Mississippi Books

I just finished reading this book last night. Great story line and what I love most, the bad guys lose and good guys win. However, it could do without Ned Holt, India St. Clair and Matthew Garwood. I would've like to see Clay and Shining Moon have a child of their own. The story also could've done without Jeff Holt giving into temptation and having an Alaskan Indian Mistress.

I have enjoyed all of the series that Dana Fuller Ross has written about the Holts and their involvement in the settling of the United States. I sincerely hope that there will be a sequel to this triology filling us in on what happens with Jeff, Clay, Ned, and India Sinclair between this time factor and the Wagons West Series. Will there be more?

Great story, can some one please tell me what happened to Ned, India,Proud Wolf,and the others? All of a sudden we are 28 years ahead of the game..Hope there is more about Clay,Jeff,and Aaron also the little Garwood???

Dana Ross is definately an author that can keep you interested, even though the stories are long. Many writers can become very boring. You will like this series. the characters are real and the story itself could be taken right from the pages of history. Ross's stories are normally divide into 3 or 4 parts all taking place at different places at the same time. Plenty to think about.

As usual, I loved this book as well as the others. I have read about Clay and Jeff Holt beginning with Westward! and I have just finished reading Justice! I am what you would call a history buff, and as I read these books, I found myself being whisked away to join the Holts in their exploits. The imagery and fantasy that comes to me as I read, creates a need to read more and find out as quick as I can what's going to happen next! However, the next series after the Empire Trilogy is the Wagons West Series with "Whip" Holt as the main character. He is nearly thirty in this series, which mean that there is a 20 some-odd year gap of time between the events in Justice! and Independence! I surely hope that there are more adventures for Clay, Jeff, Shining Moon, Proud Wolf, Ned, Melissa, and of Course "Whip" Holt on the Horizon!

It was difficult for me to put this book down and I finally stayed up all night and finished it. Holt's description of the hardships endured by Southern soldiers are so realistic and makes us appreciate their dedication. I was able to understand what my ancestor endured by reading this account. I recommend this book for Union and Confederates alike. It brings out the very best and the very worst in all of us. I have read many soldiers accounts of the war but this is the best and also the most entertaining. After reading this book I have revived my interest in the WBTS.

I've read about a dozen or so soldier memoirs/diary accounts, and this one ranks as one of the poorest. I find most of these have a generic nature to them - seems like if you've read one, you've read them all! Mr. Holt wrote this in his latter years, so Goodness knows how the years have treated his memory of things, although a fine editing job by Cockrell and Ballard keep things on the straight and narrow. Much of the memoirs involve Holt's escapades that have little to do with the war effort. Lot of it reads like a Mark Twain tale, with Holt often relating some of the hijinks and sit-com like situations he experienced as a soldier.

Holt really conveys the attitudes, feelings, deep convictions, and courage displayed by those who fought in the war. (Not only on the Rebel side, but also on the Yankee side.) He also goes into some of the other reasons besides slavery, that caused the South to secede. Very well written and extremely interesting. It makes you feel as if you're right beside Holt following him as they go down in history. Also shows how life for the Confederate soldier was awfully harsh in the latter part of the war. Holt doesn't have shoes and is walking through snow along with men who are dying of starvation. Holt entertains readers by detailing what he and his group would do for fun, ie., sneaking away from camp to meet girls, etc.

I knew Holt was in the 16th Miss. Co. K. I was hoping it would mention Co. H where my relative fought, but it didn't.

Holt leaves for the war as a boy, but returns a man.

Great book. I highly recommend it.

