Copper Sun

Book Description

When pale strangers enter fifteen-year-old Amari's village, her entire tribe welcomes them; for in her remote part of Africa, visitors are always a cause for celebration. But these strangers are not here to celebrate. They are here to capture the strongest, healthiest villagers and to murder the rest. They are slave traders. And in the time it takes a gun to fire, Amari's life as she's known it is destroyed, along with her family and village.

Beaten, branded, and dragged onto a slave ship, Amari is forced to witness horrors worse than any nightmare and endure humiliations she had never thought possible -- including being sold to a plantation owner in the Carolinas who gives her to his sixteen-year-old son, Clay, as his birthday present.

Now, survival and escape are all Amari dreams about. As she struggles to hold on to her memories in the face of backbreaking plantation work and daily degradation at the hands of Clay, she finds friendship in unexpected places. Polly, an outspoken indentured white girl, proves not to be as hateful as she'd first seemed upon Amari's arrival, and the plantation owner's wife, despite her trappings of luxury and demons of her own, is kind to Amari. But these small comforts can't relieve Amari's feelings of hopelessness and despair, and when an opportunity to escape presents itself, Amari and Polly decide to work together to find the thing they both want most...freedom.

Grand and sweeping in scope, detailed and penetrating in its look at the complicated interrelationships of those who live together on a plantation, Copper Sun is an unflinching and unforgettable look at the African slave trade and slavery in America.

Customer Reviews:

MUST READ.......2007-08-13

This book has something for everyone. There is a lot of suspense and drama and I highly suggest this read to all. It's a hard cover and may seem like a big book if you don't like to ready much but I promise you will want to keep reading.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-08-10

I have been a fan of Sharon M. Draper for some time. She is a master at writing realistic fiction. COPPER SUN is her first historical fiction and it is amazing -- as well as frighteningly authentic.

This book follows the trials and tribulations of Amari, a fifteen-year-old African maiden. After witnessing the slaughter of both the old and young in her African village, including her parents and her young brother, she is chained, by feet, hands, and neck, lined up, and herded miles on foot to the ocean by pale skinned visitors with fire sticks. She watches her fellow Africans suffer incomprehensible humiliation and death at the hands of their captors as they are shipped like animal cargo across the ocean. The life that awaits her is nothing like she could have ever imagined.

Amari must adapt to life as a purchased slave on a rice plantation, a life that includes atrocities committed upon her by her white owners. She meets Polly, an indentured servant who has dreams of making it to the big house and being a fine lady of standing. Instead, Polly lives in the slave quarters and finds she's given the chore of civilizing Amari, now called Myna, and teaching her enough English to work. After witnessing murder, the two girls find themselves thrown together in a desperate run for freedom.

This is not just another book about slavery. This is a book about something real and tangible. Ms. Draper's writing is so vivid that you can smell the rank odors beneath ship. You can feel the pain of being lashed with a whip. Your throat will constrict at the heart-wrenching pain of a mother and child being forced apart. You will also celebrate the strength and spirit of Amari and those she inspires.

COPPER SUN won the Coretta Scott King Award. This is a book I will make sure goes on my classroom shelves. I give COPPER SUN a gold star!

Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger

astonishing.......2007-08-09

the best book i have read in YEARS. Copper Sun is a tearjerker and a heartwrencher opening your eyes to what life must have felt like during slavery and the things you take for granted. You just want to crawl into the book and rescue Amarie and take care of her.
The book is about Amaries's love of life, family, even the boy that she is "forced" to marry. Until the day a bunch of strangers come into their village and turn not just hers but all the villagers lives around. She is sold to men and forced into slavery, but along the way she finds friendship and learns more about the way the world fuctions.
I could not put this book down and finished it in one day. Sharon Draper is an amazing woman with a big heart (my niece won a contest at school and was picked to have dinner with her), and also an amazing writer. I am going to purchase all of her books and i cant wait to "sit down with her again"

I Cried for Her Loss in Innocence.......2007-06-13

Powerful, life-changing, and a must read, "Copper Sun" gives a vicarious account of what life must have been like during the slave era.
For Amari, her life in Africa was peaceful and happy until she was kidnapped to be sold as a slave. Upon arriving in America, she was bought as a "birthday present" for the plantations sixteen year old son--what an OUTRAGE! She begins life on the plantation helping cook, among her "duties" for Clay. "Copper Sun" gives insight to the hardships that all slaves endured and this books accounts are heart-wrenching.
This story will keep your adrenaline flowing, at times your eyes crying, and renew your belief in the power of the human spirit--I couldn't put it down--I read it from cover to cover.
Sharon Draper has become my "new" favorite author.

Awesome Read!!!.......2007-02-01

THIS IS A MUST READ!!! Mrs. Draper has true writing skills that worked magic throughout this book. This book is classified for young adults but everyone should read it young and old alike. Mrs. Draper takes you from the very beginning with Amari playing with her brother in Africa, to being captured at the hands of her own neighboring tribe. From the horrible boat ride to America, (in vivid detail) to Amari being sold to a plantation owner for his son's sixteenth birthday present. Amari is left in the hands of a white indentured servant girl about her age to be made "civilized." You will have to read it for yourself to see what happens from here, you will not be disappointed! I was full of so many emotions, happy, sad, angry, I found myself ranting aloud a couple of times. This book is not predictable by far; I found it hard to put down. I rarely take books to work with me in fear of reading them and I just could not leave this book at home! This book offered me knowledge and understanding and for that I am grateful.

Continued success to you Mrs. Draper.

Average customer rating:

Great Book
Needs improvement. Serious omissions.
Encyclopedia of NC
Encylopedia of North Carolina
Encyclopedia of NC - Must Have Reference for North Carolinians

Encyclopedia of North Carolina

Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0807830712
Release Date: 2006-10-25

Book Description

The first single-volume reference to the events, institutions, and cultural forces that have defined the state, the Encyclopedia of North Carolina is a landmark publication that will serve those who love and live in North Carolina for generations to come. Editor William S. Powell, whom the Raleigh News & Observer described as a "living repository of information on all things North Carolinian," spent fifteen years developing this volume. With contributions by more than 550 volunteer writers—including scholars, librarians, journalists, and many others—it is a true "people's encyclopedia" of North Carolina.

The volume includes more than 2,000 entries, presented alphabetically, consisting of longer essays on major subjects, briefer entries, and short summaries and definitions. Most entries include suggestions for further reading. Centered on history and the humanities, topics covered include agriculture; arts and architecture; business and industry; the Civil War; culture and customs; education; geography; geology, mining, and archaeology; government, politics, and law; media; medicine, science, and technology; military history; natural environment; organizations, clubs, and foundations; people, languages, and immigration; places and historic preservation; precolonial and colonial history; recreation and tourism; religion; and transportation.

