bookpagedev

ParentingFamily & Relationships

Review

Review by bookpagedev

The anticipation and excitement surrounding the arrival of a baby can be felt to some degree by all ages. However, younger children’s expectations may quickly turn to disappointment when the newborn infant does not walk, talk, or play games. Expectant parents find it challenging, trying to educate and prepare themselves; how can children be taught to appreciate, at some level, the accomplishments of a baby? Penny Gentieu’s latest book, Grow! Babies! encourages younger readers to appreciate and understand babies by photographing and chronicling 19 different babies’ benchmarks of growth during their first year of life. The concise, informative sentences can hold even the shortest attention spans. The varied use of color and size in the adorable photographs, as well as the printed text, appeals to the curiosity in readers of all ages. The babies photographed in the book represent a cultural cross section of our society.

Since babies are a source of fascination for both younger and older readers, Grow! Babies! is truly an ageless book that can be shared and enjoyed by the entire family. It is easy to imagine a child picking out one of the babies and flipping through the pages, paying attention to that particular baby’s growth and changes. The expressions on each of the babies’ faces are priceless. It is impossible to look through this book without smiling, or oohing and ahhing. Grow! Babies! is a wonderful addition to any collection of children’s books, or for any expectant parents. Penny Gentieu has once again captured cherished moments in the development of children for all to see and enjoy.

Alicia D. Wall is an elementary school teacher and, at press time, an expectant mother of triplets.

The anticipation and excitement surrounding the arrival of a baby can be felt to some degree by all ages. However, younger children's expectations may quickly turn to disappointment when the newborn infant does not walk, talk, or play games. Expectant parents find it challenging, trying…

Children's & YAPicture Book

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Neighbors everybody has them. For some, a neighbor is little more than an acquaintance. For others, a neighbor is a source of contention or even worse, an enemy! For many, though, a neighbor is a friend.

In Yoshi’s Feast (ages 4Ð8), the story centers around the lives of two neighbors. The setting for this story is the Japanese city of Yedo, and through Yumi Heo’s lively and colorful illustrations, we see beautiful kimonos, tidy villages, exciting fan dances, and other glimpses of Japanese culture and life. The story itself, however, transcends the borders of Japan. It is an age-old theme told in a new and entertaining manner. At the start of the story, the reader is presented with Yoshi, a fan maker, and Sabu, an eel broiler. Yoshi lives next door to Sabu, but the reader can infer that these two neighbors are acquaintances and not friends. Every night, Sabu broils delicious smelling eels in hopes of enticing customers to his hibachi. Sabu’s hibachi, though, is hard to find so he has few customers and many leftover eels to eat. Yoshi thinks that Sabu should share the leftover eels with him, since they are neighbors. Sabu is of the opinion that his neighbor should buy the eels. At one point, Sabu, who knows Yoshi desires his eels, demands to know when his neighbor is planning to buy some. Yoshi explains to Sabu that he will never buy any eels, because smelling them is as good as eating them. After smelling them, he is content to eat his rice, which in turn, allows him to save money. He enjoys the growing weight of his money box and the lovely sound it makes when he shakes it. This attitude infuriates Sabu, whose money box is not growing in weight. He sees Yoshi growing rich at his expense and presents him with a bill for smelling the eels. Now, Yoshi and Sabu are feuding neighbors, and the rift of discontent produces negative consequences. Are Yoshi and Sabu doomed to be feuding neighbors forever? Will Yoshi pay Sabu’s preposterous bill for smelling eels? Yoshi’s clever handling of the situation makes this story entertaining. The age-old dilemma of neighborly relations makes Yoshi’s Feast universally appealing.

Denise Harris is a writer and children’s multicultural education consultant.

Neighbors everybody has them. For some, a neighbor is little more than an acquaintance. For others, a neighbor is a source of contention or even worse, an enemy! For many, though, a neighbor is a friend.

