Georgia Books

This novel is so beautiful and heart-breaking. It just kicks you in the stomach, but I can't recommend it highly enough. My mother is from a small town in Georgia and I grew up spending lots of summers there and reading The Sweet Everlasting was like looking at family photographs or hearing my grandmother tell us stories. I was not expecting to love this much as much as I did.

Tremendous book. This is the best book I've read in the last 3 years. Very readible, incredibly moving. This is not brain candy. It will make you think for a long time afterwards.

Life can change in an instant. Picked an old paperback copy of this up at a used book sale. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Easily one of the best "stories" I've read in years (and I read many, many contemporary fiction novels). If you ever take your relationships (family or friends) for granted, read this book. You won't anymore. It's extremely well written; authentic without seeming contrived.

Although critical reviews for this book are accurate and give it much deserved praise, do not read them. Let Ellis Burt tell his story to you the way he wants to--give him his own timing. To know the story beforehand is to take away your involvemnent in the terrible and powerful discoveries that he must make as a human being: about others, his society, and himself. This is a tale of sin and redemption. To know his sins too soon is to underappreciate his redemption--what there can be of it.

The storyteller carefully nurtures the recollections of the people, places and events that have shaped his destiny. And, in the end, provides a powerful, emotional understanding of the importance of love.

In this slender volume of short essays, gracefully accompanied by the illustrations of 19th century naturalist and artist John Abbot, Maloof makes her impassioned plea for the lives of trees and forests by introducing them to us one by one.

Local rambles in Maryland provide the settings for her meditations on the lives and strategies of common species like beech, oak, maple, pine, and sycamore and under story trees like dogwood and holly, as well as bald cypress, walnut, redcedar, sweetgum and more. She breathes in the special qualities of "old-growth" air and mourns the lack of "grandfather trees," but most fascinating are the tales of interwoven life in the trees.

Many of these have to do with insects. Black locusts produce extra nectar, which feeds the ants and ladybugs that protect the tree from other insects. Except aphids, which the ants protect in exchange for their "honeydew," a euphemism for aphid urine. Ladybugs eat aphids, but there are still plenty of them and that honeydew is also the substance found all over your car when you park it under a tree, that stuff you probably call sap.

Exploring the teeming life of a tree (without the sycamore alone nine other species would be lost) Maloof, a biologist, distills numerous studies and traces the relationships among the insects, lizards, fungi, mammals, birds and people who obtain benefit from the tree. With a winning combination of science and poetry, Maloof makes her case for compassion and wonder.

--Portsmouth Herald

When I was young, my neighbor told me that when she was a child in early 20th century Philadelphia, she thought that a tree was a particular kind of plant and that was that. Imagine her amazement the first time she left the city and discovered that there were what seemed to be an infinite variety of trees!

Joan Maloof takes the reader to the next level. She explains that far from each tree being merely a unique organism, that each tree is an entire ecosystem; indeed, that each tree is an interdependent universe of organisms that depend on each other in the most unimaginably wonderful and intricate ways.

I have spent my entire life in a rural area surrounded by trees, yet reading this book awakened a new curiosity, a new appreciation, a need to explore and learn that I never felt before.

Anyone will be enriched by reading "Teaching the Trees", but for the young person steeped in consumer culture who thinks that trees are for shade or lumber and that "bugs" are pests, it could be a life-changing experience, leading to an appreciation of the wonders of the forest, and perhaps a lifetime of study and enjoyment of the miracles of nature.

Biologist Joan Maloof's ventures into the forests of the Eastern United states provide a series of lively, scientific essays on connections between tree species and the animals and insects which use it in Teaching The Trees: Lessons From The Forest. In leaving lab for direct environmental observation, Maloff's firsthand observations are lively and personal as well as scientific, exploring some of her favorite trees and their importance.

This is the type of book you savor, that you close your eyes at the end and feel you've received a special gift. I'm buying copies for my friends and family.