An informative and engaging compendium, the Encyclopedia of North Carolina is abundantly illustrated with 400 photographs and maps. It is both a celebration and a gift—from the citizens of North Carolina, to the citizens of North Carolina.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book.......2007-04-05

A great book by a great historian. Not only is this an essential reference guide to all things in North Carolina, but it represents a culmination Professor Powell's career, one of North Carolina's greatest treasures. I purchased it not only because I wanted it but also as a means of honoring Professor Powell. In regard to the comment about the lack of biographies in this book, I assume that comment was made in jest. But for those not familiar with Professor Powell's previous works, he previously published (in the late 1970's and 1980's) a six volume "Dictionary of North Carolina Biographies."

Needs improvement. Serious omissions........2007-01-19

Encyclopedic guides to states, cities and regions are coming hot off the presses now. I was anxiously awaiting this one, but I've come away slightly disappointed. Most obvious to me at first are the serious omissions in the book: There are absolutely ZERO biographical articles in here. What happened there? There's an article for every imaginable institution of higher learning, including many long extinct, but not an entry for James K. Polk, William Tryon, Michael Jordan, Jesse Jackson, James Taylor or Jessie Helms. Not all North Carolina natives, mind you, but all with profound impacts on the state's history. Some general entries (such as "Mealtimes") aren't immediately applicable to North Carolina at all, but are linked by a contrived peculiarity, as could be done for any other state in the country. Impressive in scope and certainly not a complete failure, but incomplete enough to justify a much improved second edition.

Encyclopedia of NC.......2007-01-18

This book has lots of wonderful information about the Tar Heel State. I recommend the book to newcomers to our state as well as to NC natives. This would be a great resource for students in the fourth grade to use.

Encylopedia of North Carolina.......2007-01-18

Dr. William Powell, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of North Carolina, has published this huge book which contains everything you may ever wish to know about the history of North Carolina. It is well written and easy to use.

Encyclopedia of NC - Must Have Reference for North Carolinians.......2007-01-18

I got the Encyclopedia of NC as a gift for my Dad. I was able to browse through it before I gave it to him. The variety of entries on North Carolina is exhaustive (the subject "privies" is included). Most entries are concise but others longer. My dad keeps it by his easy chair and reads it regularly. I can easily say it is the best gift I have given him in his 85 years. I think it belongs in at least every native North Carolinian's home.

Average customer rating:

Grippingly Written, Moving, and Historically Powerful
Evangelical Pastor - 63 years old
A mixture of polemic, interesting recollections, and accounts of questionable credibility
Heartbreaking and Revelatory
essential

Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story
Timothy B. Tyson
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0609610589
Release Date: 2004-05-18

Amazon.com

When he was but 10 years old, Tim Tyson heard one of his boyhood friends in Oxford, N.C. excitedly blurt the words that were to forever change his life: "Daddy and Roger and 'em shot 'em a nigger!" The cold-blooded street murder of young Henry Marrow by an ambitious, hot-tempered local businessman and his kin in the Spring of 1970 would quickly fan the long-flickering flames of racial discord in the proud, insular tobacco town into explosions of rage and street violence. It would also turn the white Tyson down a long, troubled reconciliation with his Southern roots that eventually led to a professorship in African-American studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison--and this profoundly moving, if deeply troubling personal meditation on the true costs of America's historical racial divide. Taking its title from a traditional African-American spiritual, Tyson skillfully interweaves insightful autobiography (his father was the town's anti-segregationist Methodist minister, and a man whose conscience and human decency greatly informs the son) with a painstakingly nuanced historical analysis that underscores how little really changed in the years and decades after the Civil Rights Act of 1965 supposedly ended racial segregation. The details are often chilling: Oxford simply closed its public recreation facilities rather than integrate them; Marrow's accused murderers were publicly condemned, yet acquitted; the very town's newspaper records of the events--and indeed the author's later account for his graduate thesis--mysteriously removed from local public records. But Tyson's own impassioned personal history lessons here won't be denied; they're painful, yet necessary reminders of a poisonous American racial legacy that's so often been casually rewritten--and too easily carried forward into yet another century by politicians eagerly employing the cynical, so-called "Southern Strategy." --Jerry McCulley

Book Description

"Daddy and Roger and 'em shot 'em a nigger."

Those words, whispered to ten-year-old Tim Tyson by one of his playmates in the late spring of 1970, heralded a firestorm that would forever transform the small tobacco market town of Oxford, North Carolina.

On May 11, 1970, Henry Marrow, a 23-year-old black veteran, walked into a crossroads store owned by Robert Teel, a rough man with a criminal record and ties to the Ku Klux Klan, and came out running. Teel and two of his sons chased Marrow, beat him unmercifully, and killed him in public as he pleaded for his life. In the words of a local prosecutor: "They shot him like you or I would kill a snake."

Like many small Southern towns, Oxford had barely been touched by the civil rights movement. But in the wake of the killing, young African Americans took to the streets, led by 22-year-old Ben Chavis, a future president of the NAACP. As mass protests crowded the town square, a cluster of returning Vietnam veterans organized what one termed "a military operation." While lawyers battled in the courthouse that summer in a drama that one termed "a Perry Mason kind of thing," the Ku Klux Klan raged in the shadows and black veterans torched the town's tobacco warehouses.

With large sections of the town in flames, Tyson's father, the pastor of Oxford's all-white Methodist church, pressed his congregation to widen their vision of humanity and pushed the town to come to terms with its bloody racial history. In the end, however, the Tyson family was forced to move away.

Years later, historian Tim Tyson returned to Oxford to ask Robert Teel why he and his sons had killed Henry Marrow. "That nigger committed suicide, coming in here wanting to four-letter-word my daughter-in-law," Teel explained.

The black radicals who burned much of Oxford also told Tim their stories. "It was like we had a cash register up there at the pool hall, just ringing up how much money we done cost these white people," one of them explained. "We knew if we cost 'em enough goddamn money they was gonna start changing some things."

In the tradition of To Kill a Mockingbird, Blood Done Sign My Name is a classic work of conscience, a defining portrait of a time and place that we will never forget. Tim Tyson's riveting narrative of that fiery summer and one family's struggle to build bridges in a time of destruction brings gritty blues truth, soaring gospel vision, and down-home humor to our complex history, where violence and faith, courage and evil, despair and hope all mingle to illuminate America's enduring chasm of race.

Customer Reviews:

Grippingly Written, Moving, and Historically Powerful.......2007-08-16

I finally got around to reading this memoir this summer and was in awe of the author's narrative gifts. This story reads like a novel and is full of plain human wisdom, an emotional openness combining humility and pride, wry humor, sharp political analysis, and a can't-put-it-down story line that comes to terms with America's number one cultural problem: racism. This is a book of local history that gets at the human condition, and a work of history that reads like great literature. I'm telling everyone I can to read it, and that includes whoever reads this. Don't pay attention to any of the so-called "corrections" made by some other reviewers here. This is a must-read historical work that shows an astute and perceptive ability to understand its widely varying participants' points of view and experiences, while not shrinking from the moral and historical obligation to draw judgments. There is only one word to use: *brilliant.* (I'm not one to use that lightly when talking about either autobiography or
history.)

