Download or read book Distracted by Alabama written by James Seay Brown and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2022-04-12 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In 1971, Jim Brown moved to Birmingham with his young family to start his first full-time teaching job at Samford University. Within days, he was fishing on the Cahaba River; soon, the entire Brown family was regularly exploring the river's twists and turns and the myriad creatures living there. A European historian by training, Brown began to broaden his areas of expertise to fulfill the range of his teaching responsibilities. As his intellectual horizons expanded, Brown quickly became fascinated with the history, culture, and environment of his new home. In the years to come, Brown's curiosity would lead him on a series of literal and investigative journeys across Alabama's physical and cultural landscape which he endeavored to bring back to the classroom. Upon retirement in 2016, Brown set to work weaving together an account of the encounters and activities that unfolded in his early years in Alabama as the state slowly made him into one of its own. Incorporating personal experiences and insights drawn from a lifetime of learning and teaching, the resultant memoir begins with his first brush with the Cahaba River and spans topics ranging from salamander migration, shape note singing (with Wayne Flynt, no less), disappearing arts and crafts traditions, land use patterns over time, historic preservation, experiential education, birds, bats, railroad hollers, and more than a few fish tales along the way. Interspersed throughout with insights drawn from Brown's academic career, Distracted by Alabama traces a very personal, historically informed, and idiosyncratic profile of a region in transition in the mid to late twentieth century. It also stands as testament to the ideals and value of liberal arts education in a society"--

Download or read book Foundation Stone written by Lella Warren and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 1986-03-30 with total page 673 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using the history of Alabama and the stories of her pioneering ancestors, Lella Warren created the Whetstone clan who settled Alabama in the 1820s, helped lead it into the prosperity of the 1850s, and fought for it in the War Between the States. The historical background of Foundation Stone is authentic, but, more, it is a compelling story about believable characters. The story of these people—three generations of Whetstones—captures the American pioneering spirit. As an unidentified reviewer described the novel, “Lella Warren’s ‘Foundation Stone’ is the long, well-told chronicle of a family that loved and hoped and struggled in a difficult world, unaware that they symbolized an era and a way of life.” Foundation Stone was published in September 1940 and was on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list September 1940-February 1941, along with Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls and Wolfe’s You Can’t Go Home Again.

Download or read book The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction written by Alan Jacobs and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-05-26 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, cultural commentators have sounded the alarm about the dire state of reading in America. Americans are not reading enough, they say, or reading the right books, in the right way. In this book, Alan Jacobs argues that, contrary to the doomsayers, reading is alive and well in America. There are millions of devoted readers supporting hundreds of enormous bookstores and online booksellers. Oprah's Book Club is hugely influential, and a recent NEA survey reveals an actual uptick in the reading of literary fiction. Jacobs's interactions with his students and the readers of his own books, however, suggest that many readers lack confidence; they wonder whether they are reading well, with proper focus and attentiveness, with due discretion and discernment. Many have absorbed the puritanical message that reading is, first and foremost, good for you--the intellectual equivalent of eating your Brussels sprouts. For such people, indeed for all readers, Jacobs offers some simple, powerful, and much needed advice: read at whim, read what gives you delight, and do so without shame, whether it be Stephen King or the King James Version of the Bible. In contrast to the more methodical approach of Mortimer Adler's classic How to Read a Book (1940), Jacobs offers an insightful, accessible, and playfully irreverent guide for aspiring readers. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of approaching literary fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, and the book explores everything from the invention of silent reading, reading responsively, rereading, and reading on electronic devices. Invitingly written, with equal measures of wit and erudition, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction will appeal to all readers, whether they be novices looking for direction or old hands seeking to recapture the pleasures of reading they first experienced as children.

Download or read book Among the Swamp People written by Watt Key and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2015-09 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stories of living in Alabama.

Download or read book Early Alabama written by Mike Bunn and published by University Alabama Press. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illustrated guidebook documenting the history and sites of the state’s origins Alabama’s territorial and early statehood years represent a crucial formative period in its past, a time in which the state both literally and figuratively took shape. The story of the remarkable changes that occurred within Alabama as it transitioned from frontier territory to a vital part of the American union in less than a quarter century is one of the most compelling in the state’s past. This history is rich with stories of charismatic leaders, rugged frontiersmen, a dramatic and pivotal war that shaped the state’s trajectory, raging political intrigue, and pervasive sectional rivalry. Many of Alabama’s modern cities, counties, and religious, educational, and governmental institutions first took shape within this time period. It also gave way to the creation of sophisticated trade and communication networks, the first large-scale cultivation of cotton, and the advent of the steamboat. Contained within this story of growth and innovation is a parallel story, the dispossession of Native groups of their lands and the forced labor of slaves, which fueled much of Alabama’s early development. Early Alabama: An Illustrated Guide to the Formative Years, 1798–1826 serves as a traveler’s guidebook with a fast-paced narrative that traces Alabama’s developmental years. Despite the great significance of this era in the state’s overall growth, these years are perhaps the least understood in all of the state’s history and have received relatively scant attention from historians. Mike Bunn has created a detailed guide—appealing to historians and the general public—for touring historic sites and structures including selected homes, churches, businesses, government buildings, battlefields, cemeteries, and museums..

