South Carolina Books

an excellent cookbook on a regional cuisine. excellent and accurate choice of recipes (although i wish there were more chicken dinner ones). these recipes are perfect for flavorful basic meals. this is without question the book i use most, especially for sunday dinner. i have passed along the mac/cheese recipe to dozens of folks. the smothered chicken recipe is a staple in our house. try the butternut squash succotash or the spiced apple pie or the stewed chicken. they're can't miss and delicious

the food in this collection isn't fancy or fussy, but it is very very good. this book is best suited for everday folks who have cooking and eating as an integral part of daily home life.

I was eaagerly awaiting the delivery of this book and was disappointed. The recipies were little more than re-hashing some basic carolina cooking. Nothing innovative or even interesting.

I was hoping for more.

This is one of my favorite cookbooks, especially after spending a summer in Charleston last year. I was raised on very traditional southern cooking, and I was looking for something that added a bit of gourmet flair to traditional recipes (and made them a bit healthier). This cookbook does it beautifully, and has a lot of nice background on low country cooking, food traditions, and history. The collard greens and gumbo recipes are just spectacular. I like too that there are basic recipes for things like hoppin john and plain old rice. No pretty pictures, but the volume of recipes more than makes up for it.

If you are looking for something reminiscent of your grandma's cooking in the fifties, with lots of fatback and crisco, you won't find it here. But I think this is a much tastier, healthier turn on my favorite little bit of southern food.

This is a wonderful cookbook, with all the southern cookbooks out there this has to be the simplest one I've used that delivers southern food with a gourmet touch BUT without the complications that gourmet recipes sometimes present to the home cook. DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS

I really disliked this coobook because it did not capture the real way people of the south cook. I am born and raised in the south and this is nothing like the food you get from big momma's house. There is absolutly nothing "gourmet" about true soul food. You use what you have to make a great meal. It is not about splurging on items that you would not normally have on hand. You use what you have to make a meal. Thanks for the effort though...

I first picked up this book on a whim in Dean's friend's shop in Phoenicia and assumed it would be just another gardening how-to book. Boy was I ever wrong! I have never had a gardening book inspire me in such a way! I wanted to go out straight away and work in the garden and smell the rich earth and let the sun warm my back. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of reading this book during the long Catskill winter! Now, I read Dean's book each and every spring to give me the inspiration to spend hours digging and planting, and I frequently browse for articles and/or other books written by Dean, or similar in style. (I haven't found any that compare!) Not only do I wish Dean was my neighbor, but I wish he would write another book! This book is one of the few that I am actually wistful when I finish the last page....I want it to go on and on.

I also had the great fortune of touring Dean's garden during a garden tour 2 years ago...what a treat that was! I went home and wanted to rip everything out and start over, or at least have Dean come and advise me. His garden is every bit as beautiful and inspiring as his book.
A "must read" for EVERY gardener!

That is probably too mean a title for a very, very personal book, yet it seems appropriate. Mr. Riddle is a sincerely down-to-earth person, it seems, and when he says something is "purdy" I suppose he means it. His A-shucks persona gets in the way of some very good advice, however.

But this is not to say that Mr. Riddle is a poor writer -- far from it, or that he does not know his subject -- he is a classically trained horticulturist and writes a well-received garden column for Elle Décor magazine. He knows what he is doing.

There is not much in this book to learn, or that you cannot learn elsewhere -- but as the travel industry says, half the fun is the journey. The process Mr. Riddle uses to refine his design ideas is the real essence of the gardening parts of the book. His humanity and the depth of his friendships provides the soul of the memoir part of the book.

My advice if you buy this book is to read through it twice to pick up the bits you miss when you are rolling your eyes at his hokey expressions-- it is worth it.

The librarian at Skene Library in Fleishmanns, NY foisted this book upon me as I had missed Dean Riddle's personal appearance and reading. I politely took it home. I started to skim read and three hours later had finished the book and made a list of pages to return to for information. This book is a jewel of a read and a must for any Catskill gardener. I have had a "failed garden" for ten years in the Felishmanns area. I used to be a good gardener. Not in the Catskills! Mr Riddle provides a virtual how to manual for my next year's garden. But beyond the practical, it is a delightful, fast paced, funny read.

Out of all the gardening books I've purchased for our public library in the last four years, I would recommend Dean Riddle's book first and foremost to our readers as a balm to the soul, an inspiration to gardeners everywhere, and a plain old good read. The focus of the book is informative yet personal: it is the story of one man's coming of age in the garden, his connection with the strange and often-ignored vibrancy of the horticultural world, and his joyous appreciation of people, plants, dirt, sticks, old glassware, fried eggs, and just about everything else.

