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Average customer rating:

Disappointing
The tape is bad, too
Did Cornwell actually write this?
Not your usual Cornwell!
not her usual

Southern Cross
Patricia Cornwell
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Hornet's Nest
Isle of Dogs
Point of Origin
Unnatural Exposure
Black Notice [BARGAIN PRICE] [Hardcover] by Cornwell, Patricia Daniels

ASIN: 0425172546

Amazon.com

In their first appearance (Hornet's Nest, 1997), Chief Judy Hammer, Deputy Virginia West, and reporter-turned-rookie-cop Andy Brazil battled a serial killer in Charlotte, North Carolina. Now, in Patricia Cornwell's Southern Cross, the trio are dispatched to Richmond, Virginia--via an NIJ (National Institute of Justice) grant--to quell the growing gang problem and modernize the beleaguered Richmond PD. They bring with them a sophisticated computer program for tracking criminal activity and a tried-and-true methodology for reforming Richmond's men and women in blue. Unfortunately, Hammer, Brazil, and West could not have been prepared for the resentment they would confront... or the bizarre cast of characters they would find upon their arrival: Lelia Ehrhart--wealthy (and nosey) chair of the Blue Ribbon Crime Commission--whose heavy European accent renders her English dangerously hilarious; Butner "Bubba" Flunk IV--tobacco industry worker, gun collector, and UFO aficionado; Smoke--the sociopathic leader of the Pikes gang; and Weed Gardener--14-year-old painter turned master graffiti artist.

Unlike Cornwell's usual fare, Southern Cross is driven almost exclusively by an interest in these strange personalities and their surreal hometown, rather than in fast-paced thrills. The novel becomes a satire on city politics, Southern culture, the ever-tense relationship between the police and the public, and the struggles of the average man and woman with computer technology. Cornwell does fall down in a few places. First, her description of the computer virus that somehow infects police department Web sites from Richmond to New York seems a bit far-fetched. Also, her narrative, divided among three major characters, loses its focus and sags at several points. In the end, though, Southern Cross is redeemed by Cornwell's inimitable renderings of police work and the quotidian life of Richmond's many odd denizens. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

From the number-one New York Times bestselling author of Hornet's Nest, Patricia Cornwell, comes an all-new, page-turning novel about big-city police, in a story of corruption, scandal, and robberies that escalate to murder. This time, the setting is Richmond, Virginia, where former Charlotte police chief Judy Hammer has been brought by an NIJ grant, to clean up the police force. Reeling from the recent death of her husband and resented by the Richmond police force, city manager, and mayor, Hammer is joined by her deputy chief, Virginia West, and rookie Andy Brazil on the most difficult assignment of her career. In the face of overwhelming public scrutiny, the trio must find the link between the desecration of Confederate president Jefferson Davis's statue and the brutal murder of an elderly woman.

A testimony to the singular versatility and narrative power of one of the country's best-read storytellers.

Download Description

Following in the path of her blockbuster Kay Scarpetta thrillers, Patricia Cornwell's novel is a testimony to the singular versatility and narrative power of one of the country's best-read storytellers.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing.......2006-11-25

I bought this book on clearence for $1. I still think I overpaid. Having read a couple of Cornwell's books, I was shocked to find no gruesome murder or even a good mystery. The book borders on almost sterotyping and a failed attempt in integrating history into the story. One wonders if Cornwell only wrote the book as a way to honor her contract. Borrow this book...if you really want to read it at all.

The tape is bad, too.......2006-10-25

This is a review of the audio tape version of the book - unfortunately, if anything it was just as bad or worse than the written word. I concur with other reviewers in that I have enjoyed several of Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta novels, but found this story hard to finish. The story is implausible in just about every respect from beginning to end. The Richmond Police Chief, her deputy and their young assistant are brought in from Charlotte on a short-term (one-year????) federal grant to clean up the Richmond department. No way is that going to happen. They all freak out when a kid hacks in to the Richmond cops computer system - don't they have an IT department? Somehow, this invasion cripples police computers all over the world! The story reels to an absurd conclusion when the police and interested bystanders play 'dog pile on the rabbit' to stop the bad guy, but somehow the chief herself has to come to the rescue.

At least the audio version only took a few hours in a long car ride. The actress doing the voices did an OK version of an Austrian immigrant - who was somehow a scion of Richmond society despite her apparent relative youth. But, the voices of the main Southern characters were abysmal and unconvincing. The listener was left to wonder whether the actress had ever heard a Virginia accent.

Did Cornwell actually write this?.......2006-09-15

I was a big fan of Cornwell's first 4 books, and was hoping a bunch of new characters and a supposedly humorous new approach would bring a breath of fresh air to her work (not to mention avoid long tangents about cooking), but it was not to be.

As I read this book, I found myself wondering at many points whether Cornwell had actually written it. It is so unlike her earlier work, I felt as though someone was playing a cruel joke on me, had hired a ghost writer using her name, or perhaps that Cornwell had a bad publishing deal she couldn't get out of and decided changing her name to an unpronounceable symbol wouldn't work in the book industry.

