I stumbled onto this book when I was about 12 years old and it stayed in my head. Many years later I ran across it again, re-read it, and loved it just as much. Great yarn that weaves its way through many years, many locales, and various levels of society. Apparently, Frank Yerby churned out quite a few books, and I'm just now discovering the others. So far, this is my favorite.

Great fictional history lesson. Main Charactor is taken from childhood to old man in the setting of southern plantations and slave trading. Although not as detailed as Michener, in this novel Yerby is at his best as a story teller.

Here is one example of where I felt that the movie(s), that were based on this book, were better than the book itself. I loved the Pat Boone remake but wished that it contained more of the fair goings on. I had hoped that the book would contain more on that, but sadly it did not. The family does not even get to the fair until almost halfway into the book. I found the author's writting style tedious, and I also did not appreciate the "low" morals displayed by the (post) teens, as depicted in this book. It was obviously written from the male point of view.

I read this book for my 8th grade english and reading class. I never really heard of the book, but of course like ever one else in the United States have seen then the musical State Fair. The book was a lot like the book. The reading goes really fast. If you want a book that you can read in a day or two this is the book you should pick.