For four months a year I read virtually nothing but gardening books of all types as our orders come in to the library. Very few of the writers are able to touch and inform readers at the same time, and it is this gift that Dean Riddle brings to his writing. The book is organized in such a way that Riddle is able to incorporate stories into his highly readable and clear descriptions of his own garden plans. Within the space of a few paragraphs, the reader finds himself in Dean's world. The fully-colored images and sensations of Dean's garden stay brilliantly painted in one's mind long after the book is closed.

I am really enjoying this book. I am not done yet, but I have already started looking at my garden differenly. I am thinking about getting some more garden books to help me improve my garden. This book is whimsical and delightful. The author writes with a wonderful style. I hope that he is allowed to stay at his rented bungalow forever. My only complaint is the books that Amazon suggests you should get if you enjoyed this book. They all seem to be about being Gay. This book is so much more than a book about a man coming out of the closet. I think anyone would like this book straight or gay. Have to go and stroll in my garden. Enjoy the book!

Where is that very fine line between supporting a cause and breaking the law? This is a history of the six men who provided money to John Brown and may have crossed that line in supporting him. Slavery was the cause of a major division and source of disruption in nineteen centaury American life. The Northern states managed to abolish slavery with minimal problems. At the same time, slavery in the Southern states became immensely profitable and the foundation on which a society rested. Slavery colored every national debate, becoming the sticking point for westward expansion and the source of radicalism in both the North and South. Agreeing with their position and knowing history makes it easier for us to be sympatric toward these men. This masks the fact that their money supported actions that caused a number of deaths.

Who are "The Secret Six" and why would they support someone like John Brown? The answer to that question is the subject of this book. Edward Renehan shows that there is no easy answer to this question, providing a look at six complex men. Individually and collectively, they decided that the United States was evil and their cause placed them above the law. Two placed themselves "in harms way" during resistance to the Fugitive slave law or in Kansas. The balance stayed home and allowed their money to do their fighting. Into their lives came John Brown, failed businessman, possible criminal, zealot and ready to "fight slavery". Six wealthy men wanting to strike a blow for freedom and one zealot with money problems was the almost perfect match.

The book contains a very good portrait of all the main characters. An overbearing possibly abusive husband, a hypochondriac, a number of well meaning people that were committed to revolt and a cold-blooded killer is the cast. They do not make for a likeable or heroic group and the author details their good and bad points. Along the way, we get a nice overview of bleeding Kansas as seen in Boston and as Brown contributed to it. This build up, allows the reader to understand how the Secret Six were able to accept Brown's ideas and assume his plans would work. When Harpers Ferry failed, the Secret Six realized that many might consider them to be as guilty as Brown. This section shows them at their worst as they scrambled to get clear of the mess they had helped create.

The opening chapter is one of the best introductions I have ever read, setting the tone of the book, introducing the cast and providing closure. The writing style is very good and easy to read. The book is informative and complete, providing a look into a world of privileged radicals in the years leading up to the Civil War. This is a balanced history, free of condemnation or adulation leaving judgment up to the reader.

John Brown remains an elusive figure even today, nearly 150 years and who knows how many books after his execution. But our continuing fascination for the Brown--was he a saint? a madman? a traitor? a hero?--tends to overlook the fact that his activities, both in bleeding Kansas and Harpers Ferry, were financed and supported by many aristocratic and wealthy New England abolitionists. Edward Renehan's genuinely fascinating book offers us the first in-depth look at the leading six of them: Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a pastor who became a colonel of black troops in the Civil War; Theodore Parker, minister and philosopher; Franklin Sanborn, educator; Samuel Howe, physician; and Gerrit Smith of New York and George Luther Stearns of Boston, wealthy businessmen.

For me, the overriding impression from Renehan's narrative is that the involvement of the "secret six" with Brown was not unlike a Gilbert & Sullivan comedy. The six raised money for weapons that were frequently low quality; they self-importantly sprinkled letters to one another with codewords: "shepherds" for soldiers; "furniture" for guns, "Hawkins" for Brown; they insisted on not knowing details about Brown's plans to protect themselves, yet got petulant when they felt they were kept out of the loop; when Brown was captured, all but one of them (Higginson) panicked mightily (Higginson, to his never-ending mortification, seems never to have been recognized as a conspirator by the authorities); and by the time Brown was hanged on 2 December 1859, Howe and Stearns had fled the country, Parker was dying of consumption in Italy, Sanborn couldn't make up his mind whether or not he ought to flee, Smith was in an insane asylum, and Higginson was planning a half-cocked (and never pulled off) plan to rescue Brown's still imprisoned companions in the crazy raid on Harpers Ferry.

