Georgia Books

Written accounts of solitary wilderness living show up every once in a while, and seem to have become especially popular after the Baby Boomers "discovered" Thoreau in the 1960s. His words still inspire a few folks to chuck their lives of quiet desperation and head for the hills to get away from it all. Some are successful, some are not. Many stay there only a year or two before the most pressing need -- the financial one -- forces them to return to civilization.

That's not the case with Thomas Rain Crowe, who spent four years (1978-1982) living alone in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. Crowe went back to his home state after living in a variety of places, doing a variety of work, communing with a variety of people. When given the opportunity to be the cabin tenant, he made the most of it. He worked hard to be self-sufficient, growing his own food and tending to his home and his tools. Others might have been bored in such a setting, but not him. He was always busy: gardening, fishing, taking care of his beehives, making homebrew, digging his root cellar, taking notes on the experience. And he regained the use of one his most valuable resources, the Southern Mountain speech of his childhood. He was downright satisfied with the situation.

His mentors in this effort were several local men who offered advice from time to time: Zoro Guice appeared in Yoda-like fashion whenever Crowe needed to learn how to perform a certain task. Walt Johnson was the scamp of the neighborhood, but was also an accomplished dowser who could find water every time. From these and other natives Crowe learned how to live close to the land, to live in the time of the seasons. The reader senses that Crowe would be living there still, if civilization hadn't encroached upon the property and changed it forever. That's when he knew he had to leave.

Not just a doer, Crowe is also a viewer -- a writer, a poet, a spiritual man who feels a strong connection to the natural world. His poetry uses simple words and turns of phrase to evoke powerful images. On the other hand, his prose, the narrative of his story, is the work of a learned and literate man. Complex constructs entice the reader to keep on going, to chew on the concepts and experiences offered. It takes time to digest these lines, and it's time well spent. Having witnessed Thomas Rain Crowe read some of this book aloud in person, I have the benefit of having heard the hint of the Smokies in his voice, the love for the place evident in every well-spoken syllable. No matter; it comes through in the typewritten text as well.

So was Thomas Wolfe right or wrong? Can you or can't you go home again? The reader decides. In the meantime, "Zoro's Field" should be placed on a shelf with the works of the old and new naturalists (Thoreau, Burroughs, Leopold, Carson, Eiseley, Bass) to one side, and the "Foxfire" books to the other. A thought-provoking addition to the environmental canon.

The local legend and mountain sage of the Appalachians of western North Carolina Zoro Guice told the author, "If a man goes out in the woods and just sits down in one place for long enough, all of nature and everything he needs to know will eventually pass before him like a parade." And so Crowe--poet, publisher, and recording artist--took up residence in the Appalachians for four years, and writes about the "parade." As in Thoreau's "Walden," Crowe writes about how he subsisted in the wild and what he learned from this. But moving somewhat beyond "Walden" in content and form, Crowe writes more about what goes on beyond himself; and some passages are in the form of verse. Not so meticulous or contained as "Walden," "Zoro's Field" reflects on modernity's effects on the tie with nature, environmental concerns, and changes which have come to the area. Though different in ways from Thoreau's classic which it cannot help but be compared with, Crowe's work in this same genre holds its own as an engaging, thought-inducing memoir.

More than a modern Walden, this is a book about intentional living. Crowe returns to home land in the southern mountains of North Carolina after living in Europe and northern California. Guided by principles of the Beat poets and philosophers, he embraces the traditions of sustenance, growing his own food, tending bees (honey for trade), making wine and beer. From his cabin beside the Green River gorge, he explores both terrain and history in celebration of a way of life that has been largely lost. The book is elegant and poetic. Crowe writes with an easy style, but critical intellect.

This collection of essays is so charming, clever and funny that you'll want to read them again and again! It is laugh out loud hilarious and I love this book! Mandy's writing brings the Southern way of living to life on every page. It actually made me homesick for Atlanta when I read it! Thank you Mandy for a delightful book. I look forward to great things from you in the future!

I loved this book. Where has this girl been hiding? Every newspaper in America should carry her columns. Her style reminds me of Celestine Sibley, Erma Bombeck and Lewis Grizzard all rolled into one. Funny, touching, so incredibly true. She paints pictures with words.

This book is a brilliant account of the fascinating relationship between two of the most brilliant minds in American history. It is a highly enjoyable read, and a welcome companion to the "The Adams-Jefferson Letters."

Merrill D. PetersonÕs Adams and Jefferson: A Revolutionary Dialogue is a well-documented study of how two men of differing characters and political views met and became life-long friends. Drawing heavily on the Adams-Jefferson letters and other primary sources, Peterson does a satisfactory job of explaining why these two men became friends and traced the very course of their friendship. In reading this book, I have learned that even though political events like the Election of 1800 and the French Revolution can overwhelm and destroy a friendship, a faithful friend can act as a go-between and help repair a friendship.

