Book Description

Ranching on the vast scale that Texas is famous for actually happened at King Ranch, a sea of grass that ultimately spread its pastures to countries around the globe under the fifty-year leadership of Bob Kleberg. This absorbing biography, written by Kleberg's top assistant of many years, captures both the life of the man and the spirit of the kingdom he ruled, offering a rare, insider's view of life on a fabled Texas ranch.John Cypher spent forty years (1948-1988) on King Ranch. In these pages, he melds highlights of Kleberg's life with memories of his own experiences as the "right hand" who implemented many of Kleberg's grand designs. In a lively story laced with fascinating anecdotes he both recounts his worldwide travels with Kleberg as the ranch expanded its holdings to Latin America, Cuba, Australia, the Philippines, Europe, and Africa, and describes timeless, traditional tasks such as roundup at the home ranch in Kingsville.Kleberg's accomplishments as the founder of the Santa Gertrudis cattle breed and a breeder of Thoroughbred racing horses receive full attention, as does his fabled lifestyle, which included friendships not merely with the rich and famous but also with Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who shared his love of horse racing. For everyone interested in ranching and one of its most famous practitioners, this book will be essential reading. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An entertaining and insightful look at true Texas history.
This is a great book for anyone interested in the cattle business, Texas history, or the politics of big business in the middle of this century.One need not be a rancher or cattleman to enjoy this book.I would highlyrecommend this book to anyone from any background.

unique insight to modern-day, multi-national ranch boss
If you have an interest in the King Ranch, you should read this book. ... Read more

Book Description

With his signature style and grace, Willie Morris, arguably one of this country's finest Southern writers, presents us with an unparalleled memoir of a country in transition and a boy coming of age in a period of tumultuous cultural, social, and political change.

In North Toward Home, Morris vividly recalls the South of his childhood with all of its cruelty, grace, and foibles intact.He chronicles desegregation and the rise of Lyndon Johnson in Texas in the 50s and 60s, and New York in the 1960s, where he became the controversial editor of Harper's magazine.North Toward Home is the perceptive story of the education of an observant and intelligent young man, and a gifted writer's keen observations of a country in transition. It is, as Walker Percy wrote, "a touching, deeply felt and memorable account of one man's pilgrimage." ... Read more

Reviews (8)

If only he had lived to tell us more
Like a lot of other readers, I first became aware of Willie Morris when I read "My Dog Skip." I followed that up with the lesser known, but equally enjoyable, "My Cat Spit McGee" (in which Morris, an avowed dog lover and cat hater, comes to love a cat).

But for me, his most brilliant work has got to be "North Toward Home," which I did not discover until after he died in 1999. What is it about southern writers, particularly those from Mississippi (a state that continues to have one of the highest illiteracy rates in the world), that leads them to be such masterful story tellers?

This book was first published in 1967, but it still resonates beautifully today. Here Morris recounts his childhood in Mississippi, his time at the University of Texas, his days as a writer covering the wild Texas political scene, and his life as a transplanted Southerner adapting to life in New York (where at age 32 he became the editor of "Harper's)."

Morris brilliantly captures the changing environment in the United States as he traces his life in the forties, fifties, and sixties. Its too bad Morris died relatively young at 65, because I would have loved to see what else he had to write had he lived into his eighties or nineties.

This is about as good as an autobiography can get, as Morris examines not only his only personal growth over a thirty some-odd year period, but also reveals much about the changing political and social environment of those times.

A fine modern writer of the South
These days, people are probably more likely to know of Willie Morris as the boy in the movie, "My Dog Skip." So if anything, they know he grew up in a small town in 1940's Mississippi. They mostly wouldn't know that years later, after an education at the University of Texas, he was a Rhodes Scholar in Oxford, a controversial newspaper editor in Texas, and the youngest editor of America's oldest continuously published magazine, Harper's.

Throughout his adult life he was a writer. His memoir "North Toward Home" is a recollection of a boyhood in pre-integration Mississippi, the rough and tumble of state politics which he covered for the Texas Observer, and coming to terms as a Southerner with New York City, which he liked to call "the Cave."

As a writer, Morris saw both the humor and sadness in the circumstances of daily life. He was fascinated by people and politics, and deeply committed to social justice. Growing up in the rural South, he also had a strong sense of how people are shaped by their history, traditions, and the terrain of the land they call home.

His many books include an account of school integration in his hometown in 1970, a tribute to his friend James Jones, author of "From Here to Eternity," and an account of the making of "Ghosts of Mississippi," Rob Reiner's film based on the murder trial and conviction of the man who shot Medgar Evers. One of the best introductions to Morris' style and favorite subjects is a collection of essays and exerpts from longer works, "Terrains of the Heart and Other Essays on Home," which was published in his later years and is currently in print.

A great companion volume for "North Towards Home" is "From the Mississippi Delta: A Memoir," by African-American writer Endesha Ida Mae Holland. Her book is a compelling account of growing up poor and black in small-town Mississippi and coming of age during the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. Together, these two books provide a fascinating look at both sides of the racial divide in the Deep South of the mid-20th century.

Brilliant in parts...
Ok, this book is quite eloquent in places and borderline brilliant, especially when writing about Mississippi. The second section of the book focuses on obscure 1960's Texas politics and gets rather dry and stretches on and on and on. The third part of the book focuses on New York and is depressing in that Morris reiterates over and over about how horrid the city is, ie the traffic, the dirt and grittiness, the noise, etc. Then he cuts on surburbanites who decide to commute to the city from farther up in N. England. Later, Morris does the same thing.
I guess my main concern with this book is the fact that Morris was only 30 years when he wrote his autobiography. Who knows enough of the world at age 30 to do such a thing? I question Morris for thinking he has lived some unique life by that age; I know the author passed away and all the reviews and tributes and obits were glowing and nostalgic, but I can't get over the fact that long stretches of this book were agonizing to get through.

Different than I expected. And BETTER
After seeing the movie My Dog Skip, I bought this book to learn about a educated man who grew up in the South. I anticipated a recollection of why the South is great. What I read was a man recalling growing up in the South when it was a lazy, great place to grow up in. The first part of the book covers this and provided a perfect synopsis for the movie, My Dog Skip.

The second part of the book covers his time in Texas where he attended college and stayed to become an editor of a local liberal paper. He also was the school paper editor who became famous for his liberal stances taking on the administration. While this section gets long, it is the most interesting section as Morris is thrown in a foreign environment, becomes quite intimidated as many freshman do, and then grows in the process. This growth culminates in his acceptance as a Rhodes Scholar competing against many Ivy League namedroppers who once again intimidate him. He graduates and eventually writes for a liberal paper in Texas covering politics which allows him to see this magnificent state and challenge the beliefs of politicians and himself as he has grown into a full liberal in a very conservative state. Significant time is spent coloring the political landscape of the time and it's quite interesting to view this from 40 years hence. Anyone remember the John Birch Society?

