Product Description

It's Time to Rediscover the Wonderful Books We All Cherish.

"The Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable."-- Mark Twain

0riginally published in 1883, Life on the Mississippi is Mark Twain's memoir of his youthful years as a cub pilot on a steamboat paddling up and down the Mississippi River. Twain used his childhood experiences growing up along the Mississippi in a number of works, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but nowhere is the river and the pilot's life more thoroughly described than in this work. Told with insight, humor, and candor, Life on the Mississippi is an American classic.

Customer Reviews (41)

Great stories
This is a great collection of stories from a master. More of a journal than a finished work. The kindle version was fairly well done with a number of formatting errors, but nothing so bad to not make it worth the free price. Thanks for kindling this. I may not have read it otherwise.

Kudos to Amazon!
Kudos to Amazon for making "Life on the Mississippi" available for free for the Kindle and the iPhone Kindle application!Twain's book is a rambling affair, and in fact, its somewhat quirky form makes it read more like a present-day book than a product of its time.Twain's style is engaging.This might be clearest in the historical sections, where, if you think that all historical narratives are dry and academic, "Life on the Mississippi" will prove you wrong.As many other reviewers note, this is an entirely different view of Mark Twain's work than the novels that tend to find themselves relegated to study in the public schools, and in many ways both more informative and more fun.Thanks again to Amazon for making this and other important public domain books available for free download!

Much too long and unfocused
Had Twain stopped after the first section, in which he describes riverboat piloting and his exploits therein, I would have come away with a positive impression of the book. His piloting writings were entertaining and interesting, even though not particularly relevant in today's world.

However the later chapters ruin the book. Twain documents his return to the Mississippi with a plethora of miscellaneous descriptions and loosely related anecdotes. These sections range from only mildly entertaining to just plain boring, as Twain doesn't even use his humor to save them.

In the end the disappointment of the second half outweighs the enjoyment of the first half.

Take a careful look at the Publisher before you buy "Life on the Mississippi"
When you do the "Look Inside" thing, you'll read "This view is of the Mass Market Paperback edition (1983) from Bantam Classics. The Paperback edition (2010) from General Books LLC that you originally viewed is the one you'll receive if you click the Add to Cart button at left." And that's correct. The General Books LLC version is a completely different book. To wit....

General Books LLC puts together books using an OCR automated scanning device which can miss complete pages. There are many many Typos and no table of contents. There books receive NO EDITING of any kind, also, the OCR scanning is done by a robot (which the publishers website outright says can miss pages). This is all stated on the publishers web site (google them and read for yourself to get all the details). Almost every review of books published by General Books LLC (around 500,000 of them from one imprint or another now listed on Amazon) by buyers is negative, many are extremely so.

As the General Books LLC version has reviews of other publishers versions associated with it, you need to be very careful to make sure you've bought a decent version. If you have bought the version from General Books LLC by mistake, you can return to Amazon within 30 days(but check Amazon's Return Policy for the details).

Unique Twain Greatness
Mark Twain is synonymous worldwide with the Mississippi River, mainly because of the Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn stories. However, Life on the Mississippi is just as important and, in a testament to Twain's greatness, nearly as readable despite being non-fiction. It details his history with the river and gives an overview of the river itself; this may sound boring, and almost certainly would be with anyone else, but I long ago decided that even Twain's laundry list would be worth reading, and this certainly is. The magic he seemed to bring to everything is in full force; one would be very hard-pressed to find another non-fiction book that is so entertaining, besides Twain's others of course, but it is also awesomely informative. In addition, Life is historically notable as the first book written on a typewriter, not Huck as is commonly thought; however, it made Twain able to finish Huck, which he had struggled with for some years and set aside. Huck fans and scholars will want to read Life for this alone, but it is more than worthy in itself.

Twain starts by giving some basic facts and history; this is the least interesting part but only lasts a few pages, and I urge anyone bored by it to continue. Much of the information is of course dated but remains historically valuable as a portrait of the river as it then stood. Far more interesting is Twain's unforgettable rundown of his years as a riverboat pilot - a central life experience that led to much of his writing. We get a fascinating glimpse of this long-vanquished trade, which was all but unthinkable even when Life was published. It is important to recall that Twain was a pilot before such boats had steam or even lights at night. He details piloting's extraordinary difficulties with engrossing detail and typical self-deprecating humor. We learn much along the way about the riverboat lifestyle, the river itself, and riverside towns. Anyone curious about what it was like to live in this era and/or how its inhabitants thought and acted will find a wealth of information; we learn as much here as in any history book, and it is of course infinitely better written. Life covers a crucial American history era and is an important primary source even for those not interested in Twain and certainly essential for anyone who is, as it gives substantial background about a crucial part of his life. The book is indeed in part a bildungsroman; Twain had always loved the river and began pilot training soon after first leaving home. He structures the narrative so that it reads much like a story, and we see him grow from naïveté and ignorance to an admirable experience and wisdom.

