South Carolina Books

"Portrait of America" was a popular video documentary series in the mid-eighties, a product of collaboration between Superstation/Turner Broadcasting Corporation and Ambrose Home Video. Well-researched, each video is divided into 5 segments covering most unique historical, social, and cultural aspects of each state. Watching such an interesting documentary, each being roughly about 50 minutes long, without advertisements and other interruptions seems to be a privilege in these days!

I saw Robert Drapala at a book signing last summer on Hatteras Island because I was a fan of his last book, but this one was even more interesting. I did not know that the first amphibious attack of the Civil War was on Hatteras Island--it was absolutely fascinating! The journal drawings are just beautiful, I never knew they existed. As a 12-year summer resident of Hatteras Island, I learned a lot from this book. Just wonderful!

This book took me through a wonderful pictorial journey- through the history of one small southern town that rightfully claims its own special niche in Georgia's rich cultural heritage. This collection of photographs shows how one small community maintained its beautiful southern charm but also prospered when the rich mineral content of the town's seven springs brought visitors to enjoy the water's medicinal powers. For anyone who marvels at southern history, architecture, or culture, this book is a gem. Whether you are intrigued by spiritualism or scandal, Hannon includes something to please any enthusiast. The photographs are complemented by informative captions that reflect a depth of research. Also: thanks to the author for avoiding a shortcoming in some historical works by including a lovely assortment of African-American scenes.

Collaboratively compiled and edited by Robert P. Watson (Editor of "White House Studies, a journal of scholarship and commentary on the politics and history of the White House) and Anthony J. Eksterowicz (Professor of Political Science at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia), The Presidential Companion: Readings On The First Ladies is an impressive and informative collection of insightful and revealing essays by a variety of authors concerning the political impact of American presidential wives throughout history upon their husbands, their husbands policy making/implementing colleagues, and the general public. From Martha Washington's selection of furnishings to Hillary Rodham Clinton's leadership of the President's Task Force on National Health Care Reform, The Presidential Companion is unique in its close study. Of particular note is the debunking of the commonly held myth that only Eleanor Roosevelt and the First Ladies after her made significant political contributions to America itself. The Presidential Companion is a scholarly and very highly recommended contribution to American Political Science and Women's Studies reading lists.

This is a book slight in pages, but powerful in impact, about a foot soldier in Cromwell's New Model Army during the English Civil War in the 17th century. The story centers on an idealistic young soldier and his compatriots who join Cromwell's army to overthrow the King and establish a new order. Their hopes are gradually crushed, however, as Cromwell abandons any path towards radical change. Ultimately Cromwell and his cronies turn on these same men whose idealism is now seen as a threat.

The language is vivid, authentic, and the story is both informative and thought provoking. It effectively uses the perspective of the common man to frame historical events that otherwise can seem quite bloodless.

The ideals of these doomed young soldiers, such as those which the main character in the book holds, would later take root in America and eventually lead to more fundamental change. Hence this book's connection to the rest of the books in the Beulah Quintet that are set in America. While it is called the first of the Beulah Quintet, Prisons is a pre-quel having been written 17 years after the first book published in the series, O Beulah Land.

I find it difficult to believe this is the first review for this book on Amazon, considering the author won the National Book Award for Blood Ties, and she was the founder of the PEN/Faulkner Awards. One can read from many other sources that the Beulah Quintet is considered a landmark of 20th Century American fiction. This book is an essential backdrop against which the other novels in the Quintet are set. While Prisons may not be the best of the Quintet, it is still highly recommended.

If you haven't had the opportunity to see the beautiful gardens of Charleston in person, then this book should suffice until you can get there. Twenty-five private gardens are presented here with color photos and an essay for each. All of the elements that make these gardens so special - brick walls and pathways, neat boxwood hedges, colorful flowers like azaleas and camellias, fountains, wrought-iron gates and cobblestoned courtyards - are on delicious display. Various garden styles are represented here - classical, contemporary, an atrium garden and the garden of a palm collector are just a few examples. The author's own garden, featuring neat brick-edged beds filled with roses and perennials is included.

This book is about my great grandfather. I bought it as a gift for my Dad. He read it and loved it. There is even an old photo of the Bishop's family that includes my grandfather as a child, whom I never knew. Amazing. Thank you.

Dori Sanders is one of my most loved authors. Promise Land is a very slight volume (about 30 pages) in which Sanders tells of her life growing up and depending on the land for a living. She is upfront about life for the poorer and black in the South. She also infuses her tale with the sense of community that carried them through those hard times. She reminds us we all have the responsibility to see each other through. I only wish it had been longer and that she would publish more.

When I first learned a few months ago that a biography of Lucy Holcombe Pickens was going to be published I anxiously awaited its publication. I was not disappointed. This is a first class biography of a significant person in the history of the Confederacy that has been overlooked too long. Several years ago I wanted to learn more about this interesting lady; but I found the sources about her few and far between. She does not have her own separate entry in the Encyclopedia of the Confederacy. She is only passingly mentioned in John B. Edmonds, Jr.'s book "Francis W. Pickens and the Politics of Destruction" published in 1986 and this is only because she was Picken's third wife. I could not find much information about her life after Pickens death. He died in 1869 and Lucy lived until 1899. So what happended to Lucy from 1869-1899? This beautiful biography fills in the blanks and Elizabeth Wittenmyer Lewis deserves our thanks for writing it. It is carefully researched and well written. The photographs show Lucy in her later years as well as her younger years when she enjoyed the reputation as the most beautiful woman in the Confederacy. This book is a true treasure and one that I would put on the same level with Elizabeth Muhlenfeld's biography of Mary Boykin Chesnut first published in 1981. A superb work and a significant contribution to the history of Confederate women.

This book is a must have. It gave excellent information about doctors in my state. The information was clear and concise, telling what, when and why the doctors where disciplined and if it was by a state or federal agencies. This book gives consumers the basis to make better decisions when choosing a doctor by knowing if they have ever been disciplined and why.