The final section was an evolution as he moves to New York, goes through the humiliating first job search before he finds a low paying job working for Harpers Magazine. He describes what it's like working in New York, which he calls the "Cave", and living in substandard conditions where the sun never hits his building. He describes his first literary party and the pompous attitude of these intellectuals, particularly about the rest of the country. This becomes the fascinating introspective part of the book as he parallels his life in the South and his existence living in the "Cave".

This book covers the 40's,50's and 60's so clearly race was a central theme as the civil rights movement was in boom causing him to challenge so much of what he knew growing up. I think this culminates when he asks a German woman to leave his apartment after she makes some mild racist Jewish remarks. Morris really struggled reconciling the race issue given his background in Mississippi and at one point when he was introduced, he said he was from North Carolina as he had become embarrassed to mention being from Mississippi.

It's a fascinating story of personal growth that any reader will learn from. The book closes with him moving out of the Cave to a 70 mile, 4 hour commute daily to the city. And the last paragraph states the title "North Toward Home". I think many people will take the close differently but to me he was accepting his new home and turning over the page on the South which he would always appreciate and remember fondly.

This book will be of interest to Southerners looking to learn about their heritage and what living in the South in the segregated 1940's was like. Also, people with interests in journalism and political history will enjoy the book. But this book is also good for anyone looking for personal growth through the writings of others. I recommend books on whether they are entertaining and whether I learn much. I was pleasently entertained and learned a great deal. I strongly recommend this book.

ALMOST one of the best books I've ever read.
This book is comprised of three parts; 1)Morris's growing up in Yazoo, Mississippi 2)His time spent at the University of Texas, and 3) His moving to New York, and becoming an editor at Harpers magazine. The first section is absolutely fantastic. I was drawn in and couldn't put it down. Morris is a great storyteller, and the tales of his growing up are a great look at life in the South in the 1940's. If you enjoyed "My Dog Skip", you would love it. The second section starts out interesting, but then gets bogged down with Texas politics. Interesting,but not exactly a page turner 40 years later. And finally, his time in NYC was interesting, a Southern boy plunked down in the middle of America's biggest city. Many of his concerns of the time we are still wrestling with here in 2000. Our era is not as unique as many would think. I would highly recommend this book, even if you only read part one-it's that good. ... Read more

Book Description

David Duke's riveting autobiography. ... Read more

Reviews (142)

Incredible and thought-provoking
I've got to hand it to David Duke. He has written a book that is just about impossible to put down. And, while I don't personally agree with all of his views, as an autobiography his story makes fascinating reading. He provides a LOT of very credible documentation and evidence to support his views, and it is refreshing to at last read a different viewpoint that does not reflect the politically-correct media angle on the same issues. I have to admit I would feel a lot more comfortable reading and absorbing this information if it were written by someone other David Duke, whose personal baggage as former leader of the Ku Klux Klan probably can never be effectively overcome. But he explains why he made his choices and why he moved on, and nowhere can any suggestion be found in these pages that violence is an answer to change the status quo; rather, he proposes that white Americans take pride in their race, heritage and ethnic customs, just as black, hispanic and other minority Americans are doing. He also takes the comments of some minority groups and turns them around, substituting how racist the statements would come across if they were voiced by white Americans against those groups. It made me really stop and consider that many minorities show as much (or more) intolerance in their statements than the white Americans they assail. The book is incredible and isn't just another affirmation of the politically correct. There is nothing to fear in reading these views and considering their validity. I would recommend it.

I'm JEWISH but have to admit this is one POWERFUL book!
Its contents is presented with little "personal opinion" and Duke's presentation relies mainly on carefully compiled and verifiable statistics and quotes. My own purchase was on a purely objective level, because I wanted to understand for myself what his philosophy was all about. In doing so, I've found an absolutely riveting book that answered most of the questions I had regarding the relationships between races and the why's and wherefores of our immigration laws that allow thousands to enter upon our shores with problems attached.
Its contents were so traumatic that I now find myself concerned for the world my grandchildren will be raised in, or if it will even exist as we know it. Having read it, I will NEVER forget it. This is not an easy accomplishment when dealing with a hardened New Yorker who's seen and heard almost everything by now.
Other words to describe it: sobering, shocking, extremely informative and undeniably frightening. Most defenitely not a book for the closed mind or faint hearted. I applaud Mr. Duke for his heavily researched and deeply sincere wake-up call. I may not agree him 100% but I've certainly had an "AWAKENING" too.

Excellent ! A must read for all independent thinkers !
Let me begin by stating that I am a non-Jewish Polish immigrant. I came to the US when I was 7. I have stood inside the gates of Auschwitz and been taught that Poles and Jews alike suffered at the hands of Germany. I knew nothing of race, nor was race a factor of any sort in my young upbringing. I was introduced to it upon arrival in the USA.
So why you ask would I choose to read Mr. Duke's book and give it an excellent rating?
Because I go where the truth leads me.

My parents where born just after the war in 1946. I never heard them speak badly of Jews but I could sense that whenever they were talked about, it was always in the context that they were a people in positions of influence and power (especially when it came to money).
Unfortunately, my father did not discuss much history with me (or maybe it was my reluctance to listen) and so my understanding of history came from the public school system and the culture I was thrust into.

With my affinity for truth (surely learned from my father), it was inevitable that I would at some point discover that it wasn't enough for me just to accept the versions of history and science as painted by those that taught me. Evidence was evidence and science was my light of truth (for I even rebelled against my Christian upbringing). Truth was (and still is to me) more important then money, fame, power, or any other secular wants and desires.

Because I put truth upon a pedestal I saw the contradictions in what people actually said and how they behaved. I saw contradictions in my behavior also.
In regards to race, I could sense that the races were different in abilities, contrary to what I was being taught. I realized that no one could hide from the laws of nature and genetics. This led me to the study of psychology. In turn my study of psychology has now led me to a revised study of history.
What I have learned from my personal experience is that if the white race is to survive we must all become scientists, psychologists, historians, theologians, and seakers of truth. In essence, we must each become renaissance men and women.

Let there be no doubt: Mr. Duke is not a man of hate.
He is a man of science, a lover of truth, and a man who desires peace and prosperity for humanity.

Well written and thoughtful.
When I began this book, I was skeptical.
By the time I'd finished reading, I didn't agree
with every little think Duke had to say, but he'd
made me think about things in new ways and I
appreciated the mental journey.

Even if people disagree with everything Duke has
to say, even if they disagree vehemently, he
still has a right to say it. This new stuff in
America abouw how "hate thought" and "hate
literature" must be illegalized adds even more
credence to the things he says in his book.
America should not be the land of Thought
Crimes. One of America's most pontificating
liberals once said, "My idea of a democracy
is a place where it is safe to be unpopular."
Or something alone those lines. David Duke
has every right to write this book, and
Americans have every right to read it whether
they disagree or not.

Again, this is a well-written and thoughtful
book and it deserves to be considered and
consumed. No book should ever be outlawed
in America. No thought or feeling. This idea
of censoring any book or way of thinking that
runs contrary to popularly accepted thought
is dangerous and ugly and not what America
was ever supposed to be about.