Few memoirs are both as entertaining and informative as this one. It is similar in many ways to "Co. Aytch" by Sam Watkins, the memoir quoted so heavily in the Ken Burns PBS series. One especially valuable aspect of Holt's reminiscences is that they begin well before the Civil War and afford a glimpse a pre-war life among the middle class in Mississippi. The editors have done a fine job of annotating the memoir, identifying individuals and events as well as pointing out Holt's occasional errors. As with most works of its type, the book deals more vividly with the happenings in camp and on the march between battles than with the battles themselves. Its chief weakness is that Holt wrote his memoirs many years after the war, so his recollections are inevitably tainted by things he learned afterward. It is recommended for any reader interested in the Civil War.

Holt's memoirs are entertaining as well as informative. This book becomes hard to put down as you read. Very good details of life in the Army of Northern Virginia. He gives the "personal" side of the war so often left out by other memoirs. Reading this book was like having Holt tell you the story himself. Excellent.

I usually love escapist books of this nature. With this one, I find myself vaguely disappointed. While the writing itself is not bad, some areas are breezed over, and details vary, depending on Scott's memory, most likely. I suppose the biggest disappointment is that the Carribean is now almost exclusively private or government property, and there is almost nowhere to go anymore to discover anything new. He describes a few spectacular coves and tiny islands he explored, usually with others, but 80% of the content deals with avoiding private property and bribing foreign officals with rum from the folks he's hitched a ride with over most of the journey. In all, the book doesn't make me want to go adventuring, to see "what's over that horizon" because everyone has already been there. At least, not without a world class bank account.

The Eagles said it best, "Call someplace Paradise, kiss it goodbye."

At no point did I become board with the adventure or find it un interesting.

This is the best adventure book I have ever read. I didn't want this trip to end. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Reading Williams' On Island Time, you can almost feel the waves lapping over the bow of the kayak and feel the shark bumping you from below. If you can't afford to take off for months to the Carribean, this book is the next best thing.

A wonderfully informative, yet intense adventure read. Scott's travels around the Caribbean will make you want to go exploring. His simple, yet very seaworthy means of travel allows him to explore places that boaters in larger craft can only steam by while seeking the nearest marina. Well written. I highly recommend this book!

Outside Chance is tight and fast-paced and believable. I read Louisa's first book, Next to Last Chance, and thoroughly enjoyed it. This second book is better! Her expertise as former chief of the Mississippi State Patrol gives authenticity to the book and makes it that much more enjoyable. Laura Owen is more than a woman in a poweful position in a male-dominated organization. She's a widow with a child, facing issues of personal loss and the politics that are an inevitable part of her job. The book is a wonderful read. One I could not put down.

Louisa Dixon is an old childhood friend which makes reading her books so much more exciting.I see little bits of Louisa(Weezi) in every sentence and love reading both of her books.As a single parent myself I enjoy seeing Laura Owen juggle job, family and life in general and do a magnificent job of it too. Continue the writing Ms. Dixon, I can't wait for many more books to come.My entire family is now hooked on your books. They are so real.

Outside Chance is another winner from Louisa Dixon. I read it in practically one sitting. I'm looking forward to her third book

Louisa Dixon welcomes us to the continuing saga of Laura Owen and her struggles as Commissioner of Public Safety and the Highway Patrol. A fast paced, easy read, Outside Chance, explores southern politics at its worst. Owen,trying to balance, single motherhood, a high stress career, and a life, confronts the crooked and dangerous side of state politics. Very hard to put down.

Outside Chance is a wonderfully captivating book! We got to meet Laura Owens, the first female Commissioner of the Mississippi Highway Patrol in the first book, Next to Last Chance. In Outside Chance we get to know her Chief of Patrol, Blake Coleman, and Director of Criminal Investigations, Robert Stone. The team the three of them make is incredible. You come away believing they can read each other's minds, which makes for great detecting! We also get to go behind the closed doors of the Governor's Office to see the intrigue and maneuvering of Chief of Staff Vic Regis and how his burgeoning relationship with Laura affects both their jobs. This is a very suspenseful book - I couldn't put it down! I wanted to know if Laura or the bad guy wins -- you will too. Laura Owens is one of the strongest female characters in mystery fiction today. Great read for all mystery readers.