Twain then details a trip he made on the river many years later, noting what changed and what stayed the same. There is significant autobiographical material here also, but the crux is descriptive. Twain describes the river's whole length and everything having to do with it as he goes, making it all utterly absorbing. As always, there are many eminently readable tangents. Several are autobiographical - reminisces as well as then recent events. Particularly interesting is Twain's profoundly touching visit to his hometown after a long absence. However, a good part of Life has nothing to do with the river directly but is at least as engrossing as what does. Twain's many asides are full of wit and insight; few have ever probed so deeply into life and humanity, and we are lucky to have his wisdom, much of which is hilarious. Especially engaging are observations on North/South differences, notably including the Civil War. Twain's sociopolitical criticism is also as brilliant as ever, taking on everything from architecture to Walter Raleigh to speech. Finally, Life would be valuable even if lacking all this because it passes on an invaluable treasure of American folklore.

Life is quite simply required reading for anyone even remotely interested in American literature; it is essential Twain, which makes it simply essential. As for this edition, it is essentially bare bones. Anyone wanting supplemental material will need to look elsewhere, but this will do well for most, as the text stands very well on its own.
... Read more

Product Description
Traces ten years in the life of one African-American family of sharecroppers from Mississippi, who suffered racist persecution when they enrolled their children in formerly all-white schools under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but who courageously persevered. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Challenging and Beating Sunflower County Mississippi
This overwhelmingly sensitive and warm story of Mae Bertha and Matthew Carter's fight to live through and overcome the discrimination and oppression of segregation in Sunflower County, Mississippi, is beautifully written and shared with the reader by Constance Curry.
Ms. Curry, the field service representative of the American Friends Service Committee, saw the Carter family through their placing of their seven youngest children in the Drew, Mississippi, white schools as the first and only blacks to do so in Sunflower County in the years 1965-1968. This story follows the family and the children through their long years of sticking in out all the way through the integration of Ole Miss.
The story is hard to imagine in that Mae Carter finished only the third grade in the truncated education of sharecroppers but her and her husband's spirit and drive to get their 13 children out of the cotton fields drove her and her husband to get their children education. Their first five children finished high school and left the South. The surviving seven received all of the necessary support to overcome and rise up.
This story is so moving that it is difficult to keep a dry eye throughout as the pluck and inner strength necessary to overcome white Mississippi is and was so brutal in its oppression of its black citizens.

I was there
In the 1965-66 school year I was in Mrs. Harpole's second grade class at AW James Elementary School in Drew, Mississippi.That year two little black girls, Beverly and Deborah Carter, enrolled at the same school.Beverly was a third grader, Deborah was in the first grade.Their sister Pearl was there as well. She seemed much older and was in the fifth or sixth grade.

That was the beginning of a series of changes in the Drew Public Schools. In 1964 the graduating class of Drew High School was all white.Across Highway 49, the Class of 64 of Hunter High School was all black. In 1971 the first "desegregated" class graduated from Drew High. In the in five years in between most of the white children left the public schools. By 1976 the graduating class picture was evenly split between black and white faces.

Many years later I read "Silver Rights" in a motel room in Greenville, Mississippi.I read it cover to cover in one sitting.I didn't sleep much that night.Instead, I thought about all the things I had read, and all the things that were done by the people I knew. I knew Mae Bertha and Matthew Carter and I knew them to be good people.I didn't know how hard they had worked or how much they suffered so their children could receive the same education as any other Mississippi child. I had no idea of the resistance they faced every step of the way.

I won't discuss the rightness or wrongness or deeper meanings of this book.I'm not about to get into the concepts of social justice and civil rights.I do know these things, though.

Matthew and Mae Bertha Carter did what was right for their children.That is the highest calling any parent could have.To the best of my knowledge, the story in this book is true in every point. The people involved were my Little League coaches, Sunday School teachers, and the parents of my friends.

This is a very good book that tells a great story of how two people did the right thing for their children and in the process did the right thing for thousands of other children.