Download or read book We Share the Same Sky written by Elizabeth Mozley McGrady and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Change is inevitable. We all know this and yet it does not make the decisions that go along with change any more palatable. Often we wait, as if circumstance itself will alter. Then later, if we are wise, we acknowledge that we control only ourselves and

Download or read book The Early Spanish Main written by Sauer and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-10-30 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Carl O. Sauer uses contemporary sources to place the history of the early Spanish Main in a fresh context.

Download or read book Alabama A History written by Virginia Van Der Veer Hamilton and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1984-05-17 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Surveys the outstanding events and portrays the outstanding personalities in the history of the Yellowhammer State, noting Alabama's role in the nation's history.

Download or read book When Less Becomes More written by Emily Ley and published by HarperChristian + ORM. This book was released on 2019-11-12 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women today are more fatigued, burned out, and overwhelmed than ever. You may feel like your life is frantic––that you're running on empty. In When Less Becomes More, you'll learn how to live a life of more in a world that often overwhelms to the point of burnout. Smartphones constantly ping and alert and demand your attention. And social media can eat up hours of your days with mindless scrolling and tapping while leaving you feeling empty and lonely. Add to that family commitments, work that is accessible around the clock, and overscheduling, and you have a life that can feel out of control. In When Less Becomes More, Emily Ley, author of the bestselling Grace, Not Perfection and Growing Boldly, takes you on a journey out of that empty place and shows you how to fill your wells with the nourishment that only true connection can provide. She also presents some radical concepts that push against the tethers of modern life, with the promise that more of the good stuff comes when we say yes to less of what keeps us empty: Less Noise, More Calm Less Fake, More Real Less Rush, More Rhythm Less Liking, More Loving Less Distraction, More Connection Less Chasing, More Cherishing Less Stuff, More Treasures Getting to more might require some outside-the-box changes, some unraveling of the patterns you have adopted, and some reworking of the day to day. Build a life based on your core values instead of slipping into a life dictated by society or what's "normal." Because you weren't made for normal. You were made for more––for a life of fullness, dreaming, and lasting joy.

Download or read book Alabama s Civil Rights Trail written by Frye Gaillard and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a time line of the civil rights history of Alabama and shares the stories of significant events in the movement that occurred in the cities, towns, and regions of the state.

Download or read book Issues in Insurance and Risk Management 2013 Edition written by and published by ScholarlyEditions. This book was released on 2013-05-01 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Issues in Insurance and Risk Management / 2013 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ book that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Risk Management. The editors have built Issues in Insurance and Risk Management: 2013 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Risk Management in this book to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Insurance and Risk Management: 2013 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Download or read book The Heart Mender written by Andy Andrews and published by Thomas Nelson Inc. This book was released on 2011-04-12 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique blend of historical fact and engaging fiction showing the power of forgiveness. While digging up a withering wax myrtle tree beside his waterfront home on the Gulf coast, author Andy Andrews unearths a rusted metal container filled with Nazi artifacts and begins an intriguing investigation that unlocks an unspoken past that took place in his backyard . . . literally. In 1942, as the country gears up for a full-scale commitment to WWII, German subs are dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico to sink U.S. vessels carrying goods and fuel. While taking a late-night walk, Helen Mason-widowed by war-discovers the near-lifeless body of a German sailor. Enraged at the site of Josef Landermann's uniform, Helen is prepared to leave him to die when an unusual phrase, faintly uttered, changes her mind. Set in a period simmering with anger and suspicion The Heart Mender offers the very real chronicle of a small town preparing itself for the worst the world has to offer. As cargo from torpedoed ships begins to wash up on the beach, Josef and Helen must reconcile their pasts to create a future. Blending his unique style of historical accuracy with unparalleled storytelling, New York Times best-selling author Andy Andrews offers a tale of war, faith, and forgiveness illuminating the one principle that frees the human spirit. Previously released as Island of Saints, this new edition includes a reader's guide and a "Where Are They Now?" update on the real-life characters.

Download or read book Alabama s Redemption written by Hale Meserow and published by Marathon Publications Inc. This book was released on 2011-06-24 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was good to be white then. The year was 1946. Surviving American soldiers, sailors, and airmen returned victorious from the terror and dangers of WWII. White soldiers found parades in their honor, jobs, eager women, and an adoring country. Black soldiers, who had suffered and performed in the same manner as their white counterparts, came back to a country which still insisted on their subservience. This was especially true in the South, where the god Segregation ruled with an iron hand. Yet Rosa Parks, the Reverend Martin Luther King, the University of Mississippi, and JFK were right around the corner. Into this cauldron comes a young black soldier, a hero of the war, who wants nothing more than the opportunity to buy land, acquire a wife, and raise a family. In a powerful story of faith, character, perseverance, and romance, he faces crushing prejudice, unfair obstacles, and the threat of death. In the end, he meets his greatest enemy and discovers his greatest love.