This is an extraordinary true story of a Black Muslim captured and sold into slavery in 1788 in Africa. He was the 26 year old son of a tribal king, married, with a young son. In addition to his native language, Pular, he read and wrote Arabic as well as other African languges. He was sold to a plantation owner near Natchez, which was part of Spanish territory in that time. After 40 years of slavery he gained his freedom and was able to return to Africa, where he lived briefly until his death.

The book is exceptionally well resesearched and told with sensitivity. It demonstrates the triumph of the human spirit in times of great depravation.

Terry Alford is a very brilliant man for his insights and facts to uncover Abd Rahman Ibrahima's life. If written without strong and factual information an attempt to publish an account of his life would be useless. The author did Ibrahima great justice in taking note that it would be very important in making this man's place in history known. In the book the author overwhealms the reader with facts that cast away any doubts the reader may have about the authenticity of this book. Alford deserves highest regards for having the patience and faith to document the life of such an extraordinary person.

According to the reviews on the back cover, Alford's book "vividly re-creates a life as dramatic as a work of fiction...events...almost defy belief." I'd tend to agree. This remarkably detailed book narrates the life of Ibrahima, a Fulani prince captured at the age of 26 and enslaved in the USA for 40 years, during which he lost neither his Muslim faith nor his dignity- both of which finally led to his freedom. The details surrounding those events are incredible and sometimes even mystical. Perhaps the most striking aspect of this book was its contrast of the literate, cosmopolitan culture of Futa Jalon, Ibrahima's homeland, and the illiterate, racist, and often homicidal nature of the whites of Natchez.

This is the book that convinced a young impressionable Lew Alcindor to embrace Islam and change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. A good read that would make a better motion picture.

This is a valuable work that should be read to discover the life of a Muslim during the time of slavery since most slave narratives do not mention Islam even when 10 to 15 percent of slaves here were of Muslim origin.

By the way, Karim Abdul Jabbar became Muslim at the hands of Khalifah Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, founder of the D.C. based Hanafi Madh-hab, around 1970. The venerable Sufi and Black Muslim leader wrote the work "Look and See" that will soon be released on Magribine Press. If someone makes claims that a work made someone become Muslims, or some other such claim, they should give references.

My 5 1/2 year old brought this book home from his school library and my 2 year old became literally obsessed with it, so now I am buying our own copy. He wants to read it several times every day and has passages memorized. However, in no way is this a typical young child's book. It is a beautifully evocative poem with fabulous illustrations (each one is reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting) that literally brings you back in time to a bygone era. I highly recommend this book.

I bought this book to read to my class of first graders, who are studying Tennessee history. It is so delightful that my 7- and 10-year-old boys love it too. The language is rich and colorful, and the illustrations are filled with details that make this a great lap book. I love the way the feeling is evoked of a sleepy Southern town wakened by the steamboat's arrival. Excellent.

Ste-e-e-e-eamboat A-Comin'! won the Friends of American Writers Juvenile Literary Award this year, and I'm not surprised. The story is a vibrant poem that evokes the excitement of a riverboat landing in a sleepy Mississippi River town. The details-burly, brawny roustabouts; pickles and brass spittoons; upstate papers bringing news-paint a vivid picture of a small town in the 1800s, and the rhythm of the poem moves perfectly from slow anticipation as the riverboat approaches to the bustle and commotion of passengers and cargo disembarking to quiet settling in again as the riverboat pulls away to continue its journey. The illustrations by Adam Rex echo that rhythm, with pictures becoming larger and more energetic as the riverboat arrives, then smaller and more pastoral as the riverboat fades away.

Loved the book! The imagery is incredible and the text is captivating. My kids joined in the refrain STE-E-E-E-EAMBOAT A'Comin after its first appearance, and kept repeating it long after we put the book down. They loved the dog, too. My husband, who is not big on picture books, read through it once quickly, then picked it up again after the kids were in bed so he could take his time enjoying it. I believe our deck is destined to become a steamboat this summer.