Disclaimer: The writer of this review is a professional historian with a Ph.D., but one who has never met Timothy Tyson.

Evangelical Pastor - 63 years old.......2007-07-29

Few books are as challenging for me as this one. I lived through the years of this story and consistently refused to believe that our racism was as extensive or deeply rooted as it was. Take away: the challenge to see it in our present day and to do something about it.

A mixture of polemic, interesting recollections, and accounts of questionable credibility.......2007-07-18

I was born and grew up in Oxford, North Carolina as a white boy, and graduated from the
University of North Carolina in 1949. I have lived in a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland for many
years.

Tyson deserves credit for deploring the murder and acquittal of the murderer in the book.
However, he tends to be polemic: all black people in it are noble; all but a few white people are
some combination of racist, ignorant, or narrow-minded. (It is similar in that respect to Leon
Uris's novel "Exodus", in which all Jews are noble and bigger than life, while all others are hateful
or, at best, not very bright.)

He often uses a down-home style of writing, calling his parents "Daddy" and "Mama" and being
addressed as "Little Buck" by his father, which he apparently feels makes him and his family seem
to be folksy, good plain people.

However, the book is not without its shortcomings.

Accounts of questionable credibility:

¶¶He states that tear gas was used by Oxford police in 1944 to dispel a crowd of black people
who were protesting the arrest of two men. I witnessed the event and remember no tear gas--had
there been, I think I would never have forgotten it.

¶¶An account of the torching of buildings in Oxford on May 25, 1970 by angry black people
following the killing of Marrow describes two tobacco warehouses which were among
them:"Inside these warehouses were eight hundred thousand pounds of golden cured tobacco, a
known flammable substance, with a total value of more than a million dollars." I find it hard to
believe that any tobacco would have been in those warehouses in May.

Tobacco was brought by the farmers to Oxford warehouses from mid-September through
mid-November, where it was sold at auction and immediately taken by the buyers to their Oxford
processing plants, and then shipped off to the cigarette manufacturers. By some time in late
November, all of the warehouses became empty.

Although the whole procedure I describe above could have changed somewhat by 1970, I still
find it hard to believe that there would have been tobacco in the warehouses in May, by which
time it would have probably become dry and crumbly.

¶¶The following exchange supposedly took place during the 1930's between Major T.G. stem (a
prominent white man in Oxford) and a man described in the book as "a local white bootlegger."
Having occurred long before Tyson was born, it was recounted to him by Thad Stem, the Major's
son and a close friend of the Tyson family.

"Major Stem was leaving Hall's drugstore with his son (Thad) and they passed Mrs. G. C. Shaw,
the wife of the principal at Mary Potter High, the local Negro high school.

'Good afternoon, Mrs. Shaw,' the Major said, tipping his hat.

A local white bootlegger, idling under the store awning, accosted Major Stem. 'Why'd you call
that [...] woman Mrs. Shaw'?" he demanded.

'Well, Mrs. Shaw's older than I am,' he began softly. 'She's better educated than I am,and she has
more money.' Then, thrusting the bootlegger away from him, the major exploded: 'But more to
the point, what I call Mrs. Shaw is none of your goddamned business, you low-life taxidermist,
you two-for-a-nickel jackal, you knee-crawling [...], net.' These were the days when
people really knew how to cuss. Back then, the appendage 'net' meant a real [...]...on the
way home (Thad) asked his father why on earth he had called the bootlegger a 'taxidermist.' The
major said quietly that a taxidermist is a man who mounts animals."

If not a total fabrication, the story seems to me to have been mostly made up.

In those earlier times, I never heard any white person in Oxford address or refer to a black person
as Mr./Mrs./Ms. (However, by some strange logic, a black doctor was referred to as Dr. X by
white people. Dr. Ellis Toney was a black practitioner there for many years and was so referred
to. The same was the case for some black ministers, who were referred to as Pastor or Reverend
such-and-such.)

¶¶In writing about the slave trade, Tyson speaks of "the dark Atlantic, where the bones of
somewhere around ten million Africans settled into the sand, thrown overboard by the slave ships
that plied those waters in the early days of the republic (the USA)."

Where did this 10 million figure come from? Tyson provides no source. One reference, "Slavery:
A World History", by Milton Meltzer, says that about 2.2 million died that way.

Degrading most of Oxford's black people by stereotyping them as uncultured:

The most puzzling aspect of the book is: On the one hand, Tyson makes the legitimate point that
black residents of Oxford and Granville County, after long having been subjected to a segregated,
inferior status in society, deserved to be recognized as having equal rights with white citizens.
Yet, at the same time, he consistently shows these same black people as being crude and unable to
say anything without massacring English grammar.

"I knowed him right good, and I liked him all right. He didn't hurt nobody." "Yeah, we was
listening to TV, that's how we got involved in the first sit-ins in Oxford, because we saw on TV
they was doing it up in Greensboro." "Me and a guy named Ronald Jordan, me and him climbed
up on the Confederate soldier..." And there are many more.

I know from personal experience that many black people in Oxford, then and now, are much more
cultured than Tyson portrays them. I also know from my volunteer work at the Helping Up
Mission in Baltimore, where I tutor men who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction in
the 3R's (all of whom to date have been black), that most black people, like anyone anywhere, will
grasp an opportunity to become more cultured.

Heartbreaking and Revelatory.......2007-05-18

An essential history and memoir of a time whose facts are often forgotten and even actively repressed. The present doesn't make sense without honestly examining the past, and this book does that with humility and emotional power. Even if you think you know this history (as I did) you very well may not.

essential.......2007-03-15

For those of us who think we understand by reading about racial prejudice and thinking about what it must be like, should read this book. We still won't really understand, but we will be a much closer than we were before.

The Buildings of Charleston: A Guide to the City's Architecture

Average customer rating:

An absolute must if you love architecture and Charleston.

The Buildings of Charleston: A Guide to the City's Architecture
Jonathan H. Poston
Manufacturer: University of South Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1570032025

Customer Reviews:

An absolute must if you love architecture and Charleston........1997-12-12

Mr. Poston has done an excellent and exhaustive job with this book. To my knowledge it is the most comprehensive compilation to date. As well as photographs of the houses plans are also shown for many. A 9+ only because I'm reluctant to say that the "perfect" book has ever been published.

Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Became an American Icon

Average customer rating:

Lady on the Hill
Like Going To Biltmore School
Biltmore Since George Died
If you are interested in the Vanderbilts or the Biltmore Estate ... read it!
BILTMORE

Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Became an American Icon
Howard E., Jr. Covington , and The Biltmore Company
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471758183

Book Description

"What William Cecil has accomplished at Biltmore Estate is one of the great preservation success stories of all time. He has set a high standard for what all historic house museums strive for: magnificently preserved buildings and grounds, engaging interpretation, and—perhaps most challenging of all—economic self-sufficiency. It is no surprise that Biltmore Estate is widely recognized as one of America's finest places to visit."
—Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

"Biltmore is a glorious national historic landmark that, through creative vision and entrepreneurial management, preserves and provides insight into a way of life in the early 1900s. Bill is the imaginative and multifaceted leader who has built this great monument to enrich his community. George and I admire his dedication and success."
—George and Abby Rockefeller O'Neill

"Bill Cecil and his team at Biltmore Estate have sure proved that they know how to build a successful business. They did it the old-fashioned way: embrace a bold idea that others said could not be done and—through commitment, determination, and hard work—bring it to life. Their achievement against the odds is inspiring, and their vision and perseverance are valuable lessons to us all."
—Don Logan, Chairman, Media & Communications Group, Time Warner

"If George Vanderbilt did nothing more than engage the two most prominent and storied designers of their time, architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, to carry out his vision of a European estate in the southern Appalachians, he would have created an American icon. The beauty of the method by which the estate was executed and, even today, the meticulous attention to detail, in the presentation and care of the estate by William Cecil, have brought history to life."
—Gary J. Walters, Chief Usher, The White House

Customer Reviews:

Lady on the Hill.......2007-07-12

I've read and studied regarding the lives of the Vanderbilt families and the Biltmore inparticular. This is truly one of the BEST books I've read. We've all learned about the house and George Vanderbilt's ideas and thinking on building Biltmore. This book describes the life of his wife Edith and their daughter Cornelia after his death and what they had to go through to keep Biltmore after his death. The research is absolutely amazing. For anyone who is interested or obsessed with The Biltmore, this is a MUST read.

Like Going To Biltmore School.......2007-06-27

Half way through the book it just becomes tedious. There is a fair amount of repetition. I had to purchase another book because this one lacks enough photos. We are planning a trip there in the coming weeks
and now I think I know more than I need to know.

Biltmore Since George Died.......2007-03-09

This book is intriguing for those who enjoy nonfiction. It describes how Biltmore formed a business to keep from being sold and subdivided, what happened to the family members since George's death, and the relationship between Biltmore and the city of Asheville, among other things. It is extremely interesting if you would like to know more about the history of the estate and its families.

If you are interested in the Vanderbilts or the Biltmore Estate ... read it!.......2006-11-26

There is not a whole lot of literature around when it comes to the Vanderbilts and the Biltmore. SO this book is a refreshing and very easy to read story about the Vanderbilts and their successes leading up to the building of Biltmore taking 6 years.

Everyone that can find the time and is planning to visit the Biltmore should read this before going. The Biltmore is so large and there are so many things to see that a visit requires some advanced planning to get the whole picture about this family and this American marvel. After our first visit to the Biltmore during this year's Christmas lights, we bought an annual access pass (upgrade while your day pass is still valid and you save a bundle), this and a picture history book. Now we are planning to go back and be prepared to really udnerstand this marvellous site.

BILTMORE.......2006-10-09

Very interesting read on how Vanderbilt heir's found a way to afford to maintain this behemouth in the foothills of the Appalations. Biltmore is without peer as far as American's great houses go, it looks like the kind of place Frances I and Catherine de Medici would have felt right at home in, it's quite simply a breathtaking tour de force, but as such a true money pit and the proverbial white elephant. You have to give Vanderbilt heir, Mr. Cecil, credit for finding people to tell him how to do what his grandfather could not, and that is to make this place, if not make money, at least break even; indeed, not an easy task. As someone who has toured Richard Morris Hunt's anachronistic Biltmore, I for one applaud his efforts; the mansion looks great and the tour is very well persented, although, very expensive, but I suppose one has to look at it as a donation of sorts, to help to assure the vital survival of this singular American mansion, and the fact it helps enrich, the already rich Vanderbilt's, I suppose it an unfortunate biproduct I can live with, frankly the Vanderbilt's, thanks to the slash and burn ruthlessness of the Commador, will probably always have wealth, well at least they gave us Anderson Cooper. Good read, highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

History Made Real
Peninsula of Lies
Interesting Read
man enough to do it
An enlightening journey of family history

Slaves in the Family
Edward Ball
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374265828

Amazon.com

Writer Edward Ball opens Slaves in the Family with an anecdote: "My father had a little joke that made light of our legacy as a family that had once owned slaves. 'There are five things we don't talk about in the Ball family,' he would say. 'Religion, sex, death, money and the Negroes.'" Ball himself seemed happy enough to avoid these touchy issues until an invitation to a family reunion in South Carolina piqued his interest in his family's extensive plantation and slave-holding past. He realized that he had a very clear idea of who his white ancestors were--their names, who their children and children's children were, even portraits and photographs--but he had only a murky vision of the black people who supported their livelihood and were such an intimate part of their daily lives; he knew neither their names nor what happened to them and their descendents after they were freed following the Civil War. So he embarked on a journey to uncover the history of the Balls and the black families with whom their lives were inextricably intertwined, as well as the less tangible resonance of slavery in both sets of families. From plantation records, interviews with descendents of both the Balls and their slaves, and travels to Africa and the American South, Ball has constructed a story of the riches and squalor, violence and insurrection--the pride and shame--that make up the history and legacy of slavery in America.

Book Description

In 1698, Elias Ball traveled from his home in Devon, England, to Charleston, South Carolina, to take possession of his inheritance: part of a plantation and twenty slaves. Elias and his progeny built an American dynasty that lasted for six generations, acquiring more than twenty Plantations and enslaving close to four thousand Africans and African Americans until 1865, when Union troops arrived on the lawns of the Balls' estates to force emancipation.

Edward Ball, a descendant of Elias, has written a nonfiction American saga that is part history, part journey of discovery. Ball chronicles the lives of the people who lived in his ancestors' lands: the violence and the opulence, the slave uprisings and escapes, the white and black heroes of the American Revolution, the mulatto children of Ball masters and "Ball slaves," and the culminating shock of the Civil War. He reconstructs the genealogies of slave families—from the first African captives, through ten generations, to the present—and travels to Sierra Leone to visit a prison from which his family once bought workers.

Most remarkable of all, Ball has traveled all over the United States to meet descendants of Ball slaves (who number between 75,000 and 100,000 living Americans). In a series of memorable encounters, Ball hears from black families—some of whom are his blood kin—their stories, passions, and dreams, and reveals how the effects of slavery live on in black and white life and memory. Slaves In the Family is a microcosm of America's defining national experience, a story of people confronting their inescapable common history.