Download or read book Race on the QT written by Adilifu Nama and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2015-04-15 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner, Ray & Pat Browne Award for Best Reference/Primary Source Work in Popular and American Culture, Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, 2016 Known for their violence and prolific profanity, including free use of the n-word, the films of Quentin Tarantino, like the director himself, chronically blurt out in polite company what is extremely problematic even when deliberated in private. Consequently, there is an uncomfortable and often awkward frankness associated with virtually all of Tarantino’s films, particularly when it comes to race and blackness. Yet beyond the debate over whether Tarantino is or is not racist is the fact that his films effectively articulate racial anxieties circulating in American society as they engage longstanding racial discourses and hint at emerging trends. This radical racial politics—always present in Tarantino’s films but kept very much on the quiet—is the subject of Race on the QT. Adilifu Nama concisely deconstructs and reassembles the racial dynamics woven into Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Death Proof, Inglourious Basterds, and Django Unchained, as they relate to historical and current racial issues in America. Nama’s eclectic fusion of cultural criticism and film analysis looks beyond the director’s personal racial attitudes and focuses on what Tarantino’s filmic body of work has said and is saying about race in America symbolically, metaphorically, literally, impolitely, cynically, sarcastically, crudely, controversially, and brilliantly.

Download or read book Reconstruction in Alabama written by Michael W. Fitzgerald and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2017-03-13 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reconstruction in Alabama examines the Civil War and Reconstruction era in Alabama, the first full-scale reexamination in over a century. Michael W. Fitzgerald research shows how predominant black belt majorities enabled concentrations of freedpeople to deter most terrorist violence for several years. The impact of a resulting labor shortage in the heart of the plantation region forced rich planters toward relative moderation until a severe depression swept away the possibility of racial coexistence and economic balance.

Download or read book Cotton Tenants written by James Agee and published by Melville House. This book was released on 2013-06-04 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A re-discovered masterpiece of reporting by a literary icon and a celebrated photographer In 1941, James Agee and Walker Evans published Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, a 400-page prose symphony about three tenant farming families in Hale County, Alabama, at the height of the Great Depression. The book shattered journalistic and literary conventions. Critic Lionel Trilling called it the “most realistic and most important moral effort of our American generation.” The origins of Agee and Evans’s famous collaboration date back to an assignment for Fortune magazine, which sent them to Alabama in the summer of 1936 to report a story that was never published. Some have assumed that Fortune’s editors shelved the story because of the unconventional style that marked Famous Men, and for years the original report was presumed lost. But fifty years after Agee’s death, a trove of his manuscripts turned out to include a typescript labeled “Cotton Tenants.” Once examined, the pages made it clear that Agee had in fact written a masterly, 30,000-word report for Fortune. Published here for the first time, and accompanied by thirty of Walker Evans’s historic photos, Cotton Tenants is an eloquent report of three families struggling through desperate times. Indeed, Agee’s dispatch remains relevant as one of the most honest explorations of poverty in America ever attempted and as a foundational document of long-form reporting. As the novelist Adam Haslett writes in an introduction, it is “a poet’s brief for the prosecution of economic and social injustice.”

Download or read book Treeborne written by Caleb Johnson and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2018-06-05 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I can’t remember the last time I read a book I wish so much I’d written. Treeborne is beautiful, and mythic in ways I would never have been able to imagine...I can’t say enough about this book."—Daniel Wallace, national bestselling author of Extraordinary Adventures and Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions An Honorable Mention for the Southern Book Prize One of Southern Living's "Best New Books Coming Out Summer 2018" and one of Library Journal's "Books to Get Now" Janie Treeborne lives on an orchard at the edge of Elberta, Alabama, and in time, she has become its keeper. A place where conquistadors once walked, and where the peaches they left behind now grow, Elberta has seen fierce battles, violent storms, and frantic change—and when the town is once again threatened from without, Janie realizes it won’t withstand much more. So she tells the story of its people: of Hugh, her granddaddy, determined to preserve Elberta’s legacy at any cost; of his wife, Maybelle, the postmaster, whose sudden death throws the town into chaos; of her lover, Lee Malone, a black orchardist harvesting from a land where he is less than welcome; of the time when Janie kidnapped her own Hollywood-obsessed aunt and tore the wrong people apart. As the world closes in on Elberta, Caleb Johnson’s debut novel lifts the veil and offers one last glimpse. Treeborne is a celebration and a reminder: of how the past gets mixed up in thoughts of the future; of how home is a story as much as a place.