In Yoshi's Feast (ages 4Ð8), the story…
FilmArts & Culture

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Back in 1950, All About Eve made history when it was nominated for 14 Academy Awards a number that was not equaled until 1998 when Titanic sailed into view. A witty, incisive look at what goes on behind the scenes of show business, All About Eve is renowned for Bette Davis’s famed portrayal of actress Margo Channing, an aging star whose career is eclipsed as a result of her association with a conniving starlet (Anne Baxter). Davis’s larger-than-life performance and lines the likes of Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night, enshrined its legend, as does All About All About Eve : The Complete Behind-the-Scenes Story of the Bitchiest Film Ever Made. In recounting his attempts to trace the journey of Eve, author Sam Staggs relates how Celeste Holm, the film’s only surviving cast member, chose not to respond to his letter requesting her participation. This after a combative phone call in which she asked, Why the hell do you want to write that book? To Staggs’s credit, he pushed forward with what he calls a work of fan scholarship/camp scholarship. In charting the movie’s metamorphosis which began with a 1946 short story in Cosmopolitan he has also written a colorful tell-all about how movies are made.

The role of Margo may have become a Davis signature, but it almost wasn’t so. Susan Hayward, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Stanwyck, and the stage actress Gertrude Lawrence were among the contenders. Finally, Claudette Colbert was to have starred but couldn’t, after rupturing a disk. Ironically, Margo would be the last truly great role for Davis; likewise, the film marked a career climax for the rest of the players save for a largely unknown co-star named Marilyn Monroe.

According to some reports, the Davis performance borrowed from Tallulah Bankhead, whose own mystique is intertwined with her sexual personae, which resulted in her avid gay cult following. The Tallulah connection is partially responsible for Eve’s own gay following. Indeed, during one production of Applause the hit Broadway musical of the ’70s that was inspired by Eve Margo was portrayed by a drag queen.

As for Eve’s mainstream allure: it originates with the storyline, as first written by Mary Orr, and later adapted by screenwriter-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz. With its portrait of an aging star, who falls under the spell of a fan with her own hunger for fame, Eve is all about greed, ambition and, ultimately, survival. As you’ll discover upon reading All About All About Eve. Pat H. Broeske is the biographer of Howard Hughes.

Back in 1950, All About Eve made history when it was nominated for 14 Academy Awards a number that was not equaled until 1998 when Titanic sailed into view. A witty, incisive look at what goes on behind the scenes of show business, All About…

History

Review

Review by bookpagedev

The formidable task of marshalling the resources and experts necessary to create a multi-volume Civil War reference work probably rivals the logistical demands of that conflict’s greatest battles. Perhaps that explains why few comprehensive Civil War encyclopedias have made their way onto the scene. But now this conspicuous void has been filled. Editors David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler undertook the challenge of producing a work of encyclopedic scope, and the result is a 2,733 page Encyclopedia of the American Civil War that distinguishes itself as the most exhaustively researched resource to have come out since the Encyclopedia of the Confederacy (Simon ∧ Schuster, 1993).

At the invitation of the Heidlers, noted Civil War historians such as Gary W. Gallagher, James I. Robertson, Jr., William C. Davis and Charles P. Roland composed the encyclopedia’s 1,600 entries. Military subjects predominate, but the editors also survey political and social aspects, achieving a judicious balance of topics. Biographies compose the majority of articles; the likes of Joseph Bailey, Edouard de Stoeckl, Barbara Frietschie and countless other lesser known figures are presented in addition to all the more famous ones. Battles from Antietam to Yellow Bayou are also aptly treated. The entries reflect recent advances in scholarship and interpretation, and the editorial perspective throughout is evenhanded. As purely a reference work, the encyclopedia admirably fulfills its duty of facilitating further research on the Civil War. Cross-references that accompany each article make textual navigation easy; short bibliographies following each entry provide the reader with relevant sources. The Encyclopedia of the American Civil War is essentially functional in design. It is not a splashy picture book destined for the coffee table, but rather a research tool. Ample pictures and maps supplement the text, but there are no fancy graphics or color photos.

With a price that matches the heft of its pages, this fine set may be more affordable for libraries and academic institutions than for individuals.

Charles L. McCollum is a copy editor for the Civil War Book Review.

