Arkansas-Little Rock Books

Dunbar Ogden's entire family was deeply effected by the stand he took in Little Rock. As a pastor's wife, I was particularly inspired by the courage of his wife, Dorothy. Having met her years later, I am convinced that this experience made her all the more effective in her own ministry, as she could genuinely empathize with those in ministry - and in fact, all walks of life - who have suffered injustice and persecution, both within and outside the church. I would highly recommend this book!

This is a profound book. I found myself writing the author to thank him--for sharing this story and this part of our history; for sharing so intimately of his father's life and the choices he made (I am inspired by his faith and actions); for exposing the realities behind the headlines and the snippets of history that were in our history books; for sharing his own journey; and overall for writing such an important book.

Essential reading for anyone interested in this dark chapter of the civil rights movement. The book is based on thorough research into personal and public files and on personal memories. The argument is spellbinding at three levels: 1)an account of precisely what happened when Orville Faubus tried to defy the federal law; 2)a highly sympathetic account of the support by the Presbyterian (white) pastor Dunbar H. Ogden for the nine students attempting to register at the school; and 3)a deeply moving account by Ogden's son, a renown theater historian, concerning his own search for understanding after fifty years. The book is a superb success.

Well written and gripping, this true story is one of the most interesting books I have ever read.

This is one of the most needed books for students today. The collaboration between unlikely allies and their story is just what students today need to read to be able to have strong examples of unity in times of important social and political growth. As a school librarian, I find this a must in my library not only for students but as a vital resource for teachers. We still have a tremendous amount of segregation in our schools today.This book is just the tool we need to revisit this issue and reflect on our committment to social justice.

In spite of all of the drama this young woman went through, she accomplished her dreams. I loved this book - especially what she said about life being like a puzzle and how we need to just take all of the pieces as they come and we will see the complete picture over time. Her life was full of heartbreak and struggle, but it appears to me that the seeds of wisdom planted by her grandmother caused her to pick herself up and brush off and get going no matter what. I could hear the love for her daughther and even for her husband. I loved her honesty about every aspect of her life including her naive perspective in her early college days. The psychologist in me couldn't help wonder why she was not as honest about her contribution to the strain in her marriage at the very end, but I do like the way she told her story overall. I would highly recommend this book after reading her first book, of course.

Words can't express how this book made me feel! For her to recount the horror and pain she underwent in Little Rock, was so touching. Her actual experience was personally felt. Ms. Beals has an extraordinary way of expressing herself. She brought out so many emotions in me. I would love to be able to personally write to her - she has truly brought me to a new level of strength. Reading her book has taught me that keeping your faith in God will ultimately show you that all the blessings he has given you should not be taken for granted.

Melba Pattillo Beals' journey through a time of prejudice shows a woman's courage. After trying, to integrate into an all white high school and being harassed by the K.K.K. Melba Beals is relocated by the NAACP. She starts her new life in California, a much different environment than the one she left behind in Arkansas. Melba hits a turning point in her life as she forgets about her studies and things to try to fit in. This non-fictional story drives your emotions as it talks of how cruel our world can be. It also showed how it only takes one person to make a difference. This truly inspirational piece will leave you screaming for justice.

If you are at a crossroad in your life or you want to reach a deeper awareness about life then this book is for you. In its easy to read language, Melba Beals recounts her life story using sections from her diary that began as a youth and she continued until adulthood. This book is romantic, comical, inspirational, and riveting. I thoroughly enjoyed walking in Melba's "moccasins" as she recounts the extraordinary events that have shaped her into a terrific human being. I loved reading the book! Thanks Melba, you've done it again!