This is one of those books you read and it can change your life. It's an intellectually beautiful read by a biologist who has spent her life studying the relationship of trees, forests, organisms, insects and animals and explains their connections simply. I think it's an important book such as Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring". It should be in everyone's library and read over and over.

Tiia-Mai Barrett, Seattle, WA

I bought this book two years ago, and my wife and I didn't actually use it until this weekend. We've really been missing out. The book contains 15 driving tours:

1) Northwest Georgia (Chicamauga to Rome)
2) Native American Tour (Fort Mountain, Chatsworth, New Echota, Etowah Indian Mounds)
3) N. Georgia Mountains Tour (Cleveland, Dahlonega, Dawsonville, Ellijay, Helen)
4) Northeast Georgia Tour (Hartwell, Toccoa, Clayton)
5) Fort Yargo to Tucker's Ferry (Winder, Jefferson, Commerce, Danielsville, Elberton)
6) Classic South (Oxford, Covington, Madison, Eatonton, Greensboro, Washington)
7) Plantations (LaGrange, Pine Mountain, Warm Springs, Greenville, Senoia, Newnan)
8) Middle Georgia Ramble (Jackson, Monticello, Gray, Thomaston, Barnesville)
9) Georgia Capitals Drive (Milledgeville, Sandersville, Louisville, Waynesboro)
10) East Central Ramble (Metter, Millen, Sylvania, Statesboro)
11) Southwest Georgia Ramble (Cuthbert, Lumpkin, Fort Gaines, Blakely)
12) Middle Georgia Farmland (Perry, Marshallville, Americas, Vienna)
13) Altamaha River Loop (Claxton, Reidsville, Baxley, Jesup, Hinesville)
14) Wire Grass Tour (Ashburn, Fitzgerald, Douglas, Alma)
15) South Georgia (Bainbridge, Cairo, Ochlocknee, Thomasville, Valdosta)

This weekend we took two tours: 6 and 5 (we did them in that order, but did 5 in reverse since we drove north from Washington to Elberton). Even though the book was published in 1997, we only found one driving instruction that was no longer correct (and it was easy to figure out). The driving instructions were very accurate, and the information about the various cities and the houses, graves, and people were very interesting. I've lived in Georgia all of my life and I've never been to a Revolutionary War battlefield within the state before- but the tour took us to the Kettle Creek battleground, something I'd never heard of before.

Rather than just give you small bits of information about each stop of interest and lots of information about hotels, restaurants, etc., this book gives you lots of information about what you're seeing and lets you figure out where to eat and sleep on your own (which is best- that sort of information changes frequently anyway).

The only criticism we have about the book is that the driving instructions are blended in with the narrative. We got around that with the second tour by going through ahead of time and underlining all of the driving instructions so they'd stand out. Perhaps in future editions this could be set off to the side on boxes so it's easy to find.

All in all, if you're looking for interesting tours of parts of Georgia you probably haven't seen before and won't find in other guidebooks (which spend their time talking about touristy things like Six Flags and Zoo Atlanta), this is the book for you.

Bought this as a gift for my father who recently remodeled an old Austin Healy. He thought this book was great!

I bought this book for the driving tours and I loved the one drive I have taken so far. But, I really enjoy the delightful stories that fill this book. It has the most amazing array of colorful anecdotes from Georgia history. It is a wonderful armchair book and an even better driving guide. I'm looking forward to doing more of the drives.

Frank and Victoria Logue are prolific writers. Their work covers hiking, camping and outdoor adventures in Georgia so this book is a natural extension of that work.

Touring the Backroads covers the entire state (don't be misled by the title). The tours are Northwest Georgia Drive, Native American Tour, North Georgia Mountain Tour, Northeast Georgia Tour, Fort Yargo to Tucker's Ferry, Classic South, Plantation, Middle Georgia Ramble, Georgia Capitals Drive, East Georgia Ramble, Southwest Georgia Ramble, Middle Georgia Farmland, Altamaha River Loop, Wire Grass, and South Georgia.

