Customer Reviews (1)

Written with heart
I recently heard about this book which was published in 1948.Being from Alabama, this book took me back home again although it was several eras before mine.The book was written with a lot of heart, humor, honor and humanity.The feelings the author had for her parents, particularly for her father were very poignant.It was very funny in places and I had to keep interrupting my husband to share segments with him.The book ended much too soon but I will read it again and again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A socially significant work from the era of the New Deal
I read this book on the recommendation of former Speaker of the House Jim Wright.While I found the prose heavy-handed, its appeal to young, politically aware people in the 1940's was apparent.Congressman Wright cited Huie's work as an important part of his education before he entered the Army Air Corp after Pearl Harbor.Thehuman cost of government programs was being tallied at about this time, and the results as revealed in Mud on the Stars inspired men like the Congressman to make government work for people not become a burden.Whether Congressman Wright and his collegues achieved that balance is debatable, but his political motivation was clear.

The other subject of Mud on the Stars was racism, but a racism defined in multicolored, economic terms.That too was part of the education of the generation which fought a great war and eventually presided over the passage of civil rights legislation in the 1950's and '60s.

Huie drew on his experiences as a j! ! ournalist, particularly in the South, but his observations about government, corporations, and race were universal.For present, at least until I am proven wrong, I'd say it is timeless; well worth a quick reading. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Articles on Southern Culture
The ten articles in this volume provide interesting insights into southern regional culture.The unifying idea is that southern regional cultures can be studied by examining howpeople showcase their culture through display events and rituals.There is a great range of topics, here, including Mardi Gras, New Orleans jazz funerals, antebellum home tours, Scottish Highland games, powwows, and numerous other festivals.Each article can stand on its own, but the entire volume also provides a good study of regional culture and how various ideas of heritage are expressed in public. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the geography, plants, animals, history, economy, language, religions, culture, sports, art, and people of this southern state, whose first European settlers were Spanish and French rather than British. ... Read more

Product Description
Presents information about the state of Alabama, its nickname, flag, motto, and emblems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Introducing young readers to the symbols of the Heart of Dixie
"Alabama Facts and Symbols" is part of The State and Their Symbols series, which focuses on a specific aspect of American geography for young readers age 4-8.Emily McAuliffe's book provides detailed information about the state known as the Heart of Dixie (including the fact that it is known as the Heart of Dixie). The expecations of both students and teachers will be more than met by this informative little volume.The format in these books is that each "chapter" consists of a two-page spread with a photograph on the left and several paragraphs of text on the right.The opening chapter, which is actually opposite a simple map of the state, covers some basic Fast Facts, such as the largest city (Birmingham), size (52,423 square miles), and population (4,352,000 circa 1998).

The rest of the book is devoted to look at the state's symbols in detail.This is where young readers learn about how Alabama got its name and nickname, the state seal and motto (the state seal shows a map of the state's largest rivers, which is certainly different), the state capitol and flag, and the state bird (the yellowhammer, which appears on the book's cover), tree (longleaf pine), flower (the camellia), and state animal (the racking horse, in particular). These pages includes interesting details such as the state capitol is made of Alabama sylacauga marble, that Alabama soldiers who fought in the Civil War were called yellowhammers, and that camellia plants bloom nine months of the year.The last chapter covers More State Symbols, including the state insect, mascot and butterfly, reptile, rock and saltwater fish.Having a mascot is an interesting thing for a state to have, and picking the eastern tiger swallowtail for a state mascot is interesting as well.

In reading through this series what is interesting is finding out what various states consider important enough to make official symbols. That makes this series ideal for anyone who is interested in what states pick as their symbols and why.In the back of the book you will find a trio of Places to Visit (e.g., the NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center, a.k.a. Space Camp), a short list of Words to Know (e.g.,, "conifer"), and other sources where young readers can go to Read More about Rhode Island. There are also a couple of Useful Addresses and Internet Sites that can be contacted for even more additional information.Any student assigned to do a report on one of the fifty states (or Puerto Rico or Washington,D.C.), will find these 24-page books to be quite useful in fleshing out the symbols of these states much more than your standard geography books will do. ... Read more

Product Description
The absorbing story of Raphael Semmes and the CSS Alabama, the Confederate raider that destroyed Union ocean shipping and took more prizes than any other raider in naval history.