Several things make me suspect (or delude myself that) this wasn't really her. For example, at one point characters use radiocarbon dating on a piece of metal-- this is scientifically impossible, and an obvious mistake the Cornwell who prides herself on knowledge of forensics would never have made. The "humorous" portrayals of various purposely (but too predictably) stereotyped characters not only fall flat, but sometimes seem a little cruel.

To add to the litany of bad reviews: do not buy this book.

Not your usual Cornwell!.......2005-11-07

I read the 3 Andy Brazil books against advice from more than one person. I wanted to see for myself if they really were that bad. I liked the Scarpetta books (although I thought that the endings of some of those books were too rushed, too contrived). The Andy Brazil books are nothing like those! Hornet's Nest is probably the best of the three, although the characters are shallow and unconvincing and the plot is weak and implausible. There is some humour and some sexual tension which is frustrating for lack of relief. 5/10. Southern Cross degenerates from this. Ms Cornwell seems to be having fun at our expense, but the result isn't really funny or vaguely satisfying. 3/10. Isle of Dogs, well, how much lower can you go? What were you thinking, Ms Cornwell? Or what drugs were you on? This book was ridiculous! I persisted to the end of these books because I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Not sure why I bothered. Even if one reads these as tongue-in-cheek romps through the workings of a Police Dept, the final book is hugely disappointing. 1/10. Scarpetta fans who pay full price for these books will feel angry and very much cheated. Luckily I bought mine 2nd hand. Readers whose first taste of Cornwell is one of these books will never buy another. Whatever you do, don't pay full price for these books!

not her usual.......2005-05-18

I love the Scarpetta series. And had hoped that I would like this one. It is not up to her usual standards. I didn't make it past page 100. I put it down and got The Last Precinct. Much better. Please stick with Scarpetta, it is what you do best Ms. Cornwell.

Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Perennial Classics)

Average customer rating:

Riveting It's Not
The heavy burden of being a hero
Very good biography on MLK
Marked Black History
required reading

Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Perennial Classics)
David Garrow
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Parting the Waters : America in the King Years 1954-63 (America in the King Years)
Ethical Ambition: Living a Life of Meaning and Worth
In Struggle : SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s
Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership
A Testament of Hope : The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.

ASIN: 0060566922
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Amazon.com

In this 1987 Pulitzer Prize winner, David J. Garrow, through extensive interviews, and access to F.B.I. transcripts, delves deeply into both Dr. Martin Luther King's leadership role and his private life. He attributes King's moral and physical courage to his religious faith: King believed that he had literally been called to do the Lord's work. But from 1965, when the F.B.I. taped King in sexual encounters and sent the tape to S.C.L.L. headquarters, his associates noted a "spiritual depression", even a "death wish." Fear that exposure would ruin his public work dogged him until his assassination in 1968. While documenting the F.B.I.'s dirty tricks, Garrow never loses sight of King's achievement and vision, nor of the poignancy of King's belief that "the cross is something that you bear and ultimately that you die on."

Book Description

Winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, this is the most comprehensive book ever written about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Based on more than seven hundred interviews with all of King's surviving associates, as well as with those who opposed him, and enhanced by the author's access to King's personal papers and tens of thousands of pages of FBI documents, this is a towering portrait of a man's metamorphosis into a legend.

Customer Reviews:

Riveting It's Not.......2007-01-26

You must have to really work to turn a life so packed full of meaning and world-changing events into a snoozer of a book. I have no idea how "Bearing the Cross" received a Pulitzer Prize -- certainly not on the basis of its prose. While the author undoubtedly did an enormous amount of research, the book reads like a high school history essay; i.e. a monotonously linear string of events -- "Then King did this; then he did that; then they had an SCLC meeting; blah, blah, blah...". The book virtually no character development; in fact everyone but King are merely names on a page. It took a herculean effort to slog through the 600+ pages, but perhaps the book wasn't meant to be read straight through. Maybe this is one of those research tomes meant for reference by historians -- check out the ample index for the names, places and events you're interested in at the moment and read only snippets at a sitting.

Despite being far too long, the book has a couple major oversights. First, there are no photographs whatsoever -- for someone as widely seen on TV and newspapers as King, couldn't they have sprung for a few pages showing historical events? Second, the book abruptly ends with the assassination -- when King dies so does the book -- nothing on the national reaction to his death, nothing on Ray or the motivation for/theories around the killing.

In sum, great research, poor writing. Perhaps Taylor Branch can edit his multi-volume set into a readable single-volume account. Until then, look elsewhere for a good King biography.

The heavy burden of being a hero.......2004-05-11

BEARING THE CROSS is a very detailed book on the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., American hero, civil rights activist, preacher and admirer of Ghandi and his nonviolent approach to social change. King came to the forefront of the mid-century civil rights movement when Rosa Parks, a seamstress, refused to move from her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. It wasn't the first time a black woman had been tossed out of her seat in the Black section of the bus when a white customer needed a seat. Along with the removal usually went insults and threats and Ms. Parks just wasn't having it that time. The local activists asked King, a new preacher at Dexter Baptist Church, if he would take on the responsibility. Reluctantly, he agreed to do so and thus began the legend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Over the years, Dr. King has taken on an almost mythical position in the civil rights movement. Those who were present at the time find themselves wondering if the Dr. King they remember is the same man that is now raised in the American consciousness. He is frequently given a saintly aura that leads children reading about him in history books to believe there was never anyone like him before and that there can never be another like him again. David J. Garrow dispels those myths as he lets us in on the life of the man who led this country to reconsider its segregationist behavior. We see Dr. King when he is depressed and feeling unworthy of his position in the movement, when he is being a chauvinist about his wife, those moments when he smokes and drinks too much and Garrow gives credence to the rampant rumors that he had women in his life other than Coretta.