Silver Rights in the Mississippi Delta
In the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Congress mandated the desegregation of all public schools receiving Federal aid.Mississippi tried to "comply" with the law by a "Freedom of Choice" program which allowed students over a certain age and parents to designate the schools they wished to attend.While, perhaps, facially appealing, the "Freedom of Choice" program served as a means to intimidate blacks from attempting to register in what were at the time all-white schools. Those with the courage to do so faced danger to their livelihood, property, and persons.The "Freedom of Choice" program ultimately was invalidated through litigation.

Constance Curry's inspiring book "Silver Rights" (1995) tells the story of a family of black sharecroppers in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, Mae Bertha and Matthew Carter and seven of their thirteen children (all their children then of school age).The Carter's took the "Freedom of Choice" program at its word.In 1965, the seven children enrolled in the primary and secondary schools of Drew, Mississippi, a small town with a then-deserved reputation for violence and lawlessness. Ms. Curry worked as a field representative for the American Friends Service Committee from 1965-1975.She got to know the Carter family well and was instrumental in providing the assistance necessary to get them through their difficult times.

The book includes excellent pictures of life in the Mississippi Delta, for both white and black people, in the early to mid-twentieth century. The book shows a feel for the place, for sharecropping life on the farms and for life in the dusty towns, for the blues culture of the Delta, and for its history. The book offers substantial discussion of the notorious Emmett Till case and of other lynchings and of early attempts to organize civil rights activities in the Delta.Ms. Curry eloquently evokes the spirit of the Delta at the opening of her story:

"In trying to describe the Mississippi Delta, I seem to find only superlatives -- the flattest land, the blackest dirt, the hottest summers, the nicest people, the poorest people.In defining the delta's past and even its present, I am aware of these extremes and also of its incongruities: the violence and the peacefulness, the beauty and the ugliness, the stillness and the tension.It is a place complex almost beyond comprehension." (p. xxi)

In telling her story, Ms. Curry lets her protagonists do most of the talking.The opening chapters set the stage and explain the Carter's ambitions for an education, and an end to the hardships of sharecropping, for their children.The second section of the book explores the backround of Mae Bertha Carter and her mother Luvenia's early life as the wife of a Delta sharecropper.The book discusses throughout the experiences of the Carter family as they faced violence and shootings in the early stages following their enrollment in the formerly white schools.Throughout their period in the public schools the children endured harassment, name-calling and ostracism. The Carter family was forced off the plantation and Matthew Carter lost his job.The book shows the courage and perseverance of the family and the aid offered by the AFSC and other organizations.

The book includes interviews with each of the thirteen Carter children and discussions of the family members fared after their graduation from the public schools.There are some moving scenes when Ms. Curry reestablished contactwith the Carter family in 1988, thirteen years after her work with the AFSC came to an end. Mae Bertha Carter remains determined and forceful and has received honors from institutions within the State of Mississippi that would have been unthinkable in the 1960s.

This book tells an important story of the silver rights movement.It is a work of both history and memory and describes beautifully the changes wrought with time.

This book looks into the soul of a very brave family.
Silver Right is a moving and telling story of my family struggle to achieve equality in America.This book does a very good job of relating the feeling, fear and turmoil that I felt during those four long years of being the only black family at an all white school in the Mississippi Delta in the sixites.Silver Rights goes beyond the actions of people during that time.It looks at the cilvil right movement on a personal level. This book will make you laugh, and it will also make your cry ... Read more

Product Description
Contents: Legal authorities, Constitutions, Statutory law, Case law, Case Law, Regulatory law, School district authority, contacts, salaries, criminal backgrounds checks, release from contract and abandonment of employment, education employment procedures law of 2001, plus a whole lot more. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Captures the spirit
I was one of those volunteers who went to Mississippi during the momentous summer of 1964. I can enthusiastically report that the new edition of "Letters from Mississippi," now including "Freedom School Poetry," is one of the best ways for young people today to get a sense of that event. It captures the hopes, goals, fears, and energy of the time.To those moved by this book who want a deeper appreciation of the strength, commitment and organization of the local black community in Mississippi that had invited us to join their struggle, I would strongly recommend also reading Charles M. Payne's"I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle" and Anne Moody's "Coming of Age in Mississippi." "Letters" gives a strong sense of the volunteers' experiences, the other two books add local perspectives.Mississippi Freedom Summer 1964 impacted not only on the history of this country but also on all those -- volunteers and local activists -- who participated in it.