`STE-E-E-E-EAMBOAT' boasts an intelligent rhyming narrative, and nostalgic, colorful pictures. The verse, by Jill Esbaum, is unusually good. Here's a description of the steamboat's (circa mid-19th century) arrival:

Fiery furnace,
Gleaming rails,
Paddles churning foamy trails.

The captain (accurately shown NOT steering the boat) stands on the deck:

Rumpled jacket,
Steady hands,
Watchful captain barks commands.

After a few more verses that propel the narrative, the story--like the steamboat--comes to a halt. Six pages describe actions and objects ("pickles," fragile laces," "spectacles," "long johns"): This is nice for reading skills, but it's an unfortunate break in the action. Adam Rex manages to keep it interesting, however, with varied angles, and a montage of a "tangling, toppling, tumbling" dog that safely lands feet first off the short pier. In their strong conclusion, Esbaum and Rex present the departing steamboat with a sense of drama and poignancy. Rex effectively switches from close-ups of a heron and the small muddy dog to an overhead long-shot of the tiny-looking steamboat steaming away on the "mighty, ever-rolling tide."

Parenthetically, there are some illustrations with an uncanny resemblance to the faces, actions, colors, and even interior rooms of the well-known CD-ROM game, "Oregon Trail." Illustrator Adam Rex informed me that this is entirely coincidental (or due perhaps to the paucity of source materials); he has never seen the game. In fact, Rex did extensive research for this book, taking hundreds of photographs related to his illustrations, and even visiting Lancaster County to find period wagons! For those unfamiliar with "Oregon Trail," (or for those who love that look) the sometimes familiar design will not affect their enjoyment of the book. Additionally, the Norman Rockwell influence (apparent in some of the pictures) gives a sense of identity and an emotional resonance with the anonymous passengers and residents of the river town.

I wish the author had written a little more about crew and passenger experiences aboard a chuggling, paddling steamboat. "Steamboat's A Comin'"--true to its title--focuses on the boat's arrival and departure, and the resulting excitement of the townspeople. Still, there's a heartfelt author's note relating some of Esbaum's feelings about living near the Mississippi River. She also quotes Twain's magnificent "Life on the Mississippi," a book I recommend enthusiastically for adults and teens. 'Ste-e-e-e-eamboat' is well-suited for both casual reading and curriculum enhancement, and youngsters with a taste for old-time river travel will probably enjoy it.

While I was in college in the mid 1980's I took a course called 'social movements' in which my Professor gave a lecture bemoaning our loss of a 'sense of community.' Having just left a small mountain community myself that had been my home for the first 18 years of my life I didn't have a full appreciation of the lecture that day. Over the next few years as I moved into a career, and a big city, I began to realize exactly what my Professor was talking about in that lecture. After living in several apartments in various sorts of neighborhoods I cannot even think of 5 neighbors I ever exchanged more than a nod or hello with. It really is sad to think about. Recently I was given a book, and while not the type of book to make it into my reading list very often I am grateful that it had. That's the great thing about getting books as gifts, they sometimes get you out of a rut. Something for you to keep in mind as you ponder what to get somebody for Christmas. Anyway, the book is called 'Sundays Down South,' do not let the title fool you, although written by a Pastor it has little to do with 'Sundays,' and everything to do with a 'sense of community.' The book is a collection true stories about people that have been a part of the life a man who happens to be a Pastor. The author ( James O. Chatham ) is quite clear in the Introduction that 'this is not a religious book.' Having seen a small glimpse into his theology I was thankful for that fact. What the book does do is warm your heart with short, and true stories about real people. The book breaks down into four parts. It opens in Covington Virginia. In this section one particular story, 'Amy's Gift' even brought moisture to my eye's (something fiction cannot do). The section of the book dedicated to his years in Mississippi is the finest of the four. The author's positioning in the middle of an important place in the civil rights movement of the 1960's gives historical importance to this book. The book remains personal though, giving you insight into the people of that place and time. In this section there is the story of Albert, a man of heroic proportion in the chapter 'Standing on Holy Ground', and the humorous story 'Thus Did the Lord Say.' The book continues with stories from North Carolina, and Kentucky. Some of the stories are sad, some humorous, some inspiring, all help you gain perspective. Many of the stories are about people many would just consider 'poor southerners', ahhh, but how rich they are in 'sense of community.' Compared to so many of us who live in places where we are connected in a real way with so few people, they in contrast seem immensly wealthy. In the very first chapter of the book the author expresses this thought while observing three generations in one family go off to work together in a paper mill, 'Here in vivid color before my eyes, was a vital human network called family, something the chic, upscale world of the new America would soon be paying millions of dollars in therapists' fees in a vain effort to recreate.' The book supplies the snapshots of an America that sadly seems to be slipping away, but which makes the book a pleasure to read.