Our favorites: Georgia Capitals, Georgia Mountains (covers the Georgia Gold Rush), Northwest Georgia (takes you from the Tennessee State line to Rome), and the Southwest Georgia Ramble (highlights the Kolomaki Mounds and Providence Canyon, two underused state parks). The Native American Tour covers the Etowah Indian Mounds, the first capital of the Cherokee Nation at New Echota (now a Georgia State Park) and a wall built by Indians that pre-dated the Moundbuilders.

One of the things I like about this book is that Frank and Victoria don't assume you know esoteric facts about Georgia's history. They take you through the whole story, telling what you need to know to appreciate the stop.

I am a librarian reviewing this book for our school library which we purchased. Like the backroads, at first glance one might think there's nothing much there. Eventhough the photos are small and not color, this book makes up for it with surprisingly rich content. I gave it 5 stars for the content alone. The history and facts about this my home region were quite impressive. I only wanted the tour to slow down and concentrate more on some of the individual topics, but alas when you're on tour you only get a few moments before moving on. I've learned some things I did not know. The style of writing is intelligent and very readable. The research level is substantial in order to have uncovered these facts, that as a resident here in the backroads I know were not easy to come by. If you take a tour of any of these areas, take this book along because you won't find this information readily available aside from long hours of historical research. Facts about the history of growing peaches in Georgia along with recipes for peach cobbler and pecan pie are especially nice. Printed on alkaline paper, I only wish it was hardback.

I love this book! I have just started venturing out but so far it has now steared me wrong. Good directions and maps. Very happy with the detail.

Jimmy Jacobs is an excellent writer and trout fisherman who does a great job of detailing the many fine trout waters we have in the state of Georgia.I refer to this book often and when I head to north Georgia to trout fish this book gets packed in my bag for the trip! It is the best Georgia trout fishing guide available for the novice or advanced trout fisherman and I highly recommend it.

Every Georgia trout fisherman should have this book. There is loads of information and it is well organized. All public waters in Georgia holding trout and open enough for fly-casting are covered. Each destination is covered for several pages with fishing conditions, rules and regulations, and driving directions all covered. There is also a "how to" sections for novice trout fishers.

You will not find the off the road fishing locations without this book. I have past this book on to many others who have shown an interest in fishing north Georgia.

This book is a must have for anyone interested in seeking the sly trout in North Georgia. He is very complete in his technique and equipment sections and his maps are very thorough and easy to read. I never go fishing without it.

I own this book and have found it to be invaluable with the information it contains. It explains and shows various examples of types of sentences (ie: simple, compound, compound-complex), it goes on to explain how to write paragraphs and where to place the topic sentence (ie: the 1st sentence, 2nd, 3rd, last, etc.), and it explains how to combine paragraphs to form complete papers (ie: book reports, essays, literary analyses, research papers, thesis, etc.) by using a variety of methods of development (ie: analogy, cause and effect, classification, comparison and contrast, definition, description, narration, opinion, persuasion, and process analysis). It is also an excellent resource for how to write letters, e-mails, outlines, resumes, short stories, etc. Included is a section on grammar, usage, and mechanics (how nouns, verbs, agreement of subject and verb, etc) as well as punctuation. This is a thorough book for any writing endeavor, and I highly recommend it. I wish it had been in print MANY years ago when I was in college, but it is useful for junior high up through doctorate degrees. It is definitely worth its price (which isn't that high for all it contains!). It is also not hard to understand!

Sorenson's skill with textbook writing derives from an understanding of people and their problems with language. Only a master teacher could have written this guide.

This is the easiest and most useful reference available for teachers, students and parents. I have been using this book since'94 to help my children understand and exacute various kinds of writing assignments. Valuable from 4th grade through college level.