Amazing walk through history
Not being born during the time of the civil rights movement all that I know is what I have learned from television, classrooms, books, and listening to others.This book was a wonderful eye opener.It made me wonder if I could do the same things the white volunteers did in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer.What a brave and open, heartfelt story. ... Read more

Product Description
An uproariously funny and deeply moving novel about growing up in the South by the acclaimed author of Crazy in Alabama.When Daniel Musgrove's family moves to a small Mississippi town at the beginning of his junior year, he faces all the pain and thrills of adolescence, with extra helpings of hormones and humiliation. But then he meets Tim, a fellow outsider, and the two become fast friends. You only need one best friend, Daniel reasons, to make it through high school alive.Together, they negotiate the triumphs and tribulations of junior year: going to the prom in sky blue tuxes--it is 1973, after all--playing in an original Baptist musical entitled "Christ!," and an unforgettable encounter with their secret heroes, Sonny and Cher.But when the first-ever black prom queen of Minor High School is hit by a car and emerges from her coma believing she's white, Daniel and Tim find themselves caught up in a shocking chain of events that leads to a shattering climax.In the spirit of Richard Russo and Tom Perrotta, Mark Childress is one of our sharpest and most keen-eyed chroniclers of small-town life. ONE MISSISSIPPI is his most ambitious and accomplished novel yet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (49)

Great
The book is great. It is as much fun to read as "Crazy in Alabama"

all good but the finish
It is a wild ride, and I loved it, except for the finish. It's the tragicomic story of a teenage boy, Daniel, in culture shock when his family moves from Indiana to Mississippi in the 1970's. His newly integrated high school elects a black prom queen, and that's only the beginning. There is action galore, including a wrecked moving van, a house explosion, a car explosion--you name it. Teen angst, peer pressure, guilty consciences, toxic friendships, and identity issues abound, especially with regard to sexual orientation and race. Amidst all this emotional churning are many scenes that are laugh-out-loud funny, unless you're too young to have seen Sonny and Cher on TV. Childress seems to enjoy taking shots at the religious fanatics, painting them as hypocrites and bigots. The denouement is just like Empire Falls, and I didn't like it in that book either. Did the author plan this finale from the start, or did he paint himself into a corner and have to blast his way out? You decide.

A Stroll Down Memory Lane
Baby boomers will enjoy this book!Tucked within an endearing story are many of our own teenage memories that are often forgotten over the years -- popular foods, songs, jargon, cool cars, the most popular girl in school, the class bully, how it felt to be 17...While darkly comical, the reader is left with the realization that things aren't that much different today than they were when we were teenagers.

Waste of time
I got this book, excited about the blurb that I read. After all, it showed up as something recommended based on other books I had purchased and indicated that I owned. However, I got through this book and felt like a bit of my life had been taken away. It is completely unrealistic, which is fine in certain genres, but not when trying to communicate a story about a boy in Mississippi. The thing that bothered me most honestly was the author's note at the end. He talks about his inspiration for the story. I wont spoil it for you if you intend to read it but I was flabbergasted at how ridiculous it was considering that it had little to do with the story.

Amazing story, well told
The characters are more compelling than I've found in a long time.The book has classic themes as well as fantastic ones.It is capable of making the reader laugh aloud and also at times, come close to tears.It is an interestnig exploration of prejudice, the dangerous path that innocent lies can lead us down, and the effects of living with guilt, shame, and self-doubt.There are historical references that resonate as well as themes that are very topical in the present.For those aged 15 to those aged 45, this book would be one that would be remembered for a long, long time. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Mississippi Business Journal, published by Thomson Gale on October 17, 2005. The length of the article is 942 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: RAC on fast track to rebuild Coast schools, casinos.(Focus)
Author: Lynn Lofton
Publication: Mississippi Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 17, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 27Issue: 42Page: 48(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1915Original Publisher: B.F. Johnson Pub. Co.Description: Traces the history of Mississippi from early Indian settlement to the beginning of the twentieth century.Subjects: MississippiHistory / United States / State ... Read more

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From more than a hundred autobiographical accounts written by American Indians recalling their schooling in government and missionary institutions this book recovers a perspective that was almost lost.

In a system of pedagogy that was alien to their culture these and hundreds of others were wrested as youngsters from their tribal life and regimented to become American citizens. In the process of enlightening them to western codes and values, their memories of ethnic life were intentionally obscured for what was to believed to be the greater good of the nation.