This engineer-turned-Presbyterian-minister writes with the preciseness of an engineer, the concrete language of a poet, and the compassionate insight of a good pastor. He never bores us with too much detail. He tells only what is needed to understand the person and situation being described. His stories take place in four southern locations: Covington, Virginia; Fayette/Union Church, Mississippi; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Louisville, Kentucky. The introduction to each section places the reader firmly in that location. For example, we local readers easily recognize the truth of his characterzation of laid-back Winston-Salem as "always about twenty-five miles off the main route." The book in some ways resembles twentieth-century southern fiction, including characters with elements of both the heroic and the grotesque. But in Chatham's book, more are heroic than not. He has given us an upbeat book that reminds us of our human capacity for goodness and self-sacrifice. Although Chatham never preaches or moralizes, he often points out an insight gained from the story. I recommend SUNDAYS DOWN SOUTH for pleasure reading, for better understanding of the meaning of being southern, and for appreciating--mostly with optimism--the foibles and sublime heights of the human condition.

As a Southerner, as a Presbyterian, as one who played a small part in the civil rights movement of the sixties, and as one who now lives in the same city as Rev. Chatham, I felt as if I were reliving some of my life's experiences as I read this book. I had met these people, I had been to these places, I had shared these conversations, I had worshiped together with them. Rev. Chatham does an outstanding job of capturing the essence of what many call "polite racism": that we can be seemingly intelligent, polite, caring, loving, religious human beings and still have the horrible stain of racism imbedded in our hearts and our psyches. On the other hand, the courage of those who overcame the social demand of following the past is glorified as it should be. Congratulations, Rev. Chatham. Your readers will enjoy this journey with you.

Having heard sermons of Jim Chatham, I had to read his book. This book, Sundays Down South : A Pastor's Stories, closely reflects his personal delivery of folksy wisdom as a key to deeply held truths. These stories, separate and apart, could be the journal writings of many, but woven together, they touch in a special way the place inside of all of us who yearn for spiritual connectedness, peace and justice. This book rates high with me just as does the good pastor, himself. I would suggest it is great reading for a hot summer afternoon, lemonade in hand, and a cool body of water someplace in the vicinity.

Although my favorite books are fiction, this collection of true stories offers similar pleasure. SUNDAYS DOWN SOUTH, though not fiction, describes real people so vividly that they would make good fictional characters. I finished the book recalling the names of characters, as well as the events that constrained or liberated them. Admirable characters, the author explains in the introduction, have been given their real names. For the less admirable, he has invented unlikely names. This book resembles twentieth-century southern fiction because it includes elements of the heroic and the grotesque. But in Chatham's book more people are heroic than not. It is an upbeat book that reminds us of our human capacity for goodness and sacrifice. This engineer-turned-Presbyterian-minister writes with the preciseness of an engineer, the concrete language of a poet, and the compassionate insight of a good pastor. He never bores us with too much detail. He tells only what is needed to understand the person and situation being described. The stories take place between 1962 and the present in four southern locations--Virginia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Kentucky. The introduction to each section places the reader firmly in that location. We local readers, for example, easily see the truth and humor in his characterization of laid-back Winston-Salem, N. C., as "always about twenty-five miles off the main route." I recommend SUNDAYS DOWN SOUTH for pleasure reading, for better understanding the meaning of being southern, and for appreciating both the foibles and the sublime heights of the human condition.