Thank you, David Duke, for writing this book.
And, welcome home.

Inaccurate and Bigotted
The Talmud is a secret book???? Just go to your local library. It is in fact a series of books with commentaries and anyone who is interested in Biblical history should read it. I am Christain, but I found the discussions of the meaning of Biblical texts (and the many arguements of famous commentaries throughout history) fascinating.

Duke is a Holocaust denier and no amount of verified facts- or even eyewitness accounts- will allow him to admit the truth about the massive destruction of Jews, Poles, Gypsies, gays and dissidents. His "sources" are rubbish.

Zionism may cause us to fund Israel, but it doesn't destroy our morality. Besides our moral underpinnings come from the Old Testament which Jesus said he was not going to change a jot or an iota of. ... Read more

Book Description

Edward Cohen was among the tiny minority of Jews in Jackson, Mississippi, the heart of the Bible Belt. As a child, he grew up singing “Dixie”in his segregated school and saying sh’ma in synagogue. And in his powerful, luminous memoir, Cohen tells a story as universal as it is particular, at once a deeply personal account of growing up an outsider and a vibrant family story of three generations of American Jews.

To Edward Cohen, it seemed the entire world was Jewish. Then he went to school, where he was the only child who didn’t bow his head during Christian prayers, the only child not invited to dance class.

As the polite ‘50s segued into the racially explosive ‘60s, Jackson, Mississippi, would never be the same. And Edward would escape to the University of Miami in search of a new identity.

There, he thought he would find other Jews and finally gain the acceptance he never had. But once again he found himself an outsider — this time as a southerner.

A stirring memoir for anyone who’s ever felt a loss of identity or pressure to conform, The Peddler’s Grandson is sure to touch readers everywhere who have grappled with who they are.
... Read more

Reviews (19)

Charming will written memoir
THE PEDDLER'S GRANDSON Growing Up Jewish in Mississippi by Edward Cohen 193 Pages;University of Mississippi Press

This is a beautifully written memoir that is deeper than an ordinary auto-biography. Cohen discusses his grandparents and their immigration into America from Romania and Poland as well as his own conflict in trying to be oone of the crowd and still establish his own creative identity. His father's father was a peddler who walked through the Mississippi countryside, slept in haylofts and eventually imported his brother to help him open up a small clothing store near Jackson, Mississipi. His mother's parents originated in Poland which, according to Cohen, ". . . compared to Romania, it was postively cosmopoliatan. Her people settled first in Louisiana but eventually moved to Mississippi when she married Cohen's father. In many ways, the most interesting portions of the book were the discussions of how these immigrants to the American culture and the Southern Tradition managed to make their mark and settle into a comfortable way of life. Southern prejudice against Jews, the entire country's aversion to anyone "different", all contributed the elements to Edward Cohen's final immigration to that haven of liberal thought: California. He now lives in Venice, California, and works as a freelance writer and filmmaker. His memoir sheds light on what it was like to grow up Jewish and white in the south in 1950's and it is also an account of the ingenuity and courage of Polish and Romanian immigrants who came to this country determined to escape oppression and make a life for themselves. An excellent read.

Growing Up Jewish in Mississippi.....and Beyond
Although it is his own autobiography, Edward Cohen tells in a very readable and entertaining narrative what growing up Jewish in America was like for many of us baby boomers, the children and grandchildren of Eastern Europeon immigrants. The Southern setting and experience is central to the theme of this excellent work. Yet, most of the stories and recollections of his large, extended family, his own coming of age in the 50's and 60's have a universality and reflect many shared experiences with those of us who grew up Jewish during this same time, even in the North. While important parts of the book touch on serious themes as racism and anti-semitism, this book offers terrific humor and warm nostalgia, without being "schmaltzy" or self-serving. Less than 200 pages, The Peddler's Grandson can be enjoyed in one cover-to-cover sitting that will for many readers envoke two stories, the author's and for many of us, the parallels of our own lives. A great read.

Diaspora below the Mason- Dixon
A wonderful tale that had me captivated from the first page. Whether you're Jewish, southern or just an appreciative reader... the descriptive flow of this tale is unparalleled.

Cohen writes an excellent tale that weaves the stories of his immigrant grandparents into the time of his owning "bringing up" and struggle with his ethnicity, spiritual and regional. The characters are interesting and personal. The descriptions of the region and of the family scenes create clear mental pictures.

This is a book that I intend to add to my own collection.

It takes a loving family (you-all!)
Interesting insights abound in this wonderful book about growing up Jewish in Mississippi during the 50's and 60's. Mr.Cohen introduces us to his family, friends and surroundings in a way that kept me from putting the book down. I read it in two sittings on a rainy weekend in Rhode Island and I felt like I was on vacation in Mississippi.

Mogen David meets the Magnolia state in wistful memoir
Exploring the consequences of straddling two cultures, "The Peddler's Grandson" proves that being Jewish in the deep South is a lot more than playing Dixie with a klezmer band. Accurately subtitled "Growing Up Jewish in Mississippi," Edward Cohen's enjoyable and instructive memoir recounts the author's childhood in post World-War II Mississippi and explores the dynamics of being a dual outsider: A Jew in the Bible Belt and a southern Jew in a cosmopolitan Jewish university. Written with perceptive sociological insight and engaging self-deprecatory humor, this memoir sheds light on the profound issue of marginality. As Edward Cohen grows up, he leaves the safe cocoon of his protective Jewish home and discovers the strangely alluring and frightening Christian South.

The grandson of an intinerant peddler, Cohen explains both the coherence of a Jewish life and the centripetal influences the dominant culture exerts on that identity. Once in the public school system, Cohen feels a need to reinvent himself, from invisible Jew to iconoclastic rebel. Yet, with each recreation, Cohen feels less complete, even more dissatisfied. Where he yearns for a fusion of his dual Southern/Jewish identities, he experiences alienation and distancing from both. Culminating with four experimental years at Miami University, his story both extols and berates the divisive nature of his existence.

At its best, "The Peddler's Grandson" serves as a model for every immigrant seeking authentic identity in his/her new land. At once desperately seeking inclusion but discovering that the price of admission is cultural abdication, Cohen warns about the notion that one can gain identity by erasing one's past. "From the first day my Jewish self was suddenly full-immersion baptized into that southern world, I wanted to reconcile what couldn't be joined." We watch, with admiration, as Cohen reaches an adult acceptance of who and what he is. "I've learned the difference between discovering who I am and inventing it. Invention for me meant erasure, and whether it was my southern or my Jewish half that I hoped to lose, each time I tried, I got smaller."

