This book is a straightforward account of the life of one of the 20th century's five most important U.S. senators. However, it falls short in examining Russell's ideology, which is tied to his time and place when it is ever mentioned. A fully satisfactory biography will have to explore the man behind the rise of Lyndon Johnson, the coordinated southern resistance to integration, and much of Senate anti-Communism from an intellectual point of view.

Henry Clay. Daniel Webster. John C. Calhoun. James F. Byrnes. Robert A. Taft. Hubert Humphrey. Add Richard Russell to this list and what do you get? A collection of our nation's most accomplished and able Senators who never became President. All of these men were giants in their time, and Russell was no exception. The youngest Governor in Georgia history, Russell came to Washington as a Senator in 1933 and left in the early 70's, feet first. A legislator of uncommon ability, Russell was a master of the procedures, traditions, and customs of the Senate; of parliamentary tactics; and was constructive on all matters of domestic or foreign policy. His peers referred to him as a 'Senator's Senator', Presidents called him a 'President's Senator'. His hold over Georgia's political and business establishments enabled him to seek reelection every six years unopposed. Unfortunately, his refusal to change his political position or personal attitudes on the issue of civil rights doomed him to be a 'regional Senator' rather than a 'national' one. He sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 1952, but won only the delegates from the states of the Confederacy. Despite the increasing liberalism of his party, Russell the conservative, voted the straight Democratic ticket in every election. Russell was perhaps truly the last great statesman of the Senate.

ROLLER is the story of a young white boy--"a dirt road sport" as the subtitle says-- growing up in the south in the days just before the freedom riders. His friend and guide is Cooper, a black man who has grown old expecting neither justice nor mercy in the lynching death of his father a half century before, a story so old and repressed its mystery is no longer noticed, like the dust on the road itself, and on the leaves of the family tree Roller climbs to rise above his raising. A new road is coming their way, and it threatens Roller's tree. Roller learns from Cooper how to bide his time, perfect his plans and aim, and wage righteous war against the breakers of his heart's peace. If Cooper endures, Roller prevails. Their adventures are funny, tender, rowdy, and even bawdy. The times are changing. Roller is growing into manhood, and Cooper is in decline, along with his beloved mules and rural life. "Rolling with the flow" is the way--as his daddy tells him--to survive change, and Roller rolls, but never far from trouble. "Boy," Cooper tells him more than once, "you thinks too ass much, sometime." But Roller's gift is that very brooding, upon which nothing is lost, "notes and words and many voices... an anthology of sad and happy, of earth and heaven, of today and tomorrow."

If the old game show, To Tell the Truth was still coming over the airwaves, we could have an interesting set of contestants using some of the books and novels that have been written in the past 100 years about farm life in Georgia. And, the secret is, Gone with the Wind would not be the winner - - in fact it would probably come in a distant third with Roller: A Dirt Road Sport leading the pack.

Julian Morgan, a fellow with first hand memories of the reality of growing up in the little town of Coleman, Georgia has penned a marvelous account of real life in the real age of innocence. Away from the influences of the "city" and long before the tainting of society by television and violence, Morgan sets forth an entertaining, realistic and straight-forward account of growing up in the dusty cotton and peanut fields of the rural south. With an old share-cropper as his mentor, guide, keeper and friend, young Roller is seen as he is maturing through the challenges of progress. With a keen eye for observation and an ever present wit that can be traced to his roots in the rural south, Roller goes about his life with the free spirit of an eagle.

The review on the dust jacket likens Roller to a modern day Huck Finn and this is a very apt description. Although quite honestly, Roller transcends the mirth of Huck Finn and confronts the realities of life and death, wealth and poverty and winds up as a character that every mother would want for a son and every father should be proud to claim as his own blood.

This is a great book and should be read by anyone who has even the slightest problem picturing Georgia as anything but what was put on the silver screen in Margaret Mitchell's classic legend. Roller is real - as real as the dirt between his toes and as real as the pain of shooting his own pet duck. It is a book with guts and a book with glory.

In fact, there really should be a new and separate genre of literature for books like this and those by other Georgia authors such as Ferrol Sams, Sonny Sammons, Amy Blackmarr and Jimmy Carter. I would call it Heritage literature- - the real side of life not some fictionalized and sugar-coated rendition of reality. While the names may have been changed, the stories are as real as they get. What these writers put on paper is honest, human, humane, and very rich with the blessings of growing up in the rural south and living in the rural south even after progress tried to ruin it.

Read it - you won't be sorry.

My mom has been using this book for years and the goodness in this book still amazes me to this day. I no longer live in Augusta but when the time comes to visit home I can always look forward the the foods that are represented here in this historical publishing. Great "yummy" chocolate cake!!!!The icing is even better!!! Jody Logan /Peachtree City,Ga.