I brought home a stack of library books about writing to help my son with high school writing assignments and research papers. Webster's was the only one he actually used. It is laid out nicely and helpful information is available in the kind of "bites" our kids are used to. It is now part of our home library. PS. A more lengthy perusal of the guidelines for various kinds of student writing would greatly benefit any student willing to put in some time to improve their skills and their grades.

This is my second time around in college. I pulled the standard "drop-out-after-two-years-to-start-a-family" routine, and am now finishing up at 40 years of age. My writing skills had rusted slightly over the years, so this book has been an absolute life saver in college. I could not maintain my 4.0 GPA without it!

Hatchett's collection of childhood stories is just like sitting by a grand old fireplace in the dead of winter. Like a dream from the past, this skilled southern writer carries us away to moments of truth, love, fear, friendship, and innocence of days gone by. You want to feel good? Read this book! Every overnight visitor to your home will find it a blessing if they discover this golden treasure placed on the beside table in your guest room. In the morning, they'll greet you at breakfast with a smile...and a "thanks!"

After reading this book about family values and interpersonal relationships among a rural southern family I wanted to cry. Ms Hatchett has put into words the feelings and experiences of those people who have grown-up and become parents in the south. Her collection of short stories encompasses all aspects of family life. There is illness, birth, death, and sibling rivalry. The author lives in rural Georgia and was obviously very observant and sensitive during her formative years. Her description of her family is painted with love and emotion and in such detail that the reader feels that they know every intimate detail of her family life. This book IS the life of a southern lady. All southeners and those who want to share the southern experience must read this book.

Most delightful reading. Everyone should read these stories of growing up in a small southern town. We live in a fast and furious world,------ --this book will take you back to a slower pace and give you rest. I highly recommend it for all the family.

Absolutely wonderful short stories about growing up in the South. Sibling rivalry, heart touching stories about their pets, how their Grandmother helped mold thier lives, ----- on and on --- the reader just gets caught up right in the story. It covers all aspects of life including death in the family. Great writing, and easy reading.. The books are out. I want five more to send to my best friends. I'll buy from Amazon.com now that I know you have it. LOVE IT ---and you will too..

I think it is incredibly unusual today to find an individual who can evoke the rare and dramatic in everyday life and to pull such marvelous wisdom and wit from it. Nora Hatchett is definitely one of those writers. No matter where you are from, these stories build upon universal themes which touch the heart and essentially ask us each to reflect on who we are, where we're from, and those individuals and events which have shaped us. . .beautiful, painful, loving ----- Simplicity has never seemed so intricate and intensely moving --- I applaud this young writer's talent, wit and ability to transform the reader to another world.

I finished this over Thanksgiving. My mom flipped through it, as did several other family members, asking was it a dissertation. I did not think that it was, but discovered my error in the Acknowledgements. I have a special affection for scholarly works that are compelling reading. The genius of non-fiction is a story that would not be believable if made up.

Leslie documents every assertion, and includes transcripts of interviews and court proceedings so that there can be little question of context. The intermittent inclusion of belabored detail is a little odd to the casual reader, but there is often a gem in a table or list which helps transport the reader back over a 100 years (a list of schools in Augusta includes the only public one for blacks in the state - and that segregated, of course).

The story itself is stunning (grown plantation owner forcibly rapes 13 year old slave girl before her first period, "getting" upon her a b*stard half breed upon whom he dotes all his life and to whom he leaves all that he has, making her the richest "colored" woman in America), but aside from the drama which unfolds chronologically in such a way that without device one is compelled to keep reading, one is almost by the way exposed to an entire sub-culture of "people of color" whose character, enterprise, integrity, ability, and or good fortune prevailed against all odds to create a world of privilege, the survival of which depended in part upon being invisible to less affluent whites. One of them married the grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Independence!

Leslie presents the product of research of a phenomenon without mediated moralizing. Nor does the author speculate upon motive beyond presenting the range of possibilities. This volume belongs on your shelf next to Thurmond's Freedom, Meyer's The Children of Pride, and Reese's The Clamorous Malcontents, especially if you are a Georgian.

