South Carolina Books

Blue Roots: African American Folk Magic of the Gullah People

This book is an okay read. One assertion by the author stood out for me though as possibly historical incorrect. On page 26 the author states "They were steeped in their culture and well educated in their prospective tribe's socio-religious traditions, primarily in the Ifa beliefs of the dominant Yoruba culture." I was with him until he said "primarily in the Ifa beliefs of the dominant Yoruba culture."

I only have basic knowledge, but no where have I read that the Yoruba had any significant influence on African American(United States) culture, and the Africans dominate religion was Ifa. I have not read that of the sea island Africans, nor the mainland Africans. The only influence I am aware the Yorubas to black American culture is in lower Mississippi. The Yoruba people, who are from Southwest Nigeria, were very small in number to the US.

The largest groups of Africans transported to the US were from the Bight of Biafra(25% - Igbo), Angola, Gold Coast(Akan), BaKongo, Senegambia. It is said that one out of every four black American has an Ibo ancestor. However, if I am wrong, I stand to be corrected, of course, with sources. I simply have not come upon his assertions in my readings regarding the Yoruba.

I suspect that the author is an Ifa worshipper and highly exaggerated

Written in the colloquial, narrative style that characterizes much of the writng of the South Carolina Low-Country, "Blue Roots" is a readable introduction to a culture and folk religious practice that has been a part of Southeastern low-country life since the first Afro-Americans were brought to it's shores as slaves. Pinckney is masterful in creating the mood and "feel" of the gullah culture with its unique personalities such as Dr. Bug, Dr Buzzard and J.E.McTeer, former High Sheriff, businessman and "root doctor." I met Mr. McTeer if the early 1970s while doing field research on the "root culture" around Beaufort, South Carolina and found him charming, complex and most astute with regard to his "practice." "I'm a poor-man's psychiatrist." he remarked "my clients don't trust regular doctors, so they come to me." On the other hand, he had no doubt as to the effectiveness of the "magic" he performed in a small roon adjoining his real estate office in downtown Beaufort. Those who want to look beneath the surface of this complex world may wish to explore the titles listed in Pinckney's bibliography including those titles by Puckett and Hyatt which, admittedly, does require some effort on the reader's part, but reveals fascinating details such as the strong probability that the use of the name "Dr. Buzzard" predates the individual mentioned in "Blue Roots." Pinckney's "Blue Roots", can, and should be seen as a excellent entry, much like the port city of Charleston is to South Carolina, into a incredible world that many pass by and without recognizing the complexity, beauty and magic contained therein.

I've been a South Carolinian all my life and while in college @ SC State I developed an interest in the Geechee or Gullah culture. I researched several library collections for info documenting the life and folklore of the Sea Islands. After spending time down on several of the islands I realized how important this vanishing culture was to not only S. Carolina, but the US as well. I found Mr. Pickneys book by accident while just browing around in a book store. I read four pages and immediately knew I had to purchase it. This book is filled with some really good stories both true and folklore. He even covers Dr. Buzzard the famed root doctor that all blacks in SC have heard so many stories about. Buy it!!!!

Everything you ever wanted to know about the coastal people of the Carolinas that no one wants to tell you.Mysterious, makes you think and you can't help but want to know more. I Enjoyed every chapter, and chuckled when I found I could relate to "never pay back salt", and "never keep a crowing hen"

Do you enjoy folklore? Are you interested in the Gullah people? Do you just want to read some spooky tales? If so, this is the book for you. Blue Roots explains how the Gullah got to SC and why they alone out all of black America have hung on to so much of their African culture. You will be chilled by stories of the dreaded plateye and the hag. You will read of Dr.Buzzard the greatest of the root doctors and how the High Sherrif of the Low Country brought him down. I especially appreciated the fact that the author showed a respect for the Gullah and their ways and
made no judgements.

Kimberley Wilson, author of 11 Things Mama Should Have Told You About Men

Dr. Walt Larimore is a nationally known doctor and communicator, but in this series of true stories he's simply "Dr. Walt" a country physician who is the best family doctor I've ever known. Add his compassion for patients with the country charm of Bryson City, which is sort of like the TV-Land town of "Mayberry" from the old Andy Griffin show, and you have a winning combination. Bryson City is a wonderful part of the country where people know each other's names and more importantly they are connected through friendship and faith.

If you are looking for a better quality of life, then slip back into the mountains of North Carolina for another round of treatment from Dr. Walt who heals with more than medicine through these real life stories. (BTW- once you begin reading about real life patients in Bryson City you may give up watching Grey's for good).

Good series of books for pleasure reading. I enjoy books that take place in the NC mountains.

Dr. Walt Larimore returns with the second book of his series which chronicles the early days of his practice in the Smoky Mountains. This book is as charming as the first one, as the residents of tiny Bryson City try to get used to the big city ways of one of its newest practitioners. In the first book of the series, Dr. Larimore discovers that some simple country remedies work just as well or better than the latest medical technology. In this book, he learns that the key to curing patients is not only in the physical realm, but in the mental and spiritual areas as well. He goes into greater detail about his daughter's cerebral palsy, and does not hesitate to tell some funny stories in which he is the butt of the joke. This book and the others in the series make for delightful reading.