All this is absurd and even silly. But things take on a much more ominous tone when Renehan paints a portrait of Brown as a religious fanatic who seems indifferent to life in Kansas (the Pottawatomie massacre is just he most famous example); who believed that his raid on Harpers Ferry was approved by God and hence infallible; whose military planning included the bizarre insistence that low ground was more defensible than high; and who apparently felt no compunction about adding deception and common theft to murder in the pursuit of his goal to spark a slave insurrection.

The fascinating subtext of Renehan's book, then, is a question: how is it that well-educated, wealthy, upper-class men could've so fallen under the sway of a man like Brown that they were willing to risk treason to finance his insurrection (notwithstanding that after the revolt failed they lost their nerves)? Part of the answer lies in the secret six's hatred of slavery and their despair over a legal end to it. But part of the reason must also have been Brown's charisma. Mad as he probably was--as even Higginson years later said he was--his magnetism was overpowering.

A valuable addition to our understanding of the pre-civil war in Kansas as well as the debacle at Harpers Ferry. Highly recommended.
__________
* The title Higginson gave himself and his five fellow backers of Brown who, Higginson believed, all betrayed Brown after his capture by trying to deny their complicity. The reference, of course, is to Peter's denial of Jesus.

If you judge a book by its publisher, which is not always a bad thing to do, you will not expect much out of this volume. And you had best begin this book not expecting too much or you'll find yourself disappointed. I give it three stars out of generous feeling tonight.

The author attempts to give us a history of the backers both financially and morally of John Brown and his attempts to overthrow slavery. The men involved were intellectual, wealthy individuals who should have known better, but apparently were overtaken by self aggrandizement. This could be a very exciting and interesting work on this subject is little known and very much ignored, however, it is a rather stuffy and dry examination of this very exciting incident in 19th century American history. The author rightly describes the John Brown as a religious fanatic and murderer, and while he shows me six co-conspirators who lost their nerve after Brown was arrested, the book tends to put these people in the light of bored men who want some game to play at and when that fails they do all they can to distance themselves from their failure. This is substantially true. However, these men were more than what they appear in this rendering. He also would have done well to flesh out their other actions and accomplishments, not to make them heroes, but to give us a better look at their times.

If you are looking for a book to give a general picture of New England abolitionists, you might very well find this book helpful to you. You should not expect any great writing were amazing research discoveries. If you have a fairly substantial knowledge of this era and of these individuals you will get much out of this volume.

No one has done more than Renehan to explore and explain the Byzantine tale of abolitionist John Brown and his idealistic but confused (and sometimes absurd) northeastern bankers. This is a splendid story that, by polishing with his customary narrative excellence, Renehan has turned into a real gem.

THE SECRET SIX does a wonderful job of revealing the tangled web of intrigue that lay behind John Brown's 1859 incursion at Harpers Ferry. This is stunning stuff: six affluent northeasterners, one of them the husband of poetess Julia Ward Howe and another the leading Unitarian minister of his day, financing terrorism in slave states -- and going about it methodically, calmly, and deliberately. What a story. And so well told.

I like the book a whole lot!The number one reason why is because it is written about my hometown!

This was one of the best books I've ever read about Black history in small towns. Very detailed and well done.When reading this novel I felt like I was there. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

I thought the book was better than average. The ending was a little disappointing, but I thought the theme of the book was
great. I thought Eleanora Tate did an awesome job at describing the characters, especially the peoples' ancestors. I didn't really like the whole paegent thing, because I'm a boy. (you know what I mean) The only reason I read it was because my teacher made me, but I'm glad I did.

The Secret of Gumbo Grove is an excellent book. I highly recommend it, especially if you like mysteries. It is about an 11-year old girl, Raisin Stackhouse who help Miss Effie, the church secretary, clean out an old graveyard. Miss Effie knows all about the people buried in the cemetery, and is happy to tell their stories to Raisin. After Miss Effie gives Raisin the church records, she finds herself in a mystery, who is "Gumbo" Dickson? Why doesn't anyone in the town want to talk about him? Could this African American be the founder of Gumbo Grove? I really liked how the author, Eleanora E. Tate, tied the mystery in with Raisin's everyday life. For example, the "Miss Ebony Calvary County Pageant," in which one of Raisin's sisters, Hattie, participates. I disliked Miss Aussie, who wouldn't even admit that some people in the graveyard were her relatives! Miss Aussie wanted to destroy the cemetery. I also found it very sad that marijuana and alcohol were sold to anyone, especially minors, in her community. Luckily, Raisin didn't take any. This book is one of my favorites, and I hope you like it too.