Hi my name is Ashlee Dickson and I am a descendent of Amanda America Dickson. I am very apprieciative to the people who have read the book and reviewed the website. I am also proud of my heritage and what she has done for the people of America. I am proud to be a Dickson.I am John R. Dickson's daughter's child. Thank you for your time.

I first saw the movie, A House Divided and searched out and found out that there was a book. I read the book and i recommend this book for everyone to read. It is a good book. If you haven't seen the movie. SEE IT! the author that wrote this book should be commended. He did a very good job. I am about to write a paper for my history class on this book. Linda D. Westman Mannsville, Oklahoma

I JUST RECENTLY FOUND OUT THAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A GGGG/MOTHER AN FOR THE OBVIOUS REASONS FOUND IT VERY INFORMATIVE I MEAN HOW MY OF US HAVE THE BENEFIT OF A BOOK BEING WRITTEN ABOUT A PAST RELATIVE THESE COMMENTS ARE NOT ONLY TO EXPRESS MY JOY TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY GENELOGY BUT I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO USE AS A VEHICLE TO REACH OUT TO ALL OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS THAT I DONT KNOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS PAULOTOTHEMAXX@AOL.COM MY GFATHER EDWIN EUBANKS DICKSON DIED HERE IN COL OHIO ON 04/09/46 AN THE TRIAL ENDS IF YOU HAVE ANY INFO FOR ME PAUL DICKSON OR MY FATHER JOHN R DICKSON OR MY AUNT EVA DELEROES DICKSON(THOMPSON) PLEASE EMAIL ME AT ABOVE ADDRESS THANKS

Hi my name is Ashlee Dickson and I am a descendent of Amanda America Dickson. I am very appriciative to the people who have read the book and reviewed the website. I am also proud of my heritage and what she has done for the people of America. I am proud to be a Dickson.I am John R. Dickson's daughter's child. Thank you for your time.

I read "Aleck Maury, Sportsman" when I worked at Southern Illinois University Press, which published the novel in its Lost American Fiction series. I reread it several years later with even more pleasure. The novel reads like a memoir, but has its own deep springs. I do not know of a more sensitive portrait of a person, and the prose is as lovely as the loop of a fly line uncurling on a fine cast. Because fishing is a topic of both novels, "Aleck Maury" reminds me distantly of "A River Runs Through It"--also a fine and pure novel, but not so fine and pure as "Aleck Maury."

"It is, in a sense, a prose AENEID, written with so much economy and constraint that the reader is only aware at the end that he has been following the wanderings of a hero." -Andrew Nelson Lytle, New Republic (1934)

A minor classic that is too often overlooked. The pure aesthetic beauty and simplicity of Gordon's language is a revelation.

This highly regarded but not widely known masterpiece chronicles the life of Aleck Maury from his earliest forays into opossum hunting and flyfishing to his latter days of quail hunting and fishing in old age. His lifelong quest of excellence in the field conflicts with his commitments to family and social responsibility. The novel is based on the author's father. Ms. Gordon was the wife of Allen Tate, the noted literary critic and poet. The Agrarian context and concerns of Tate are evident in her work, though her writings are unique. She shows herself here and in her other novels to be a master of her craft.

For the afficionado of the political genre, there is no better book than this. Barry's access was not equally granted by all the players, but he was sufficiently "in the room" and privy to frank discussion that he places the reader in the Congress during the end of a Speaker's tenure. This episode really marks the rise of Newt Gingrich, the end of Democrat control of the U.S. House, and profound changes in America. The book doesn't explain how it all came about. It does, however, live up to its title by showing how ambition and power collide. In this instance, ambition won. That Gingrich eventually suffered an ignominous political end is one of the great ironies of recent American politics.

This book is incredible in depth of research, interviews with key players in the House of Representatives, a balanced approached, and analysis. It reveals more of the inner workings of the House of Representatives than any other single source. A must read for anyone who wants to understand how the House works, and at the same time how Speaker Jim Wright lost the speakership.