The formidable task of marshalling the resources and experts necessary to create a multi-volume Civil War reference work probably rivals the logistical demands of that conflict's greatest battles. Perhaps that explains why few comprehensive Civil War encyclopedias have made their way onto the scene. But…

Children's & YA

Review

Review by bookpagedev

For children too young to read but old enough to imitate word sounds and identify everyday objects/activities, there is something about this little girl named Lulu that makes a connection as if she is a real person. Maybe it’s her smiling round face and friendly eyes; her little red shoes and wardrobe of colorful clothes; her collection of friends and family; or the way she performs the simplest of tasks that children find her so believable. Those who found Caroline Uff’s previous children’s book Hello Lulu to be just the right combination of simple, bright, colorful illustrations and easy-to-repeat text will find more of the same in Lulu’s Busy Day (Ages 2Ð5). Perhaps it is the author’s ability to beautifully illustrate each page, conveying a simple explanation of Lulu’s day to day tasks (such as eating, brushing her teeth, or swinging in the park with her best friend) that makes the books so appealing to the very young. Uff is also a greeting card designer in her native Yorkshire, England, a talent clearly reflected in the concise matching of the pages’ text and the vibrant pastel universe that encompasses Lulu’s daily adventures. Even the choice of Lulu as the character’s name is a simple, playful use of just the right amount of syllables that younger children will have fun repeating (and can request easily).

This time around, Lulu draws a picture, plays with her ball, visits the park, finds snails and other little bugs, plays with the ducks, swings on a swing, and returns home to eventually read a bedtime story and go to sleep. Children can learn valuable lessons from Lulu she cleans up her toys after playing with them, eats her dinner, takes her bath, and brushes her teeth, all while being a well-behaved and genuinely happy little person. With the creation of this second chapter of Lulu’s life must also come a parental warning from me: Both books are likely requests before anyone will be willing to go to bed.

Jamie McAlister is the assistant editor for Port News and the father of two Lulu fans.

For children too young to read but old enough to imitate word sounds and identify everyday objects/activities, there is something about this little girl named Lulu that makes a connection as if she is a real person. Maybe it's her smiling round face and friendly…
Pop CultureArts & Culture

Review

Review by bookpagedev

It’s possible that being buried alive is not something you worry about. You may allot more of your fear time to public speaking or flying or impotence. However, it is safe to predict that after you read Jan Bondeson’s new book the thought of being buried alive will become your primal fear. This reviewer has become quite claustrophobic, and you couldn’t possibly force him into a cave, or even a tanning bed.

Buried Alive is a curious work. Jan Bondeson is a physician specializing in rheumatology and internal medicine at a research institution in London. He is also a historian of the quirky byways of medicine and related fields. His thoughtful and entertaining previous book was A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities: A Compendium of the Odd, the Bizarre, and the Unexpected. The subtitle applies equally well to the new book.

Apparently Bondeson has read everything in the world. For Buried Alive he draws upon history, folklore, movies, fiction, poetry, drama. In earlier times, before the precise equipment of our own day, there was considerable controversy over how to determine if someone was, like the Wicked Witch of the East, “really most sincerely dead.” (Well, except when death was obvious in a case of beheading, for example.) Generations were horrified by tales of exhumations revealing the supposedly dead frozen in the act of clawing at the coffin lid. Bondeson recounts the mortuaries that actually advertised alarms in their vaults to alert them to any new arrival who turned out to be still alive.

The anecdotes here are priceless. Hans Christian Andersen lived in terror of awaking inside a coffin and actually carried with him a card that proclaimed I AM NOT REALLY DEAD. Alfred Nobel insisted that special measures be taken to ensure that he really had succumbed to the final antagonist. As always, the arts best reveal our nightmares. The supreme fictional take on this bizarre idea is Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Premature Burial.” It has inspired a number of films, including one by Roger Corman. Wilkie Collins, of The Moonstone fame, wrote a hilariously campy buried-alive saga. Bondeson even finds a buried-alive story by Cornell Woolrich, the man who wrote Rear Window. On this theme, the horrific Dutch film Spoorlos was remade in the U.S. with, naturally, a tacked-on happy ending. Bondeson wraps up Buried Alive with the minimal evidence that many people were actually buried alive and looks at whether it happens nowadays. And he includes a perfect anonymous limerick: There was a young man at Nunhead, Who awoke in a coffin of lead; “It is cosy enough,” He remarked in a huff, “But I wasn’t aware I was dead.”