In addition to the very humanness of King, we also get to witness the foibles of the United States as it dealt with its Black citizens. We get to know the actions of three presidents of the United States, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson, as they vacillated about the civil rights movement. None of them wanted to upset the Southern voting population so they tended to send mixed messages: on one hand they knew that Blacks were being treated unfairly but to offer help through legislation, federal troop protection for besieged nonviolent marchers or verbal support for the movement was beyond where they wanted to go. The levels to which the FBI stooped to discredit King are by themselves, phenomenal. Each of the presidents was definitely aware that King's rights as a citizen of this country were being abused as his home, his phones, his motels, hotels and friends were wiretapped. The agency also used the illegally acquired information to terrorize and blackmail Dr. King. Not one of them objected to this horrendous invasion of privacy.

BEARING THE CROSS is a definite must read for every caring citizen of the United States who has a desire to understand and appreciate the civil rights movement, the life and times of Dr. King and the role that the country has played in keeping some of its citizens in bondage. I would also recommend it as a reference book for the civil rights movement.

Reviewed by alice Holman
of the RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Very good biography on MLK.......2004-02-17

This Pulitzer Prize winning biography proves to be superbly reseached and well written (although bit dry for some) account of the great civil right leader. However, the book seem to be geared around his public life and his involvment with the Civil Rights movement of SCLC. Although this part of his life seem to be well documented and covered, the book don't tell us much about King's private life, his relationship with his family, or his sexual indiscretions and his own relationship on the personal level with so many of his fellowers, friends and rivials.

But its a superb coverage of King's Civil Rights involvement and actually tell a sad story of man who was definitely over reaching the limits of his own personal, mental and physical endurance. A good example would be how MLK's venture in the Vietnam War which definitely overextended his reach when so much still needed to be done on the Civil Rights front. This distraction also cost him friends and allies who could have helped him on that issue which should have been the main focus of MLK. I guess he lost focus in the end. I am bit surprised that the book didn't make any commentary on the legacy of MLK or anything like that. The book stopped with his death which almost sound like a blessing for MLK who seem at the end of his life, an unhappy man, totally stress out and overwhelmed by his burdens.

But as biography goes, I thought this book was honest and interesting picture of a man. And thats good in my opinion, MLK was a man with combination of greatness and flaw that the book clearly points out with a great deal of objectivity. I thought it was kind of an ironic statement when the author stated that the only people who really knew MLK were his closest friends and the FBI who wiretapped him.

I should note that this may not be an ideal chocie for first time reader of MLK since there are overwhelming amount of material in this book which may create an information overload for some people.

My paperback book didn't have any photos which I thought to be bit strange. Book like this need photos. But overall, this is the best biography I have read on MLK regarding his public life. Will there ever be one of his private life??

Marked Black History.......2003-09-21

This is the most comprehensive MLK book you can get and it helped me through the 20th century as I wrote a short-short on Black history entitled "Who is We?" available @ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/singinsagg. The book spans black history and the agonizing period of slavery from 1441, all across the Americas. It brings you to the period of segregation and tell of the arts that blacks are known for and traces the life of MLK, blacks in film, musical emerges such as gospel, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, reggae, and hip-hop (rap).

required reading.......2001-10-24

Although not completed I already have the idea that it should be required reading for Seniors in High School and/or a Freshman College requirement. After all it is a most significant event of modern day history along with the civil war and both world wars. David Garrow simultaneously celebrates and condemns human nature by revealing the courage and strength of Dr. King and his followers even as his wife and daughter are attacked with fire bombs by the hateful white mobs. A very compelling beginning story of Rosa Parks... the injustices and inhumane treatment she suffered at the hands of a hate filled people...sets the stage for a work that could begin a lesson in tolerance and unity for our next generations. I unfortunately believe we are still condemned to live our hateful existence in America and the world until works like this can get the attention they deserve.

Robotech: The Masters Saga: The Southern Cross (Robotech)

Average customer rating:

You go, girl
The UNCUT version of the Southern Cross
Dang.. no more Rick Hunter or the skull team.
Good book, bad binding.
The Robotech Masters are here!