Very good! Really good for older readers who can appreciate the memories/stories of a young doctor ,husband, and father practicing in the N. C. Mountians. I recommend this book---as well as the first one---Bryson City Tales

I very much enjoyed the first novel in this series, Bryson City Tales, and was delighted when this second book was published. If you are a fan of reading about small-town life, you'll love these books. Dr. Larimore's narrative brings the reader right into the story. The stories range from amusing, heartwarming, suspenseful, sad, to inspiring. I'm eagerly awaiting the next book, Bryson City Secrets, due out in March! If you're looking for a terrific read, I recommend these highly.

I thought this was a thoughtful, touching memoir written by a daughter about her Mother. I wish she would have written more about the two of them.

I listened to Linda Grant on National Public Radio, Fresh Air program yesterday. Very interesting and moving.

I can relate to it as my father went thru a similar decline over a 3 year period. He suffered from TIA "mini-strokes" that slowly diminish selected brain capabilities, many times without the victim's or family's knowledge. Linda relates a similar experience. It's frustrating in not ever really knowing what is going on inside his ticker when you speak. It's frustrating to know that each person loses different capabilities at different times. It drags you down, with everything seeming so one-sided. It's frustrating that modern medicine is essentially powerless to stop this degeneration, with no effective tools or strategy.

Linda is much more articulate than I could be in describing the same experience I went through.

If it does nothing more, it gives those of us a comparative basis by which to judge our own decisions in similar circumstances.

For those who have been thru this, it gives us someone to relate to. For those who have not, it prepares you. As a boomer, I've finally graduated to what I call 'adulthood': where we are sandwiched between two generations who both depend upon us. Calling the experience overwhelming only begins to describe it.

Worth the read.

Linda Grant, a feature writer for the Guardian [UK], has written a memoir about memory, focusing both on the loss of her family's history as the older generations die off and the deterioration of her mother's mind due to Multi-Infarct Dementia [MID], which stifles short-term memory and gradually scrambles older recollections. The book is also a intensely personal struggle against the guilt and helplessness one feels when making the necessary decision to commit a loved one to an institution.

Grant is descended from Jewish immigrants who arrived from Russian and Poland and settled in Britain and America before the Second World War. (Many of her family's relatives who remained behind were, of course, killed by the Nazis.) A somewhat rebellious daughter during the heady and reckless Sixties, she soon realizes that all those stories that used to bore her as a child will soon be lost forever: "My mother, the last of her generation, was losing her memory," she mourns. "In a hundred years there will no one left alive who remembers her, who can tell you who she was.... Without the past we're nothing, we belong to nobody." All that remain are a few scattered photographs and letters lacking any basic context and the occasional recollection that her mother summons up out of the blue and whose authenticity Grant can no longer verify.

The second aspect of the book is the most moving--and the most laudable. Grant recounts the frustrations and the episodes that led her and her sister to intercede and commit their mother to a care center, and she describes the legal and bureaucratic obstacles that nearly prevented them from making this step. What makes this decision particularly difficult--and, to some strangers, hardhearted--is that her mother is capable of periods of perfect lucidity and social grace. Grant describes how, while her mother's domestic conditions and intellectual capacity deteriorated to the point where she became a danger to herself, she retained an acute awareness of how she appeared to others as well as "the basest, most acquisitive part of ourselves"--the urge to go shopping: "So we shop together, outside time, mother and daughter united each in our own purposeful quest to do what we have always done, and which to her goes on making sense."

What keeps this book from surrendering to guilt and self-pity is Grant's admirable sense of humor--some of her sketches are heart-achingly funny--as well as the research that lends its framework an aura of objectivity. "Remind Me Who I Am, Again" certainly provides comfort and advice to relatives of those with aging family members, but it is also a valuable read to anyone who cares about individual memory and family history.

I bought this book after hearing the NPR interview with the author, because a close friend was coping with a similar situation (mother slipping into dementia, angry outbursts, fighting to get out of nursing home). This book is a fascinating portrait of the author's parents, their good points and bad. Very readable. I didn't want to put it down.

If you've ever had a relative or loved one slip away into dementia, this book will strike home. And if you've had a friend going through this experience, this book will help you to understand what they are going through. This book, like the experience of living with dementia, is at times funny, at times tearful. It's an honest picture of what it's like to be with someone who is rapidly losing who they were.

As explained in the title, this book details the role of North Carolina in the Civil War. This 1963 volume explains in great detail why North Carolina was important, how it was invaded early in the war by General Burnside and the importance of his base of operations in New Bern. Next, Barrett effectively describes the stalemate in the state before the exciting Battle of Fort Fisher, which eventually causes the collapse of the state. In the description of that battle, Barrett is at his best as a writer, particularly in describing the desperate struggle the Confederates put up (including hand to hand fighting in the sand dunes of the Atlantic Coast). The last chapters describe, in breathless and detailed fashion, the Battle of Bentonville, the conquest of Raleigh, the raids on the mountains and the final surrender of the Confederacy.

Note: If you are looking for a collection of NC unit movements or regimental history summaries, this isn't it. This is a geographical account of what happened in the state.

As a North Carolina history teacher, I look forward to using this volume. It was a wonderful read.

Given the centrality of North Carolina in the Civil War, it's surprising that Barrett's book remains the only comprehensive single-volume work on the state's role in the conflict. It's only recent rival is the similarly titled three-volume series by William R. Trotter, published a quarter-century after Barrett's Civil War centennial-era book.