An amazing read of the rise of Newt Gingrich and the fall of Speaker Wright. If you want a behind the scenes look at leadership and power in the US House - you must read this book. It basically follows how Newt dogged Speaker Wright and pushed him out the door with questionable tactics. Ironic that as Speaker himself, Newt had a lot of trouble with a book deal. Cannot recommend more highly.

Barry, who wrote for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications, was allowed unbelievable access to former Speaker of the House Jim Wright's private meetings, and also got cooperation from then-back bencher Gingrich and others of Wright's enemies. The result is an absolutely brilliant study of how power works in Washington, inside the Congress, between the Congress and the White House, the media. Well-written and provocative, this book will give you an understanding of Washington like nothing else I have ever read. Ever since it came out (in 1989), I have been waiting for Edmund Morris's Reagan biography to get the other side of the story. If only Morris had done what Barry did. But Morris failed. Barry didn't.

Finally able to duplicate the vegetable dishes my grandmothers made.

e.g. Slow cooked Pole Beans with ham hocks, like I remembered. Tip: you have to have the right type of green bean or it just won't work.

This book is a treasure. I was so pleasantly surprised that it wasn't "weird" and un-southern like "Booklist" led me to believe. Now I can almost cook like my great-grandmother did. (I need more practice.) Not only is this a great cookbook and reference, it's full of very enjoyable reading. I find myself picking this up for my recreational reading and getting hungry. It also tells me all I want to know about the vegetables themselves, like how to choose a ripe cantalope, and why sweet potatoes are sometimes called yams. However, it's very well organized and laid-out if you need to get a recipe and skip the conversation. (But that's not very southern of you.) I can't get enough of that braised cabbage!

Southern cooking is more than pork fat and collards (though these are good things). Southern cooking is--like any other important cuisine--making the most out of nature's bounty. Damon Lee Fowler knows that. He takes the natural abundance of Southern gardens and creates (or in many cases) recreates recipes that make eating your vegetables the best part of the meal.

If you grew up in the South and/or (like me) had a Southern mother or grandmother who cooked lots of seasonal vegetables. This book is chock full of recipes and memories.

I have tried about 2/3 of the recipes so far and I haven't found one that I disliked.

Damon Lee Fowler's "Beans, Greens, and Sweet Georgia Peaches" is a follow-up to his successful "Classical Southern Cooking", concentrating this time on the Southern cook's way with fruit and vegetables. It is, however, much more than merely a book of recipes. Instead, Fowler serves up a delightful treatise on the philosophy and outlook of Southern cooking, in which the recipes act more as examples of his principle arguments, rather than the book's main raison d'être. It is clear that the author is more interested in explaining the `why' of Southern cooking than the `how' - something that is very useful when you find yourself needing to make substitutions because of problems of availability! In addition, his enthusiasm for his subject shines through on every page. In all, this makes for a fascinating read. The book also contains some really wonderful recipes!

Throughout, Fowler concentrates on Southern traditional ways, always aiming for the authentic touch to his dishes and methods of preparation. Consequently, even though this book is mainly about vegetable dishes, prepared Southern-style, it is by no means a vegetarian cookbook. Traditional Southern pork dripping or ham, as well as seafood features prominently throughout the book. Nevertheless, Fowler remains sensitive to the fact that its title and subject matter may well draw the attention of those seeking vegetarian recipes and so he thoughtfully (and tastefully!) provides true vegetarian (and even vegan) alternatives wherever possible. While these may not be totally true to their origins, the results are every bit as tasty.

My copy of this book was given to me by my wife, as a memento of our first trip to Atlanta. Even though some of the ingredients are a little hard to come by the UK, it has nevertheless come to be one of my favourite sources of inspiration in the kitchen. And it is a wonderfully mouth-watering way to be reminded of the hospitality the Southern States!