THE PEDDLER'S GRANDSON Growing Up Jewish in Mississippi by Edward Cohen 193 Pages;University of Mississippi Press

This is a beautifully written memoir that is deeper than an ordinary auto-biography. Cohen discusses his grandparents and their immigration into America from Romania and Poland as well as his own conflict in trying to be oone of the crowd and still establish his own creative identity. His father's father was a peddler who walked through the Mississippi countryside, slept in haylofts and eventually imported his brother to help him open up a small clothing store near Jackson, Mississipi. His mother's parents originated in Poland which, according to Cohen, ". . . compared to Romania, it was postively cosmopoliatan. Her people settled first in Louisiana but eventually moved to Mississippi when she married Cohen's father. In many ways, the most interesting portions of the book were the discussions of how these immigrants to the American culture and the Southern Tradition managed to make their mark and settle into a comfortable way of life. Southern prejudice against Jews, the entire country's aversion to anyone "different", all contributed the elements to Edward Cohen's final immigration to that haven of liberal thought: California. He now lives in Venice, California, and works as a freelance writer and filmmaker. His memoir sheds light on what it was like to grow up Jewish and white in the south in 1950's and it is also an account of the ingenuity and courage of Polish and Romanian immigrants who came to this country determined to escape oppression and make a life for themselves. An excellent read.

In his book, Edward Cohen captures the essence of what it is like to live on the borders, never feeling fully at home, never quite fitting in, and never being just 'comfortable'. Two of my favorite quotes come near the end of the book. In coming to grips with his conflicting feelings about being a Southern Jew (or is it a Jewish Southerner?) he says: "...whether it was my southern or my Jewish half that I hoped to lose, each time I tried, I got smaller." And the truce he finally arrives at is summed up as: "I may be a man without a country, but I carry two passports." I grew up in Jackson at the same time as Mr. Cohen (he is, I believe, two years older than I am). For the last twenty years I have lived, willingly, in exile. To read his book was, for me, to remember what it is like to love and hate something that is an inseparable part of my identity at one and the same time.

Although it is his own autobiography, Edward Cohen tells in a very readable and entertaining narrative what growing up Jewish in America was like for many of us baby boomers, the children and grandchildren of Eastern Europeon immigrants. The Southern setting and experience is central to the theme of this excellent work. Yet, most of the stories and recollections of his large, extended family, his own coming of age in the 50's and 60's have a universality and reflect many shared experiences with those of us who grew up Jewish during this same time, even in the North. While important parts of the book touch on serious themes as racism and anti-semitism, this book offers terrific humor and warm nostalgia, without being "schmaltzy" or self-serving. Less than 200 pages, The Peddler's Grandson can be enjoyed in one cover-to-cover sitting that will for many readers envoke two stories, the author's and for many of us, the parallels of our own lives. A great read.

I enjoyed this book while I was reading it. I really did. Even through the descriptions of Soupspoon's pain and squalor -- which came close to turning my stomach -- I still wanted to know what would happen to this old bluesman. But when I wasn't reading it, I dreaded picking it up again. I remembered how it reminded me of (and amplified) my own pain and sorrow, and didn't really want to go back to that place again. But I eventually did, every time, and somehow feel the better for it. It's kind of like a blues song that way, in that it can simultaneously sadden and cheer you at the same time.

The relationship between it's main characters is key. Atwater "Soupspoon" Wise is dying of cancer, and wants an opportunity to record his story for posterity. That story encompasses the history of the Delta Blues, and features prominently the great Robert Johnson (Robert Leroy, the RL of the title). He is rescued from penilessness and homelessness by Kiki, a stranger in his building. Kiki has her own problems to deal with (including her alcoholism and her tortured past), but sees enough in Soupspoon to arouse her compassion. They make for an odd, but interesting couple. This is all serviced by Mosley's simple and lightly poetic prose. He does a wonderful job conjuring up images and emotions using the sparest of sentences.

If given my druthers, I would have liked to spend more time exploring Soupspoon's history, especially the legend of Robert Johnson. I know that not much is known about him, but it might have been fascinating if Mosley tried his hand at hypothesizing even more than he already does. Without that, the story becomes a requiem for Soupspoon, where the crux of the suspense hinges on whether or not he'll get his history recorded before inevitably succumbing to cancer. His end manages to be both sad and uplifting. Kind of like a blues song.

I love music, but I know very little about the blues. I had heard of Robert Johnson before I read this book-but I knew nothing about him, really. Half way through this book I felt compelled to stop on my way home from work and buy the Robert Johnson Anthology. Mosley does for storytelling and language, what Johnson did for the blues. If you read the book, you'll understand that this is an enormous compliment. One that Mosley would probably shy away from, but don't let him! The story is hard and sad, beautiful and funny and full of terrific charcters - much like a good blues number. The only thing that stops me from gibing this book a "10" is the quick way that Mosley more-or-less disposes of the Kiki character at the end of the novel. Soupspoon's passing is both beautiful and memorable. Kiki's felt like the goofy adendum's that appear at the end of "American Graffitti." A minor complaint though.