Customer Reviews:

History Made Real.......2007-05-19

Edward Ball made a courageous journey into his family's past when he researched and wrote this book about their slave owning history, and took the step of searching out and meeting descendants of their slaves. This paperback edition includes an insightful follow-up exchange between the author and one of his black relatives about the writing of the book, their relationship, and how their views of race relations have and have not changed since its writing. The book inspired me both to think deeply about my attitude towards race and to read more about southern history, using the prism of slave ownership and my own family's southern geneaology as a focus. Related recommendations: The Ruling Race: A History of American Slaveholders] and [ASIN:0465015557 My Confederate Kinfolk

Peninsula of Lies.......2007-04-28

Oh my gosh! I didn't realize that Dawn Langley Simmons had passed away. When I purchased her book about the life of Margaret Rutherford, "A Blithe Spirit", I wrote to Dawn, and was surprised to receive a reply from her or him. For several years she/he corresponded and now I realize that she/he may have mis-represented herself. She did send me several photos of Margaret Rutherford. Interesting story.

Interesting Read.......2007-02-27

I thought this was a good read. I especially appreciated the details of the types of Africans that the planters preferred and detested. I recommend this book. Yes, I do agree that the author's writing style was dry. However, I find most books that have a historical base, unless it is fiction, to be dry as cracker.

man enough to do it.......2006-09-11

Some reviewers below complain that this book is tedious. Well, sure. I bet the US Constitution and the Bible are tedious to someone who has no clue about, or doesn't care about, their context. To anyone with some understanding of US history, the project of writing this book marks a step forward in race relations, however big or small that step may turn out to be. If you care even a little about why this country is the way it is, this book crackles with a searing flame.

Ball writes about visiting a wary African American man in Chapter 6, and what that man says at the end of his interview speaks for me and my opinion of the book. "Someone has to break the ice. I gotta give you credit, you were man enough to do it."

People won't agree whether reconciliation or forgiveness apply in this situation, and I'm not sure either. But this is the author's best effort at telling the objective truth about black-white relations as it was lived by individuals over the centuries. "I decided I would make an effort, however inadequate and personal, to face the plantations, to reckon with them rather than ignore their realities or make excuses for them."

Chapter 9 describes the shocking child mortality figures on the plantations. And on a slave voyage from Africa to Charleston, over a third of the captive passengers died en route - just the cost of doing business to the owners. No wonder some try to deny this history; it's too painful. Yet, the book also provides some episodes of humanity and hope. Readers will emerge with a greater understanding of our history and human nature. Maybe they'll become more vigilant against trespasses on human life and dignity in our own day as well.

An enlightening journey of family history.......2004-09-04

Slaves in the Family chronicles the history of the ball family form 1698 to modern times. Ball explores his ancestor's ownership of slaves and the treatment of slaves. In his journey to learn more about his family, he discovers family members who are descendents of this ancestor's slaves. He also describes how this discovery affected him and how the lives of his family and the lives of the families of the slaves his ancestors owned are still affected by slavery and other racially motivated injustices. Slaves in the Family puts a human face to the history of racial relations in the United States in the way that a teacher in a classroom or a textbook never could.

Average customer rating:

Comprehensive. Best of the bunch.
An Uneven Work

The South Carolina Encyclopedia

Manufacturer: University of South Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Reference | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

History | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1570035989

Book Description

The South Carolina Encyclopedia is a comprehensive single-volume reference for just about anything anyone would want to know about the Palmetto State's rich cultures and storied heritage, from prehistory to the present day. The encyclopedia is the result of a six-year collaboration between the Humanities Council SC, the Institute for Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina Press. Under the editorial direction of distinguished historian Walter Edgar, 598 contributors have come together to write more than one million words depicting the people, places, and things that define South Carolina.

The encyclopedia is an authoritative, entertaining compilation of essays on a broad array of topics ranging from war and politics to arts and recreation, from agriculture and industry to popular culture and ethnicity. Among the nearly two thousand entries are such diverse subjects as the Boykin spaniel, John C. Calhoun, Sarah Moore Grimké, Hootie and the Blowfish, Indian mounds, Matthew J. Perry, Rainbow Row, Surfside Beach, and white lightning. The palmetto bug, Lizard Man, and okra are all here, as are hurricanes, the Orangeburg Massacre, and yellow fever. Included as well are essays on every South Carolina county, every town with a population of twenty-five hundred or greater, and all elected governors and U.S. senators from the state. Famous figures and infamous characters, historic events and tragic moments, celebrated creatures and provocative lore, staple crops and new industries, the encyclopedia catalogs all of this and much more.

As diverse as the populations that live within the thirty-one thousand square miles that make up the Palmetto State, the entries included in The South Carolina Encyclopedia were chosen to best represent the many facets of our shared experiences that remind us of who we are, where we come from, what we have in common, and why we are distinctive.

The South Carolina Encyclopedia is a comprehensive introduction to the state for students and newcomers, and a treasure trove of rich details and lively insights for those already steeped in South Carolina's history and culture. With its accessible format, four hundred black-and-white and forty color illustrations, and seventy-eight original maps, this volume invites a broad readership and placement in classrooms, libraries, archives, government offices, businesses, economic development agencies, media newsrooms, and—of course—home bookshelves. As the single most inclusive reference for all things South Carolinian, this truly is a people's encyclopedia.

Customer Reviews:

Comprehensive. Best of the bunch........2007-01-19

These types of books are becoming popular. You can buy them for quite a few cities, states and regions now: Chicago, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Appalachia, etc... As you might expect, any attempt to cram hundreds of years of history, millions of diverse people and hundreds of places into a thousand pages or so needs to be appreciated for breadth rather than depth. Don't come here looking for an architectural survey of the state, or a penetrating analysis of slavery versus states' rights, or a profound discussion of the differences between German Lutherans and Swiss Calvinists. It's not here. What is here is better than any travel guide, and more efficient than any comprehensive history tome. This is the best one of the lot, I've found. You're not going to be upset by glaring omissions or factual error. It's well done, and it's an attractive book. Perhaps most important, Dr. Edgar is THE South Carolina authority, with a swift command of this state's rich history, towns, institutions and important people. As a native Southerner, and ever-moving nomad, this book makes me homesick. That's a good sign.

An Uneven Work.......2006-10-08

When I look at some of the entries in the Encyclopedia, I found unfortunate errors and very superficial research. The entry on Orangeburg County relies on the 1898 (that's right, 108 years old) history of the county by Alexander Salley, an ancient secondary source notorious for its inaccuracies. Several entries describe the early Swiss settlers (who dominated the earliest settlement of several large SC counties) as Lutherans, when in fact they were overwhelmingly Swiss Reformed, or Calvinist. Familiarity with primary sources would have told the authors and editor this. When we look for the settlers in Swiss parish records, they are in Reformed congregations. When we find records of the ordinations of ministers (prior to Giessendanner converting to the established Church of England in order to be paid by the colony) they are Reformed ordinations in Europe (for example Zubly, Theus) or Presbyterian if in South Carolina (for example, Giessendanner). When knowledgeable contemporaries refer to the religion of the Swiss settlers in Carolina, they say or imply that they were Reformed or Calvinist. Even Reimensperger's brochure encouraging Swiss to settle in Carolina specifies that potential settlers should be Reformed. Secondary sources would also provide the same information. Modern histories of the Presbyterian and Lutheran denominations in South Carolina acknowledge that the Swiss immigrants were Reformed. The Lutherans appear in SC only with the somewhat later immigration of Germans, who differed from the Swiss in other aspects of culture and history, as well as in religion. It is hard to understand how such a basic error regarding a significant part of early settlement in the state could be made in the Encyclopedia. Another entry tells us that the most "vibrant" German-speaking community in SC was in Charleston. I'm afraid the authors didn't have much information on which to base a comparison.