Robotech: The Masters Saga: The Southern Cross (Robotech)
Jack Mckinney
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Robotech: The New Generation: The Invid invasion (Robotech: New Generation)
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Invid Invasion (#10) (Robotech, No 10)

ASIN: 0345391845
Release Date: 2007-02-27

Book Description

ROBOTECH v
Second Generation
DEL REY BOOKS CLASSIC VALUE
THREE NOVELS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE
#7 SOUTHERN CROSS
The Robotech Masters had come to Earth to finish the conquest their Zentraedi warrior-slaves had begun...and a battle-ravaged planet had to defend itself once more. That was when Dana Sterling, half-Human, half-Zentraedi commander of an elite Hovertank unit, stepped into the spotlight of interstellar history!
#8 METAL FIRE
An alien fortress had crashlanded on Earth--brought down in the struggle between the Robotech Masters and Earth's Human inhabitants. Now the fortress dared someone to penetrate its dark mysteries. And who better to brave that ship than Dana Sterling's 15th Squadron ATACs--after all, they had brought the thing down to begin with!
#9 THE FINAL NIGHTMARE
The Robotech Masters' Protoculture Matrix was degenerating, transforming into the Flower of Life--which was sure to draw the savage, merciless Invid across the galaxy to Earth. But the Army of the Southern Cross vowed to fight to the bitter end. And Dana Sterling raged a desperate war of her own to decipher her strange visions and the secret of her alien heritage...

Customer Reviews:

You go, girl.......2007-06-28

"No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty." C. S. Lewis (On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature, 14)

"Southern Cross" is shorter than "Macross," and is a bit tighter story. But the themes are the same. We get a cosmic conflict, all the mecha we could want or need, knotty relationships, the power of music and love, teamwork, and a hefty glistening of fantasy over the solid state hardware.

And, of course, the existential angst (see The Concept of Anxiety : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 8). An all to familiar existential angst that hits too close to home.

Dan is the confused halfbreed, reminding us that we all are confused half breeds, or amphibians. Our bodies are clearly made of the "dust of the earth," but our spirits are otherworldly. The poetess Eliza R. Snow-Smith summed up these feelings:

"Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whispered, `You're a stranger here,'
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere." (Eliza R. Snow's Greatest Hymns)

This inner conflict is the basis of all her frustration. And add to that her burn-out with Zor, and we detect an undercurrent of spiritual malaise. The rest of the crew is equally frustrated. Louis is bitter over his pupil pistol being militarized. Bowie is lovelorn. Angelo is a bigot. Nova Satroi is Javert. Leonard is Dolza jr. But the only person who enjoys himself is Sean Phillips.

Despite all of his setbacks, Sean keeps himself buoyant. He is busted to buck private. He looses his command. He has serial relationships, until he meets Marie Crystal. Even then, he gets both of her shoulders very cold. But he always bounces back. In a way, Sean is a hobbit. A hobbit with a Bugs Bunny attitude, but a hobbit nonetheless.

That is the atom; there is also the hurricane of the Robotech Masters and behind them, the shadow of the Invid. This appeals to me, these layers and layers of the Robotech Saga. But this is not surprising, since life is like that. Edmund S. Morgan asserted that "history is Junk." (So What about History?), inferring that life lies on layers of the past. "Southern Cross" encapsulates this idea with both second generations: after the Zentraedi come the Robotech Masters, and after the Robotech Defense Force comes the Southern Cross.

As the second in a trilogy, the book leaves us with an aftertaste of GNDN (Goes Nowhere, Does Nothing), but that is just the nature of trilogies. The whole shebang will end with quite a pop--but that is the next 3-in-1.

*
As Always, I am a fan of both the DVDs Robotech - Protoculture Collection and the books. I consider them two different version of the same history. Or two different historians writing about the same events. Either way, we get a marvelous story.

Remember the reason why we have these novels in the first place. Before VCRs, DVDs, and Youtube, the only way we could relive the magic was by these books. Harmon Gold took advantage of this, and let "Jack McKinney" iron out some of the inconsistencies and rough spots that were in the anime. In my humble opinion, the Lang-Zand sub-cabal, protoculture being a syntropic force, and the Flower of Life addiction all add to the saga. In fact, I would love to read the full account of Zor seducing the Invid Regress. I imagine it to very a very Tolkienesque romance. And maybe Zor is the father of Marlene-Ariel?

Of course all of these additions give the book version of Robotech History a different feel. This history is more like Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 1) and Star Wars, Episode IV - A New Hope. But remember that these franchises are so popular because they resonate with us. Something inside of us wants there to be an overarching guiding power that we all can access. We want there to be something more than just technology, gizmos, and 24/7/365 Paris Hilton coverage.

In light of the Robotech - The Shadow Chronicles Movie, these novels become all the more important. So, I am for all of the Robotech novels to be republished. I realize that there is some discussion of canonicity. This should not be an issue. We will believe which version of history we want to believe. Besides, there are questions of canonicity with Star Trek The Animated Series - The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek and Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye, yet these apocryphal works are still in print. We should do the same for all 21 of the novel, putting them in 7 3-in-1 collections. If you print them, we will buy. We want to pass the legacy on to our children.

The UNCUT version of the Southern Cross.......2004-01-31

Wow, fantastic book(s). The Southern Cross Warriors were even better in the novels than they were in the series. Also, where is Dr. Lazlo Zand in the series? Why was the seen with Dana and the Beers cut out? Anyway, the series was great, but these novels show us the whole story. The ending in the novel is extended, whereas the TV series leaves you with millions of questions. I highly recommend this book!