It's possible that being buried alive is not something you worry about. You may allot more of your fear time to public speaking or flying or impotence. However, it is safe to predict that after you read Jan Bondeson's new book the thought of being…

Children's & YA

Review

Review by bookpagedev

This book (ages 4-7) could be billed as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice meets Pandora’s Box, but much more fun. Populated by a bevy of delightful characters, the story revels in the glory of a rich imagination, an inventive protagonist, and a satisfying ending. It lends itself to a family read-aloud session at bedtime or anytime.

When Henry borrows his sister’s colored pencils, he has no idea just how much trouble mice can make. Innocently, he begins to draw, starting with a toy car. The car suddenly pops off the wall and zooms across the room. Who would fit in such a small car? Mice, of course! Henry proceeds to create a motley collection of mice characters which, in one way or another, don’t satisfy him. Before he knows it, all his drawings come to life and take over his room. Such chaos! Inappropriate toys, foods, earthworms, butterflies, feathers Henry is at wit’s end when he calls upon an unexpected and unlikely hero who restores order in a kind and understanding way.

The ending will be appreciated by anyone who has ever had an imaginary playmate. In the final picture, Henry is lying on his bed, listening comfortably (and maybe wistfully) to the faraway chuckling and giggling of his gaggle of characters, now hidden behind the wall. A golden yellow light streams from the tiny mousehole no one remembered to wipe away.

The warm, lively watercolor illustrations almost leap off the page, especially during the turbulent double-page spreads when Henry is overwhelmed. Henry is an appealing, button-nosed boy and his rather peculiar mouse characters are both mischievous and endearing.

It is intriguing that the part of Henry’s life springing from his imagination is rendered in expressive full color, but the tidbits of Henry’s real life are vignettes of pencil and texture on rough paper. The contrast between the two emphasizes how rich the imagination of a child can be.

This book was published originally in Great Britain and both the author and illustrator live in France.

Margo Lemieux is a children’s book author, illustrator, and teacher who lives in Massachusetts.

This book (ages 4-7) could be billed as the Sorcerer's Apprentice meets Pandora's Box, but much more fun. Populated by a bevy of delightful characters, the story revels in the glory of a rich imagination, an inventive protagonist, and a satisfying ending. It lends itself…
Pop CultureArts & Culture

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Think you’re worth a million? Can you guess the identity of this tubular sensation? He’s been a TV personality for nearly four decades. In the 1960s he played second banana to talk-show host Joey Bishop. In the 1970s he hosted two game shows, The Neighbors and Almost Anything Goes, both of which fizzled. Then came a career boost in the late ’80s via a network morning show. More recently, he’s been in the prime-time spotlight, giving away a million dollars to lucky winners. Yes, yes, you’ve got it! It’s Regis Philbin! Come on down! Since last August, when Who Wants to Be a Millionaire debuted on ABC, the avuncular 68-year-old Philbin has become one of TV’s ubiquitous figures. After all, he’s doing double duty. Teamed with the giggly, gregarious mother of Cody and Cassidy on ABC’s Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee, he helps millions of Americans begin their day. Then he’s on again at night, hosting the surprise hit game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Airing three nights a week to an audience that averages 28.5 million viewers, the quiz show an Americanized version of a top British series has been credited with giving commercial TV a much-needed shot in the ratings. No wonder there’s a tie-in book. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The Official Book from the Hit TV Show purports to deliver Everything You Need to Practice, Play, and Win! In fact, there are several dozen pages devoted to how the show operates: how to become a contestant, what a contestant goes through ( The Details and the Drama ), as well as how the show came to be. By and large, though, this is a book of trivia a series of questions (and answers) that allows readers to test their skills.