"The Peddler's Grandson" is not pedantic in the least. Delightful family history and marvelous anecdotes pepper this memoir. Cohen's battles with the dyspeptic Rabbi Nussbaum over issues ranging from the existential meaning of life to the Edward's refusal as a child to eat a hard-boiled egg at Passover ring with Jewish humor. With characteristic grace, however, is Cohen's admission that he admires his adversary as a civil rights' leader. The author does not have to mention that Nussbaum's home was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan; yet in so doing, Cohen reminds us of his own profound ambivalence over racism during the late 1950s and early 1960s. One senses that the adult Cohen has not forgiven himself for his acquiescent silence during that crucial decade; indeed, his compassionate recounting of the African-Ameicans who worked in his family's clothes store indicate a sensitivity that began during that formative period.

Cohen writes with an assurance he lacked as a child. His memoir is warm, comforting, and, in parts, genuinely inspiring. The author's adult confidence derives, however, from that childhood, both Southern and Jewish. His adult confidence in his roots and his place in both worlds blossoms from a family which, although profoundly assimilated, nevertheless recognized its marginality. His Jewish identity, compromised by an alien culture which celebrated physicality instead of intellectualism, emerges secure; his Southern roots, nurtured by three generations of life in Jackson, Mississippi and tarnished by national denigration of the very name of his state, endure. Thus, Edward Cohen, child of a Jewish peddler who settled in a locale far beyond the reaches of Northern urban Jewish influence, represents the best of the Ameican expeience; his cultural dialectic results in the best of all possibilities -- a genuine multiculturalism. ... Read more

Book Description

The grandson of slaves, born into poverty in 1892 in the Deep South, A. G. Gaston died more than a century later with a fortune worth well over $130 million and a business empire spanning communications, real estate, and insurance. Gaston was, by any measure, a heroic figure whose wealth and influence bore comparison to J. P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie. Here, for the first time, is the story of the life of this extraordinary pioneer, told by his niece and grandniece, the award-winning television journalist Carol Jenkins and her daughter Elizabeth Gardner Hines.

Born at a time when the bitter legacy of slavery and Reconstruction still poisoned the lives of black Americans, Gaston was determined to make a difference for himself and his people. His first job, after serving in the celebrated all-black regiment during World War I, bound him to the near-slavery of an Alabama coal mine—but even here Gaston saw not only hope but opportunity. He launched a business selling lunches to fellow miners, soon established a rudimentary bank—and from then on there was no stopping him. A kind of black Horatio Alger, Gaston let a single, powerful question be his guide: What do our people need now? His success flowed from an uncanny genius for knowing the answer.

Combining rich family lore with a deep knowledge of American social and economic history, Carol Jenkins and Elizabeth Hines unfold Gaston’s success story against the backdrop of a century of crushing racial hatred and bigotry. Gaston not only survived the hardships of being black during the Depression, he flourished, and by the 1950s he was ruling a Birmingham-based business empire. When the movement for civil rights swept through the South in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Gaston provided critical financial support to many activists.

At the time of his death in 1996, A. G. Gaston was one of the wealthiest black men in America, if not the wealthiest. But his legacy extended far beyond the monetary. He was a man who had proved it was possible to overcome staggering odds and make a place for himself as a leader, a captain of industry, and a far-sighted philanthropist. Writing with grace and power, Jenkins and Hines bring their distinguished ancestor fully to life in the pages of this book. Black Titan is the story of a man who created his own future—and in the process, blazed a future for all black businesspeople in America. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Story should have focus on AG Gaston
I was interested in the life and times of AG Gaston. AG Gaston laid the foundation for modern day black business people. This book focus on giving black history lessons, devoting inadequate time to Mr. Gaston life and business dealings. I was disappointed - I expected much more out of this book.

The Great Entrepreneur
BLACK TITAN: A.G. GATSON AND THE MAKING OF THE AMERICAN MILLIONAIRE is a profoundly inspiring biography on the life and times of millionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist, A.G. Gaston. Penned by his niece and great niece, the story highlights the accomplishments of this gifted entrepreneur whose extraordinary business acumen took him from being the poverty stricken grandson of a slave to becoming one of the first black millionaires.

The story's theme is one of self sufficiency and fortitude and outlines his life, chronicling the important events as they occur on his route to success. The reader is transported back to a time when harshness was the order of the day and intolerance to the success of people of color was the norm. This well written narrative manages to capture the charismatic persona of this enterprising trailblazer and shares his thoughts on social, economic and civil rights issues. Most importantly it shares his shrewd business practices which were pivotal to his accumulating his great fortune and becoming a model of success for all people.

BLACK TITAN: A.G. GATSON AND THE MAKING OF THE AMERICAN MILLIONAIRE is an unforgettable and enlightening read. The story flows nicely and the lessons to be learnt are endless. This book is a source of inspiration and provides a serious history lesson for everyone.

Reviewed by Autumn
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Excellent!!
I am definitely going to suggest to my Black Studies teachers that they incorporate this book into their classrooms. A.G. Gaston is the entreprenuers hero! This is a story of an individual who could not and would not stay in the position society told him he was to adhere to. His self determination and self reliance into forging a life and business for himself is enough to make anyone feel ashamed of themselves for suggesting that they cannot become an entreprenuer. I recommend that you purchase this book!

THANK YOU AUTHORS FOR THE INSPIRATION!!!!
This biography of A.G. Gaston has inspired my life and business strategies more than any other book I have ever read!! With the book's vivid format, I could easily envision Gaston's life's experiences, business logic and implementation. Using his life's example of dedication and entrepreneurial genius, in my business I have become more effective in seeking and meeting customer's needs.

Furthermore, I had always wondered where the money came from that fueled the Civil Rights movement. The book shared Gaston's accomplishments despite racial hatred and segregation and how great an impact be had on American history.

I will read it again and continue to encourage others to read it.

Thank God for the Authors!!

Brandon J. Everitt

Great
To say that a black man in one of the most segregated states in the Union,would rise up and become a millionaire during a time when that was not the norm,is in and of itself a miracle. The story of A.G.Gaston is little known outside of Birmingham and Alabama, but every African American should get a copy of this book and read for yourself how this man rose up and became a millionaire during Jim Crow times. Written by his neices,it is tastefully written,and a wonderful addition to anyone's library. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Childhood: The Biography of a Place
I would suggest this book to anyone who has ever read anything published by Harry Crews; specifically to those who haven't read anything by him, but who are interested in this magnificent author. After reading it, I found myself wondering how Crews was able to escape childhood, much less become of the the greatest Southern authors since Faulkner. Truly a fantastic book that will stand the test of time and inevitably cast Crews as one of the greatest authors of the 20th century!

A must read for Yankees and children of the south alike
I was assigned this book in a tutorial class on the "mind of the south" by a professor during my senior year of college. I was immediately drawn to the author's experiences with tenant farming; being the son of a mother whose own father was a farmer that oversaw several tenents to his own farming operation prior to, and shortly after WWII. Crew's accurate depection of tenant farmer life was valididated, to this reader at least, by his portrayal of an agricultural system that was difficult to not only rural agricultural African Americans, but their white supervisors. Crews has done a wonderful job of incorporating the distinctly southern phrases and dialogue of the rural, agrarian south. I though my own mother was the only person who pronounced "hurricane" as "harrakin". Charachters such as Willalee Bookatee and his family were strikingly similar to those poor blacks, and whites, described in my mother's stories of working in the tobacco fields of rural NC. This book will shed some much needed light on the fact that the hard-core, rural south is not so far removed from the remodeled "New South".