A complete revision of this popular best-seller that covers Beaufort, Myrtle Beach, New Bern, Savannah, the Sea Islands, Hilton Head, Brunswick and the Golden Isles, Okefenokee Swamp, the Outer Banks, Charleston, Cape Hatteras and all the places in-between.

A complete revision of this popular best-seller that covers Beaufort, Myrtle Beach, New Bern, Savannah, the Sea Islands, Hilton Head, Brunswick and the Golden Isles, Okefenokee Swamp, the Outer Banks, Charleston, Cape Hatteras and all the places in-between.

This book conveys the words of a young Union soldier who was captured and taken to the Southern prison they called Andersonville. This detailed account taken from the diary of Charles Hopkins tells a story of survival and horror. It makes you imagine trying to survive in a disease riddened prison with barely any food or fresh water. Read this book because it will be one you will never forget

This first person account provides a wealth of insight into the day-to-day rituals of "life" in one of the most forbidding Civil War prison camps. Throughout his trials, however, Charles Hopkins never loses his faith in humanity and even manages to endure with a sense of humor. His uplifting story bears testimony to the strength of the human spirit under fire. Hopkins' style of writing is descriptive and conversational, and works well with the enlightening information and photos supplied by editors Mr. Styple and Mr. Fitzpatrick. I highly recommend this book to all who are interested in the Civil War and in becoming acquainted with one of its many unsung heroes.

As the title implies, Joyce E. Chaplin has a dual purpose. She describes slave agriculture in the colonial to the pre-antebellum period and studies the Lower South's notions of Western modernity and innovation. While southern whites were aware of and tried to apply modern ideas and innovations, they could not, in the end, disassociate themselves from being slaveholders. In a nutshell the Lower South was characterized by continuity as well as, in Chaplin's words, change and persistence. It was anything but static.

In her analysis, Chaplin found that whites frequently used Scottish enlightened thought as an historical framework for assessing their own chances of achieving socio-economic improvement. The Scottish school, Chaplin proposes, is a way to show how whites' were informed of modern contemporary theory from newspapers, books, and local authors. The Reverend Alexander Hewitt wrote a 1770s account of the rise and progress of the Lower South and David Ramsey, a physician and early North American historian, modeled the Scottish statistical efforts of Sir john Sinclair.

Landholders were keeping up with the times and not at all languishing in the backwaters enjoying mint juleps on verandahs. Still, while they adjusted to national and world events and adapted their crops, capital and labor, they did not, in the end, relinquish their reliance on slavery. Chaplin's tries to understand this aspect of slavery in order to discover why racism is so persistent.

Chaplin offers a cautionary comment in the preface. She says she doesn't want to come across as cynical toward humanity's ability to overcome racism. She succeeds in adhering to her scholarly purpose until, interestingly, at the end of her book she expresses some skepticism. While whites in the Lower South adopted notions of modernity, they adhered to slavery in order to achieve their own ends. In doing so they rejected an opportunity to use their wealth, resources and leadership for reform. Instead they chose to avoid the instability that would be necessary to move beyond slavery.

Many histories of the South have focused exclusively on the antebellum period, characterizing the region as economically undiverse, intellectually out of touch with Enlightenment ideals, and culturally static. These assesments create the impression that southerners were backward people who should have known that the society they created was not maintainable. Joyce Chaplin argues that during the period from 1730 to 1815, the region was in actuality a dynamic and innovative place that fell victim only to its own success. To do so, she has compiled an enormous amount of evidence, based on sources ranging from specialized secondary literature on economics, philosophy, and culture, as well as primary documents such as period newspapers, public records, and private correspondence.

Chaplin begins her study with a treatment of the predominant economic and political theories of the late 17th century, arguing that southerners accepted the theories of the Scottish school that a commercial society was most conducive to individual wealth creation, and thereby a stronger and more harmonious society. To find products that would create the most wealth, southerners experimented and innovated with various crops and productive means, reflecting the Enlightenment values of scientific pursuit and rationality. In the process, they created a culture that celebrated the right of the individual to pursue prosperity, but that relied upon government aid and regulation, as well as black slavery. Both of the latter aspects were seen as potentially disruptive to their fragile new society, but also unavoidable if individual (and thereby societal) betterment was to be achieved. Even as southerners came to fear the potential of government and slaves (who Chaplin shows to be far from powerless) to challenge their authority, they found that they could not do away with them without undermining the culture of white achievement they had fostered.