In July 1862, the Confederate captain Raphael Semmes received orders to report to Liverpool, where he would take command of a secret new British-built steam warship.His mission: to prey on Union commercial vessels and undermine the North’s ability to continue the war.

At the helm of the Alabama, Semmes would become the most hated and feared man in ports up and down the Union coast – as well as a Confederate legend. Now, with unparalleled authority, depth, and a vivid sense of the excitement and danger of the time, Stephen Fox tells the story of Captain Semmes’s remarkable wartime exploits.

We follow Semmes as he burns one ship after another – newspaper headlines calling for his head – and eludes capture time and again, ravaging Union commerce and chilling Anglo-Union relations. When the tide turns in favor of the North, foreign ports become less willing to take in the Alabama and Semmes finds himself wandering the oceans with a restless crew on a deteriorating ship, his ability to outwit the Union captains diminishing rapidly. Finally, in June 1864, we watch as a gunship traps the Alabama at Cherbourg, France, sinking her – though not her captain – in a battle that was reported around the world.

Entertaining and highly informative, Wolf of the Deep is at once an account of the overlooked naval side of the Civil War, an intimate portrait of life at sea, and an overdue appreciation of a great naval commander. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Forgotton Great man of the Civil War
Raphael Semmes was one of the great men of the Amaerican Civil War.

In the Union navy he was not a great man--why?TIming, perhaps--or opportunity denied him in the US Navy bc of its stultefying and frustrating promotion system.

Fox refers to Semmes as a priate--only bc he is speaking in the wordage of the era--which viewed him as such.Semmes was not a pirate.He was doing something no navy person had done before--raiding commerce.It is now regularly practiced during war (i.e. U-Boats).It used to be done by privateers.

THe book is a page turner.It is the story of a profound adventure.It is the story of the ups and downs of such an extraordinary voyage.I wished there were more detail about the mutious crew on the Alabama and why Semmes never honored the contract he made with these sailors to lure them into a world of commerce raiding.There were some questions left unswered.But the book answered and illuminated much.And it is a good start on the great topic of the CSN.

In fact, I recently recommended the book to one of Semmes's descendants in Baltimore, whom I knew since childhood.

Wolf of the Deep
Well researched and well written.I couldn't put it down.Anyone interested in Civl War Naval History will enjoy this book.I have always been interested in the Confederate Navy and especially the operations of the commerce raiders.The CSS Alabama was the most successful of the raiders and still holds the record today of capturing and destroying the most enemy ships.The insights into the personal lives of the captain and the crew was most interesting.Raphael Semmes was a most interesting character and will be long remembered as a daring and skillful captain.I highly recommend this book.

The Sea Wolf
A very interesting account of the history of the CSS Alabama, and its captai, Raphael Semmes, covering a part of the Civil War largely forgotten today and little covered. Raphael Semmes, a US Naval Academy graduate was not highly regarded within the US Navy, but he became the most successful raider in history, leading his Confederate officers and British crew in a series of attacks against the US merchant fleet from Newfoundland to Singapore over several years before finally being sunk by the USS Kearsarge off Cherboug in 1864.

The author does a fine job discussing why the Alabama was so successful, as in most respects this British built ship was one of the fastest and most technologically advanced warships of its day. Northern newspapers found on captured ships provided timely intelligence over and over. However, Captain Semmes remains the most significant element in all this. For me, one of the most interesting aspects of the campaign was just how bloodless it really was, as the Alabama did not sink its merchant prey until after each ship had struck, usually without ever being fired on directly.
One of the more colorful aspects of the Union efforts to counter the Alabama center on the efforts to outfit Commodore Vanderbuilt's personal yacht to hunt for the Alabama. In the end, the Alabama was the Confederacy's most successful venture.