Harry Crews' Materpiece
Although this book is not a typical work by the literate master of the hard South, it is a testament to his talent. This book made me see and feel the life of a 6 year old dirt farmer in Bacon Co, Georgia, and also give some insight into the basis of characters in Crews' fictional works. This is one of the best quasi-memoirs ever written, and even has a slight belief in human goodness not seen in his other work. Mr. Crews' more typical works (such as Feast of Snakes or All We Need of Hell) are very good novels in their own right, yet Childhood stands apart and above all of his other books combined. If you read nothing else by Harry Crews (which is not a good idea--you should read many of his books), this is the one to choose.

Another Bacon County native here.
Several associations, as I was born in Bacon County in the unincorporated community of ScuffleTown.I have never written A review of a book before. I really enjoyed the book because of all the associations of the area of my birth. My qeestion in my review would be. "How does one get from Bacon County to becoming A Professor at the UF?"

I felt l had gone home again when I read A Biography.
I own and have read this fellow Bacon County, Georgia writer's work. Not only is it well written, but he portrays the Bacon County and its people lovingly and wonderfully. Harry Crews is a gifted writer and deserves many accolades from not only his birth place, but the state and country as well. Joan Bryant Quijano ... Read more

Book Description

Galveston sits on an island just east of Houston, Texas. A favorite tourist spot for decades, natives born on the island refer to each other as BOI. This is the story of one such family. When Faith Kohl Coolidge returns from Europe in 1900, she finds her family decimated and her city in ruins. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A SALIENT SAGA
Born on the Island is a historical fiction based on the great Galveston hurricane of 1900. After the Great Storm, the survivors were bound together by the mere fact that they lived when more than 6000 died. Being "BOI" became heroic, a symbol to wear and share with their kind. Besides the body count, the destruction of property and the town itself with its hopes and dreams--there lies a love story. Actually, there are several love stories woven into the main vein of BOI. The gifted author creates compelling, believeable, yet flagrantly flawed characters. Linda Bingham possesses the talent to draw the reader in giving you insight into three generations of individuals as they learn or fail to cope with the results of their tragedy. Once you've read "BOI" you will discover the meaning of before or after the Great Storm.

Linda S. Bingham is the Female Larry McMurtry
Born on the Island is the story of how one family copes with the worst natural disaster in American history--the great Galveston hurricane of 1900. This catastrophe killed more than 6000 people on the Island of Galveston, and many more on the mainland. Entire families were wiped out, necessitating the mass burning of bodies in the streets. The property damage was unprecedented, virtually destroying the town, as well as, obviously, the hopes and dreams of everybody in it. But this book is not just about a hurricane, although Bingham's descriptions of the storm itself are chillingly on target. It is about the human dynamic of coping with a cataclysmic event that affects in one way or another everyone whom you have ever known. The people of Galveston circa the turn of the century lived two lives: Before the Great Storm, and After. Before, the Coolidge family prospered. After, they represented just a few more casualties. But we get to watch as they try and arise from the ashes of that one horrible day--the unforgiving, haunting experience that all on the island have in common. This knowledge somehow binds the citizenry together for all time. Being "BOI," or Born on the Island, becomes a symbol of survival, an indigenous Texas Red Badge of Courage. How do the Coolidges react to this huge, shared event? As with all living beings, each according to his or her own degree of inner strength and essential humanity. Some rise to the occasion, confronting the horror head-on, rebuilding the town and otherwise being causal to the direct, tangible benefit of all. Some simply co-exist with it, and nothing more. Still others capitulate to it, emotionally, spiritually, and developmentally. Bingham's characters are complex and not the least bit sterotyped. Some of the twists will leave you fascinated, or at least sporting a wry smile of appreciation. The author has the gift of being able to draw you into their lives immediately, making you care deeply about them, whether you particularly like or admire them at all. For there is so much bad in the best of them, and so much good in the worst of them. The dialogue has an historical ring of truth that is compelling. The reader believes that this is exactly what these people would have been talking about, and this is exactly how they would have expressed themselves. Yet the author never gets bogged down in historical parlance that is tiresome or difficult to read. The book is also about love, which is an excellent literary subject, after all, assuming the story is well done. Love makes its appearance how and where it pleases. It does not always fit neatly into the expectations and norms of society or the people whose approval we seek. Not today, and not in Galveston in the first part of the 20th Century. This book captures perfectly the spirit of Galveston, and to a large extent, Texas. Bingham is the female Larry McMurtry. But you will enjoy BOI's unique viewpoint regardless of where you live. I highly recommend it.

Born On The Island
This book is a fantastic way to learn more of what life was like in Galveston during the 20th century. Anyone interested in how people coped with storms and personal tragedy would enjoy this interesting read. I really liked the format. Half the book is written using a journaling format and the other half is written using a more typical style of writing. This allowed me to learn about each character very thorougly. The real surprise for me was learning that some of the problems that plague society today existed way back then! ... Read more

Book Description

After his father's death, Dennis Covington plunges into a Florida shootout to claim his only inheritance, two and a half worthless acres of land that his father bought in a real estate scam-but the more determined he becomes to share his father's dream with his own children, the more it seems that his true legacy is bad judgment in real estate. In a tale filled with characters drawn from a Florida like Flannery O'Connor's Georgia, Covington finds his life threatened, his truck torched, and his small cabin shot up and vandalized, but he clings to his inheritance with heartbreaking tenacity. Redneck Riviera is at once a comic and tender celebration of family, a brilliant look at the clash of values tearing much of rural America apart, and a bittersweet comment on our age-old passion to possess and transform the land. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent small book!
Despite its relative lack of heft, this book makes for rich reading.You will learn a lot and think about what Mr. Covington has to say on the subjects of family, land, and place.

Fascinating, in fits and starts
The core of the book, which is the author's wrongheaded and doomed attempt to reclaim his father's land -- now dominated by local hunters, outlaws and vaguely corrupt law enforcement officials -- is fascinating.Covington's attempt to transfer his dream of recapturing his inheritance to the wilds of Idaho is somewhat less interesting.Most dissapointing, though, is the attempt to string together a narrative over what must be about a decade's chronology.All told, a few key days on his father's land makes up the core of the story, and you don't get a sense of how long or how hard Covington's efforts were.

Interestingly, this area in Florida where the book takes place seems to dovetail with the swamps covered in Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief," which also gives a brief history of the land scam that sets this book's plot in motion.

I'm glad I read the book, though it's less compelling than "Salvation on Sand Mountain," Covington's earlier book on snake-handling and other religiously-driven fervor. ... Read more

Book Description

The beautiful Langhorne sisters lived at the pinnacle of society from the end of the Civil War through the Second World War. Born in Virginia to a family impoverished by the Civil War, Lizzie, Irene, Nancy, Phyllis, and Nora eventually made their way across two continents, leaving rich husbands, fame, adoration, and scandal in their wake.