Dang.. no more Rick Hunter or the skull team........2002-08-05

Rick is now out of the picture, but Max's daughter Dana is the heroine of the story with her friend Bo. Dana is a mix of Human and Zentradi, seeing as how her dad was a human{Max} and her mom was a Zentradi{Miriya}. If you recall her encounter with Rick in Homecoming then you know that Rick wasn't to fond of Miriya.
But I recomend this to all Robotech fans especially if they liked the Sentenal saga. That's all for now, See ya....

Good book, bad binding........2001-10-05

This is a very good book, but the binding itself is inferior. I had the binding snap in 2 pieces (at page 198) when I was reading the book. The binding itself is only attached to the cover in two places, and the binding resembles a thick glue. When reading this book, be warned not to open it all the way, otherwise you'll break the binding.

The Robotech Masters are here!.......2001-08-26

Earth finally must face the Robotech Masters in a battle over the last Protoculture Matrix. If the Masters can get it, they will become Masters of not only the Earth, but all of known space. Will Dana Sterling and the Army of the Southern Cross be able to stop the Robotech Masters? Will either side get to the Matrix before it degenerates into the Flower of Life which will draw the Invid? No matter what happens, Earth will never be the SAME!

Average customer rating:

Rawlings Humor and Recipes
Much more than a cookbook
A Must For Any Rawlings Fan, Cook or Not!
Fantastic recipes of Southern cooking
MKR "took more pride in her cooking than in her writing"

Cross Creek Cookery
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Manufacturer: Fireside
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Cross Creek
Cross Creek
Short Stories by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Yearling (Aladdin Classics)
The Creek

ASIN: 0684818787

Book Description

The Classic Book on Southern Cooking

First published in 1942, Cross Creek Cookery was compiled by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings at the request of readers who wanted to recreate the luscious meals described in Cross Creek -- her famous memoir of life in a Florida hamlet.

Lovers of old-fashioned, down-home cooking will treasure the recipes for Grits, Hush-Puppies, Florida Fried Fish, Orange Fluff, and Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie. For more adventuresome palates, there are such unusual dishes as Minorcan Gopher Stew, Coot Surprise, Alligator-Tail Steak, Mayhaw Jelly, and Chef Huston's Cream of Peanut Soup.

Spiced with delightful anecdotes and lore, Cross Creek Cookery guides the reader through the rich culinary heritage of the deep tidal South with a loving regard for the rituals of cooking and eating. Anyone who longs for food -- and writing -- that warms the heart will find ample portions of both in this classic cookbook.

Customer Reviews:

Rawlings Humor and Recipes.......2005-08-24

A great read... both for the recipes and for a large dose of Marjorie Rawlings' folksy humor. Loved it from cover to cover.

Much more than a cookbook.......2005-08-23

A big fan of MKR, I stumbled over this little book at a booksale several years ago----it's paperback and coming apart from use, and the pure pleasure of reading Ms. Rawlings' commentary and recollections of living at Cross Creek. Her biscuit and hoe-cake recipes are worth the price, as they evoked memories of my grandmothers kitchen where it wasn't a meal without fresh, hot bread.
Highly recommended---even if you're not a cook!

A Must For Any Rawlings Fan, Cook or Not!.......2000-12-11

I've been a fan of Rawlings since I first read her as a teenager. Reading her biography many years ago, I learned of her pride in her cooking. I didn't even know she'd issued a cookbook until I came across this edition!

Upon reading the book I was immediately reminded of the "Alice B. Toklas" cookbook. The structure and literary emphasis are much the same. Thus, for the same reason, it's a joy to read even if one doesn't cook!

However, like "Toklas", the recipes are also a treasure. Many of the recipes contain ingredients too exotic for the average cook, but many more are easily prepared. This can also be a pleasurable and valuable resource for those, like me, who enjoy reading and preparing recipes from old cookbooks. Our eating styles have changed enormously in the nearly sixty years since Rawlings wrote this book.

If you are a fan of Rawlings, buy the book whether you ever plan to cook any of its recipes. Its reasonable cost is a further bonus!

Fantastic recipes of Southern cooking.......1999-05-09

As the other reviewer has mentioned, this is a collection of recipes, filled with anecdotes of central Florida life in the 1930s and 1940s. The recipes are fantastic and one wants to try all of them (although it may be difficult to prepare alligator-tail steak). And, what a pleasure it is to read a cookbook written by an accomplished author. You just keep picking it up.

MKR "took more pride in her cooking than in her writing".......1997-08-01

It is evident from her cookbook that Marjorie tasted of nearly everything and learned to make delicious dishes out of some very odd things: Poke Weed (on toast), Pot Roast of Bear, Smother-Fried Squirrel, Gopher Stew, Coot Surprise, Jugged Rabbit, a host of Pilaus, and an infamous blackbird pie. Of course this book is not simply a culinary freak-show. There are dozens of recipes for desserts, seafood, meats-found-at-the-A&P, jams, and soups, featuring ingredients of which we are all familiar and unafraid. She was proud to share them and claimed each recipe was nothing short of first-rate. Included among these is her piece de resistance, Crab A La Newburg, and the best Strawberry Shortcake ever. Accompanied by anecdotes of Florida rural living in the 1930s and 1940s, this book is a delight and an excursion from a mundane kitchen

Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt

Average customer rating:

The Origin of the Bible Belt
Adapting evangelicalism for a southern audience
The Solid South
great informative stimulating delightful read.
Great history. Great read.

Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt
Christine Leigh Heyrman
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 080784716X
Release Date: 1998-04-29

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It seems almost a given in the South these days that Christian conservatism is the rule rather than the exception. This part of the United States is, after all, the "buckle" of the Bible Belt. In her surprising history, Southern Cross, Professor Christine Leigh Heyrman shows that Evangelical Christianity was not always as popular in the South as it is today. In fact, the whole face of Evangelicalism has changed radically since its introduction in the 18th century. For example, early teaching and practice resoundingly opposed slavery, class privilege, and the traditional roles of men and women. Evangelicals encouraged women's involvement in church affairs and--even worse--spiritual intimacy with other races. These unpopular political and social stands combined with their unbending view of hellfire and damnation placed Evangelicals on the margins of Southern religious practice until they themselves were "converted" to a different set of traditional values.

Heyrman's book traces the evolution of Southern Evangelism from fringe movement to possessor of the Southern soul. In the span of a century, Evangelicalism began adopting Southern values, and a sect that had earlier preached against slavery and violence began defending both slaveholding and succession from the Union and the use of force in these ends, if necessary. The story of Christianity in the South is a fascinating one, and Southern Cross tells it well.

Book Description

Revealing a surprising paradox at the heart of America's "Bible Belt," Christine Leigh Heyrman examines how the conservative religious traditions so strongly associated with the South evolved out of an evangelical Protestantism that began with very different social and political attitudes.

Although the American Revolution swept away the institutional structures of the Anglican Church in the South, the itinerant evangelical preachers who subsequently flooded the region at first encountered resistance from southern whites, who were affronted by their opposition to slaveholding and traditional ideals of masculinity, their lack of respect for generational hierarchy, their encouragement of women's public involvement in church affairs, and their allowance for spiritual intimacy with blacks. As Heyrman shows, these evangelicals achieved dominance in the region over the course of a century by deliberately changing their own "traditional values" and assimilating the conventional southern understandings of family relationships, masculine prerogatives, classic patriotism, and martial honor. In so doing, religious groups earlier associated with nonviolence and antislavery activity came to the defense of slavery and secession and the holy cause of upholding both by force of arms—and adopted the values we now associate with the "Bible Belt."

Customer Reviews:

The Origin of the Bible Belt.......2007-05-09

A facinating tour of religion in early America. Particularly interesting for the light it brings to various conservative religous groups and cults in todays news.

Adapting evangelicalism for a southern audience.......2001-09-25

In Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt, Christine Heyrman traces the difficulties encountered by 18th century evangelicals in spreading Baptist and Methodist beliefs to the South, and discusses the remedies they employed to make their faith more acceptable within southern culture. Heyrman argues that in philosophy and modes of worship, the evangelical message was often at odds with prevailing cultural norms in the South. To win converts, sects had to modify their message, in some ways rejecting important theological underpinnings in order to gain membership. While evangelical religion is now seen as one of the bastions of conservative southern values, Heyrman asserts that this was not always the case, and that only in the 19th century did the evangelicals take on the characteristics we now associate with them. To support her argument, Heyrman relies primarily on church records, the diaries and letters of itinerant preachers, and a number of secondary studies of southern culture.

Heyrman believes that a number of factors accounted for the slow growth of evangelicalism in the 18th century South, among them an unwillingness among the lower classes to upset the gentry by adopting preachers who publicly spoke out against slavery, fear of upsetting the social hierarchy, and a cultural unwillingness to accept such a deeply personal and introspective conversion process. Many potential converts were unwilling to submit to such a demanding moralism, or feared being overcome by the despondency that struck some converts. The evangelicalsýuse of young and tactless itinerant preachers in a culture that placed value upon maturity and deference also contributed to their unpopularity. Itinerancy itself was also an issue, since Methodist preachers were responsible for disciplining members who they did not personally know well. Additionally, the deference accorded to women and blacks within the church was offensive to white males, the churches were seen as destabilizing to family values because members were encouraged to put the church before their families, and the preachers themselves struck many as unmanly in a society that placed premiums on masculinity.

To combat these problems, the churches began in the 19th century to tone down their attacks on slavery and immoral gentry behavior. They also reduced the roles of women and blacks within the churches, and encouraged preachers to have families and exhibit more masculine characteristics. However, while the changes Heyrman cites may have made evangelicals appear less objectionable to potential converts, she never considers ways in which the churches became more inviting. She does not question why anyone would be attracted to evangelicalism, only why they might oppose it less. Because of this, the phenomenal growth that the sects did eventually come to enjoy is never explained; rather than showing the reasons why evangelical religion did become such an important part of southern life, her study only explains how it avoided oblivion.