As both Barrett and Trotter point out, North Carolina was a pre-war stronghold of southern Unionists and the last of the Confederate states to officially secede (five weeks after the Fort Sumter attack). Almost overnight the state, especially the Piedmont and eastern regions, became a strong supporter of the secessionist cause. About 125,000 North Carolinians served in the Confederate armed forces (while several thousand more, including African-Americans and many Appalachian whites, served the Union cause). The state was a prime provider of food, clothing, and other supplies to Lee's Army of Northern Virginia (of which, in the last two years of the war, North Carolina regiments comprised as much as fifty percent). Wilmington, North Carolina, was the last major Confederate port to be closed to blockade runners, in January 1865; and the railroad leading from Wilmington to Weldon, North Carolina (and from there to Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia), was arguably the most important transportation link in the Confederacy.

The state is often overlooked as a site of Civil War battles, however, even though Union forces invaded the state as early as August, 1861 (five weeks after the war's first major battle near Manassas, Virginia). Four years later, North Carolina was the site of the largest surrender of Confederate troops. In between were several hundred battles and skirmishes, mostly in the eastern part of the state, some in the western mountains, and in the central Piedmont area in March and April of 1865 when William T. Sherman's Union army surged across the South Carolina line.

The Union's 1862 coastal campaign in North Carolina was one of the most important military ventures of the entire war, yet among the least appreciated then or now. Beginning in January, Union army and naval forces by June had taken control of North Carolina's "inner banks," from Virginia south to present-day Morehead City. Union setbacks in Virginia, however, led to the withdrawal of many federal soldiers from North Carolina, leaving only enough Union troops to effectively hold a few coastal strongpoints. Greater Union pressure in North Carolina in 1862 - e.g., reinforcements to securely occupy Wilmington and Goldsboro (a vital railroad junction on the Wilmington-Weldon line) - might have created a major military and economic disaster for the Confederacy and shortened the war. Instead, the remaining Union troops hunkered down in fortified coastal towns like New Bern, "little" Washington, and Plymouth until 1865, venturing out now and then to raid and forage in the rich farmlands of eastern North Carolina. (Confederate forces retook Plymouth and Washington in 1864 but abandoned them again before the year was out.)

The state's role in the last months of the war is better known. The fall of Fort Fisher in January 1865 effectively closed Wilmington as a port, depriving Lee's slowly starving troops of a major supply source. Sherman's forces entered the state on March 3, as other Union troops marched from New Bern and Wilmington to meet Sherman at Goldsboro. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston led a vain Confederate effort to stop Sherman in the state's biggest battle, near Bentonville; Johnston then fell back on Raleigh and later to Greensboro. From the Tennessee mountains, Gen. George Stoneman's Union cavalry division descended on the western half of North Carolina in late March and April. Following the Confederate government's evacuation of Richmond on April 2, President Jefferson Davis spent several days in Greensboro, then convened his last official cabinet meeting in Charlotte on April 26 before fleeing south. Johnston and Sherman met at the Bennett Farm, near Durham, on April 17-18 and again on April 26, negotiating the surrender of all remaining Confederate forces in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. (Skirmishing continued in the western mountains of the state until early May, however.)

Barrett's work is more traditional and academic than Trotter's, with extensive endnotes and a valuable bibliographical essay, but the writing is generally clear and moves along well. As one might expect from a North Carolinian of his generations, Barrett's tone is a bit pro-Confederate, but overall his assessment of battles and generalship is sound. However, while the book is strong on the conventional military aspects, Barrett doesn't spend much space on the political and social aspects of the war in North Carolina - e.g., the activities of pro-Union political factions, Gov. Zebulon P. Vance's conflicts with Jefferson Davis, or the role of the state's African-Americans in the war. Barrett does devote some space to Confederate deserters and others who resisted serving the Confederacy, but he doesn't give a cohesive picture of the state's political events during the war. However, he does do a better job than Trotter of relating military events in North Carolina to the battles and campaigns of the broader war.

The book contains some contemporary illustrations, but the maps are few and poorly done. (I would recommend a DeLorme "North Carolina Atlas and Gazetteer" as a vital supplement to this book; many of the Civil War era rights-of-way remain in use.) Another minor complaint: Some of the place names cited in the book (apparently from wartime records and accounts) have changed since the 1860s and no longer show up on modern maps, and descriptions of these locations in terms of modern landmarks would have been welcome.

With the vast amount of research done on the Civil War in the past forty years, there's a crying need for a new, well-documented, one-volume account of the North Carolina's role in the war, one giving more attention to the political and social aspects without shortchanging the military accounts. Until that book emerges, Barrett's account is a good starting point for learning about the war as it was fought in the Old North State.

An excellent telling of the Civil War in North Carolina. Full of information that is difficult to find anywhere else. A good research tool and a good read. The complicated picture of North Carolina during the war is told in a detailed, interesting, and validated manner.