Some of the questions are unquestionably goofy. (Which of the following is found inside an Eskimo Pie? A. Whale blubber B. Ice cream C. Caribou meat D. An Eskimo). Some are historical, others pop-cultural. If the book’s topics are eclectic, so are those on the TV show which has become so popular it’s sent TV critics and pundits alike on a quest to figure out why, exactly, there’s so much interest in a game show. Here’s one theory, as espoused by U.S. News ∧ World Report: ÔMillionaire’ is the one show on network television that shows ordinary Americans for better or for worse. Executive producer Michael P. Davies says the appeal lies in the show’s democratic approach to its contestants: We treat everybody the same. The show broadly reflects society. And of course, there is Philbin. As John Carpenter, the show’s first (and much publicized) millionaire put it, I can’t imagine the show without him. He brings his own unique style and just the right amount of drama and humor. He doesn’t try to intimidate you. Reege’s nice-guy demeanor has made him the host with the most a position he candidly relishes. After all, he admits, I’ve never had this kind of attention before. Pat H. Broeske is a producer of the feature film remake of Champagne for Caesar, a spoof about a quiz show.

Think you're worth a million? Can you guess the identity of this tubular sensation? He's been a TV personality for nearly four decades. In the 1960s he played second banana to talk-show host Joey Bishop. In the 1970s he hosted two game shows, The Neighbors…

LiteratureArts & Culture

Review

Review by bookpagedev

harles Frazier’s Civil War period novel, Cold Mountain, was widely acclaimed, a bestseller and winner of the National Book Award. Asked when in the writing process he began “making things up,” the author replies, “I knew exactly at what point I began making things up. It was on page one.” Frazier asks, “Where . . . should we place the balance point between history and fiction? Might we wish to limit historical fiction to a retelling or repackaging of so-called actual past events? To what extent are we writers free to introduce well-known historical figures into our work and have them carry on conversations and commit acts we cannot verify?” Frazier and many other distinguished novelists debate these questions with prominent historians in Novel History: Historians and Novelists Confront America’s Past (and Each Other), a fascinating exploration of the relationship between history and art. Barnard College historian Mark C. Carnes conceived and edited this stimulating volume as a follow-up to his well received earlier book, Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies (1995). In addition to the discussions of works by such authors as Larry McMurtry, Barbara Kingsolver and Jane Smiley, there are excellent considerations of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Scarlet Letter and The Great Gatsby.

Richard White, historian of the American West, thinks “a historian may very well be the worst possible reader . . . because, once in the fictional world, they become either terminally confused or begin editing information in ways that detract from the fiction.” But he points out that in The Living, “in making the character preoccupied with death and uplift and progress, Annie Dillard displays a sometimes near perfect nineteenth-century pitch.” Historian James McPherson expresses concern about “numerous minor errors” in Cloudsplitterbut respects novelist Russell Banks for making it clear that certain historical events have been “altered and rearranged.” Nearly all the novelists represented in this book felt the need to make some changes in the historical record. Novelists, after all, seek to convey universal truths and tend to believe that all people, regardless of when or where they live, are essentially the same.

Roger Bishop is a regular contributor to BookPage.

harles Frazier's Civil War period novel, Cold Mountain, was widely acclaimed, a bestseller and winner of the National Book Award. Asked when in the writing process he began "making things up," the author replies, "I knew exactly at what point I began making things up.…
Children's & YA

Review

Review by bookpagedev

If the kids show up at your seder next month only to ask the Four Questions, eat, and find the Afikomen, they might not be getting as much out of the holiday as they could be. Seders were designed as teaching tools. We do odd things at seders like dip food in salt water, lean on pillows at the table, and spill wine on purpose just to make guests curious enough to ask why. So, why is this night different from all other nights? To make Passover so real, so memorable, that we appreciate our freedom and from whence it came.