I'm sure that the Encyclopedia is much more accurate in areas closer to the editor's areas of research, but I would have to evaluate the work as uneven in quality.

The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas

Average customer rating:

A Stunning historical achievement!
Quite good
Good but not Great
Mixed feelings
Brings His Historical Characters Back to Life

The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas
John Buchanan
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Revolutionary | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0471327166

Amazon.com

Most of us are familiar with the role that North and South Carolina played in the American Civil War: if nothing else, every grade-schooler knows the significance of the 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. But to popular historian John Buchanan, "that tragedy is of far less interest than the American Revolution. The Revolution was the most important event in American history. The Civil War was unfinished business." And the Carolinas, Buchanan convincingly argues, were the most critical theater in that conflict, with their wild Back Country seeing "a little-known but savage civil war far exceeding anything in the North."

The Road to Guilford Courthouse is no less than a tour de force of pop military scholarship, an exhaustive battle-by-battle account of the Crown's grinding march to wrest the Carolinas from the resourceful Rebels. Beginning with Colonel William Moultrie's valiant defense atop the palmetto ramparts of Fort Sullivan against an outnumbering force of British men-of-war to the final "long, obstinate, and bloody" exchange at Guilford Courthouse, Buchanan meticulously recounts each skirmish, battle, and shift of strategy in the campaign. Relying on copious primary and secondary sources, he brings the combatants to life, from the worthy but somewhat obscure, such as Nathanael Greene, whom George Washington considered to be his successor should he fall, to soon-to-be legends such as Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. --Paul Hughes

Book Description

A brilliant account of the proud and ferocious American fighters who stood up to the British forces in savage battles crucial in deciding both the fate of the Carolina colonies and the outcome of the war.

"A tense, exciting historical account of a little known chapter of the Revolution, displaying history writing at its best."âKirkus Reviews

"His compelling narrative brings readers closer than ever before to the reality of Revolutionary warfare in the Carolinas."âRaleigh News & Observer.

"Buchanan makes the subject come alive like few others I have seen." âDennis Conrad, Editor, The Nathanael Greene Papers.

"John Buchanan offers us a lively, accurate account of a critical period in the War of Independence in the South. Based on numerous printed primary and secondary sources, it deserves a large reading audience." âDon Higginbotham, Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Customer Reviews:

A Stunning historical achievement!.......2007-05-18

Lexington...Yorktown...Saratoga. These are some of the most popular battles fought during the American Revolution. However, John Buchanan offers an extremely valuable account of the southern theater of operations during the war.

By the fall of 1779, the war in the north had come to a grinding halt, forcing General Sir Henry Clinton to try another approach in his war against the rebels. Based on the notion that the southern portion of America held more Tories than the north, he chose to invade Charleston in late 1779 and move north.

Buchanan documents this tactic and strategy in great detail, mainly focusing on the war in the Carolinas under the leadership of General Charles, Lord Cornwallis. The amount of research the author exhibits is obvious as Buchanan goes into excruciating detail, offering the reader ample background information and individual vignettes on the major characters. Leaders such as Charles Cornwallis, Francis Marion, Banastre Tarleton, Daniel Morgan, and Nathaniel Greene are discussed in great detail. Furthermore, their individual tactics are thoroughly written upon as well as the battles in which they fought in.

Buchanan's focus is NOT a historical survey of the entire southern war, but rather the events which took place from 1780 on. Having said that, he delivers an amazingly-concise account that illustrates the valuable contribution the southern war played in America's eventual victory.

Quite good.......2007-04-02

The book has three facets that highly recommend it. First, the author has a mature intelligent voice that comes through in his writing enabling him to depict events with empathy and depth. Secondly, the work is comprehensive, describing small partisan actions that otherwise get short shrift. Third, I enjoyed his choice of assessing the command skills of the various combatants. His reasoning is sounds and buoyed well by the facts as he, admittedly, presents them. I also found his prose style engaging.
My only criticism is that he gives equal time to minor engagements and major battles. He also describes so many skirmishes that without maps or illustration they tend to dissolve into one another. Furthermore, it would have been nice if he had chosen to chronicle the remainder of the campaign. Of course, my desire for the book to be longer only demonstrates my appreciation of it.
I recommend it.

Good but not Great.......2007-03-27

In reading "The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas", I found it to be a good overview of the revolution in the South where my ancestors fought. I would have found it to be much better for my needs in researching family history if the book had more maps and a much better index. I would have preferred more maps and fewer pictures of the combatants.

Mixed feelings.......2006-11-13

I have mixed feeling towards John Buchanan's book "The Road to Guilford Courthouse--The American Revolution in the Carolinas" because although the author seems to have a good grasp of the subject and has a relatively easy-to-read writing style, he frequently gets caught up in the myriad of less relevant battle and personnel details. This makes getting through the book a grind.

Having said that, it was definitely fun to learn about some of the characters that played significant roles during the stage of the Revolutionary War that took place in the Carolinas. This is a part of the war that doesn't get much attention even though it is where the war was won, where the tides were turned. The British make a decision to get out of Philadelphia and finish up their conquest by invading through the Loyalist populated South, and then all of a sudden wind up surrendering at Yorktown. I was missing something before reading this book.

Coming from Rhode Island and being an early American history buff, I was a little disappointed that Nathanael Greene didn't get more coverage, but it appears that most of the fighting in the Carolinas was done by others, who do get their due in the book. Particularly, with regards to unknowns getting their due, it was especially fun to learn about Daniel Morgan and Banastre Tarleton, but also Thomas Sumpter and the Battle of Kings Mountain. It was interesting to get a taste of how a war was fought in the swamps of Carolina. Buchanan does do a particularly good job of quoting frequently from primary source material--this really helped to bring the 225 year old story alive.

In the end, the book could have summarized more in some areas and delved more deeply into others. Also, note that the book ends with the battles of Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse and doesn't cover the war through Virginia and the eventual surrender at Yorktown.

Finally, one very, very important problem with the book--the maps and illustrations used are totally inadequate. This makes understanding the action very difficult. Very frustrating!!