Major armies on historical fields of battle did not fight this war. The men who served in North Carolina endured hard work, bad food, sickness and death in trying to accumulate small advantages that would improve or maintain their side's position. Only in 1862 and 1864 was this theater in the spotlight. For most of the war, raids skirmishes and garrison duty is the business of the day.
North Carolina was not a fire-eater state and one of the last to join the Confederacy. Once in, she threw her support to the cause making a major contribution, bearing more than her share of dead and wounded. Blessed or cursed with a large costal area, she was one of the first states to be blockaded and invaded from the sea. From 1862 on, the Union blockaded, raided, invaded or garrisoned much of her coast. Most of the military action is a history of the Union attacks and Confederate response.
That military history is not the end of this book! The author presents a detailed account of the home front in a secure area. This is one of the best and most interesting parts of the book. From initial refusal to join the CSA to being a refuge for draft dodgers and deserters by the end of the war, the people had a difficult time. This is an account of the CSA that we seldom see and is badly needed. The integration of military and social history makes for a varied, intelligent comprehensive history of the war. The "problems" of Eastern Tennessee invading the western sections of the state is not often seen in histories. For the state government and the locals it was a major problem and one they lacked the means to respond to.
Reading this book will help you understand just how few resources the Confederacy possessed and how many resources were required. The state by sending so much to support Lee in Virginia lacks resources to defend against the Union invasions. Better local Union leadership or allocation of more Union resources might have changed the direction of the war in the East. However, the North is as committed to fighting in Virginia as the South. This resulted in North Carolina being a secondary front and ignored for the all resources needed during most of the war.
Good accounts of the battles of Monroe's Crossroads, Averasboro and Bentonville provide additional value. The author's account of Johnston's surrender and the problems it causes Sherman is balanced and fair to both parties.
That a book written almost 45 years ago is still in print and being read proves its' value. Yes, some of what was accepted historical fact has been proven wrong. Yes, at times, the book may seem to favor the South but overall the account is very balanced. The major difference I find is how much Political Correctness changed our style of writing. For those that are committed to the idea of PC, the book may present a challenge to their sensibilities. This is not a page-turner, nor is it a hard read. The book is a well-written, comprehensive coverage of the subject and is worth your time and money.

Barrett writes all that happens to North Carolina in this book from Burnsides fascinating attack on Roanoke Island that is composed of the first amphibious landing and with fascinating Confederate errors to the end when Sherman slides through North Carolina shadowed by Johnson's army with Hardee, Mclaws and Bragg. In between all this are the modest attempts the Union makes to penterate the North Carolina interior particularly Washington, Plymouth and New Bern along with the numeroius attempts by Confederates to retake these towns. Even covers the number of deserters who hide in the montains and those that become "galvanized Yankees", four of which are captured and hung by Pickett. An interesting collection of Generals command in North Carolina such as Daniel Harvey Hill and George Pickett. Barrett has it all from raids to full fledged campaigns.

First off, this book is excellent. I had the good fortune to be a student of Dr. Joyner and learn many things from him. The man is well read and learned and his writings prove that. This book, is well written and researched. It's accurate as possible and is without any personal bias or opinions.

As a free-lance writer living on the grounds of a former rice plantation in Pawleys Island, I think I have read every book on the subject on the SC slave communities and the great rice plantations. Joyner's book is the bible. It is easy and fun to read, concise, filled with fascinating statistics and extremely well written. It is not the usual s dusty book some local resident wrote back in the 1920s as a fund-raiser for the historical society or local women's group. It is a skillfully written book from cover to cover and I urge anyone interested in the history of this area not only to read Joyner's book, but to purchase his own copy. If you are like me, you will soon find that "Down By the Riverside'' will be a well-used, dog-eared favorite. I've sent several copies to friends and family, and it certainly makes the perfect housewarming gift to anyone moving to this part of SC. I have spent the past two years researching this area in preparation to begin writing my own book (a novel) and Charles Joyner will be right at the top of those I thank for making my efforts possible.

While Joyner's book is certainly worth reading and highly recommended for the casual reader, Joyner's methodology is questionable. The preponderance of his primary evidence comes from 10 notoriously questionable slave narratives collected in the early 20th century. Furthermore, Joyner's use of endotes is ridiculously deceptive. He uses a variety of confusing techniques, and very flagrantly confuses the researcher trying to find his sources. To complicate this problem further, Joyner includes no bibliography. Joyner's assesment of the task system falls short of its initial promise. Joyner does an excepitional job of emphasizing the change and continuity in the process of change from African culture to African-American culture. For this reason, and this reason only, I recommend this book.

I have the pleasure of adding Charles Joyner to the list of my personal educators, and he is definitely one of the most informed writers of Southern-oriented literature. This book was assigned to me as required reading, and turned out to be one of the most interesting books I've ever read. A wonderful book by a wonderful soul.

As a free-lance writer living on the grounds of a former rice plantation in Pawleys Island, I think I have read every book on the subject on the SC slave communities and the great rice plantations. Joyner's book is the bible. It is easy and fun to read, concise, filled with fascinating statistics and extremely well written. It is not the usual s dusty book some local resident wrote back in the 1920s as a fund-raiser for the historical society or local women's group. It is a skillfully written book from cover to cover and I urge anyone interested in the history of this area not only to read Joyner's book, but to purchase his own copy. If you are like me, you will soon find that "Down By the Riverside'' will be a well-used, dog-eared favorite. I've sent several copies to friends and family, and it certainly makes the perfect housewarming gift to anyone moving to this part of SC. I have spent the past two years researching this area in preparation to begin writing my own book (a novel) and Charles Joyner will be right at the top of those I thank for making my efforts possible.