The Secret of Gumbo Grove is an excellent book. I highly recommend it, especially if you like mysteries. It is about a 11-year old girl who helps Miss Effie, the church secretary, clean out an old graveyard. Miss Effie knows all about the people buried in the cemetery, and is happy to tell their stories to Raisin. After Miss Effie gives her the old church records, she finds herself in a mystery, who is "Gumbo" Dickson? Why does no one in the town want to talk about him? Could the African-American man be the founder of Gumbo Grove? I really liked how the author, Eleanora E. Tate tied the mystery in with Raisin's regular life. For example, the "Miss Ebony Calvary County Pageant",in which one of Raisin's sisters, Hattie, participates. I greatly disliked Miss Aussie, who wouldn't even admit that some people in the graveyard were her relatives! Miss Aussie wanted the cemetery to be destroyed. I found it very sad that marijuana and alcohol were sold to minors in her community, but luckily, Raisin didn't take any. This book is one of my favorites, and I hope you like it too.

At least that's what I tell myself when I sit down to drink up the words and prose that Tony Earley puts on paper when he's writing and not teaching over at Vanderbilt University! (I'm just playing, of course.) Earley's works, two short collections of short stories and the stupendously written "Jim the Boy" evoke a deft blend of early Ernest Hemingway with the Southern traditions and common sense of Flannery O'Connor and Carson McCullers, among others. This collection "Somehow Form a Family: Stores That Are Mostly True" is merely another solid example of his work ethos and ability to spin a good yarn. I've read it several times and it becomes more enjoyable, as familiar and comfortable as a worn pair of shoes, each and every time. You should treat yourself to the experience, too.

I've read Earley's other two books--both of which were truly excellent--and I had high expectations for this effort, but was somewhat disappointed.

The trademark gentleness that marks Early's other work isn't as deftly handled here. Some of the stories don't really amount to much. Because the book is largely autobiographical I get the sense the material constrained the writer in ways fiction wouldn't.

Actually, to my mind the best writing in the book is the introduction where Early explains the "Mostly True" aspect of the title, wherein he muses about the clarity of memory and the ways in which it changes over time.

This isn't a bad little book. It just pales in comparisons to both Tony's other book of short stories or his Jim the Boy novel. Try one of those if you liked this one--you're in for a treat if you do.

This book rekindled a flame in me to write some of my memoirs for our children and grandchildren. Written with heart and humor. Evokes many childhood memories.

Tony Earley is a really great writer and this is a outstanding book! I first encountered Tony Earley in the pages of The Oxford American and his essay, "A Worn Path", which is included in this book. He is a wonderful writer and reading his essays brought back countless memories of my own life. I can't say enough about this book!

Tony Earley's third book consists of ten previously published pieces that in his introduction he says he hesitates to call essays but rather stories "mostly true because memory, like imagination, is largely a function of individual perception." So there you have it. At least, unlike the plethora of recently published writers who either don't seem to understand the difference between fiction and nonfiction or choose to ignore it, Mr. Earley acknowledges the difficulty of keeping the two completely separate. The "pieces" cover a variety of topics and for the most part have little in common with each other except the fine writing of the author.

I reread most of the articles and found myself liking them better the second time. I attribute that to Mr. Earley's attempt at honesty and his expertise with words and finally my seeing myself and members of my family in many of his pieces. (He also in his introduction hopes that his readers recognize themselves here.) How many writers would admit to something so politically incorrect as trying to kill a sick cat to put it out of its misery? ["Shooting The Cat"] His language is impeccable. On an autumn morning in North Carolina, a window was "intricately jeweled with frost." Dan Ledbetter (Earley's grandfather) at 6'4" was "so skinny that he seemed to have been constructed from spare parts." And the above-mentioned cat, in healthier days "had come to Granny's house in the usual way: it showed up on the back steps freshly weaned and mewed solicitiously, as if seeking work." I recognize the author's blue Carolina mountains, the Tennessee sighting of which always takes my breath away. Also, in the title piece, Mr. Earley remembers the bad reception of his family's Admiral television built in the 1950's and understood that his family was poor because they owned a black and white set too heavy for Hoss on "Bonanza" (my dad's favorite TV program) to pick up by himself. Mr. Earley also includes a thoughtful chapter on the uniqueness of words he heard in his childhood and is saddened that in only a generation these "colorful" expressions will die. ["The Quare Gene"] In a moving passage he remembers visiting his maternal greatgrandfather "well into his nineties" and being asked by the family patriarch, "Who are you?" The youngster replied, "I'm Reba's boy. Clara Mae's grandson." (At family reunions in East Tennessee, although I'm fairly sure my past is longer than my future, I am always referred to simply as "Frank's boy" and will remain forever nameless.)