The Solid South.......2000-04-23

How would you feel if a visiting preacher came along and told you that the way you had been "doing church" all your life was wrong and would be radically changed? Your reaction would probably be similar to that of many whose calm and quiet lives were caught up in the frenzy of the evangelical awakenings and revivals of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In this book Christine Heyrman, a Professor of History at the University of Delaware, looks with a somewhat jaundiced eye at "the beginnings of the Bible belt" in the South of the early 1800's. The legacy of the Awakenings there was a population, many of whom had made a transition from the old, established Episcopal Church into the Baptist Church. No sooner had the effects of this jolt subsided when the region was overrun with itinerant Methodist circuit riders who raged against cards, guns, dancing, and Calvinism; in short, everything which had made the South that bastion of macho chivalraic leisure which, among the upper classes, it had become. For good measure, a smattering of Scottish Presbyterianism is thrown in to complicate the mixture. As they usually do, the flames of revival had spawned a certain amount of hysteria and superstition as people sometimes fainted, raved, and saw unearthly visions when they came under conviction of sin. Church growth outstripped oversight and discipline as new, unshepherded converts often headed for the Quaker or Shaker communities or into bizarre churches of their own devising. Heyrman's main point, however, is to show how the Southern mindset and lifestyle of today were molded and shaped by the synthesis of pre-Revival Southern mores and the evangelical preaching and style of the revivalists, especially the Methodist circuit riders. These rough, bold pioneers were actually viewed as effete and effeminate by the plantation hedonocracy because of their distaste for hunting, shooting, duelling, riding to hounds, cursing, dancing, drinking, and gambling which were the pastimes of the leisure class. Eventually a synthesis emerged, in which these practices were recognized as undesirable, but were still indulged in, producing the South of the Confederate era, holding a Bible in one hand and a rifle and a bottle of Southern Comfort in the other, the image of which has persisted to the present day. Heyrman is to be commended for embarking on the exploration of a theme, if not an era, which has been little handled previously. The American reading public still awaits a treatment of this subject from an evangelical Christian perspective--a book waiting to be written.

great informative stimulating delightful read........1999-06-06

the work of a first class historian. i am looking forward to more books by this excellant researcher.

Great history. Great read........1999-02-26

Heyrman tells an interesting tale in an engaging way while she carefully backs her statements. This book has much to offer the general reader. The author provides insight into how religious movements may be born in reaction against change and potential loss of power. At the same time, Heyrman never comes off as having an axe to grind.

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Moving, beautifully written Christian fiction
review Sutter's Cross
Have faith
Not sure what you are asking for.
More than I Expected

Sutters Cross
W. Dale Cramer
Manufacturer: Bethany House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764227831
Release Date: 2003-01-01

Book Description

Men and women of all ages will warm to Cramer's elegant prose and Southern charm. William Faulkner once insisted that great stories must capture the "old universal truths...love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice." Sutter's Cross delivers the truth in grand style. Sutter's Cross is a resort town in the southern Appalachians, where people live in comfortable homes, have comfortable portfolios, and wear comfortable clothes. They expect their lives, their weather, even their God, to be cooperative and predictable-until a stranger calling himself "Harley" shows up in the buffet line at the church's annual spring picnic looking like a wreck and wearing stolen jeans. Can God use an outcast to change a town?

Customer Reviews:

Moving, beautifully written Christian fiction.......2006-05-01

Sutter's Cross by W. Dale Cramer is a lyrically crafted book. It's Cramer's debut novel, and it truly shines. Harley shows up in town at the church picnic lunch wearing another man's pants and quickly saves an elderly woman from choking. From this auspicious beginning, people in town quickly line up either for him or against him. At first I was concerned the book would be too similar to Joshua, but this book is entirely different and certainly stands on its own merits. Cramer does a wonderful job of characterization, although Orde seems a bit stereotypical. The stories of Web, Eddy & Marcus, and Jake & Harley come together with such a clash that even Web's change becomes believable. The scene of prayer in the church brought tears to my eyes, and the scene of Marcus with the fireflies stands as one of the best I've ever read in fiction: miraculous and moving. Cramer's story is all the more moving for not tying everything up with a neat bow at the end.

review Sutter's Cross.......2006-03-22

Author seems very knowledgable of his subjects, have read two of his books and found them very interesting.

Have faith.......2006-03-12

Great read from start to end. You would want to have Harley on your side. I have read "Bad Ground" first, but I like "Sutter's Cross" better.

Not sure what you are asking for........2005-09-05

Received the book in exellent condition. Emjoyed reading the book very much.

More than I Expected.......2005-06-20

I enjoyed Sutter's Cross because of the thought provoking events and actions of the characters in relation to each other and the story line. I would not have known about this book if not for it being a selection for our church book club. I found myself having to really push to get into the book - but I am so glad that I did. It was well worth the read - and I would recommend it highly to anyone wanting to read a book about life that is out of the ordinary. It is picturesque and entertaining.

Under the Southern Cross: Soldier Life With Gordon Bradwell and the 31st Georgia Infantry

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Lost Cause Lies
Under the Southern Cross : Soldier Life With Gordon Bradwell

Under the Southern Cross: Soldier Life With Gordon Bradwell and the 31st Georgia Infantry
Isaac Gordon Bradwell , and Pharris Deloach Johnson
Manufacturer: Mercer University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0865546673

Book Description

Isaac Gordon Bradwells captivating personal narrative provides an honest description of those long-ago events of the 1860s which so importantly shaped our countrys history. A volunteer at 18, he was with his company aT the time of its inception and was in combat at the time of Lees surrender. Nearly every aspect of a young privates life in the Lawton-Gordon-Evans Brigade is vividly described. The intimate details he provides of his regiment and the personalities of its men give us insight that is not found elsewhere.