With only rare exceptions like Pearl Harbor, American military disasters are generally ignored - not commemorated and not studied. Before reading this book, I didn't know how little that I knew about this campaign. After a short re-cap of the war, the author briefly discusses a previous advance on Charleston from Georgia, which had been bluffed into retreat by an advance on the British rear. With hopes of loyalist support in the South, for 1780 Sir Henry Clinton mounted a major amphibious expedition from New York to the fourth largest city in the colonies, Charleston. The British landed in an unexpected area south of the city, in difficult terrain, but their advance was not contested. The naval aspect of the campaign was new to me, but vitally important. A substantial portion of the Continental Navy under Commodore Whipple was sent to defend Charleston, but Whipple failed to defend the bar at the harbor entrance, and unlike in 1776, the British then safely passed Ft Moultrie as they did not stop to engage the fort. With naval access to the harbor, the British could continue the land advance, despite the handicap of having almost no cavalry. After crossing the Ashley River, Clinton opened up siege lines opposite a formidable American line. Even then, additional American troops arrived by crossing the Cooper River. Although the Royal Navy never closed off the American retreat across the Cooper River, Clinton sent a detachment across which eventually captured the area north of the harbor, sealing the fate of the American garrison. Because of civilian influence, Benjamin Lincoln, the American commander had remained in the city until it was too late. The surrender was the greatest American disaster of the war and could easily have lost them the South. But British treatment of civilians, combined with a rumored smallpox epidemic which had kept militia out of Charleston, kept American hopes alive.

I have a good working knowledge of the Civil War in Charleston but knew next to nothing about the Rev War and Charleston. This book is an excellent account of the fighting around and for that city.
I particularly enjoyed the personal stories of individuals involved. The author also gives the present day locations of key events, as a frequent visitor to Charleston I found this very valuable.
Suffice to say I strongly recommend this book, you will not be disappointed!

Borick provides a great understanding the siege of Charleston. The importance of this battle has often gone unacknowledged by major historians. We hear lots about Valley Forge and the engagements in the North but most forget that the final two-thirds of the Revolution were fought in the South. Also we forget that Charleston was the equivalent of New York City or Philadelphia for the southern colonies.

While Borick's writing is not the most exciting there is certain energy in his description of the siege and battles leading up to it. Great descriptions of the engagements and style of combat help the reader see the difference between battles in the South from those in the North.

Overall, this book is a great historical work. It provides the reader with a good understanding of how the battle unfolded and the situation leading up the battle. Borick provides good descriptions of the major players as well. Finally, Charleston is a really great city with lots of great history, culture and architecture. Also Marion Square Park (it's down the block from the Charleston Museum on Meeting Street) is a lot of fun in the spring and summer months.

This book is an excellent recounting of the campaign leading up to and including the siege of Charleston and all the operations that were related to or took place during it.

He also gives excellent details of the important people involved on a need to know basis. His style reminds me of Peter Cozzins, the noted Civil WAR author, back when my interest was that conflict.

His order of battle that breaks down the combatants to a regimental level is outstanding and something most revolutionary war campaign books do not have and should be ashamed to not have them.

If i could make one complaint about this fairly told history it would be that there is just not enough flash in it. Some more humor or something to spruce up the researched details would be appreciated. However, this is nitpicking. The book is excellent and is the best about this turning point of the war.

Given the lack of anything else in print on this subject, Mr. Borick is to be commended for attempting to tell the story, but his writing is so dull and there are so many unfortunate repetitions of earlier stated statistics and trivial events, presumably employed to flesh out the dryness of the text with an illusion of detail, that the reader is left with the impression that the author would have been well served had a competent editor taken the author in hand. This is the driest of thesis work. The author's utter failure to organize the material in a detailed chronological sequence, rather than in the most general terms, is profoundly irksome, given the profusion of journals, diaries, orderly books, pension and state records available to scholars. Especially annoying, given the author's proximity to the study area, is the lack of adequate topologic information. There is nothing here to help a modern visitor ascertain the precise location of any of the sites mentioned, not even the locations of important river crossings or the HQs of the primary commanders. In the end the reader has the impression that Borick employed already published primary sources contained in Uhlendorf's 'Siege of Charles Town,' the Clinton and Lincoln papers, and then relied on secondary sources - there is very little else to be found here. The reader suffers from the lack of a mise-en-scene. We learn nothing about fire-fighting methods, the soil conditions, the source of the bricks that lined the key American redoubt, or the fact that the south end of the town was extremely heavily fortified. How were the Americans supplied. What did troops eat? Where did the officers sleep? Unforgiveable is the lack of an order of battle listing at the participating regimental units and commanders. There is little shift given to civilian perspectives (apart from Gadsden). Borick fails to provide any insights into the milieu of the general staffs and government officials or background biographical info. He pays little or no attention to the plight of the American prisoners after the capture of the city & their sufferings in the prison ships into which they were consigned. The bibliography is spotty. This is a flawed military history little better than other recent potted histories of the Southern theatre of operations, such as Pancake's 'This Destructive War.' It is a pity that this book constitutes the sole recounting of the only successful British siege operation undertaken in America, receives such lackluster treatment. Presumably the author's duties at the Charleston Museum limited his ability to dig deeper. But worse than the limitations of the history as such, is the banality of Mr. Borick's prose - no sense of apprehension or excitement is generated - it surely isn't to be derived from the dull repetition of facts. The largest military operation ever undertaken in the Carolinas save for Sherman's march upcountry in 1865 is worthy of a better recounting. It's a Charles Town tale that has yet to find a talented story-teller -

I find myself going back to this book for reference so often while I'm researching plants to consider for planting our garden of around 1860.
I just love to read the discriptions of the plants and where they originated.

Not much more than you would get out of a seed catalog, should have been cheaper.

This is a great book. I got it for my mom the advid gardener who loves local/organic gardening. The pictures are beautiful and there is ample knowledge for the advanced gardener.