I have owned this cookbook since 1980 and I have yet to find another cookbook that compares! Whether you are having a social gathering or a family meal you will not be disappointed in the recipes. I own Round 2 and it does not compare to the original. I just ordered a new one after all of these years. The lasagne and carrot cake recipes are worth the price of the book. It's a must for every Augusta host or hostess, especially during the Masters. Enjoy!

Just spent three days fishing in the GSMNP in eastern Tennessee, and found Mr. Jacobs book to be right on target. A lot of the information can be found from local flyshops, but his book really helped plan our trip in advance. Coupling this book with local advice is a formula for success.

"Trout Streams of Southern Appalachia" is an outstanding book for people who want to fish for trout in the Appalachian Mountain regions of Georgia, Kentucky, North and South Carolina and Tennessee. It gives locations, access points, fly patterns and hatches for the best trout streams in the South. It is well written and the reader can see that the author put in many hours of research in writing this book. I just wish there were more books written on this subject.

An excellent guide containing all the practical info you need. The newest edition includes a few extra loose-leaf pages with updates on current conditions, since the original book is from the late 80's. What is especially useful is the maps and descriptions of the most important archeological sites, such as Ranu Raraku and Orongo. It is strongly recommended that you study this and other books as much as possible before any visit to Easter Island, since it will give you a much deeper travel experience (for a lot of detail, specifically regarding the Rano Raraku quarry site, the rongorongo script, and local legends, have a look at another excellent publication, Routledge's 'The Mystery of Easter Island'). In general this guide book does need a new edition with a new layout, but these are details; it is still a must for all travellers to the island...

This little travel book is an absolute must for anyone traveling to Easter Island. Everything the first timer needs to know about getting the most out of a visit to this unique little speck of land is laid out in an easy to read format by Dr. Georgia Lee. Don't spend all that money to get there without this little guidebook, plus its about three times the cost on the island.

A well-written account by a Southern journalist who was there of a time in history and one uncommonly gifted lawyer's often underrated pace through it.

Excellent writing by someone who obviously lived and played with Bell. Very interesting to a new "Southerner".

Found this to be a very interesting paperback book for anyone dreaming of treasure hunting/finds. But, I wish it was updated. I'm sure there are more interesting things about Florida. Not all of Fla. treasure finds are in the sea as this book notes. Worth reading.Open anywhere and begin reading.

Being an enthusiastic amateur treasure hunter myself, in years past, I diligently read each and every volume of Mr. Terry's exhaustively researched works. Although I found some the information erroneous or far from exact - for instance many locations cited as "ghost towns" are FAR from being one - there are so many intriguing stories of legends, factual evidence & stories of past recoveries that any true TH'r will be enthralled. Treasure hunting is supposedly America's fastest growing hobby: it's uniquely enjoyable for the adventure, historical aspects & healthy outdoor recreation. And when you really find something decent...Boy Howdy!! Not as easy as it sounds, though. To be a professional TH'r, one has to have patience, applying oneself with the perseverance of a detective: because that's what it takes to be successful. Exhaustive research is the key: going where people gathered long ago (old picnic grounds & abandoned schoolyards, for instance) will be beneficial for coin shooters who are after more than modern coins....for me, finding modern coins was a complete waste of time & energy. Going for the gold? Go where it is KNOWN to be & be creative: the better your equipment - i.e. a decent detector which finds gold & common sense makes this a most fascinating hobby. For some, it's a life's career. Good luck!!

Having already read three other Jack Reacher novels, I finally got around to reading "Killing Floor," the first in Lee Child's popular series. Here is the Jack Reacher that we know and love--macho wanderer, man of few words, quick with his fists, an expert at weaponry, fearless and unforgiving.

Jack is passing through Margrave, Georgia. It is a town that is surprising clean and well-kept, considering that most of the residents have little visible source of income. Jack intends to stay for a brief period to look up some history about a blind musician, and then he intends to move on. However, Jack is arrested for a vicious crime that he did not commit, and he then becomes embroiled in a murder investigation that involves his brother.

It turns out that Margrave is a corrupt town, rotten to the core. With the help of a few good police officers (one of whom makes for a sexy love interest), Reacher gets to the heart of an extremely profitable criminal operation run by some very ruthless and powerful men.

"Killing Floor" is a fast-moving, engrossing and extremely violent thriller. Reacher is quick-witted, unerring in his instincts, and relentless in his pursuit of justice. One of Reacher's quirks is that he rarely changes his clothes, since he hates to be bothered with laundry. Since he never carries luggage and he only showers when he gets a chance, he must be fairly malodorous. Surprisingly, no one seems to notice.