At the center of the story is Nancy, who married Waldorf Astor, one of the richest men in the world. Heroic, hilarious, magnetically charming, and a bully, Nancy became Britain's first female MP. The beautiful Irene married Charles Dana Gibson and was the model for the Gibson Girl. Phyllis, the author's grandmother, married a famous economist, one of the architects of modern Europe. Author James Fox draws on the sisters' unpublished correspondence to construct an intimate and sweeping account of five extraordinary women at the highest reaches of society. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Fascinating Women, but...
Too often, biographers attempt to do such a conscientious job describing their subjects that the books about those subjects end up being dull. And it should go without saying that those subjects, in real life, were anything but dull. Had they been less than interesting, no one would be tempted to write their stories and there would be no buyers for the finished biographies. Something like that has happened with FIVE SISTERS, the story of the famous Langhorne sisters of Virginia.

Author James Fox, who already has proved his skills as a writer in his other works, is well-assisted in this book due to the fact that he, himself, is the grandson of one of these Five Sisters. As such, he had access to family papers and correspondence unavailable in the public records.

The sisters were born into a prominent Southern family impoverished by the Civil War. The most famous sister, Nancy Astor, married the heir of William Waldorf Astor and became the first American woman elected to the English parliament. In a word, she was a character. Another sister, the most beautiful of the group, married artist Charles Dana Gibson. Very literally, as his model, she became the personification of the Edwardian concept of feminine beauty, the "Gibson Girl."

As described by James Fox, the women appear to be fairly typical in their sisterly concerns and rivalries. Nancy Astor sounds odd (to be kind) as well as nasty. And the book, FIVE SISTERS, somehow manages to be less than engaging. Nonetheless, Fox makes a serious contribution to detailing the social history of the lifestyle of the aristocracy in England at the turn of the 20th Century.

THE RICH ARE DEFINITELY DIFFERENT!
This was a very interesting, annoying and heartfelt biography of the author's mother's family, the Langhornes of Virginia. A family impoverished by the Civil War that became the creme of society in the late 19th Century and continued through the 20th Century. The story centers on the five sisters, Lizzie, Irene, Nancy, Phyllis and Nora; each, who in their own way became celebrities in their own right.

There's Lizzie who was old enough to remember the mind-numbing and humiliating poverty brought by the Civil War. She is embittered by the younger siblings' treatment of her in adulthood. Irene's beauty is enshrined when she marries Dana Gibson and becomes the model for the Gibson girl. Phyllis struggles to end her unhappy marriage and eventually migrates to England. Nora, the youngest, the dreamer and wayward one, keeps the sisters' busy covering up scandal after scandal. Then there is Nancy. She becomes the most famous sister when she marries Waldorf Astor, one of the richest men in the world who possesses her children and everyone around her alike, often with disastrous results.

The author researched the book very well. I especially enjoyed the historical detail thrown in. I've read books on both WWI and WWII and never got the full gist of the events leading up to both wars. However, through the author's families eyewitness account and actual involvement at the highest level of political involvement, I got a better understanding of how and why Hitler came to power. The book's focus is on Nancy and Phyllis and does tend to lose track of the other sisters' doings; however, not enough to detract from the overall book. The book is definitely an eye-opener into the inner workings of a super-rich family that didn't seem to be happy despite their stupendous wealth. Worth a read.

boring tale about flakey mean people
I had to quit reading this book approximately half way through because I had no interest whatsoever in continuing to read about these snobby, conceited and dull women. Don't waste your time.

As The World Turns - Langhorne Style
This excellent biography takes an in-depth look at the famous, turn-of-the-century five Langhorne sisters of Virginia. The author is the grandson of one of the sisters, which gave him unprecedented access to some never-before-published letters and journals. Lizzie, Irene, and Nora take a back seat to highly visible Nancy (Lady Astor, first woman to serve in Parliament) and Phyllis, the author's grandmother. The author weaves historical and political background around the sisters' stories, which gives the book a pleasurable informational heft and weight.

They started out poor, as most Virginians were after the calamity of the Civil War. Eldest sister Lizzie was born in 1867, only two years after the war. Father, Chillie Langhorne, hit it big about twenty years later by entering into business with some Yankee railroaders. Then he was able to purchase the fabled Mirador, a perfect setting for his daughters. Chillie and mother Nemoire could have been stand-ins for Scarlett O'Hara's father and mother. Chillie was a hard-drinking charmer and a complete autocrat while Nemoire was almost saintly in her beauty and patience. They had eleven children, eight who lived, five girls and three boys. Two of the boys died young of a combination of hard drinking and tuberculosis.

Eldest Lizzie, who grew up poor and was already married living in genteel poverty in Richmond when Chillie hit it big, resented her sister's success all her life---but thought monetary gifts were her due. Irene was a true phenom, a bona fide celebrity, the last true Southern Belle who took the entire East Coast by storm with her breathtaking beauty. She married Charles Dana Gibson and was the prototype of the Gibson Girl. Irene may not have been the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she was kind (a rare trait among the Langhorne girls) and supportive all her life. Volatile, incredible Nancy who married and divorced a Boston millionaire, then married one of the richest men in the world, Waldorf Astor, almost single-handedly tore her family apart with her extreme possessiveness of both her sisters and children. Nancy looked like a beautiful, frail Edwardian lady with marvelously intense sapphire-colored eyes. Looks deceive. She was actually fiery, cruelly witty, and indomnible. Phyllis followed Nancy's footsteps marrying and divorcing an East Coast millionaire and remarrying famed British economist Robert Brand. Phyllis was soulful, the best woman rider in the country, and was a born martyr. My favorite was baby sister Nora, scatter-brained, scandalous, with a complete disregard for the truth fell in and out of love all her life. Men could not resist her. Nora's sisters had to bail her out over and over again, while Nora sincerely said she had made a "fresh start" every time. But Nora was a loving, generous person and a wonderful caring mother (her daughter was the actress Joyce Grenfell), and her nieces and nephews adored her.

"Five Sisters" is a fascinating read, well researched with an excellent index and bibliography. I recommend it highly.
-sweetmolly-Amazon reviewer

I think some reviewers have missed the point
There are many reviews of this book posted and many emphasize the shallowness and unpleasantness of the sisters, especially Nancy. This is true; I think Mr. Fox presented these women honestly, warts and all, but I also think that many reviewers missed a very important point.
Lady Nancy Astor was the first woman to be elected to and sit in the House of Commons. She stood for the seat because her husband, Waldorf, having become a peer, could no longer sit in the House of Commons. She was not a good representative, having no real grasp of or even interest in the issues.
HOWEVER, and this is my point, each day she entered the House of Commons she performed an act of great courage. The male members (all the rest) viewed her presence in chambers as an aberrance of nature. This hostility was outright and overt and fell short only of physical violence. In one debate on venereal disease they used the most graphic pictures they could find in an attempt to drive her out of chambers.
Though she may have been motivated more by pride than by principle, she gave other women the courage to come after her. When Margaret Thatcher dedicated a placque in her honor some years ago she emphasized the courage it took Nancy (and still takes women today) to take a seat in the Commons.
Regardless of whatever else she was, she deserves the credit for her courage and the foundation she laid for the women that came after. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

An important book
McLaurin has written a valuable and beautiful book. It deserves a place on the shelf with "Coming of Age in Mississippi" as a document of life in the segregated South and of the moral challenges that segregation presented to those who lived in the system.