This is a book that should be in everyone's collection. Not only does it tell you what you need to know about heirloom seeds it has some of the most beautiful and real pictures of flowers, fruits and vegetables. The section on where to find seeds is most helpful.

Vintage, antique, old-timey. Use your own choice of words to apply to collecting venerable items. Antique automobiles, vintage clothing, and heirloom seeds. All have their unique charm and attraction to certain aficionados.

Numerous authoritative books have been written about antique automobiles and vintage clothing to informally educate the reader in those subjects. Now, I'm pleased to see a book written that performs the same function for home gardeners.

My wife and I prize our ginger, brought from Hawaii in 1960 by her mother. Each fall its incredibly aromatic blooms transform our front entrance into a perfumery envied and enjoyed by all. While the ginger is a bulb rather than a seed, it is heirloom and extremely valuable to us.

Through the years, my wife and I have often stopped at old homesteads and gotten cuttings and seeds from their generous owners. These people, proud of their plants, many times have regaled us with the history of their unique plants.

Even so, I never really thought of documenting the history behind many of these rare finds that I wanted for their color, overall structure, or scent. Indeed, I had never considered many aspects of heirloom seeds, per se, until I read this wonderfully researched and informative book. I am very grateful that Lynn Coulter has taken the time and made the effort to document this information.

Most people today are familiar with Angel Trumpet (moonflower) vine, a night bloomer that is unique in its own right. But we have moonflower shrubs that came many years ago from an old homestead in Stamps, Arkansas. Their history can be traced back generations. It is the importance of these types of seeds that makes Gardening With Heirloom Seeds such a valuable, informative, and interesting book to read.

Knowing the history and availability of heirloom seeds will once again send me to my planning template as I search for just the right location to put `one more gem'. I strongly urge anyone interested in bringing a touch of the past to their modern gardens to get a copy of this book for their use and reference. It is one volume every serious gardener should have.

Gilmore gives a voice to an otherwise obscure - not to mention forgotten- group that set the pace for the civil rights movements of the 1950's and 1960's. Countless women contributed tirelessly in the struggle against racism, illiteracy, disease and most notably, suffrage. Gilmore does justice to those who have gone unrecognized.

The influence of sex on gender is often mistakenly emphasized to the extent where sex and gender are seen as synonyms. Historian Glenda Gilmore challenges this aberration by re-examining the formative years of Jim Crow in North Carolina through the lens of middle-class African American Women. Her reconstruction of this assumed history demonstrates acute gender construction divergences based on race, class, and political circumstance. Gilmore discloses the dynamics of marriage, education, and above all hope in shaping the differences between gender construction between African Americans and whites.
The racial progressive momentum of Reconstruction shaped educated African American women to uplift their race in an effort to improve living standards for their families, to open up opportunities for their sex for both races, and to change white attitudes toward African Americans. By accenting the life of Sarah Dudley Petty, Gilmore reveals that her activism as a "feminist" and as an African American was in contrast to white women because black women were responding not just to patriarchy but to racial oppression as well.
A famous example of how African American women hoped to uplift their race was through their work in the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). This organization provided North Carolina's black women "their best hope for building strong communities and securing interracial cooperation" (32). The WCTU became a point of mutually for both whites and blacks to improve community and gender equality. When black men voted, white women welcomed and sought out the activism of black women. Political circumstance for both groups of women afforded a glimmer of hope that racial equality was possible, however, as the political circumstance changed under the swagger of Jim Crow, white WCTU members got behind white supremacist leaders.
Gilmore explains the gender construction of whites was molded by the downturn of the economy. As hard times hit the North Carolina agrarian economy, a reconsideration of racial parity was in quick demand and an explicit white supremacy movement formed to deny blacks all their gains from Reconstruction. The "New White Men" sought to reconstruct racial interaction, and in particular sexual interaction between the "races." Gilmore reveals that the White New Man effectively created a social norm where it was no longer a demonstration of strength to have sex with a black woman but a sign of weakness. New White Men now expected white women, across class boundaries, to be wholesome and chaste in order to maintain racial purity. In turn, white women began to hold the White New Men culpable for the previous generation that allowed for racial miscegenation transgressions. Such feminine pressure as expressed by the Waddell women, Gilmore argues, supplied the once ineffectual Alfred Waddell to lead the Wilmington slaughter and take the office of mayor of Wilmington.
In the dismal days after the successful drive of disenfranchisement, when black men were pushed out of the political and civic circles, Gilmore fruitfully uncovers how black women advanced the condition of African Americans. African American women took charge amidst the Progressive Era in women's missionary societies and volunteer organizations. Gilmore demonstrates how Black women were instrumental in the rise of the welfare state and how they shrewdly created political ties with white women in un-seemingly apolitical fashion.
Gilmore's reconstruction of a microcosm of race relations in North Carolina has revealed the larger aggregate on America's shameful history of racism and misogyny. Her emphasis on social influences of gender construction affords an effective analysis of the vibrancy of agency within the seemingly impregnable shadow of structure.

Gilmore breaks new ground on many fronts that will interest social historians of race and political historians. She uncovers the myriad arenas in which black women and white women pursued "politics" outside the formal arenas of electoral institutions. She also reveals the surprising coalitions formed across racial lines and the mindset of an upper-South State on the eve of disenfranchisement. Gilmore's writing flows smoothly, as other reviewers have noted, but at times becomes overwrought and sentimentalized in a way that makes it sometimes tedious and sometimes aggravating to stay with the text. She's become captured a bit by her characters and sources. But this is a small criticism in the context of an overwise pathbreaking study that's well worth the read.