Raphael Simmes
This is a great book on the Confederate raider Rapheal Semmes and his beloved CSS Alabama it is a very reveting story of how he captured ships bonded some and burned the most the most of his prize captures. He never hurt any one in the process of raiding but made it hard on a lot of people on the ships he had burned he had to drop the people of other shipps off at some times undiscosed destinations so that he wouldn't get caught so that he could go out and continue his raiding and destroying of american merchant ships . In the end The CSS Alabama was sunk off France and most of the crew was wisked away before the US ship could pick them up as pirates and try them as so.This is a great book for those who love the civil war expecially the war on the oceans

An often-overlooked piece of U.S. history
Most of the associations that spring immediately to mind regarding the American Civil War are places -- such as Bull Run, Appomattox, Antietam and Gettysburg -- and people who dominated the bloody ground war that tore apart the United States. If thoughts turn at all to naval engagements, they are often limited to Hampden Roads and the famous clash between the Monitor and the Merrimack.

Stephen Fox brings the war at sea into clear focus with Wolf of the Deep. Subtitled "Raphael Semmes & the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama," the book explores thoroughly the career of the short-lived but highly successful Confederate privateer, a British-built ship that waged war on Union concerns in oceans all over the world.

The story is riveting for anyone remotely interested in Civil War or American naval history. Fox presents the facts clearly, equally showing Semmes' successes and failures, his strength of character and his personal weaknesses. Readers will learn about Semmes' family and their place in the war, as well as the backgrounds and performances of his officers on the ship; little, however, is known about the crew that sailed her. And everything is set neatly into the overarching context of Union and Confederate politics and military strategies, as well as the perspective on the war in other nations.

If there is a failing here, it is Fox's tendency to repeat himself often. Many points are made in one chapter, only to be repeated later in slightly different wording. Much of the text is dry, too, if only because Semmes' naval conquests rarely involved more than a warning shot across his target's bow; don't read this expecting great battles on the high seas. Even the climactic meeting between the Alabama and the Union warship Kearsarge a few miles off the coast of Cherbourg, France, ends with remarkable speed.

by Tom Knapp, the Rambles(dot)NET guy ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Volume: 46; v. 118; Original Published by: Cornhill in 1918 in 185 pages; Subjects: World War, 1914-1918; United States; African Americans; Educators; Biography & Autobiography / Educators; Education / Administration / General; History / Military / World War I; Literary Criticism / American / African American; Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A forgotten pioneer (and Spike Lee's ancestor)
This is a fascinating story of a kind that used to be fairly common in Black America. In the late 1800s, a rural Black Alabaman named William J. Edwards was inspired and mentored by Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee Institute (now University). Edwards, one of Washington's students, decided to go to his hometown and start a similar school for ex-slaves and their children. This is the story of how he did it, and what he learned form his experiences.

Pretty inspiring stuff. What is especially interesting are his views on what "Negroes" needed to overcome the adversities they faced at the time. This book is of added interest with the fact that Edwards was the great grandfather of filmmaker Spike Lee. In either case, an inspiring and historical read. ... Read more

Product Description

What do the images on Alabama’s state seal stand for? How is Alabama’s state government organized? How did the modern civil rights movement start in Alabama? You can find the answers to these questions in Uniquely Alabama. This book contains all kinds of f

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

hard to find
Hard to find this book. this seller was one of the few that had most of the books I was looking for. Came quicker then expected, well packaged, and would purchase from this buyer again. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Pre Civil War Alabama from a outside view
Anyone interested in the rural south in the first half of the 19th century, particularly Alabama, would be fascinated by this book.The comments of an early natualist, steamboat travel, family life, hunting, and his reaction to slavery are priceless.If you were interested enough to read this review you need to read this book.

Letters from Alabama
Extremely interesting book. Why haven't I heard of this one before?
Fascinating look into the natural history of the ante-bellum South.His observations of extinct species like the Carolina Parakeet, Ivory-billed woodpecker, & Chestnut tree are priceless. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

One of or the best on the first world war
So glad to see this book again.I lent my copy to a Marine buddy many years ago, and after the trouble it was to get a copy back then (pre-internet days), I didn't think I'd ever find another copy.Looks like it is in print and I'm not the only one who thought so highly of this book.A college Prof recommended this as one of the best to come out of the first World War and he was correct.As I recall it opens with a comment from the fictional author's wife/or the actual author's wife commenting that he should have taken out the part where they kill the German prisoners, as if that would change the fact that things like that had happened.That really showed the disconnect between the returning combat veterans and their families and friends who really could never understand what they had seen and done.The only other good WWI fiction that had as much of an impact on me would have been All Quiet on the Western Front or some of Hemingway's short fiction such as Soldier's Home.This is at least on par with those.And I'm glad to see it is still in print or at least some copies are out there so I can replace my long lost copy.