I wanted to read this because my 5th grade teacher was on the wrong path and died in a gunbattle while participating in an attempted bombing. What I got was a story about people's struggles to prevent wrongs and the risks that they took. Right away I wanted to call and thank the parents of a childhood jewish friend for their work. Fabulous!

I thought this book was amazing. It gives a whole new perspective to how the KKK affected the south.

This is of particular interest to people living in Mississippi in the 1960's. I was a child during this time and knew the children of the players in the book. I never knew the terrible things they were going through. It gave me a deep appreciation of the people involved. It also made me think in ways that I had never really considered. For example, the fact that the Klan is a terrorist organization rather than a bunch of rednecks in sheets.

I read this book after learning of a friend of mine who grew up Jewish in Jackson Mississippi and went through everything Nelson talks about. The book was incredibly written and Nelson is a phenomonal Journalist. I highly recomend this book to anyone looking to learn more about American history or history of Jews in the South.

I had to read this for school. I thought it would be horribly boring, but it was excellent.

"The Bear" in all of its versions has a secure place as a boy-coming-of-age story, one interwoven with a microcosm of the southern experience of race, racism and family history. The first half of the novella is the hunting story, and for Faulkner, it's pretty straight forward. The second half however, rehearses all of Faulkner's worst literary mannerisms (portentous vocabulary, over-wrought prose) as the adult Isaac McCaslin encounters the racial history of his family and tries to make reparation. This second section, which is not well connected to the first, is a delight for English professors. All the usual Faulkner themes are here: Biblical import, civilization v. wilderness, miscegenation, family secrets, boy and man culture. The laborious prose is intended to replicate the sense of torturous, sorrow-ridden history, but finally, it's just tedious. And it's difficult to tell if the author even takes it seriously. As if to ridicule the ambitions of Old Ben (the iconic bear of the hunt), Faulkner shrinks his hairy symbol (in the second section) to a scared young bear trapped in a tree, unable to descend because of the thundering daily train. Perhaps we are to see pathos in this "machine-in-the garden" motif, but most readers will just be relieved that the story is drawing to a close. Like many of Faulkner's novels, this one is over-rated.

Among Faulkner's best work, The Bear is more than a simple story of the hunt for an ellusive bear. Faulkner uses the backdrop of the hunt in 19th century Mississippi to show the progress his protagonist, Ike McCaslin, makes towards the unltimate achievement of man. Faulkner was convinced of the godd that man is capable of; Ike, the typical Faulkner youth seen in other works, shows this idea in full detail.
Ike begins his hunt as a young man, growing to accept the ways of nature as taught to him by a fallen Indian chief. The connotations of a fallen race abound in the story, yet they are no more obvious than in the detailed fourth chapter. Readers are advised not to merely skim this section; it remains one of the best testaments to Faulkner's ability to create some of the most complex material of the 20th century.

Three Famous Short Novels gathers together three long and diverse works by America's greatest writer (that's my opinion, others my contest it, I will only agree to disagree). Spotted Horses is a humorous tale culled from the pages of The Hamlet, the first novel in the famous Snopes Family Trilogy. The Bear is the expanded version of the somber and mythic hunting story about the killing a legendary bear that means so much more than just that. The final story is the exciting adventure yarn Old Man and was one half of the two conjoined novellas that made up The Wild Palms (aka If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem). Although each story has more power than many writers have in their entire output, they acheive even more when woven into the wide fabric of Faulkner's far reaching, generations spanning Jefferson, Mississippi. Required reading.