In "A Worn Path," Mr. Earley traces his religious upbringing as a child at Rock Springs Baptist Church, his later flirtation with the Episcopal Church because he "loved the smell of incense as much as. . . the smell of beer," his attempts at atheism and finally his peace, (sort of) believing that he is watched over by a loving God and that "as we walk through the world, even along the dangerous paths we have chosen for ourselves, God worries about where we put our feet."

Regardless of who you are, where you are from, whether or not you believe in God or think you should kill sick cats, you will marvel at Mr. Earley's beautifully burnished prose. We can all be thankful that in spite of the fact that as a youngster, he seems to have watched television day in and day out, he still grew up to be a fine writer.

Anyone who's visited Columbia knows exactly why the Union burned it down. What a pit. The books ok, though.

Union Major John Arledge was investigating the disappearance of a couple of his men that were last seen at the Heyward residence. Sparks flew immediately between Arledge and Ellen Heyward, who was struggling to simply survive and protect her sister, Pam. The sisters were forced to flee to Columbia and reside with a relative. However, they were hardly there before General Sherman's march on Columbia (Feb. 1865) happened.

*** Here is a tale that shows the author's deep research and knowledge on her topic! It is bold and authentic in historical detail and rich in colorful characters! Miriam Freeman Rawl shows the trials women like Ellen and Pam had to survive through during this hard time of America's past. It also reminds us that even among holocausts and its rubble aftermath, love can still be found. In my opinion, this author has succeeded in creating a story to win the hearts of readers everywhere. A MUST for people who enjoyed "Gone With The Wind"! ***

Miriam Freeman Rawl's From the Ashes of Ruin is the perfect book to tuck away on your summer vacation. Or for anytime that you want to immerse yourself with another time, another place. Ms. Rawl's engaging storyline and vivid writing style quickly absorbs the reader and brings to life Columbia, SC at the end of the War Between the States.

An all together good read in the best traditions of storytelling.

Against the backdrop of the antebellum world, here is a story of resiliance in the face of annihilation. With a deft, loving zeal Miriam Rawl reveals the sinuous soul of an unconquerable nobility that was the Old South. This is an unsentimental, but personal panarama of a people, a place, a woman and a man that will never bow down to the mere technical defeat bestowed upon the Confederacy by ignorant historians. Here the South lives again in the tough musculature of the human heart.

Being from Michigan, thus the Union as it was in 1862, I knew the destrucion placed upon the Southern states during the Civil War was bad, but nothing could describe it as vividly as this book. Reading it I felt like I was a part of the Civil War....and I was scared. It's a wonderful book with a perspective of the war I never felt before.

Angela Banks has done an awesome job portraying the Master and Slave relationship from infancy to adulthood. This is a love story also where the fact that racism is taught and not a born attribute is clearly displayed. Some of your characteristics and decisions you make are due to your upbringing. Promise and Gus are bestfriends, have a brother/sister relationship, and are raised together. Promise has so much to offer Gus and is a survival guide for him, as they grow up, she is still an essential asset to him, but unfortunately because of the environment and historical time, there relationship cannot remain the same and this is where the boundaries are crossed and the differences are clearly identifiable. There are some hard lessons learned for each character of this story and even Masters don't always have things there ways. Georgeanna is the product of the superficial, racist, spoiled, inherited riches. She is the one character in this story that I wish I could transform into character and jump into the pages and give her something that her great grandchildren would remember. This story also shows how back in time, Incest was tolerated amongst people. So many people also didn't know the truth even if they could read, because they had interpreted even scriptures incorrectly to support their way of living. This is not another roots or queen story, this depicts a different side to slavery and the emancipation. I really like the way Angela Banks brought these characters to life and this is a book that I would love to see made into a movie, but it will need to be a movie that is based solely on the book. Very well written and I look forward to reading more from Angela Banks in the future.

I really enjoyed this book, it has romance but it is far from a romance novel. (as a man, these are generally not my favorite...) The central theme to this novel is the interaction between slaves and slaveholders just before the Civil War. It was a rough time in American history and bad choices were made by good people. Each side is portrayed in a fair light, and there are no caricatures. The characters and their relationships develop naturally and I really began to care for them. I am anxious to find out what happens to Gus and Promise in a sequel....