A Masterful Piece of Work on War--Real War and Its Effect on Those Who Fight It
Old Men Still Send Young Men to War.

This is the story of those young men who fight those wars. Their stories, not of officers and gentlemen, but of the Dough Boys themselves.

Written as fiction, CompanyK is, in reality, the true life stories of author William March and his fellow soldiers in Company K.Stories of courage, valor, of fear and cowardice,needless sacrifice and in one case outright murder as enemy soldiers are gunned down in a ravine rather than go through the trouble of getting them to the rear.

This is not about a John-Wayne-war; it is about Sherman's war, the "War-Is-Hell" kind of war, told by men who actually fought it.

It is about American soldiers, but it could be about any soldier under any flag representing any country.It is universal in nature, and could have been written about any and all wars.

It is a masterful piece of work. You may never look at the glory and valor of war in the same way again...And that's a good thing!

Co. K
Outstanding narrative on observations and memories of the author's experiences before, during and after WWI that should be available for all history students and readers.Well worth the time reading these short vignettes that really bare his soul.Find it and read it!

An underrated classic
Excellent book! War presented as it really was by a gifted author who experienced it! I started reading and was completely captivated, finishing the whole book in a single evening! The book consists of many short vignettes, each narrated by a soldier in company K, in which the soldier relates a particular experience. Some soldiers describe the same experience from different viewpoints. By this means the story is advanced from the beginning of the war to the end, and war itself is presented in all it's ugliness, cruelty, banality, and stupidity. American officers order the murder of prisoners, an exhausted enlisted man murders an officer just so he can rest (and gets away with it!), and mortally wounded soldiers lie screaming for hours in "no man's land" with their guts hanging out. As powerful as All Quiet on the Western Front!

The Most Underrated of ALL War Novels
Do not take it from me, Graham Greene, one of the most respected names in Twentieth Century Fiction hails March's "Company K" as the greatest of all anti-war novels, while Hemingway thought it superior to almost all other WWI novels.This novel is not an almost-classic, it is a classic, borrowing the format made popular by Edgar Lee Masters, March expounds on the concept of individual soldier stories encompassing the full breath of the war.This novel is as appropriate now as it ever was in the post-WWI era.This novel is a must read for anyone remotely concerned with WWI and the impact war has on the survivors. ... Read more

Product Description
This book offers a comprehensive history of the African American church in a community which played a crucial role in the civil rights movement. While the church in Birmingham was indeed a spiritual community, it was also the central institution in the African American community at large, providing leadership as well as economic, political, and social functions in a segregated racist society.
This historical analysis begins in the period of slavery with the development of a particularly African American version of Christianity from the merging of African and white evangelical religions. As African Americans moved to Birmingham from the black belt of Alabama, they formed churches which were spiritual communities where African Americans sought hope, security, moral discipline, and self-esteem in the face of racism and segregation. In addition, the study illustrates how churches established institutions that met educational, benevolent, and economic needs. The study concludes with a look at the leadership provided by churchmen in the civil rights movement, who brought Martin Luther King, Jr. to the city for massive civil rights demonstrations.
(Ph.D. dissertation, University of Alabama,1995; revised with new preface, foreword, introduction, afterword) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great
This book is great if you really want to learn. No fluff! I recommend it.

review of "A Shelter in the Storm"
I had the opportunity to study under Dr. Fallin at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, AL.The material covered in his book is highly informative and accurate.The details that Dr. Fallin covered areextensive and the book paints a highly accurate description of the role ofblack churches in their struggle to obtain true independance in the South. ... Read more

Product Description
Introduces this southern state which slopes gently from a hilly north to the coastal plains along the Gulf of Mexico. ... Read more