Literature

-Train is the story of one of the black Americans who, during World War II, graduated from Tuskegee (AL) Flying School and served as a pilot in the Army Air Corps’ 99th Pursuit Squadron. Charles W. Dryden presents a fast-paced, balanced, and personal account of what it was like to prepare for a career traditionally closed to African Americans, how he coped with the frustrations and dangers of combat, and how he, along with many fellow black pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and crewmen, emerged...

No state in America has a higher percentage of restaurants seving barbecue than Alabama, according to a recent survey. More than 300 Alabama restaurants serve the savory smoked meat. That's enough to make a pig-pilgramage every weekend for a half decade without visiting the same one twice!These are the dining spots that you can smell before you see them: sweet hardwood smoke wafting across the landscape, drawing diners off the highway at places they never intended to stop.The best ones are...

Cora Jean is the story of a young girl from the American South, the daughter of a prostitute who is sold for forty dollars and five sacks of sweet potatoes. From a brutal upbringing and tumultuous life growing up in the 1960s to modern day, Cora Jean's simple heart and strength of character shine through in a story of love, loss and ultimate grace that speaks volumes to us all.

Dead Towns of Alabama is not merely a series of obituaries for dead towns. Instead, it brings back to life 83 Indian towns, 77 fort sites, and 112 colonial, territorial, and state towns. W. Stuart Harris conjures up a wealth of fascinating images from Alabama's rich and colorful past--images of life as the Indians lived it, of colonial life in the wilderness, of Spanish explorers and French exiles, of danger and romance, of riverboats and railroads, of plantations and gold mines, of...

In Eden Rise Tom McKee, a white college freshman, returns to his home in the Alabama Black Belt in the summer of 1965 and becomes embroiled in a civil-rights conflict that divides his family, his town, and his own identity. His wealthy and powerful family is not prepared for the shocks that have followed the racial quake of the Selma March a few months earlier. Tom’s black college friend accompanies him home and gets caught in racial violence. Coming to his friend’s defense, Tom earns the...

In three dozen poems and a two-act play, MacArthur Fellow Billie Jean Young honors the tradition of struggle, resistance, and survival common to generations of women descended from African slaves. The tradition she dramatizes in her acclaimed portrayal of Fannie Lou Hamer (here for the first time in book form)-the tradition of making a way out of no way-is the same tradition she celebrates in remembering her mother's "rub-board hands." Her poetry also reveals the deeply painful, often hidden...

Jordan Jones: Flower Women - 12 Pack Notecards4 designs - 3 of each design in each packet

For many, preparing wild game seems to be a daunting task. In her book, not only does Stacy give the information needed to melt away any intimidation of cooking from the wild, but she also gives the techniques to simplify the process of making succulent, excellent meals. Her tried and true recipes come from a heart to love her family through cooking extraordinarily delicious food gathered from the garden, and hunted and fished from the wild. Stacy Harris was born and raised in the black belt...

Alabama’s oldest courthouses have witnessed a panorama of history. Historic Alabama Courthouses resurrects historical facts and images of buildings that were the centers of much of the state’s public life during its first century. Photographs of more than 120 buildings, the earliest that the author could find for each structure, are gathered in this significant volume along with historical, architectural, social, legal, and political accounts of their contributions to the landscape of...

Once the center of agricultural prosperity in Alabama, the rich soil of the Black Belt still features beautiful homes that stand as a testimony to the region's proud heritage. Join author Jennifer Hale as she explores the history of seventeen of the finest plantation homes in Alabama's Black Belt. This book chronicles the original owners and slaves of the homes, and traces their descendants who continued to call these plantations home throughout the past two centuries. Discover why the...

Jacqueline Allen Trimble: How to Survive the ApocalypseHow to Survive the Apocalypse, the second collection from poet Jacqueline Allen Trimble, examines the many apocalypses that African Americans have weathered, advising that those who wish to avoid annihilation should “live by rage and joy and turpentine.” Trimble reimagines the sonnet and the parable, producing poems of ironic indictment and joyous celebration. The book explores aspects of the Black experience in America, from Black woman...

Born with no arms or legs in December, 1970, Allison Wetherbee has faced challenges few could ever imagine. In the book, I Was Born This Way, her faith, courage and humor are shown as she tells the story of her life. The first part of this book describes her life defining moments including graduating from college with a master's degree, and working as a mental health therapist. The second part of this book is full of devotions and stories of inspiration.Allison currently enjoys her position as...