"We were concerned about much more than breathing- we were trying to save our lives- racing from room to room, slamming our windows shut and locking them as fast as we could." Melba Patillo Beals writes the story of her life, and what she had to go through everyday, as a result of her being one of the strong teenagers that integrated Central high in the year 1957. This book, the sequal to Warriors Dont Cry, makes you feel the pain, suffering, and hurt that Melba experienced living as a young african american in Little Rock Arkansa. The book was not all about the tough times she had, but also about the good times that her and her family shared, the things she accomlpished, and how she got to where she is know. In the book, Melba is living with her young brother Conrad, her grandma India, and her mother Loise, where she is trying to graduate high school, and then hopefully leave her small town of Arkansa. The book is very touching and I got emotional reading it, as i did when i read her first book. A quote that made me want to keep reading was in the beggining of the book, when she writes in her diary"Oh, god, please help me find my way. I don't want to disappoint anyone. Don't I deserve to have a senior year? Can't we have intergration but not have me participate? This is such a big problem, only you can figure it out. Thy will be done. Please give me courage." This passage showed her courage, and i wanted to keep on reading to see what she would do.Melba travels to San francisco were she meets with the Santa Rosa NAACP, and realizes that the hatred that she once thought all the whites had, was not true, and that she would begin a new life. She dealt with growing up with a white family, getting married, having children, and having her husband leave her. Overall this was a good book, and i enjoyed it. If it could have been different i wish it would have been a bit shorter, and more descriptive about her life as an adult.I recoment this book to others, and suggest it, for a book to read on a rainy day. Enjoy reading it, and check out her other book.

Morgan has done here what every old house owner has dreamed of doing: answering the question "what history occurred here before we arrived?" In telling the rich stories of the people who preceded him as owners of this particular Craftsman bungalow in one old neighborhood of a single city, he spins a wonderful tale of our nations's history as well.

A house is an aggregate relic of all the people who have lived there, recording their improvements or their neglect. The author writes an interesting chronicle of the house's former inhabitants. It's disconcerting to reflect upon the fact that others owned our home before us, and we will leave it to others when we're gone. It's a reminder of how temporary our lives are, in our few hours upon the stage. Each generation, with all its hubris, is only a chapter, or a few pages, within the book of life.

Jim Morgan gets most (but not all) of his facts straight, approaching his subjects with an affecting blend of humor, compassion, and both human and architectural insights. IF THESE WALLS HAD EARS: THE BIOGRAPHY OF A HOUSE offers up eight families' worth of bittersweet reminiscences, ruminations and recriminations comingled with the author's own personal reflections on this whale of a house. Portions of the book are uneven and a bit awkward as Morgan transitions between the families' and his own perceptions and his narration. But overall, it's an interesting and enjoyable read which should resonate truly with anyone who has ever experienced the mixed blessings of home ownership -- or found themselves haplessly ensnared by a four-walled moneypit.

Ed and Sheri Kramer: Chapter Ten

I purchased this book to accompanying the book my high school classes are currently reading, "Warriors Don't Cry." As a high school teacher, I realize that students are likely to more fully engage with a novel when they feel they can truly relate to the story and when they are able to imagine all that is happening. "A Life is More Than a Moment" makes this possible! As we read the novel, I share pictures from this text with my students. They love this book. Often they ask to read this book even on their own, excitedly reporting their newfound knowledge with their classmates. I would definitely recommend this book for someone who is intersted in seeing the real thing.

This book is a thoughtful summary of the events of the 1957 Central High Crisis, especially for those who don't have the time or inclination to delve into the details but want to know all about the history behind the crisis and the events at that time. What makes the book even more interesting is that the authors take you inside Central High School forty years later so that the reader can see the life and times of a academically successful and fully integrated CHS today. Of course, one of the greatest contributions are the photographs by the late Will Counts -- awarding winning photography that carries you back in time. I highly recommend the book for students over age 12 and anyone who desires an accurate account of this shameful yet historic civil rights event.

This book although not very entertaining, is perfect for someone writing an essay on segregation or more particulary Central High. This book was my main topic of research for my essay. A good Read.

Little Rock was the first time since reconstruction that federal troops had been mobilized top protect Blacks seeking to exercise the rights they allegedly won in the aftermath of the Civil War. The terror, hatred, and brutality of the times is searingly captured by the iconic photo which gives the book its title--of a young white student screaming, her face contorted, at an equally young black girl. Equally appalling is the other major picture which forms the center of this work--a series showing the mob attacking a black reporter, and beating him with no one willing to intervene.

While the book would be worthwhile for the pictures alone, it is all the more compelling by bringing the story up to date. Centered around the fortieth anniversary of desegregation of Little Rock High School, the author tracks down both the black student and the white student spewing hatred. There are pictures of them together, having gone through a process of healing and reconciliation.

