into the telling.

At the very least, this scientific expedition has found a happy marriage in word, if not on film.

Bill Belleville, environmental journalist, diver and storyteller pulls us out of our easy chairs and transports us to the forbidden waters of Cuba on board the marine discovery ship Seward Johnson.
Leading American marine biologists were invited by The Discovery Channel to accompany their documentary film-makers for a rare look at the undisturbed bio-diversity of the Cuban coast and adjoining waters. Belleville, who had participated in a similar voyage to the Galapagos was invited along to transmit the adventure to The Discovery Channel's web site.
Tension between the scientists and film-makers was pervasive throughout the month-long voyage. Good film-making (i.e. sunken treasure and toothy barracudas)and good scientific study (i.e. the discovery of new life forms)are not necessarily consistent.
Competition for use of the deep-diving minisub, Johnson Sea-Link was intense. Sadly, more often than not the film-makers favored by The Discovery Channel won out over the scientists.
Belleville rides the sub twice, and takes us along in that chilly, cramped, dangerous machine into the mezmerizing depths of tropical reefs and underwater mountain ranges.
We also visit the benighted island, the haunts of Hemingway and San Juan Hill. We steam past the Bay of Pigs. We meet the people: the woman who escapes poverty by offering herself to the visitors; the proud fishermen whose love of Cuba is palpable; and El Jefe, himself who boards the boat and shares his profound knowledge of his beloved Cuba with the scientists. A good tale--well written.