South Carolina Books

The Vonnegut Effect by Jerome Klinkowitz (Professor of English and University distinguished Scholar, University of Nor-thern Iowa) is an impressively presented literary study of American author Kurt Vonnegut's amazing ability to retain popular appeal while boldly working in new themes and cutting edge literary forms. A thoroughly researched study of Vonnegut's fiction over the past half-century, The Vonnegut Effect is a thoughtful, thought-provoking discussion which is enthusiastically recommended reading -- especially those craving intelligent discourse about Kurt Vonnegut's remarkable and enduringly popular works of speculative fiction.

Excellent book. Great Illustrations of this pretty old town. Not only are the illustrations excellent the Hisorical Content is outstanding and straight forward. A must have for all lovers of Old Salem.

This is a most facenating true story. it opened my eyes and heart to the black - white history of human relations in this country. It is both heart warming and heart breaking. It is beautifuly written to allow us into the heart center of the author. I am a better person for having read this story and having walked with the author on the grass. God bless her for sharing her story. It is appropriate for our times. It should be considered manatory reading at the college level.

Wandering to Glory was what I have been seeking... information on Evans "Tramp" Brigade. The stories written by the actual troops were very useful and painted a very good picture of what this General and his companies did during the Civil War as well as what went on between the General and his troops as well as his commanding officers.

Very little information on this General and this brigade can be found on the web. This book was very well researched and written.

A Well-Executed Failure: The Sullivan Campaign Against the Iroquois, July-September 1779. by Joseph R. Fischer. 1997. 265 pages.

I have long wanted to read this book because I thought that it was a book which was very damming of the Sullivan Campaign. I thought it would provide by its negativity a balance against other sources and a framework for further study of this very important campaign. This campaign was very important and is a historical hot potato because of its contributions to the demise of the Iroquois and some would say all American Indians. Since moving out to Northeastern Pennsylvania I have taken a keen interest in the Sullivan Campaign. Besides an interest in the campaign with in the context of its happening I have also become interested in how it is remembered and evaluated by the various sides, historians, and military professionals.

The first section of this book went into some of the evaluations and memory material. It touched on it with out delving to deeply into it. The main thesis of the book was not actually an evaluation of the campaign in the manner that I originally thought it would be. Rather the book uses the Sullivan Campaign as a tool to evaluate the capability of the Continental Army during the middle period of the war to determine the effectiveness of the reforms started in 1775.

The author selects Strategy and Operations, Tactics, Logistics, Leadership, and Civil-Military Relations as his categories for detailed analysis. The author does also provide a background on the situation which is fairly well balanced and a summing up starting with the speech given by GEN W. T. Sherman in 1879 at the Centennial Celebration of the campaign. A celebration held at Tioga Point/Athens, PA which drew a crowd of 50,000 people.

The book provides some very good insights on the Continental Army at mid-war. The author's long personal military experience pays dividends in his ability to convey sometimes complex military actions in simple to understand terms which would not scare off a casual reader. The reader is apt to gain a greater appreciation for George Washington's planning ability and his willingness to take risks. I gained a much greater appreciation for MG John Sullivan than I had previously. He has a somewhat troubled reputation and entered the war with little if any military training. He retired for health reasons following the campaign. This book presents the image of a man who was cautious and attentive. He had a reputation for good planning and this shows through in all the sections. I am also more interested in the influences of von Steuben then I had been previously. His ability to adapt to the American Character played a major role in the evolution of the Continental and the American Army even today.

The weakness of the Continental Army was a weakness of logistics and Civil-Military Relations. The logistics aspect is well covered by the author and in many ways was typical of most armies of this time though it was even more so because of governmental systemic problems. The sheer amount of material required to sustain the expedition deep into Iroquoia is staggering. That the soldiers stayed with the expedition, that they generally preformed quite well, well enough to surprise their opponents who expected militia or had a generally dim view of American fighting ability to begin with.

The expedition as this book makes clear accomplished its goals at the tactical level and the operational level. It did not accomplish its strategic goals but that these goals were understood by the actors to be beyond their own ability anyway.

The book is well written and researched. The book serves those interested in the campaign, those interested in the evolution of the Continental Army, and those who have an interest in how armies operate even today. Highly recommended.

Compiled and edited by Horace Randall Williams, Weren't No Good Times is an anthology of 46 of the 125 interviews of former Alabama slaves, conducted from 1936 to 1938, presented with the express purpose of thoroughly documenting and creating a record of life during slavery in the southern state of Alabama. A powerful primary source, presenting individual voices with a loud and clear message of what slavery itself was truly like, Weren't No Good Times has the absolute highest recommendation and is a must for school and community libraries and American History and Black History reference collections and reading lists.

Should be required reading for Upstate school kids. Brings to life a time long forgotten!

Though Emma writes from the perspective of the losing side of the Civil War, and though her beliefs on race clash greatly with our times, her persistence in the face of horrible suffering is a magnificent example to us all. She stands as testimony to the powerful spirit of the South and of Southern women in particular. Were we as committed to the ideals of our day as she was to those of her day, ours would be a powerful society indeed. Her diary is all the more shocking when you realize that she was only seventeen when she began writing

The root causes for Southern secession are generally accepted and were as simplistic as the general excitement that drew thousands to their respective state's call for volunteers. More difficult to understand are the many factor which sustained their willingness to fight so hard for so long.

Sheehan-Dean identifies motivations strong enough to outweigh powerful discouragements. As the war progressed, the initial zeal was dampened by camp boredoms, disease, conscription, shortages and strategic setbacks. However, tactical victories, confidence in military leadership, Northern depredations, sense of divine purpose and defense of family fortified the common man's willingness to resist by keeping the original ideals of the war alive.

The general Southern view of slavery as essential to the Southern economy is reiterated. But more importantly, slavery was the great Southern irony, viewed as a foundation of white liberty. From that perspective, the Confederate soldier's choice was simply victory or death.

The author presents reasonable arguments solidly backed by sound scholarship and documentation. This student of his own humble, Southern ancestry better understands his progenitors' heretofore seemingly irrational consistency and fanatic loyalty to that "rich man's war - poor man's fight."

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The Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks is a fascinating examination of the wild horse herd that exists on an island at the remote southern end of North Carolina's Outer Banks. This wild animals are protected from direct human intrusion, and their natural herd behavior studied by scientists; at the same time, circumscribed "wilderness management" involving genetic testing and immunocontraception is necessary to prevent the herd from overgrazing its own food supply. Are these animals truly horses, or ponies? Did the originate from horses that were cast off from foundering Spanish galleons, or did they come to the island much more recently? Are they a threat to the island's ecology? Readily accessible to readers of all backgrounds, The Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks offers a sweeping overview of perspectives and theories concerning the herd, the history of how it came to be protected, and why they are popularly beloved among visitors. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this "must-have" for equine fans.