South Carolina Books

What I liked about this book is its depth on a sad phenomenon in American agriculture. "Family Trees" gives a human voice to a way of life that is disappearing in the South and in the whole of the United States. Mike Corbin's photos capture the sense of what small family farms are-- an existence of hard work, hope, love, and nature.

Are cooperatives for farmers like labor unions? Are they like corporate monopolies? Are they another sort of entity? These questions were directly relevant for the raisin growers of California in the early 1900's and for the federal government. Saker Woeste provides detailed analysis of legislation and federal court decisions about the thorny status of the cooperatives--a debate in which the involved parties were creating their own precedents.

Saker Woeste's book has a liveliness beyond what the legal topic might lead us to think. Mixed with these discussions of the law are colorful episodes that few of us outside California realized before. The book features violent night riders, tales of ethnic pressures and prejudices (especially regarding the Armenian- American community), eccentricity and idealism in the characters of the Cooperative's leaders, and the marketing story of how Sun-Maid got lots of Americans to gobble their raisins.

So the book features lots of law with lots of social history, marketing, even violence. And a wealth of pictures helps the reading. Especially interesting are the early Sun-Maid advertisements. Fans of the histories of California, of agriculture, or of American law would enjoy the book.

For Easterners, good comparison/contrasts are studies of Kentucky's Black Patch War--Night Riders among the tobacco farmers.

very very good book. Thoroughly enjoyed it! Lots of twists and turns in the plot.

Don Millus knows how to catch fish. But more importantly, at least for the reader, he knows how to catch your interest. His sunny style cuts though the fog that, many times, seems to hover over the usual run of fishing yarns, some plagued with too much technical detail, some with self-serving bravado and bravura, others simply cut and dried. You'll enjoy, as I did, the "take" this college professor-outdoorsman manages always to find, his perennial optimism, and the mysterious way he transports the reader to his "backyard"--a coast, physical and metaphysical, that is always fair and seasonable, even on the coldest winter night.

Thorough and thoughtful, Galen Reuther has accomplished that which I have always wanted to do. Flat Rock is rich in history and she has succeeded in presenting the subject with depth and sensitivity. I spent many happy weeks and months in that area just a few miles south of hometown Hendersonville and recognized most of the "summer cottages" of its first and present owners. Thank you Galen Reuther for a marvelous work worthy of your prolific genius. Phillip Elliott

In Fly-Fishing The South Atlantic Coast, seasoned angler Jimmy Jacobs shows the reader where to find game fish from North Carolina's Outer Banks down to through the Florida Keys. With an introductory chapter surveying the species of fish commonly sought during each season along the southeast Atlantic coastline, Jacobs provides advice on gear selection and saltwater flies, how to fish the different types of inshore waters from ocean inlets to tidal creeks to oystershell bars. Fly-Fishing The South Atlantic Coast also provides the aspiring fly-fisherman with information on weight records, regulations, and angling calendars for each state. With its detailed maps of each area to make trip planning easy, anyone considering a fishing trip anywhere along the southeast Atlantic coastline should begin with a careful reading of Jimmy Jacobs' Fly-Fishing The South Atlantic Coast!

I really loved reading Stringer-Robinson's book on Folly Beach. Having attended school in Charleston, I had been to Folly Beach numerous times with friends to enjoy the laid-back beach and people. Not knowing much more about Folly than its being a good place to get a tan with friends, I learned tons of interesting facts and stories about it's rich past, including some shady characters such as pirates... Very cute and informative work!

Barbara Weinstein's study of the Sao Paulo, Brazil working class covers much more than labor relations in that city. As US and European social scientists and labor historians seek to broaden their understanding of labor/management relations in other parts of the world, they will find this an invaluable source. Extremely well-documented, with evidence from oral histories, interviews, newspapers, government documents and secondary sources, Weinstein tells the story of a ruling elite that tried to tame its workers in novel ways. In everything from cooking classes for women to soccer and volleyball games for male and female workers, the Sao Paulo manufacturers tried to lure their workers away from the anarchist meeting hall, or even the local bar, and into increasing productivity (and profits) for the company. They succeeded in some ways, but mainly failed. Sao Paulo's workers are some of the most militant in the world today. This is a fascinating story that should be! told in every labor, urban or social history class.

College-level collections strong in foreign affairs history must have Foreign Affairs and the Constitution in the Age of Fighting Sail: it brings to life events of 1793 and the first test of President George Washington's efforts to establish a foreign policy and to enforce the Constitution's separation of powers statute. It outlines the underlying politics of a confrontation in which the French revolutionary republic sought to obtain support from the U.S. in its war with great Britain, forcing the founding fathers to test the Constitution's separation of powers sections. Understanding their dilemma is key to understanding an important piece of the Constitution - and is key to any college-level collection strong in American political history.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

In the 40 years that have elapsed since General Douglas MacArthur's last campaigns in the Pacific during World War II, his victories have come to be viewed as quick, smooth and simple operations against an improverished foe. However, hindsight has obscured the tenacity of the Japanese and the immense difficulties MacArthur encountered in the Southwest Pacific. Not all his victories were quick and easy. In three major campaigns: Buna in December 1942, Biak in June 1944 and Manilla in 1945, MacArthur was forced to call in a fireman to rally American troops and to salvage desperate tactical situations. MacArthur always used the same field commander to handle his most diffcult missions - Lieutenant General Robert Lawrence Eichelberger. - from book's back cover