Angela Banks novel The Fruits of Atterley, portrays the perils of slavery and how it affected a family. The Rileys owners of Atterley Plantations are predominate political and social figures in their community, however when the love their son has for one of the slaves is exposed, it set off events that could ruin their lifestyle and reputation.

. This author gives us a portrayal of slavery that you often do not get from history books. Even though the characters used in this novel are fictional, she uses past history and actual letters pertained from the historical societies to bring these characters to life. This novel raises questions and makes you think about how these characters especially slaves lived through those trying times of slavery.

Review by Jen Murphy
SistaGirl Book Club

The Fruits of Atterley is the story of two childhood companions raised together on a rice plantation in South Carolina. Gus is the son of Zachary Riley, the owner of Atterley plantation and his wife Rebecca, a founding member of The All Saints Ladies Benevolence Society.

Promise is the personal slave of Gus. The daughter of Abraham, Atterley's African born blacksmith and Cora a former New Orleans prostitute.
Promise is educated and given the finest of everything by Rebecca. Promise longs to be just like her mistress. She feels that she isn't like the other slaves. She doesn't have to work hard like the rest of he slaves.

Promise and Gus share a close childhood friendship. When Gus is sent to a Military Academy their friendship is reduced to letters and the lavish gifts Gus sends to her. When Gus returns home the family tries to push him and his cousin Georgeanna together. Gus realizes he is in love with Promise and when their relationship turns from friends to lovers their lives are forever changed and complicated by racism, the master slave relationship and a series of horrific events that force Promise to realize she isn't any different than the rest of the Atterley slaves. This book is deeply rooted with the roles of southern society, political tension and slavery. I enjoyed this bittersweet novel rich in character and very well defined. A vivid walk back in time that cracks the heart. I highly recommend this novel. A remarkable story. A historical novel of importance.

Reviewed by
Dawnny2005

The Fruits of Atterley transports the reader back to the Civil War era and examines the complex interrelationships of the slaves and slave-owning families who reside at the fictional South Carolina rice plantation, Atterley. The novel depicts the social attitudes of the day and cleverly incorporates historical facts, philosophies, and personalities through the adventures of the main characters.

The novel begins with the birth of Augustus (Gus), future heir of Atterley, and Promise (a mulatto slave) and follows them through to adulthood. Gus's father, Zachary Riley, has political ambitions through his dealings with the powerbrokers of yesteryear. We are exposed to some of the more popular viewpoints and rational used by land owners and statesmen to justify South Carolina's succession from the Union and their stand for slavery. Gus's mother (Rebecca) is a genteel Southern Belle who sympathizes with her slaves until the "unthinkable" happens. Gus and Promise grow from childhood playmates to adult lovers only to have their passion doused by the harshness of reality. A terrible scandal ensues, the Civil War erupts, and Atterley and its descendents, like the fruits of its orchards, are left bitter, bland, and mealy.

If you're familiar with novels of this type, the passages on the horrors of slavery will seem familiar because the author thoroughly intermingles the injustices and ugliness of human servitude in the stories of surrounding characters â€" endless back-breaking labor, the beatings, the rapes, the family separation, attempts toward freedom, wrath of the master's wives upon female slave competition, etc. However, one unexpected and somewhat refreshing aspect of this novel is the liberties that Promise and Hannah (another slave) take in their speech and behavior. Even though this is a work of fiction, it seemed as though they were a bit blatant and disrespectful (by yesterday's standards) at times in their actions toward their owners. Promise's educational level and her openly teaching other slave children to read also seemed a bit far fetched but easy to overlook. I would have liked to see other characters developed more but understood it to be a story of the South in a turbulent time and told through the lives of Gus (a white man) and Promise (a female slave).

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading its sequel.

Reviewed by Phyllis

I started reading M. R. Sellars work about a year ago and have read all of his Rowan Gant series. I enjoy his books and find myself reading long after I told myself I should quit reading and do other things!!!! He has a faithful reader in me and I will continue to buy his new novels as he writes them.