The highlight of Passover is the seder dinner. This feast of freedom is an evening of ritual so elaborate that a how-to guide is required. Throughout many centuries of Jewish tradition, this manual for the dinner’s order of events ( seder means order) has become canonical: it is called the Haggadah or telling. Why On This Night? is a new haggadah that gives children ages 6Ð10 (and older) fresh roles to play, even the role of seder leader. It follows the traditional structure, and sections in Hebrew include transliterations and English translations to make prayers and rituals accessible to everyone. But author and artist have created a feast of freedom of their own a fresh, creative haggadah that reawakens the true spirit of the holiday. It is packed with activities, songs, poems, questions, recipes, and ideas to make the seder come alive. Even the youngest children are not left out. Strategically placed discussion questions are just as appropriate for preschoolers as for adults. Children who cannot yet read may rely on the story-telling power of the extraordinary artwork. The plentiful linoleum-cut paintings by Louise August are inviting, simple, and appealing to all ages.

Whether you suspect your seders have become a bit too predictable, or you are searching for a creative way to engage younger guests, this family-friendly haggadah will breathe new life into an old tradition.

Joanna Brichetto has been known to dress in a pharaoh costume for her seders.

If the kids show up at your seder next month only to ask the Four Questions, eat, and find the Afikomen, they might not be getting as much out of the holiday as they could be. Seders were designed as teaching tools. We do odd…

NonfictionEssays

Writing about remoteness

Review by bookpagedev
Once upon a time there was a young writer named Meghan Daum whose work won the admiration of one of cyberspace’s many inhabitants. The fan in question, a certain PFSlider, emailed Daum, told her he had a "crazy crush" on her, proposed marriage and asked her to lunch. The meeting that ensued between reader and writer—boy meets girl, with a contemporary twist—is recounted in "On the Fringes of the Physical World," an essay in Daum’s new collection My Misspent Youth.

Such is the effect of Daum’s work on her readers. Full of honesty, insight and wicked wit, My Misspent Youth is her first book, and it has garnered Daum comparisons with Joan Didion. Examining a society lost in the allure of material possessions, the collection probes modern life using Daum’s own experiences as a filter. With velvet incision, she pierces "the personal banalities to something larger and worth telling," both issuing invitation and provoking challenge to readers interested in having an authentic relationship to the world around them.
 
Heard frequently on NPR’s Morning Edition reading sharp pieces about her new home in rural Nebraska, Daum may be best known for the essay, "In My Misspent Youth." Originally published in The New Yorker, the narrative examines the clash of romantic fantasies and financial realities that characterize living in New York City.
 
In this wonderful debut collection, Daum escorts her readers through such diverse subjects as the publishing industry, polyamorous subcultures and the world of flight attendants.
 
Despite their disparity, these pieces successfully hang together because, as Daum puts it, "they are about remoteness. They are about missing the point. They are about the fictional narratives that overpower the actual events, the cartoon personae that elbow the live figure out of the frame."
 
These essays, written not in breath-taking, but in authentic, breath-giving prose, probe experiences to which we can all relate. My Misspent Youth marks the arrival of a brave new writer.
 
Temple West writes from Norfolk, Virginia.

 

Once upon a time there was a young writer named Meghan Daum whose work won the admiration of one of cyberspace's many inhabitants. The fan in question, a certain PFSlider, emailed Daum, told her he had a "crazy crush" on her, proposed marriage and asked…
Children's & YA

Review

Review by bookpagedev

If the kids show up at your seder next month only to ask the Four Questions, eat, and find the Afikomen, they might not be getting as much out of the holiday as they could be. Seders were designed as teaching tools. We do odd things at seders like dip food in salt water, lean on pillows at the table, and spill wine on purpose just to make guests curious enough to ask why. So, why is this night different from all other nights? To make Passover so real, so memorable, that we appreciate our freedom and from whence it came.

The highlight of Passover is the seder dinner. This feast of freedom is an evening of ritual so elaborate that a how-to guide is required. Throughout many centuries of Jewish tradition, this manual for the dinner’s order of events ( seder means order) has become canonical: it is called the Haggadah or telling. Why On This Night? is a new haggadah that gives children ages 6Ð10 (and older) fresh roles to play, even the role of seder leader. It follows the traditional structure, and sections in Hebrew include transliterations and English translations to make prayers and rituals accessible to everyone. But author and artist have created a feast of freedom of their own a fresh, creative haggadah that reawakens the true spirit of the holiday. It is packed with activities, songs, poems, questions, recipes, and ideas to make the seder come alive. Even the youngest children are not left out. Strategically placed discussion questions are just as appropriate for preschoolers as for adults. Children who cannot yet read may rely on the story-telling power of the extraordinary artwork. The plentiful linoleum-cut paintings by Louise August are inviting, simple, and appealing to all ages.