Brings His Historical Characters Back to Life.......2006-10-21

Buchanan has done a remarkable job of bringing to life the key Revoluntionary War characters and events of 1780-81 in the Carolinas. His masterful interpretation of personalities and their motives provides insight into the critical battles of the southern war. He moves back and forth between the major antagonists on both sides to develop the background for understanding the brilliance of the rebel strategy and the British arrogance that lead to their eventual loss in the south. Not only do we learn about famous personalities such as Francis Marion, Daniel Morgan, Nathanael Greene, Lord Cornwallis and Banastre Tarleton, but we gain an understanding of the anonymous mortals without whom the Revolution would have been lost: the individual militia men from the back country of the Carolinas. Buchanan has an uncanny ability to explain in simple language the complexities of the troop placement and individual unit actions that occurred in the various battles. However, his book would be immensely improved if he had provided maps of the region and of the battlegrounds he described. Like many biographers, Buchanan grows to have an attachment (or detachment) for the people he has so painstakingly researched, which I find of great interest. One must be aware of some of the potential bias that might creep in with any biographical interpretation, including his. I recently finished biographies on Daniel Morgan and Nathanael Greene, yet discovered new information about each man in Buchanan's exposition. A very thorough job, indeed. One caveat: one should probably have read somewhat extensively regarding the Revolution to fully enjoy and understand Buchanan's book. He occasionally assumes some prior knowledfge of events and people.

Very Charleston: A Celebration of History, Culture, and Lowcountry Charm

Average customer rating:

Can Charleston be worthy of this book?
Cute and breezy
In Love with Charleston
Delightful!
Very Charleston

Very Charleston: A Celebration of History, Culture, and Lowcountry Charm
Diana Hollingsworth Gessler
Manufacturer: Algonquin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Essays & Travelogues | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1565123395

Book Description

Cobblestone streets leading to perfectly preserved historic homes. Intricate wrought-iron gates opening to lush, fragrant gardens. A skyline of steeples and a river harbor bustling with schooners and sailboats. Charleston is one of America's most charming cities.

In vibrant watercolors and detailed sketches, artist Diana Gessler captures the beauty and riches that make Charleston so unique: White Point Gardens, the Spoleto Festival, Rainbow Row, Waterfront Park, Fort Moultrie, the beaches of Sullivan's Island, sumptuous Lowcountry cuisine, and handmade sweetgrass baskets. Full of fascinating details--on everything from the art of early entertaining, the city's inspired architectural and garden designs, and George Washington's Southern tour to famous Charlestonians and the flags of Sumter--Very Charleston celebrates the city, the Lowcountry, the people, and our history. Hand-lettered and full color throughout, Very Charleston includes maps, an index, and a handy appendix of sites.

With her cheerful illustrations and love for discovering little-known facts, Diana Gessler has created both an entertaining guide and an irresistible keepsake for visitors and Charlestonians alike.

Customer Reviews:

Can Charleston be worthy of this book?.......2007-03-17

Well written and hightly entertaining.
This small book captures the remarkable
charm and southern sleekness of this
city. AND the recipes are wonderful.

Cute and breezy.......2006-08-07

I've been going to Charleston since I was a small child, and I learned a few things from this fun little book. I bought it for the illustrations- I love maps and "Did you know" kinds of books-and thought this was the perfect marriage of the two. Charleston is so interesting that I think there is more to tell, so I wish it were a little longer.

In Love with Charleston.......2006-07-26

My daughter had this book with her when we visited Charleston for the 2nd time. After reading it (couldn't put it down), we found more reasons to return to this wonderful area; learned more interesting facts about already viewed streets, homes and history. It is a light read with beautiful watercolor pictures throughout the book. Don't pass it up!

Delightful!.......2006-03-09

The wonderful watercolor drawings and short descriptions make this book a must have for those people who have been (or will soon go) to Charleston, South Carolina. The spirit and color of Charleston is captured in this small volume. I traveled to Charleston with three other women and we all bought this book! One lady even used it as her trip journal, making comments in the book about places we had been. I bought one for another friend going to Charleston and she, too, loved this little book.

Very Charleston.......2005-08-09

Very interesting little book with great illustrations. Gives insight to many of the things we South Carolians have always heard about Charleston like the derivation of Charleston Green paint, why the pineapple is a welcome sign, etc., etc.

Average customer rating:

ROTC as it is, not as you'd like it
An unbiased, insightful look into the trials and challenges facing America's "civilian soldiers"
Great Subject - Disappointing Results
Brisk Read, Terrible Opinions
Is this about my ROTC unit?

Army 101: Inside ROTC in a Time of War
David Axe
Manufacturer: University of South Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books

21st Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1570036608

Book Description

Undergrads with guns. That is how war correspondent David Axe summarizes the bifurcated existence of some thirty thousand cadets currently participating in Reserve Officers Training Corps programs at 270 U.S. colleges and universities. In Army 101, Axe takes readers inside an Army ROTC program in his investigation into the training and lives of student-cadets being hardened into the next generation of volunteer citizen-soldiers.

Drawing heavily from candid interviews conducted with cadets and trainers of the Gamecock Battalion at the University of South Carolina, Army 101 traces the experiences of a representative mix of students--freshmen to seniors of both sexes and many races--essentially minoring in the military while also pursuing regular undergraduate degrees in diverse fields. Axe invites us along to witness the quagmire of confusion in a nighttime training exercise, the immersion into procedures and jargon of the classroom, and the high aspirations of candidates at Airborne School. Replete with a vivid account of the annual Ranger Challenge--the varsity sport of ROTC--and a campus visit from the commander in chief, George W. Bush, Axe's narrative follows the unit through the exercises and experiences that are designed to recast the cadets as junior officers in America's long war on terrorism. Not all guns and marches, the volume also explores the rivalry and revelry that define the cadets' off-hours as much as they characterize the lives of all college students.

Respectful of his subjects' motivations and achievements, Axe is also critical of the training they receive. ROTC is an uneasy marriage of civilian and military existence and, according to Axe, produces officers who can demonstrate the best and worst aspects of both worlds. His investigation exposes chinks in the armor and draws attention to program weaknesses, from the physical and emotional strain of dual lives to sexual harassment, war protests, disheartening morale, and other reasons why cadets wash out. Axe also interrogates military and government policies that unequally distribute the rewards and responsibilities of service.

Army 101 is an insider's look at the current state of training and the cultural values being taught to those who will soon join the ranks of nearly ten thousand ROTC graduates already serving in activity duty around the globe. This is the story of the USC Gamecock Battalion--undergrads with guns.

Customer Reviews:

ROTC as it is, not as you'd like it.......2007-05-15

I honestly don't understand the points of view of those rating this book with one star. Having gone through ROTC in a Pittsburgh college, I found his book very reminescent of my experiences, down to the amateurish ambush exercise to the "Advanced Camp" (mine was at Ft Bragg). This is a good book, short, but illuminating as to the ROTC culture in many universities, with the addition of the Iraqi conflict looming over them. This book is not intended to be an in-depth discussion of ROTC and its pros and cons, but rather a snapshot of the experiences of one class. I think David Axe has written this book well and I recommend it to both ROTC grads who want to smile at the stories and those wondering what it's all about.