I enjoyed "Killing Floor," recognizing it for the entertaining fairy tale that it is. Child does not try for realism. If you can stomach tremendous carnage and you like non-stop action, then you will enjoy "Killing Floor".

I read one of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels quite awhile ago, and thought it might be worth checking out the others. I've finally started to read them from the beginning, and I wonder why I waited so long. This book is jam-packed with action from cover to cover. Jack Reacher is the most understated Rambo-type hero you'll ever meet. This book is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of very descriptive violence in here. The grammar is not of the highest calibre, but it does not detract from the story. And oh what a story it is! We meet Jack Reacher - the guy with no ID and no fixed address. As we read we find out about his background and life before he reached Margrave, Georgia. As soon as he reaches town he gets thrown into a conspiracy huger than anything he could have imagined. and he finds that he's got to clean up a whole town which has been corrupted by a philanthropist and his foundation - Mr. Kliner. This is a humbdinger of a book.

Even though I read about fifty books a year in the Mystery/Thriller genre, this is my first introduction to Lee Child. He comes highly recommended and I'm now wondering why I waited so long to pick up one of his books.

My immediate thoughts on this author are that I like his writing style. He writes like we speak -- shorter sentences and gets right to the point. My second discovery is his use of surprises. There's nothing I like more than reading a book where I don't know what's going to happen at the end of a chapter. I love having some of those "Oh, No" moments when settling down with a mystery. My third and probably most important reason for liking this book is the main character. Finally, I meet Jack Reacher -- 6'4", 36 years old, a former military policeman and, best of all, he's not a wise-guy. I don't know why most authors think they have to resort to the wise-cracking main character in order to have a successful book. To me, Jack Reacher is a refreshing change.

The setting of this book, Margrave, Georgia, is reminiscent of a Stepford town. Everything is perfect, everything is clean, everyone is happy with their lives....until dead bodies start showing up. Reacher, who just happens to be wandering through Margrave, is immediately considered a suspect simply because he's an outsider. But little does this town know that it's the "insiders" they have to worry about as Reacher sets out to prove his innocence and seeks revenge for the death of someone from his past. And when Reacher sets out to seek revenge, he means it, as he has no problem at all in killing bad people.

In the beginning of the book, he won't know whom to trust and neither will the reader. As the story progresses, however, you will become amazed at Reacher's intelligence and will become attuned to his deciphering of even the smallest clue.

Jack Reacher has now moved right up on top of my list of favorite main characters in a mystery series. I've looked past the fact that he has no problem killing people.

I'm just so glad that this is a series because it means that I get to visit with this pantheon of human pulchritude again and again and again. Next up....Die Trying.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is really two books - the first half is a present day snapshot of Savannah, Georgia, an old-style Southern city with plenty of grace and charm. The second half is the story of the murder trial(s) of Jim Williams, one of Savannah's most interesting residents. The second half is much more interesting than the first. Perhaps that is because every time Williams makes an appearance, things turn interesting very quickly. (Having seen the movie, I can't picture Williams without thinking of the remarkable Kevin Spacey). One character who draws a lot of attention in both the book and the movie is the Lady Chablis. In the movie she occupies far too much screen time - her role in the book is much more reasonable. I suppose the popularity of the Lady is due to her "exotic" nature as a drag queen, but I find her character to be pretty unremarkable - it seems faintly ridiculous to complain that she could be any ol' drag queen, but realistically, she adds nothing to the story of any substance. I wish more attention had been paid to the "occult" aspects of the story - the title seems to invite this scrutiny. The fact that an extrememly wealthy Southern man on trial for murder puts more stock in voodoo than his defense lawyers IS remarkable. I found myself wishing Berendt would have questioned Williams at length as to the reasons he chose to believe in these supernatural powers. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil does a great job of transplanting the reader into "Old South" Georgia with enough colorful characters to keep the interest level high; it's just a shame none of us will ever get invited to one of Jim Williams' Christmas Parties.

I read "Midnight" in preparation for a visit that I will make to Savannah: I do not think the city will disappoint. What comes to mind when reading this book is that truth is stranger than fiction. The residents of Savannah are a novelist's dream. Indeed, as John Berendt points out the isolation that Savannah has cloaked itself in has proved fertile ground for nurturing eccentricities. Tourists coming to Savannah see the beauty of the city and are told only what their guides want to reveal, without guessing what lies behind the façade of fountain decorated squares. It is like a Garden of Eden that the residents jealously guard and keep to themselves.