The ultimate question--why such hatred--is not answered, nor could it be, given the format and limitations of what is, af4er all, basically a book of narrated pictures. But the question is certainly raised and explored.

This is a great book and should be on the shelf of anyone who loves photography or wants to understand why the Civil rights movement was so important to the history of this country (although I would strongly urge that no one take the advice f the other reviewer, and use this as the primary source for information on this struggle).

My only criticism is that the upbeat tone of this volume needs to be questioned. As James Meridith has said--If a black man can be kicked ten times in open view, and has no redress, is it really "improvement" if he is only kicked nine times, but still has no redress? Is Little Rock really free of prejudice and discrimination? Is America?

Those seriously interested in eliminating racism and making our society representative of it's famous constitutional creed, must read Beth Roy's "Bitters in the Honey." Roy interviews several adults, black and white, who were students at Central High School-Little Rock, Ark. during the school desegration of 1957-58. Roy clearly points out how the priviledged white students perceived the move towards equality as infringing on their rights, thus making them victims. While the nine black students-the true victims-, the martyrs for positive change, had to withstand constant harassment and acts of violence by angry white students. Even more pathetic, Roy describes how the white students blame the monumental court decision for them not reaching their expected goals in life. Blame, responsibility, guilt, denial are common themes expressed by the white adults, who unknowingly had the power to affect change that would in turn, empower everyone. This book should be on the Oprah Book List, because until serious discussion about race relations is undertaken between people, there will continue to be two victims: the hater and the hated. And this society will continue to weaken from divisiveness.

In this excellent book, Beth Roy examines the lives of whites and blacks who attended Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1958 - the tumultuous year of Central High's desegregation. Drawing on life histories with former high school students, Roy paints a complicated and layered picture of understanding, and more importantly, misunderstanding between whites and blacks across time - the interviews were done 30 years later - and across racial difference. I use this book in course I teach on the history of affirmative action in 20th Century America - and my undergraduate students respond strongly to this book. Some are quite surprised by the white students misperceptions about the black students who came to Central High and their seeming indifference to the experiences of black students. Others are upset, even angry by this indifference. And, still others are embarassed as they read their own feelings into the life histories of the participants. It is also terrific for teaching about the dilemma of memory in reconstructing life histories. Roy demonstrates how the people she interviewed often unwittingly reconstruct their stories of the past to fit present day narratives and understandings or race, race relations, and "white victimization." Rather than dismiss their accounts as "untrue," however, she uses these examples to understand why her interviewees tell stories that diverge from actual accounts written at the time of desegregation. In all, this is a terrific book and a terrific read. I highly recommend it.

This was an excellent book. The author should be commended for sharing real life experiences with the world. I found the book thought provoking and informative as well as intriguing. I could not put the book down. I am anxiously awaiting Book Two. Thanks to Mr. Walker for sharing his talent for story telling with us.

I have read many books about drugs but this one takes the cake. Not only is it informative but the author is a great story teller. I can't wait for book two.

For those with interest in baseball history with a local flavor, this book is a delight. Lots and lots of wonderful pictures with a nice text that helps give a feel for the real history of baseball in Little Rock, Arkansas. Terry Turner does a great job of presenting the information and did a fantastic job of finding entertaining and interesting pictures.

If you are interested in old buildings and/or the history of downtown Little Rock then this book is an interesting read. The book profiles the building from its early beginnings through current times. The old building has quite an impressive history.

The younger generations today don't know about Daisy Bates and the "Little Rock Nine" and this is a great way to learn about them. The author wrote about Daisy Bates' early beginnings without her parents and being raised by her parents' friends the Smith family in Huttig, Arkansas. Book tells you about what Daisy and her husband L. C. Bates did in Little Rock, Arkansas. The author also wrote about all the other activities that Daisy Bates was involved in Arkansas and Washington, D.C. The struggles of the "Little Rock Nine" and Daisy Bates' story should be told and remembered for generations to come.

Written by Stephanie Fitzgerald, The Little Rock Nine: Struggle for Integration is a historical accounting for young adults about the integration of the all-white Central High School of Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. The pioneering efforts of the students would open the way to greater equality in America's educational system, and show the power of freedom to all Americans. Black-and-white vintage photographs illustrate the straightforward narration of a vital turning point in history. Recommended for public and grade school library collections.