A poignant recollection of growing up in a changing South.
McLaurin's book is a touching recollection of growing up in the South during the 1950s. His rich narative describes not only the difficulties all teenagers face, but explores how these difficulties are made even more difficult in a changing environment. While so many imagine the white teenagers of the Little Rock school integration as pictures of young whites during the 1950s, McLaurin paints a picture of a young man sensitive to the plight of blacks in the Jim Crow South. A very good book, highly recommended to those who wish to get a detailed portrait of the 1950s South ... Read more

Reviews (11)

An Important 100% American Story
These authors, Dr. Coleman Hatfield and Robert Y. Spence, have created a wonderful study of the feud patriarch, Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield. As far as I have been able to find, this is the ultimate work on this famous character of history. Most importantly, the writers have given a balanced, researched work that offers tons of new, formerly unpublished information. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in post Civil War Appalachia and mountain culture. By teh way, I heard through literary circles that the "Y." in Robert Spence's name stands for Yeowza. Now, isn't that too cool.

Neat and precise!
Even though I'm a Hatfield through my mother's family, and I've heard Devil Anse Hatfield stories all my life, I never really understood why and how the feud began. This book has helped put it all together for me. Devil Anse was nasty when he had to be and his son, Cap, was even worse than he was. I wanted the story to never end. I recommend it to anyone who likes a solid story.

Hillibilly Hooligans
This book takes away the old stereotypes of barefoot, bibbed-overhauled, corncob pipe smokin', hayseed idiots who walk with a limp due to climing the rugged mountain terrain. Instead, we get to read about a Civil War confederate soldier who who eventually went AWOL so that he could head back to his West Virginia home along the Tug River. Though a Hatfield and McCoy once fought as comrades in the same troop, they eventually became mortal enemies and through the account there was a Logan County bloodbath.

If I were to pick a book for any of my history buff-buddies, I would certainly choose The Tale of the Devil.

Buy it, own it and cherish it -- then pass it down to the grandkids. This is good history.

Anderson Hatfield was only protecting his familY!
Okay, this is a book everyone should own, especially those who like frontier American history. I received this book as a gift for Christmas. Up until then, I had never heard of it. Boy, I never dreamed it would be so thorough and exciting. I want to know more about these people along the Tug River and Logan County, WV. The book I have says that it's already in its second printing -- no wonder! It's a great book by two great writers, Coleman Hatfield and Robert Spence. After I read the book, I had the opportunity to meet Coleman Hatfield in Montgomery, Alabama during a book-signing. He is a scholar, and a great story-teller.

A sometimes dark, yet often insightful life story
The collaborative effort of Coleman C. Hatfield and Robert Y. Spence, The Tale Of The Devil is the factual biography of Devil Anse Hatfield, and the role he played in the infamous and brutal Hatfield and McCoy feud. Co-author Coleman Hatfield is Devil Anse Hatfield's direct descendant and brings a special "insider's" expertise to this project. The Tale Of The Devil candidly examines this figure's early life, the origins of the Hatfield and McCoy feud, its brutal toll, denouement, and ultimate conclusion -- as well as the impact it has had on subsequent generations of Hatfields and McCoys. A profound, sometimes dark, yet often insightful life story, The Tale Of The Devil is a very highly recommended addition to American History and Biography collections. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Amazing Grace is an intimate portrait of African American artistBeauford Delaney (1901-79). Author David Leeming, who knew Delaney, limns the complex inner life that informed his paintings--notable for psychological depth and vibrant colors--but also fueled his alcoholism and mental illness. A gentle, charming man, Delaney maintained close friendships with writers as diverse as Henry Miller andJames Baldwin, yet often felt lonely and underappreciated as an artist on his life's journey from Tennessee to New York City to Paris. Leeming tells this culturally and personally poignant story with sensitive grace. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

SAVED BY GRACE?
America's artistic milieu is known for dismissing from its memory those artists whose works and lives are deemed trivial and not worthy of consideration. Such an attitude has denied younger generations of artists the experience of knowing some of the great artistic man and women of our time. Beauford Delaney was one of those artists relegated to the halls of obscurity.

Amazing Grace is David Leemings biographical piece that examines Delaney's life and contributions to the art world. He looks at the forces which brought forth America's premiere modernist artist and shows how his gift impacted on the way one views life and art.

Who is this man, Delaney? A superficial view of his life reveals him as an impoverished homosexual Black artist who is plagued by many demons as he struggles to find himself as an artist and at peace with his sexuality. James Baldwin called him his spiritual father who was a cross between Brer Rabbit and St. Francis of Asissi. Others knew him as the good negro or an eccentric gadfly. Whatever one may call him, Delaney's goal was to infuse the concept of love within his work that would bring him the wholeness that he failed to capture in his life.

Plagued by paranoia, alcoholism and guilt over his homosexuality, Delaney failed to achieve intimacy in his relationships but poured out his inner struggle through his art. Like many artists, he went through several stages of development in his career which reached its climax in France. Unfortunately the demon of paranoia stripped him of his artistic ability in his later years.

This book must be read to get a handle on the artistic struggles of African Americans and how they succeeded inspite of their alienation from the mainstream art world. Delaney also struggled with being homosexual which undoubtably alienated him from his family and Black colleagues. His struggle opens up a new chapter in examining how sexuality impacts on a minority artists life. Delaney was saved from obscurity through this view of his life. Whether he was saved by grace is a moot point for his demonic voices did him in.

Reviewed in Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review
James E. Coleman, Jr., writing in the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1999 notes: "Whether Leeming is as successful in taking on an artist's life as he had been with the literary life of [James] Baldwin, I am not certain. His knowledge of Baldwin's literary world is not quite matched by his savvy of the art world of the same period. Nevertheless, we have a fine introduction to an artist whose reputation is growing and who lived a fascinating life." That's high praise coming from Coleman, editor of The Encyclopedia Homophilica. ... Read more

Book Description

When Dean Smith retired from the University of North Carolina in 1997 as the most successful college basketball coach in history, he left behind a long list of staggering statistics, including seventeen Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season titles, thirteen ACC tournament championships, twenty-three consecutive NCAA tournament bids, two national championships, NCAA records for twenty-five-win seasons and consecutive trips to the tournament Sweet 16 (thirteen), an Olympic gold medal, and twenty-four first-round NBA draft picks. A special panel assembled by ABC and ESPN named him one of the seven greatest coaches of the twentieth century in any sport. Another measure of Dean Smith's legacy is his profound impact on the lives of the players he coached. From Michael Jordan to the last man on the bench of his least gifted team, Dean Smith's players all credit him with forging in them the values of discipline, respect, camaraderie, and fortitude that laid the groundwork for their success in basketball and in life. Ninety-eight percent of his players earned college degrees, and a high percentage went on to graduate and professional schools.