Mr. Berendt is an excellent writer with a gift of narrative: he does not waste words. His word portraits of the citizens of Savannah are brilliant. I think it is wrong to describe this as a travel book (although it did have the effect of bringing people to Savannah in droves), but I must confess there are places described in this book that I am interested in seeing. Neither do I think of this as a crime story, although Jim Williams takes center stage. Perhaps "Midnight" is best described as a memoir of a place and time with all the excitement one could desire from an urban adventure.

As far as comparing the book to the film made in 1999, they are two different and not similar forms of expression. Suffice it to say that the details in the book differ with the movie, but it was surprising that so much of the book was translated to the screen, along with dialogue taken directly from the text.

In short, an interesting and unforgettable journey that just might convince you to travel south.

"Midnight In The Garden Of Good and Evil" is peopled with a human gumbo of high society hobnobbers, charming hustlers, sassy crossdressers, overzealous police and prosecutors, voodoo practitioners, coffee shop weirdos and lounge musicians. Author John Berendt paints the pictures along our strange odyssey with a hypnotic and lush vocabulary evoking the Savannahian enclave vividly. He does a great job on dialogue, tickling our funny bones with the idiosyncratic vernaculars of the inhabitants. I've had the pleasure of visiting Savannah, and during my stay, truly got a sense of the eccentric populace, the unique and gorgeous natural beauty of the place, and the abundant and spooky graveyards and houses overgrown with Spanish moss. Berendt succeeds wildly in his storytelling plan by laying down the xenophobic nature of Savannah high society, juxtaposing it with his own move to Savannah from New York, and focusing the main story on the iconoclast Jim Williams, a self-made mega-successful real estate speculator and antiques connoisseur, who shakes up business-as-usual with his lavish parties and refusal to kowtow to the deeply ingrained traditions of the place. The book is an easy, smooth and entertaining read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

For anyone who read books like To Kill a Mockingbird, or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and enjoyed them, I would suggest reading the national bestseller Cold Sassy Tree. This novel takes place in Cold Sassy, Goergia, in 1906. The town is slow-moving, and prejudice like Maycomb County in To Kill a Mockingbird. The story unfolds as Will Tweedy's, the main character,beloved grandmother dies. Scandal errupts when, only three weeks later, Will's granfather elopes with Miss love Simpson. The town cannot believe that he has married a "yankee" just after his wife's death. The major conflict of the story is between Miss Simpson and Will's family and town as to whether or not they can accept her taking grandma's place. But the important, underlying conflict of this book is if granpa can move on with his life, find love again, and find someway to convince the people of the town that Miss Love Simpson isn't the cold-hearted person they think she is. This book is seen through the eyes of Will Tweedy, a 14 year old boy growing up in a southern town, so, although the words are simple, there is a deeper message about love, death, feelings, and morals. I also learned a lot about southern life through this book. All in all, Cold Sassy Tree was a great book that I would reccommend to anyone. It discussed how much death can change a life forever. Read it! I guarantee you'll enjoy it.

I read this book for school over the summer. Now that I've finished, I am so happy it was assigned. This was one of those books that you miss when your done reading.
It takes place in the small town of Cold Sassy, Georgia in the early 1900s. The story is told by a 14 year old boy who has recently lost his best friend and his grandmother. Three weeks after his grandma's death his Grandfather announces that he is going to marry a young woman who is half his age. The family is embarrassed and the town is shocked. After almost a year the town and family starts to accept her the way she accepted them.
I wrote this review as a response to other reviews that I read on the site. Frankly, I was outraged by what some people had to say about this book. Someone claimed that the Grandfather raped his granddaughter and one of the boys friends raped his own sister. I don't know what version he read but that was not at all a part of the story!!! The woman the grandfather married tells that she was raped as a child but that was the only raping that went on in the book, and it was needed to explain why she was so afraid of marring and men. Another person said that a child getting whipped is "HORRIFYING" but that was part of the culture back then. People do not agree with it now but back then it happened all the time. There was also a touch of racism in the plot but again it was needed so that Olive Burns could accurately portray southern life in the early 20th. century.
This book was a joy to read and I cannot wait to get the 2nd. part Leaving Cold Sassy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Cold Sassy Tree is about a boy, his family, and a town growing out of the narrow-mindedness prevolent in society in the early 1900's. The talent of this writer to describe characters and their feelings is unparalleled. You can picture Grandpa's ranting and raving, as well as Will's mischevious face. I would not recommend this book to everyone. If you have never lost someone close to you, don't read it. You just won't understand. There is racism in this book, but it serves a purpose. The people of that time period felt that way. It was necessary for Burns to portray people in that manner to present a believable story. The odd thing is small towns today still have the same basic hierarchy and people's reactions to scandal aren't different from those of people who lived century ago. For Southerners who have strong family ties, or wish they did, this book is a must read. It is filled with tragedy, love, wisdom, and acceptance. Don't miss out.