G.L. Giles' Review of M.R. Sellars' Love Is the Bond: A Rowan Gant Investigation (E.M.A. Mysteries, an imprint of WillowTree Press, 2005)

"Nefarious Lady Night Stalker-Walker's Killing Spree Calls Out Crime Scene Investigators with Metaphysical Skills"

It's nice to read a book where the female protagonist isn't the victim. In fact, she's the antithesis: she's a serial killer! Although this is book six of the Rowan Gant Investigation series, readers can jump right in with this one without being lost. M.R. Sellars skillfully blends Neo-Paganism and Voodoo into his tales, yet he also dares to turn them on their heads with twists that are definitely not part of mainstream spiritual political correctness. A trait that's quite refreshing! For instance, he employs sadistic sex magick throughout with dominatrix-style rituals. Guaranteed to keep you turning the pages, even though other obligations may be beckoning.
As Sellars explains in the "Author's Note," this "book is a first-person narrative. You are seeing this story through the eyes of Rowan Gant." As such, I enjoyed the accuracy of imperfect sentence structure, etc. as it added to the verisimilitude of the storyline. Accents were spot-on in sentences with naturally-flowing speech patterns. And I found myself wanting to learn Gaelic after reading choice phrases, uttered by Rowan's feisty Irish-American wife Felicity, throughout the book. Finally, the dialogue between husband and wife was realistic as it wasn't saccharinely-sweet. Rather, it was clever and even acrimonious at times.

This is the latest Rowan Gant novel by Sellars--and is it good!!!! He's got a good balance of psychic phenomena and mundane sleuthing this time, and it was a really well-paced work.

There are a couple of new elements; the killer in this book misuses elements of Voodoo (don't worry--the misuse is made quite distinct from proper use). In addition, there's a flavoring of BDSM to the story; it's not as bad as some squicked-out reviewers have made it, and leads me to wonder where this series is going to go.

The ending is a hell of a cliffhanger, more maddeningthan any other. When the next book "All Acts of Pleasure" comes out, which should be soon, I'm picking it up ASAP!

Overall, I really enjoyed this series, and I'm glad there'll be more to it! Highly recommended for esoteric mystery fiction, and a good, quick read to rest your brain from research adn other such things.

A good novel keeps the reader's interest to the very last word. A great one, however manages something else: It grabs the reader's attention, feeds his hunger, and leaves him begging for more. Love Is The Bond not only satisfies this criteria, but is, without a doubt, Sellars best work yet. A truly *great* novel!

Love Is the Bond is another example of Sellars' ability to put before the reader a really well-crafted story, one that draws us away from our world and into his. His characters are eminently believable and I'd take almost any of them as neighbors. His attention to detail is exactly right. Personality quirks are administered with an eye toward what might be possible in reality. I read this book in one loooooooooooooong sitting, stopping only for sleep and to accomplish a few other daily necessities.

Now for my single criticism, and the reason this book is getting only four stars from me instead of the five I would have given the other RGI books had I reviewed them:

In his six previous books, this author has been evenhanded and sensitive in his treatment of all things Wiccan as a more-or-less 'normal' subset of human society. I was disappointed, then, to encounter in one of his books such prejudiced treatment of another societal subset: those who have willingly embraced a part of active BDSM subculture.

Sellars used the most lurid images he could conjure from society's collective fear of sexual-power-games-gone-awry to underscore horror and fear in this book. In doing so, he helped to further marginalize an already in-the-shadows group of widely diverse people who claim for themselves a part of the honor and integrity that bind most BDSM practitioners to their partners.

I've bought all of the books in this series as they came out and will most assuredly do the same for the next one, especially since I *have to* know how this story ends. While I recognize that this book is fiction and, at the end of things, written to amuse, I hope the author remembers the obligations that one societal subgroup has to another and revisits the caution to `do no harm'.

I once had the pleasure of sharing a flight with the author Jack Bass. The man is a walking encyclopedia of anecdotes of South Carolina history and political lore and he was quite entertaining. Reading his take on Thurmond, who he knew well, is similar to an actual conversation with Bass. Put it to you this way, reading this book is like listening to some old-timers reminisce around the cracker barrel in front of the general store. Not a scholarly work,but an enjoyable one. BTW, I wish he would have gone into detail about Thurmond''s meeting with Coretta Scott King. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to hear what the former supreme segregationist had to say to the widow of Dr. King.

In Ol' Strom, Bass and Thompson tell the whole story of Senator J. Strom Thurmond's remarkable march across 20th century politics. But they don't do anything else. While it is interesting just to read about a politician so long-lasting that he ran for president in 1948 and still holds office today, the book does not attempt to delve into the meaning of Thurmond's extraordinary tenure. Thurmond's political career is a mirror of the evolution of the South from Dixiecrat to Republican, from racist to mainstream conservative. The authors opted not to tell this story, however, and stubbornly insisted on offering just a journalistic account of Thurmond's life.

Strom Thurmond is widely viewed as a simple racist with just one cause- to fight against civil rights. However, OL STROM helps to explain that while Strom was historically on the wrong side during the civil rights battles, he was and still is a man of character and integrity.