We learn from his remarkable story that Bradwell was for a brief time a member of Stonewall Jacksons "Foot cavalry," later among the Confederate infantry making the deepest penetration into the North during the Gettysburg Campaign, and part of the last of Lees army to leave enemy soil after the Gettysburg invasion. He participated in General Ewells first action at the Wilderness, fought with his brigade at the "Bloody Angle" at Spotsylvania Court House, and was with General Early in his 1864 Valley Campaign. After fighting in the unsuccessful attack on Fort Stedman at Petersburg in 1865, Bradwell was one of the last to evacuate the Rebel defenses. He concluded his valiant service in line of battle at Appomatox Court House.

Customer Reviews:

Lost Cause Lies.......2006-10-24

The editor has culled together a great number of articles written by Isaac Gordon Bradwell for the "Confederate Veteran," mainly after World War One. Bradwell was in his eighties when these were published and he perpetuates all the myths put forth by the Confederates as to why they lost the War Between the States. For example, Bradwell states that the greatest soldiers in the world are Anglo-Saxons, especially southern Americans. Their Yankee foes were a mongrel race who needed alcohol in order to make them fight. The few band of pure Americans took on the entire world; no wonder they eventually lost. While his stories of what he actually saw and did during the war are valuable, Bradwell fills in his history with stories about what he never saw, that fit the Lost Cause line. On page 68 he states that there is an urn in Cold Harbor containing the bones of 18,000 Yankees who were killed in the surrounding area (Gaines Mill in 1862 and Cold Harbor in 1864.) There actually is an urn-shaped monument in the Cold Harbor National Cemetery that commemorates some 800 inknown US soldiers buried beneath it. The editor does not bother to correct Bradwell's assertion. Two pages later he states that Confederate attacks at the Battle of Malvern Hill drove the Yankees from their artillery and captured the hill, only to be driven back by fire from the Yankee gunboats. The truth is that Federal artillery broke up each Confederate assault before they got halfway up the hill and that gunboat fire was as dangerous to the defenders as to the attackers. Again, the editor does correct what Bradwell says. In fact, the only editorial material is genealogical/military data on the Confederate soldiers mentioned in Bradwell's text. The editor simply does not edit. Therefore, Bradwell's narrative simply is not very useful, because the reader must be able to separate fact from fiction. Bradwell's style is entertaining and there is a lot of valid information in the text. It could have been made much better with an editor who actually edited the material. The editor was a career Air Force officer. As a result, Bradwell's stories are the ramblings of a childless old man who wants his version of history to be published. Given the racial tension of the 1920's, I'm sure he found an audience with the dwindling number of Confederate veterans and southern readers who had to validate the reasons for attempting to destroy the United States and establish a slave republic.

Under the Southern Cross : Soldier Life With Gordon Bradwell.......2000-05-09

An excellent book. Very well written and made to order for those who have an appetite for more Civil War history. It is well-organized in content and truly a remarkable record of the Civil War written from the perspective of a Private in the Confederate army who was educated and had the ability to put his insights down in excellent form. Col. Johnson has done a superb job of editing the material left by Private Bradwell. It is a treasure-find for those interested in Southern history, in particular those of us in South Georgia.

Under the Southern Cross or Travels in Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Samoa, and Other Pacific Islands

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Under the Southern Cross or Travels in Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Samoa, and Other Pacific Islands
M.M. Ballou
Manufacturer: Ticknor & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

New Zealand | Australia & South Pacific | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: B000K0AJDI

Under the Southern Cross: Or, a Woman's Life Work for Africa

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Under the Southern Cross: Or, a Woman's Life Work for Africa
Emma Hillmon Haviland
Manufacturer: Cosimo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1596057599

Book Description

The special work to which I had been appointed at Fair View was the school work; although my instructions given by Superintendent Roberts on the eve of my departure for Africa gave full liberty to evangelize as well as to teach. My manual read something like this: "Do not be satisfied to be merely a school teacher. Be an evangelist. Go out to the kraals, preaching as you go. Make the salvation of souls your one and only business." -from "Chapter XIII: My School"

The missionary work of Westerners in Africa is long and storied-here's another tale of the long-term attempts to convert a continent. Privately published, this is one woman's account of her Christian work in Zulu country, from her childhood-she was born in 1863-on farms in Iowa and Kansas, where she had a youthful brush with death that led to her conversion to an active Christianity, to her return home after long years doing the Lord's work.

The time in between is fraught with culture shock: her difficulties in learning the Zulu language, her disdain for Zulu tradition and mythology, even a particular scorn for the food she found unpalatable. Stolid and unbending, this is a curious document of a less enlightened time, a firsthand look at the mindset of a bygone time.

Under the Southern Cross
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Under the Southern Cross

Manufacturer: Turner Publishing Company (KY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Aviation | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1563114321

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