Drawing upon these Native American reminiscences reveals how young Indians responded to a system that attempted to eradicate the tribal codes that had nourished them. The Christian curriculum, the military-style discipline, the white staff of teachers and administrators, and the work-for-study demands were alien and bewildering to them, especially during their first days at the institutions.

The former pupils recall myriad kinds of adaptability, resistance, motivation, and rejection, as well as the many problems readjusting to changing tribal life upon their return from school. Here the history of the eighty-year epoch of such institutionalized schooling is placed in careful focus. Recounting this experience from the pupil's eyeview and comparing it with contemporary sources by white authors make this book a testament to the critical value of long-term autobiographical memory in the writing of history. ... Read more

Product Description
Jolie has a lot to be scared about since the new Freedom School teacher, Annie, came to town. Bricks thrown through windows in the dead of night, notes filled with hate, and now a fire has burnt down the church where Annie was supposed to start teaching tomorrow! Without the church, how can she possibly teach Jolie and the other townspeople about black poets and artists, historians and inventors? Unless the people themselves fight back.

In this triumphant story based on the 1964 Mississippi Freedom School Summer Project, Amy Littlesugar and Floyd Cooper come together to celebrate the strength of a people, and the bravery of one young girl who didn't let being scared get in her way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Beautiful Book
The eye-catching illustrations and the beautiful use of language makes this book a 'must have' for every classroom in America.

This story is about a young girl named Jolie who lived during the Civil Rights Era.Her town's battle to educate their children is a touching story that emphasizes the value of education.

For teachers, this book presents a social studies lesson about why education was so important to Jolie's town and how the experience connects to the educational opportunities students have today.

This book is a very valuable resource for all grades. ... Read more

Product Description

The one source book every school needs to set up school visits with ease. Conveniently arranged by state, this extensive directory lists authors, illustrators, and storytellers by name and grade level, with complete contact information including website, a description of each person's work, fees, book titles and awards, and special requirements for presentations. All persons listed have done at least ten school visits and are members of recognized professional organizations. Cross-referenced index helps you find listings fast. Includes tips for arranging effective, exciting events.

· The only single source and contact listing for authors, illustrators, and storytellers by state

· Includes everything that schools, libraries, and reading associations need to know about setting up school visits

Product Description

This comprehensive guide includes the names, contact information and other pertinent information on a wealth of authors, illustrators and storytellers residing west of the Mississippi River. This guide also includes the type of presentation, the grade levels, and the approximate costs involved. Each person included is willing and eager to bring his or her special talent to schools and other events.

· Easily find talented and available author/illustrator/storyteller presenters who are willing and eager to visit your school!

· A valuable and unique resource for librarians and teachers looking for just the right person to invite to their school

· Authors/illustrators/storytellers are listed alphabetically by the state in which they reside, with an index by last name for additional access

· Receive a wealth of tips for putting a visit together, from beginning to end

Tips for a Successful Event includes how to prepare for an author/illustrator/storyteller visit, what to do during the event to make it a success and how to follow up after the event. Includes the states of: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

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Traces the course of the river Mark Twain immortalized; describes its physical features, history, and importance. ... Read more

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This is the story of an extraordinary school in the piney woods of Mississippi and of the enduring people of Piney Woods Community who forged on against incredible odds to make a better world for themselves and their children. To these poor backwoods turn-of-the-century African Americans of Rankin County, Mississippi, Laurence C. Jones (1882-1975) brought the Booker T. Washington model of training African Americans to be good workers.

Because the school followed Jim Crow social codes and mirrored what were then expedient race relations in the South, Piney Woods School thrived without controversy and with encouragement from Mississippi whites. It served a noble purpose by opening its doors for the educational training of underprivileged rural African American students as well as for the visually and physically impaired of the state at a time when there was absolutely no other institution for them.

Piney Woods School: An Oral History is based upon a series of interviews with educators, former students, and members of the rural community, as well as upon archival records. The author recounts how the school was able to develop as an important educational and training center for rural African Americans and why it has appealed to a broad community which by 1978 helped the school to acquire an endowment of more than $12 million. The author also recounts how the current administration of Piney Woods School continues to foster a tradition of excellence and to meet present-day challenges. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Mississippi Business Journal, published by Thomson Gale on December 18, 2006. The length of the article is 925 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: School of construction at Southern Miss adds online classes and a location in Gulfport to meet increasing industry needs.
Author: Lynn Lofton
Publication: Mississippi Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 18, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 28Issue: 51Page: S31(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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Desperate to make the fourth-grade girls of her new school like her, Linda Cappanelli cheats on her spelling test, feuds with a classmate, and consults a psychic cook. ... Read more