An unbiased, insightful look into the trials and challenges facing America's "civilian soldiers".......2007-05-08

Written by freelance journalist and war correspondent David Axe, Army 101: Inside ROTC in a Time of War is a straight-talk look at the state of the modern Reserve Officers Training Corps, and the lives of the college students who participate in them - in effect, minoring in the military while pursuing degrees in other fields. Drawn largely extensive interviews with ROTC recruits, Army 101 touches on everything from nighttime training exercises to the procedures and jargon of the ROTC classroom to the annual Ranger Challenge, a.k.a. "the varsity sport of ROTC". Of special note is how the war in Iraq affects ROTC recruitment and graduates; deployment in Iraq is sometimes even used as a punishment for egregious offences. "In 2004, when the situation in Iraq begins to turn south and the media start asking questions, Cadet Command issues 'public affairs guidance' to all ROTC units. The twenty-eight-page document advises cadets and cadre to be wary of reporters and even provides stock responses to potential questions [such as] Q: Should the US have taken military action against Iraq? A: Our national leaders must decide the question of whether or not the US should take military action. It would clearly be inappropriate of me to attempt to second-guess them." An unbiased, insightful look into the trials and challenges facing America's "civilian soldiers", especially recommended for anyone considering joining the ROTC.

Great Subject - Disappointing Results.......2007-05-04

As a current ROTC Professor of Military Science, I was very excited to learn that a book had been written about Army ROTC. I ordered a couple of copies and I and the staff read on, hoping to incorporate the book into our Freshman course. I will say that the book is at least written at the high school / college freshman level, so it has that going for it (and that it can be read in a couple of hours). Unfortunately, Axe does a woeful job in accurately portraying a "Year in the Life" of an ROTC program, and too often intersperses expletive-laden descriptors as color commentary, and throws in the occasional Political-Military opinion into the mix, disrupting the flow of the narrative and turning off many readers in mid-stream.

This book did not do its theme and subjects great justice, and I hope a better book on the Reserve Officer's Training Course does surface in the near future - particularly in these times our nation deserves a better appreciation as to what its sons and daughters do to adequately prepare them to be junior leaders in this ever-changing Contemporary Operating Environment.

Brisk Read, Terrible Opinions.......2007-04-12

This books was a fast and very brisk read. I finished in roughly an hour. My initial reaction to his writing style was amusement: the writing is amateurish, and the diction is unoriginal.

However, I was deeply offended by his opinions on both ROTC and the current administration. Disrespect to any person in uniform is disgusting. The military men and women put their lives on the line everyday for people like David Axe to have freedoms. Regardless of personal beliefs on the War on Terror citizens should never sacrifice their patriotism in order to disrespect the nation's protectors.

David Axe was just an observer and a journalist therefore totally unqualified to disseminate any opinion on this subject. Furthermore, he only observed one school. Biased and opinionated, his book was more of a farce than a true addition to Military literature.

Overall */***** for poor writing, critical opinions, and a unqualified approach to his subject. I did not like his post on this page either.

Is this about my ROTC unit?.......2007-04-01

When I heard that a book had been written about my ROTC unit during the time that I was a cadet, I was intrigued. I was also curious, how I never really knew that anyone was working on such a project, especially when I should have known. I was for all intents and purposes a cadet who was in the center of things within the unit, including its Cadet Battalion Commander in the fall of 2005. All I remember was reporter coming to a couple of our field exercises and taking pictures while hardly talking to anyone. David Axe's Army 101: Inside ROTC in a Time of War is a biased and consistently inaccurate portrayal of the Gamecock Battalion during the time that I was cadet.

To start with, Army 101 is ripe with inaccuracies about the ROTC and the Army in general. Axe quotes graphic running cadences that I have never heard, and he talks about cadets using M60 machine guns in training at Fort Jackson. Not once do I recall having M60 machine guns on any field training exercise. He makes several attempts to interject cadet lingo, but gets it terribly wrong. For instance he mentions that the cadet in charge the Ranger Challenge team was referred to as the "Ranger Daddy." As a four year Ranger Challenge team member during the period covered in the book, not once do I remember that term being used seriously. My favorite thing is the contention that most of the Cadets belonged to fraternities or sororities. There were a few cadets who participated in Greek organizations, but as I recall most did not. In fact, I would argue that "frat guys" were looked down on amongst the cadets with a few notable exceptions.

I will admit that The Gamecock Battalion had its faults. I remember the old Sergeant that was sexually harassing the female cadets. The man was a pig. The thing is, he was exposed, and he got what was coming to him. I also readily admit that the training exercises were not precision examples of infantry tactics, but poorly orchestrated gaggles of people. The thing is, the real infantry soldiers conducting raids in Iraq started out learning how to patrol by walking in poorly orchestrated gaggles. Axe hints at this, and begins to make that point that ROTC uses infantry tactics as its training vehicle to teach leadership. The problem is that he doesn't emphasize it well. The point of those exercises literally was to see how the cadet leaders reacted when things went bad, and not to prepare them for conducting the perfect raid on an insurgent bomb making factory in Fallujah. New Lieutenants coming out of ROTC still have a great deal of full time training before they get sent out onto the battlefields.

Furthermore, Axe seems to have cherry-picked the cadets that he interviewed to back up his obvious anti-war and anti-Army bias. He for the most part bases his book the few cadets who failed, had doubts about the program, felt persecuted, were sub-standard, and or were not respected by the majority of the cadet battalion. I would not argue with wanting to present that side of the story if he had based his book on the majority of cadets. The majority of young men and women were there to learn how to be leaders so that they could simply go and serve their country.

My question is this, why wasn't I interviewed? Why weren't the majority of fellow cadets like me interviewed? The answer comes when I look up that the wall as I write this review. On the wall above my desk are the framed mementos of my time in ROTC. I look up and see my diplomas from Airborne School and Air Assault School. I see my Commission. I see the things that would in Axe's eyes, made me one of those "hardcore" cadets hell bent on getting to the "sandbox" so I could start killing savages. To him I would be a blood thirsty killer, because I was a "squared away" cadet, and not one of the minority of cadets with a chip on my shoulder. Thing is, if he had taken the time to ask me or the majority of my fellow cadets some questions he would have not been able to write this book the way he did. He would have had to write a story about young men and women who joined up to serve their country, have an adventure, be leaders, and do their part despite all the hardships. He would have to write a book about people who see that there is a job to be done, and they figure that it might as well be them leading in its completion. Army 101: Inside ROTC in a Time of War was written about the University of South Carolina's Army ROTC, but it was not written about the USC Army ROTC that I served in, and led.

- 2LT Samuel T. Brown
United States Army, Aviation

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