Chaplin shows that southereners were not hostile to manufacturing, engaging in it on a small scale particularly during times of market disruption, such as during the Revolution and the War of 1812. Cotton and rice production returned as the dominant economic activities of the South because they were by far the least risky and most profitable, not because of any intellectual opposition to non-agricultural forms of capitalization. Chaplin believes that if only the region had continued its economic diversification, the South would not have been so heavily tied to slavery, and would not have experienced its eventual economic and social stagnation.

Rachel Gaines has been a widow for fifteen years and, at
forty-seven, is tired of doing charity work and attending
ladies' luncheons. Her chance for a change of pace comes at
a class reunion. There she again meets Quentin Rawls, whom
she cut out of her life more than twelve years earlier. Some
explicit descriptions of sex. 1995.

My mom gave me this book the first time I read it cause I was desperate for something new and it just so happened that we were on our way to Augusta. That is also my hometown and the landmarks are oh so familiar. The storyline also is cool as I was ready for something new. I loved the whole book and now that I am on the west coast I brought another copy just to take me home when I need to

Andrews successfully and deftly integrates several intertwining narratives and characters into one intricate, yet very accessible narrative. _Appalachee Red_ is at once a novelized study of the complexity of race relations in the South from around the turn of the century until the onset of the Civil Rights Movement. It is constructed around the birth of the child of an affluent white father and his African American maid. The child is eventually sent North to live with the mother's relatives but later returns to the town of his birth as an adult intent on receiving what is due him.

As the story unfolds, several larger than life characters appear who are almost Homeric in proportion. Their stories move the narrative in several directions and expand it almost to the breaking point, but Andrews always manages to remain in control. Rather than detract from one another, the narratives complement one another, always reminding the reader of the interconnectedness of our lives.

Andrew's knack for storytelling makes this a can't-put-down book. Even amidst the daily violence, fear, injustice, and degradation of southern life for African Americans, his story is uproarously funny but never at the expense or dignity of his subjects; the seriousness of their plight is always upfront. However, not only are African Americans the veritable prisoners of the social system; white Americans, too, find themselves imprisoned by the very system they fight so hard to uphold.

The only regret I have about this novel is that it took me so long to find it.

This a great book, if only for the sneaking way Andrews's superb writing sudenly shocks the reader into the realization of what great talent he had. I won't give away any of the story- readers should pick up the book and find out for themselves. I will tell you, though, that what attracted me to Andrews in the first place was the tragic story of his all too short life. I may be suspect for reading a book only because of the interest I had in the author's personality. Does this take away from the work ? Possibly, but authors are intriguing people, and their personal stories can be as compelling as their fiction. Andrews has an elegant style that comes across as almost savage at the same time. This book is populated with a vivid gallery of characters that breath life right of the page. Andrews can take his palce among the canon of great the Southern writers that came befor him- Faulkner, O'Connor- and his living contemporaries like the Great George Garrett. Read and enjoy !

Are you about to spend the summer with the kids?

Is Dad about to have the kids by himself for a week?

Do you know DINKs (Dual Income No Kids) about to become SITCOMs (Single Income, The Child, Oppressive Mortgage)???

GET THIS BOOK!!!

This book has been a staple of Metro Atlanta area parents for over a decade. This 6th edition (2001) was well researched and updated. There is even a section on future things to do (i.e. the Atlanta Aquarium and others). The authors share lessons from their experiences in taking kids to Atlanta attractions and share stories that others have shared.

You will find out things you never knew about the Atlanta area (did you know one of the largest Kangaroo Reserves outside of Australia is just north of the metro area?).

As picking our own produce was a cherished childhood memory, I would like to see more in the "U-Pick" Farms section. They made minor references to one web page, but left out many of the staple U-Pick and kid friendly farms in area. More on the North Georgia apple country would be great too.

Janet and Denise, keep up the good work!

This handbook is the most extensive information I"ve found in one place. I refer to it all year when I want to plan activities for my child. It is a wonderful resource, and every parent should have one. I've lived in Atlanta all my life, and I had no idea that there were so many fun things to do that I didn't even know about. It also had a list of great free things to do. Definitely a must for all parents!

I work in a museum of history, in South Georgia. When recently completing a presentation on local history I found this atlas to be invaluable. The historical maps showing the Indian trails, and Indian Cessions are excellent. Also, the maps showing the state according to county development and transportation. I would recommend this book to anyone researching Georgia. In fact, two of my colleagues want to purchase individual copies!

I work in a museum of history, in southwest Georgia. When recently completing a presentation on local history,I found this atlas to be invaluable. The historical maps showing the Indian trails, and Indian Cessions are excellent. The maps showing the state according to county development and transportation are informative. I would recommend this book to anyone researching Georgia. In fact, two of my colleagues want to purchase individual copies!