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In Southern Hospitality, an ethnography of Holly Springs, Mississippi (1964-1972), schools play an important part in the formation of black identity in the South during desegregation. The civil rights movement left a leadership void as the public space of black leaders, the segregated schools, disappeared as did the identification with the "Southern Negro" collective of the segregated South. The transformation occurs against the backdrop of the psychological struggle between the individual's role as a member of that black collective, and the opportunity, secured from the federal government, to advance and integrate into the larger society, thereby fulfilling the "American Dream." In the end, the federal change agents did not foresee the erosion of black power and the resegregation of the public schools, with whites leaving to white academics, while the community ignored the public schools. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Poorly written and told
As a resident of Holly Springs, I was eager to read this book.I'm 41, and among the youngest group to be a part of the white mass exodus from the public school system.
In some cases, reading the book was a learning experience; that is, I found that there were many things I did not know about our town's history.
BUT, the book is poorly written.I frequently asked myself, did this guy even have the book proofread even ONCE.In a couple of places, the copy makes no sense, as if it had been accidently copied and pasted in the wrong place.
What the author does to those being quoted is even worse.I strongly suspect that he went around with a tape recorder, conducted some interviews, and then wrote the book a year or more later.Quotes tend to be presented in "string quote" fashion, with the speaker just rambling on.No nonsensical statement is questioned to perhaps draw out a sensical response.The result is that those being quoted sometimes appear to be blithering idiots.It's really unfair to quote people in this fashion.
The author states that the private school didn't start until 1970, but I know I started attending in 1968.A not-so-minor error, and one that makes me pause before accepting other things presented in the book as fact.
The author is really attempting to share the black story of school integration, and apparently only quotes blacks in the book.I suppose I understand that, but by limiting the views presented, he really only tells half the story.He really needed far more sources, both black and white.
I think the history of the Mississippi private school movement, and the effect of integration on both the public schools and the communities, is one worthly of serious academic inquiry.
Unfortunately, the author in this case is guilty of poor reporting, although the book certainly contains some interesting facts. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Self-serving, inaccurate, and possibly illegal
Inaccuracies in this apparent work of fiction begin with the grossly incorrect population of Leland, MS and continue with descriptions of incidences which are highly embellished at best and completely fabricated at worst (according to eyewitnesses).Conversations are given with quotes which cannot possibly be accurate (e.g. people far more educated and mature than the young Mr. Beckwith using improper English, apparently to serve his literary purpose, and in any event subject only to his faulty memory).In his less than one year in teaching, hardly any salvation to anyone or anything, Beckwith openly describes methods he used which any educator can see would cause some of the classroom calamity he blames on desegregation.In a complete distortion of the situation in Leland, he claims that the only whites left in the school district after integration are poor white trash or rednecks.This is so incredibly false.Certainly, the bizarre mid-year shuffle took its toll, but Leland public schools persevered (notably without Beckwith's help) to superbly educate both black and white, side-by-side and mostly getting along, for many, many years. This is due in no small part to a core of well-educated and principled white families who remained in the school district in both attendance and positive leadership.It is certainly due to some outstanding teachers and administrators, black and white, who dedicated their entire lives to education in less than ideal circumstances (and were actually qualified to be teachers).

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this book is the information that is divulged from confidential files, privileged parent conferences and other sources concerning 12 and 13-year old children using real and full names.Children whom Mr. Beckwith summarily passes judgment on in his "drive-by" brush with education.It is hard to believe that this is appropriate or legal, it certainly would not be today.I suspect that some will want to find out.

In summary, no reader should have to plod through this vain and tedious account, not particularly well-written, only to be given half-truths, distortions and outright fabrications.The academic reviewers claiming "authentic" should be ashamed. Save your money and ask a real Lelander, white or black, student or teacher, what really happened!

It Works!!
I used the "horse" clippers on my extremely dense coated Chow, to make her better able to withstand our 98 degree, 98% humidity.Clipped to a nice 1/2" of fur.Went through mats and all.She's comfortable, I'm happy.

an eye opener
This book in an insightful look at the beginning stages of desegregation in the South.The author gives readers a true picture of his own personal struggles as the first white teacher in an all black school.This book is worth reading for anyone who wants an honest and heartwarming account of an historical time in our country. ... Read more