In A Coach's Life, for the first time, Dean Smith tells the full story of his fabled career. With warmth, humor, and unflinching candor, he gives readers the best seat in the house—the view from the bench—for all of the memorable games, players, coaches, and teams, including North Carolina's fierce rivalries, their darkest hours, and their greatest triumphs. He explains his basketball philosophy and its sources, the origins of his many innovations to the game, and his thoughts on the issues and challenges facing college basketball today. He talks about his roots in family and faith, the source of much of his strength in taking controversial stands on social issues over the years, such as desegregating the Carolina basketball team in the early 1960s. He relates incisive leadership lessons distilled from five decades of showing young men how to win the right way, on the court and off.

A Coach's Life is a book about basketball filled with wisdom about living. To read it is to understand why Dean Smith made everyone around him better, and to see that even in the most competitive of arenas, doing good and doing well can be one and the same thing. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

don't expect kiss and tell...
This memoir is consistent with what I have observed of Smith over the years: intelligent, organized, interested in the world outside of basketball, publicly reserved, and loyal to a fault. The last two characteristics make the book a little frustrating to read: Smith will not name names or criticize his former players or coaches, though if you are fan of Carolina basketball you will know the names to fill into the anecdotes and incidents he describes (e.g. J.R. Reid's suspension from the 1989 ACC tournament semifinal for missing curfew.) Nevertheless, it is far better than most other sports memoirs (i.e. he actually had a life off the court)and should broadly appeal to people not especially interested in basketball in general or Carolina in particular.

More than just a basketball book
The book was mostly appealling to me because of my love for Carolina basketball. However, the novel would be interesting to any basketball lover in that of the genius behind Dean's coaching strategies. He also sets a great standard for morals that a person should have in life. The book DOES travel into other sectors of life rather than just basketball. Dean Smith provides an excellent role model as his character is nothing less than the fine aspects of discipline, church, and honesty.

A Feel Good Book with Substance
Dean Smith accomplishes something truly remarkable in this I 300+ page book. Not a negative word. The book is a building block to help coaches develop fine young men and women. Dean Smith is a true gentleman, and a man of principles who passes along valuable nuggets to coach any sport. The hardest thing for a coach to do is to set and maintain a culture of a team. Smith does this in a focused and people-minded(caring yet pushing them to be better) way. It's not just about winning. He regularly put in his 8-12 spot players in every game in the second half regardless of what the score was. This way they had something to look forward to in each game and would work hard at practice. Carolina had a rule "pass ahead"--pass to the guy who is ahead of you to advance the ball up the floor. What a great message (team enhancing and unselfish) for young players in basketball, soccer, and hockey. What most impressed me about this book was how positive Smith is. He is so complimentary to the people who matter in his life. It is always about them not about him. The one thing which I found curious was very little mention of his first and unsuccessful marriage to Ann. But I also respect his desire to keep their married life personal. If you are a dedicated coach then read this book, and Jim Thompson's Positive Coaching. Both are testimonials to what Erik Erikson coined the "generative" capabilities of men.

a great look inside the heart and mind of a living legend !!
college basketball's greatest coach chronicles his life and details the philosophy and principles which governed his life and his approach to basketball. after reading the book you will understand why many consider him not only the greatest college basketball coach,but an even greater man.

The Dean of All Coaches
"A Coach's Life" details the interesting facts of Dean Smith's story - from his childhood memories to his first coaching job to reaching the pinnacle of his career (winning the NCAA titles in 1982 and 1993). Along the way, you meet many people who enriched Dean's life and who, in turn, were enriched by him...there's Michael Jordan, of course, but Dean also reveals details of his relationships with a number of his players, associates and opponents, including John Thompson, James Worthy, and Frank McGuire, to name a few.

To his credit, he avoids speaking negatively about others. It seems that he was operating under the axiom, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything." This would explain the virtual omission of Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski - glaring by its absence. So be warned - those looking for a mud-slinging expose' will be disappointed.

But that's OK - Dean showed that he didn't have to write a "tell-all" in order to write a good book. It's just a story of a simple Kansas boy who found a way to make a difference in people's lives. And what's wrong with that?

Rating: 4 stars. ... Read more

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

When Katherine Clark began interviewing Eugene Walter (1921-98) in 1991 for an oral biography of this Mobile, Alabama, legend's picaresque life, friends asked her, "Do you think he will tell you the truth?" "I certainly hope not!" she replied. Clark, herself a Southerner, understood that the charm of Walter's conversation came from his brilliantly polished stories, in which "at a certain point the actual gives way to the apocryphal." So readers shouldn't ask if Tallulah Bankhead really gave Walter three pubic hairs or if Anna Magnani actually asked the mayor of Rome to help find Walter's lost cat: that's not the point. These anecdotes express Walter's appreciation of people he likes, and although the narrative is stuffed with famous names from Truman Capote to Leontyne Price, the exuberant protagonist finds less celebrated folks just as fascinating. His loving evocation of Mobile in the 1920s, when the front porch was the center of all social life, is just as detailed as his portraits of sojourns in more glamorous enclaves: Greenwich Village after World War II ("where I could sit in the evenings and hear Jane and Paul Bowles quarreling in their nearby apartment"); Paris in the early 1950s (his short story "Troubador" appeared in the first issue of Paris Review); and Rome during its La Dolce Vita years. Walter refused Fellini's plea that he perform with his marionettes in that particular movie, but he played an American journalist in 8 1/2 and "must have been in over a hundred of those crazy Italian films" before returning to Mobile in 1979. ("Sooner or later all Southerners come home, not to die, but to eat gumbo.") Clark, who captured an Alabama midwife's wisdom in Motherwit, gets out of her subject's way and lets his words create an enchanting world in this marvelously entertaining reminiscence. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Just like talking to Eugene.
I suppose I was one of the fortunate few who had a chance to meet Eugene before he died. The people I was working for back in the mid-nineties were friends of his and, therefore, I had the chance to be around him.

Eugene was the consummate storyteller. One of those who never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn. His idea was to make you enjoy where you were and who you were. To inject a little wonderousness into the world. Although based in truth, nothing he told was strictly true.

This book captures him almost perfectly. Although it cannot convey his gestures and antics and voice, it does convey his mind and gift for gab. Pour yourself a glass of port and read with the voice of an eccentric Southern uncle in your head and Eugene starts to come out. It's not quite the same as being there, but this book is as close as any of us will ever be again.

Brilliant. Best read in a long time.
I recycled my newspapers on September 11. (Mundane chores help.)The front page of the Washington Post Book Review in some week in August caught my eye. I read the review by Jonathan Yardley and promptly bought the boo