Like him or not,OL STROM makes a strong case to support Strom as "the century's most enduring American political figure". Strom Thurmond was on the cutting edge of the white souths move from the Democratic party to the Republican party with his 1948 presidental bid. He still holds the filibuster record and well being in the Senate for longer than any one in history.

Unlike some of of the hardcore racists, Strom reached out to African-Americans in his later years. At the same time, Strom never "admitted" his earlier positions on civil rights were wrong. Strom still clung to his "States Rights" view which seem to open the only hole in his intergrity. Only Strom knows what's in his heart.

OL STROM also gets into more details, regarding his personal affairs, such as his biracial daughter, that others bio have glossed over.

Strom is not so much "a" southern politian, as he IS the south!

Insightful, provacative...You may not like Strom, but this book
will make you view him in a different light. This book doesn't take sides. It does give you a view of someone many have thought of as a not very bright, but who has outlived or outsmarted most of his critics. A very good view of politics in South Carolina. Mr. Thurmond won my grudging respect in this book by taking care of his constituents...without regards to race or religion. Well documented facts by the writers!

Myself and other progressive young southerners who were previously appalled by his well-known Segregationist tactics could not have even imagined Strom Thurmond himself fathering an interracial child, only to gleefully keep his family and other in racial subordination supposedly for their and/or country's own good.

Sure, I was previously aware of slave-owner-slave stories which basically told the same tale in eighteenth century language, but I did not believe somebody intentionally kept their family in segregation today. There has been much discussion about conscience, character, and morals within the public sector and what quantities of these ingredients are required of 'good' public servants versus those that simply keep getting re-elected for tradition sakes---but Thurmond's life (long overdue for an examination) lacks all three components.

After former South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond's death, a woman Essie Mae Washington came forward with revelation that she was Thurmond's half-daughter. Her mother was a teenage African American worker in the Thurmond home, and he was a wealthy young adult whose activities were apparently concealed for fear of dominant society retaliation. If word of Thurmond's 'extracurricular' activities had leaked out while he was living, (especially in the segregation era) it would have been the end of his political career.

I don't doubt that the incident (and others) in question happened, or Strom's legendary libido (ironically while courting voters from 'family values' crowd who made a national crisis out of President William Jefferson Clinton's consensual affair with a twenty something adult woman). Apparently because Ol'Strom forces himself on women far less powerful than himself, this is not only appropriate conduct but an expected public service perk that he was not in a hury to give up. Throughout his 'distinguished' life, Thurmond regarded women as objects for his convenience and entertainment, unable to consider us full and three-dimensional people.

I am not shocked by the lurid details contained within this volume, but I sincerely hope conservatives and/or Republicans understand what allegations are in here before continuing to pretend only one political party houses ravenous libidos. Letting neither his switch to the Republican party or increasing age stop him, Strom remained the consummate womanizer, quickly falling out of step with an era that (at least in public relations) saw the importance of treating women as professional equals.

Thurmond's death was one of the 2003 newstories, but it is ultimately telling of his supreme inhumanity that none of the Sunday talk shows devoted significant time to memorializing his influence on the nation. Good riddance!!

I did a search on Kindle for novels by Sara Donati and found this jewel. Thesupporting cast of characters wereas interesting for me as was the story of dodge and Julia. If you enjoy reading novels that give you a wonderful slice of life in the South then you dont want to miss this one. It is a keeper.

Good read with lots of quirky characters. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a bit more to the plot.....

Lippi is an excellent writer and this book shows it. It reads very well and the story is great.

This book was boring and predictable - Julia is said to be "secretive and mysterious", someone tells the new man in town, "Don't set your sights on our Julia, she's shut up tight as a Chinese puzzle box" - I think she fell into bed with the new tenant within 48 hours of meeting him, knowing nothing about him, that's "shut up tight"? - maybe you have to be from the south to appreciate women so removed from real life that they spend all day and night in pajamas. I'm sorry I spent the money on this.

When Julia Darrow is widowed and left emotionally inconsolable, she moves to a small town in South Carolina where she opens a business which specialises in fine linens and nightwear. To boost her business, she employs locals who are expert needlewomen and dresses them in beautifully tailored pajamas as they are their primary source of income. Lambert Square is the centre of town life and between the other shop owners, there is a feeling of great camaraderie towards Julia and her adopted dogs, social rejects whom she trains and passes on to new owners. When former army brat, John Dodge takes over a shop which restores and sells antique fountain pens, an immediate sexual attraction is obvious between them but it takes the rest of the book to sort out all of their other problems. It's a good read with interesting and quirky characters who really engage the reader's attention.