This book is a mind-blower. It reveals the history of white supremacy as an overt political campaign in the South in the early 20th century, and more importantly the roles that middle-class black women self-consciously assumed in this very dangerous cultural arena. Historins talks a lot about ideology and race and agency, but this is the most skillful and convincing account that I've read: by examining how people - men, women, poor, rich, black, white - understood and tried to shape their worlds, Gilmore recasts a significant portion of American history, and made me re-examine my assumptions about racism and gender and politics. I'm working towards my graduate degree in history, so I've had to read scores of books that cover similar ground - and this is the by far the best treatment that I've read. Also very important: Gilmore is an excellent writer - this text reads as smoothly and as compellingly as a novel. Can't recommend it highly enough.

As Gilmore writes (p. 1) in Gender and Jim Crow, "since historians enter a story at its end, they sometimes forget that what is past to them was future to their subjects." And with regard to black optimism, potential and opportunities during Reconstruction, African American "subjects" looked forward to a future of encouraging possibilities, as African American males had real political power and influence within the Republican and populist parties, which courted their votes. These men and women believed that race as a social classification would decline in importance in favor of class. Yet just as the hopes of Agrarian radicals were thwarted by the harsh the realities of the two-party system, so too were the dreams of Reconstruction-era blacks crushed by the resurgence of white supremacy and the systematic attempts by whites to disenfranchise the Negro. Gilmore presents this tale of high hopes and shattered dreams in her first chapter, "Place and Possibility."
Gilmore's story is one of perseverance among the increasingly subjugated blacks of North Carolina after Reconstruction ended, in particular, the struggle of middle class black women to maintain power, dignity and to some degree control over their lives and communities. By the 1890s, the ugly image of white supremacy showed its face, as white men fought a successful battle to disenfranchise black men through the instrument of fear, that is to say, fear for the safety of white women from the ravenous clutches of Negro rapists. As Gilmore details, this sexually based contrivance branded black men as beasts and drove them from the political realm. Articulate black women, she argues, stepped in to this cultural and political vacuum to coordinate with whites (especially white women and Northern reformers) to get social services and to work for "racial uplift," especially through church and voluntary associations such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Gilmore notes that these types of activities were not as exposed to white restrictions or ire as overt political action, and thus helped to assure some success by these middle-class black females. It seems that black women could travel within certain community and political circles that were no longer open to their male counterparts.
Gender and Jim Crow is an innovative look at post-Reconstruction race relations, in that the chief actors in Gilmore's tale are women. It nicely dovetails with Kantrowitz's Ben Tillman and the Reconstruction of White Supremacy, in that we see similar examples of the creation of Jim Crow and the use of sexual fears to bolster notions of white supremacy as well as white political solidarity. While Kantrowitz shows that Ben Tillman was representative of many of white Southerners of his day, I am unconvinced that Gilmore's subjects are as representative. Her geographic realm is limited to one state of the Upper South, North Carolina; did black women carve out a similar role for themselves in the Deep South as well? Additionally, her cast of characters is quite small, and perhaps we are drawn to these women and their story because of its very exceptionalsim and not its typicality. Nevertheless, Gilmore's new and nuance perspective is groundbreaking and valuable in that we see the era of Jim Crow from a viewpoint previously unexplored.

I heard Neal Petersen speak and by the time I got to the table to by his book, he was sold out. I finally orderd on line and it is every bit at moving as his presentation. It truly made me realize that if he can overcome all of the obsticules placed before him, than I don't have any excuses to not overcome my own.

"In life there are no barriers - only solutions." Call this positive statement a credo, a code, a slogan or a mantra. It is the one rule that dominates the life of its author, Neal Petersen.

I had the pleasure of being in an audience where Mr. Petersen happened to be the keynote speaker. An author and motivational presenter, he held the attention of all attendees, especially me.

Neal Petersen was born with a physical disability in South Africa during its apartheid years. As a child he was determined to overcome all adversities, a trait that not only guided him through life but also helped him stake his claim as the first black man to race a homemade boat single-handedly around the world.

In his book, "Journey of a Hope Merchant" and recipient of the 2005 National Outdoor Book Award, Mr. Petersen has the reader join him on his journey through life and particularly on this solo journey in the 1998-99 "Around Alone" yacht race. Throughout the book, the reader is gripped with the determination of Mr. Petersen as well as his endurance, ingenuity and particularly his sense of survival.

Right from the book's prologue by his wife, Darlene Kristi-Petersen, one becomes immediately tuned into the reality that Mr. Petersen is a man driven by his dreams. From an impoverished youth to achieving world recognition, two university degrees and author and coauthor of ten books, one can only picture Mr. Petersen as a consummate achiever.

As I write this review, I refrain from telling the story of Mr. Petersen's challenges at sea. That I'll save for the reader, as I will the many other chapters in his life where he continues to tell us the importance of dreaming. The importance he teaches us is that dreams are not simply for dreamers but are the roadmaps to be followed, challenged and achieved.

I would not call this a sailing book. Rather it is a story of a crippled boy from Capetown, who found freedom in swimming, diving, and sailing, and had a dream to sail around the world alone in the greatest of all races, inspired by these yachts and racing sailors who visited this port. The Author, who grew up in a middle class neighborhood in South Africa had to endure racism in his struggle to achieve his dream. Along the way, he found many sailors willing to help, and many other people who contributed to his life journey. It will melt you heart to read about the many wonderful people who helped Neal Accomplish this seemingly impoosible goal. It renewed my faith in the best of human nature.