Whether you suspect your seders have become a bit too predictable, or you are searching for a creative way to engage younger guests, this family-friendly haggadah will breathe new life into an old tradition.

Joanna Brichetto has been known to dress in a pharaoh costume for her seders.

If the kids show up at your seder next month only to ask the Four Questions, eat, and find the Afikomen, they might not be getting as much out of the holiday as they could be. Seders were designed as teaching tools. We do odd…
HistoryBlack History

Carry Me Home

Review by bookpagedev

will likely be one of the most widely read and hotly discussed books of the year. The scholarship is meticulous, the story-telling is fascinating, and the actual events portrayed are so monumental they deserve everyone’s careful attention.

Even the most avid civil rights history buff will find revelations in Carry Me Home. Author Diane McWhorter, a journalist who has written for the New York Times and the Washington Post, grew up in Birmingham and was a member of a prominent country club family. The author’s hometown became a crucial battleground in the struggle for equality, and McWhorter looks back almost 30 years later to assess the city’s role.

She offers strong evidence that Martin Luther King was not the sole or even the most active leader of the civil rights movement. McWhorter acknowledges that he was certainly the most articulate, but she also recounts his repeated reluctance to participate in, and his early departure from, some of the events with which he was later credited. Many forgotten and deserving civil rights figures step forward. Fred Shuttlesworth, a firebrand Birmingham preacher, emerges as the common sense, we-have-to-keep-going leader. Activist Jim Bevel mobilizes the 1963 jail-filling children’s march that effectively propels passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Carry Me Home is also the story of the segregationists. We follow the wealthy white DeBardeleben family from their early union-busting days under patriarch Henry, through their support of Hitler’s fascism, and down through the generations to Margaret DeBardeleben Tutwiler, who served in both the Reagan and first Bush administrations, eventually becoming spokesperson for the State Department. We venture inside Klan meetings and through the tangled web of police and FBI collusion in Klan activities.

McWhorter’s original motivation was to determine whether her complex, difficult father had participated in the bombings that earned Birmingham the nickname “Bombingham.” Throughout the narrative, she intersperses snapshots of her personal life. She tells of attending the Birmingham premiere of To Kill a Mockingbird with her classmates, including Mary Badham, who played Scout in the movie. She writes of “the racial guilt we [privileged white girls] shared in rooting for a Negro man.” McWhorter draws on almost 20 years of research to make the reader a participant in both segregationist and movement activities, using actual, almost verbatim recounts by the original participants. Extensive notes give the sources of McWhorter’s narrative and include hundreds of documented interviews. McWhorter also read many thousand historical public and private documents. In 1982, her early research landed her on Governor George Wallace’s “sissybritches” enemies list.

Carry Me Home is filled with small moments of revelation. For example, Alma Powell, the wife of Secretary of State Colin Powell, is the daughter of R. C. Johnson, former principal of Birmingham’s Parker High School. Many of his students participated (without permission) in the children’s marches, while he sat outside his home at night with a shotgun, determined to protect his daughter and new baby granddaughter while his son-in-law earned military recognition in Vietnam.

In Carry Me Home you will learn of the early communist versus fascist struggle beneath the racial battleground; you will find out which entertainers supported the civil rights movement; you will read about the sexual blackmail triangle involving J. Edgar Hoover, the Kennedys and Martin Luther King. Almost every page brings a new insight or shock about an era, a place and a movement that changed our nation forever.

Mary Carol Moran’s Clear Soul: Metaphors and Meditations (Court Street Press).

 

will likely be one of the most widely read and hotly discussed books of the year. The scholarship is meticulous, the story-telling is fascinating, and the actual events portrayed are so monumental they deserve everyone's careful attention.

Even the most avid civil…

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