If you expected Faulkner's "The Bear" to be as difficult as "Pat the Bunny" you will be deeply disappointed. High school teachers may assign it in segments to English classes, but it is at heart an adult story, with deep seams of place and poetry. In this coming of age novella, the relationship between the boy Isaac and Old Ben the bear takes place against the backdrop of threatened forest land. Faulkner's passionate writing about the value of the woods rings true for nature conservationists today. The lengthy section on Civil War ghosts and the equivocality of inheritance, often considered an intrusion within the main narrative, also rewards careful reading. As for Faulkner's infamous run-on sentences -- well, here they are on full steam ahead, and even Faulkner's machismo is forgiveable in the context of his marvellous sentences.

This was a challenging story, like all works of Faulkner. But also a very rewarding story. When you finish this one you feel like you have been somewhere... truly immersed in a time period... truly immersed in a family.
No author, ever... has had the knack of creating a world of ordinary people so expertly intertwined throughout his novels. Faulkner either by design or accident (I doubt that??) has created a rich tapestry in his books, of characters subtlely connected by time and circumstance.
I have read The Sound and the Fury and most of Light in August; and it is not difficult to see the connections in just these two books plus the short story The Bear. Everything I have chanced to read by this amazing author has had careful, deep, intricate connections to the other works.
I know this is a well known fact... but the way in which Faulkner executes it, leaves me amazed each and every time I encounter it.
The Bear is a coming of age story about Ike McCaslin. It traces his development to a young man through several vingettes. Each time we see him he is involved in a hunt. That is until the last 2 sections in which we see him at age 21 looking back on his family history and discussing his right to the land. Once we see him as a young boy and then onward into his teenage years.
The story revolves around an aged bear who roams the forests and swamps where they hunt. It is interesting to see Ike develop as a hunter and man, as the hunters get closer and closer to the old bear.
There are many rich characters in this story.... far to many for me to touch on in this short review.
A big theme that impressed me in this one was how our personal history is inexticably tied to the land we grow up on. Ike McCaslin was, "who" he was because of where he was from, and he could never escape that fact.
Faulkner was an author unafraid to delve into the scriptures in developing his ideas. I believe his use of scriptural narratives only serves to strengthen his work. What he says, rings with authority when he uses Abraham, Adam and Eve as illustrations. He expertly uses the story of Abrahams travels to the promised land to show how his characters have squandered their "rights" to the land they grew up on... their "promised land".
There is no doubt William Faulkner knew how to put a story together. Any of his works, beg to be read again and again. I will surely be picking this one up again... I recommend it to anyone who loves books! William Faulkner is a giant in the world of literature!

Start with book one of this series and don't stop till you finish the last word of book #3

I loved this book -- read it in about 2 days. This was definitely the best of the three -- I enjoyed the story between Link & Libba and between Rae & Drew the best. Stokes is a masterful storyteller.

I was so disappointed after I read the first book in the trilogy and my library didn't have the second one. I finally got a hold of it and couldn't put it down. I love watching the growth of the characters in such difficult time. I love the romance too. Not too gushy. Now to get my hands on book number three.

This book, a continuation from a previous book, is a slow, sweet romance. I must confess I was a little bored with the whole paralization of Link, and the inevitable outcome of the story was very predictable. But when all is said and done, the cliffhanger at the end of the book makes reading the next book a pleasant necessity.

This book is a powerful combination of faith and trials that people go through to survive the emotionally exhausting times. The characters are real-to-life, each one seems to represent a different characteristic of the human persona. I felt that I could closely relate to the characters, and the main plot of the story had me reading the book in 2 days. It is a powerfully gripping novel, much as the first was, that tells us that the true secret to life is to live...and let God handle the rest.