This is the sort of book I'd give a young child for inspiration. It is proof that man can overcome most obstacles with only the most basic of tools--literacy. This is a lesson that should be taught to all children.

Neal makes his living as a motivational speaker. I finished the book, wanting to hear him speak. And I'd like to sail with him.

The book is an easy read. I found myself reading until 3 am and finished it the next day. I give this book 4 stars because it is not the sort of book I would re-read. It is not the sort of book I need to inspire myself. However, a good book to read once and then pass on to your friends.

The was one point in the book where I found myself gravely disappointed. I was saddened to read in Neals account that Brad Van Liew, one of this competitors, accused him of cheating by using his engine. While Neal faced bigotry throughout his life, I was saddened byh this lack of sportsmanship. I expected more graciousness behavoir.

This book is an easy, fun, adventurous read that will shift your attitude and belief in the most positive way. Neal has accomplished more most people would dream possible. Yet in reading his story you will start to believe that anything is possible. It has rejuvenated and refocused me. I'm sure it will do the same for you.

I read this book non-stop and I had to write a review. By way of full disclosure, I met Neal Petersen on November 3, 2005 and spent five days sailing with him on a passage from Connecticut to Bermuda. That time with him prompted the purchase and reading of this book. He is a fantastic guy with a truly inspiring story. The book recounts Neal's life story and struggle against the odds to reach his dream of racing a sail boat alone around the world. At every turn there are choices. Listen to the naysayers or pursue what appears to be an impossible dream. Throughout the story there are detractors and supporters. This book has drama, adventure, romance, and inspiration. This is a story not only about Neal's adventures sailing, but about how to live life to the fullest. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

This is the best book that I have ever read on black women,since it compared black women with black women. It's well-organised and very interesting with wonderful pictures. I really appreciated the many photos since it gave me a visual history of these women.

I was visiting with some friends in the South Carolina area when i first saw the author, Kibibi Voloria Mack, (now "Mack-Shelton"), being interviewed on the television show, "Inside Orangeburg". Her vivacious speaking style first caught my attention but after hearing her describe the contents of her book, I knew I had to read it for myself. I am not a history lover nor do I read many nonficition books, but I read "Parlor Ladies" and i must confess that I was pleasingly surprised! It is indeed the best darn book I have enjoyed in a long time!! The book is written in a fashion that makes it easy to follow but I was most impressed with the discourse she writes in that allows even an ordinary, nonscholarly person like myself to to read, understand, and appreciate a good peice of history. This book is a breath of fresh air when it comes to reading American history: it was never dull and is filled with information that I never would have known about southern black women or the black community had i not read this marvelous book. The photos were wonderful!

I first heard of PARLOR LADIES & EBONY DRUDGES when i saw the author, Dr. Kibibi V. Mack-Shelton, on C-SPAN BOOK TV in 1999; her vivacious speaking style and wonderful narration of her book aroused my curiosity. I read this book and must confess that this is the best book I have ever read on the history of southern African American women in the early 1900s. Mack-Shelton does an excellent job of not only comparing the upper classes of black women with their lower class peers, she provides some rather insightful information in her research that further explains the origins of modern day attitudes that some blacks still have in the black community in relations to how they still see light-skinned/straight hair blacks as being on a more superior level than those who are darker-skinned with non-straight hair. Her excellent use of oral history creates a picture of these women's daily life experiences in their own voices, bringing them to life. I am an avid reader of American history and am very impressed with Mack's style of writing. Her account of these women's historical lives is written in a discourse that both the trained, sophistocated scholar or an ordinary lay person (like myself) can follow easily. It's a breath of fresh air to read a history book that is never boring nor needs a dictionary to translate each word. It is a well-organized comparative study that is indeed an easy, interesting read that a person could actually read in a few days, if time permitted. This is a "must" read for everyone interested in American history, Women's history, or African American history must read this important book and add it to your personal library. Keep up the good writing and I can't wait to read your next book!!

I am an avid reader of women's history and this is, by far, one of the best books I have read on African American women. Mack's use of oral history to delve into these southern women's daily life experiences during the early 1900s was an excellent source for hearing these women's voices. I saw her on C-Span Book TV in 1999 talking about PARLOR LADIES; her presentation was so vibrant and interesting, I immediately purchased a copy of her book. Her comparison of black women with black women is unique within itself; she does a fine job of showing the diversity of these women and the subtle tensions that existed due to their class differences. I learned so much about the discrimination that some light-skinned women with straight-textured hair posited towards those with darker skin and non-straight hair. It made me better understand the subtle color discrimination that still exists within the African American community today. In terms of her writing style, this well-researched scholarly information is written in a language that is easily understood for those who are not trained scholars of history; it was nice to read a history book that was neither boring nor filled with words requiring a genius to decipher. Also, the organization of this book allows the reader to be able to compare the upper class African American women easily with her middle or working class peers; I could go on and on. Everyone who is interested in American history, Women's history, and African American history should have a copy of this book in their personal library. Once you start reading it, you won't stop until you reach the concluding chapter. I know I didn't! I hope Mack plans to write future books examining the African American women's life experiences. Thank you for this fine book!! Don't change your style!

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. Very much an eye opener for me, not knowing a great deal about that area of American history. I was attracted to the book by the title. It then turn out to be a real enjoyable learning experience.

Nice work.