I thought this guy just wrote mystery novels. Then I went to hear him read from his latest, "Gone Fishin'" He riveted the room sufficiently for me to feel compelled to ask him which of the titles in his opus was personally his favorite. Not skipping a beat or paying attention to my earnest gaze, he answered, "RL's Dream. It's the one I like best." "Good enough for me," I called, scurrying over to the table piled high with books written by Mosley, each of which was doubtless the favorite of many. The author inscribed my freshly printed copy of his book with, "Rosalind, we miss you back east." Then I strolled home ready to read. I teach expository writing; I read for a living; I talk for a living; and it's frankly hard to capture my unwavering interest--least of all with a should-have-been mystery novel by the author of "Devil in a Blue Dress." Nevertheless I couldn't put this book down. From the first page it held me in a life, breathing with the main character, a dying blues guitarist, RL, who is put out on the street with cancer in his bones and too many memories of the blues life down south to let him sit down and die in peace. The book chronicles his last days of documenting bygone gigs with Robert Johnson, the mythical bluesman who is said to have sold his soul to the Devil to play like no other could. But Mosley's work extends beyond that man and that myth to another lesser-known, also talented blues guitarist who walked in Johnson's shadow to get a handle on his greatness. RL winds up defining the blues, as does every soul, in his own unique fashion. This book should be required reading for anybody who listens to the Blues, or to its grandchild, Rock, or its stepchild, Grunge. "RL's Dream" helps us understand the roots of all those forms that seep into our veins and order our lives around the rhythm, stroke, and cadence of our hearts.

The title of this book is a little misleading. I would not call it the confession, but rather biography of Donald Cabana who worked in the prison system for a number of years and, as warden, oversaw the execution of two people.

The book is very well written, easy to understand and is, in my opinion, quite humble. Donald Cabana had a remarkable and varied career. His feelings about capital punishment, especially after personally overseeing executions, are interesting to read about. There are not too many books from this unique point of view.

If you're looking for detail on the death penalty process or execution technology then there are better books to read. If you are looking for an interesting biography with some insights into relationships between prison staff and inmates, then this is the perfect book.

Mr. Cabana does seem to confess in this book. It lacks the polish of a novel which just enforces the fact that it is a personal history and not a story.

Although from the title you expect a heavy concentration toward his involvement in the execution process what you actually get are anecdotes and daily observations as he moved through the administrative ranks as a Mississippi prison official.

Don't let that stop you from reading this though, throughout, you can feel the underlying dread that leads you to the death of his prisoner and friend Connie Rae Evans. His description of Evans final days is almost heartbreaking. I can only imagine that he didn't go into greater detail regarding these days because he couldn't.

Read this book if you want to see how a man can change his entire view based on the experiences of a life as a prison administrator. Many prison officials faced with the execution of their charges become opposed to capital punishment, here we meet a man with the courage to tell us about his conversion.

As a strong supporter of capital punishment, reading this book made me rethink the issue of executions. I think it is necessary to execute people who commit heinous crimes. They have taken a life, therefore must their life be taken. But I think that if you are personally involved in executions, like Mr. Cabana, it is possible that you change your mind and attitude towards executions and the death penalty itself. You can see in this book that Don Caban changed his mind about the death penalty: A long time he was a supporter of it and thought it was the correct punishment to a heinous crime, but after carrying out excutions himself, especially after Connie Ray Evanses, he was against it. I am 20 years old and I found this book so interesting I read it within a week! I recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about executions and who wants to get an insider's view of capital punishment.

Mark Twain, the most globally recognised of the greatest American writers, comes closest to autobiography in this odd and fascinating book. This is the story of part of his life at least, and lays out much of his unique moral and political philosophy.

As a book, Life on the Mississippi lacks a truly coherent story line after the half-way point; it tells the story of Twain's training as a Mississippi steamboat pilot, then, when he returns to the river years later as a successful writer, it drops off into anecdotes as Twain travels down the great river, and can be a deadly bore for some readers.

But, oh, what a picture of Twain it draws! There are great tales of characters he meets along the river, told in his inimitably funny style, wonderful bits of his childhood - like the tale of his insomniac guilt and terror when the match he loans a drunk ends up causing the jail to burn down, killing the drunk - and insightful portraits of the towns and villages along the river.

This is a characteristically American book, about progress and independence as well as the greatest American river, written by this most characteristically American writer. It is a true classic (a thing Twain despised! He said, "Classics are books that everybody praises, but nobody reads."), a book that will remain a delight for the foreseeable future.

Life on the Mississippi is by far one of the most wonderful books ever written about the post Civil War era in America. Mark Twain takes the reader on a melancholy look at this period of time in history as you journey into the Mississippi of his youth, adulthood, and the people and the communities he knew so well. He conveys a miraculous picture of this lively river giving it the grandeur and prominence it deserves. He defines the river very much like a living organism with a power and personality all its own. As the book unfolds, he begins in his days when he grew up along the river and became a steam boat pilot, ending that career with the advent of the Civil War. Later he returns to the river after some twenty years and takes a journey as a writer from around St. Louis to New Orleans and back up the river into what is present day Minnesota. You learn about the different cultures along the river, its tributaries, as well as the remarkable people who become part of the forgotten history of our nation. Twain's anecdotes are sheer brilliance, and he has an incredible way of choosing just the right story to illustrate a particular point transporting the reader back into time as if it was the present day and you are standing beside Twain observing what he is seeing. His reflections of his times along the river and his descriptions of the people and places make this a true masterpiece of literature and I highly recommend it. I found myself only able to read short portions at a time, as I personally found the sheer beauty of the entire book was a work to be savored and digested rather than rapidly consumed as you would with any other book. As I poured through the book, I felt often as if I was traveling with Mark Twain as a companion along his charming and magnificent journey during a wonderful period of history.

"Life On the Mississippi" is Mark Twain's tribute to the Mississippi River, which surrounded the earlier part of his life. Mark Twain had been in awe of the river for many years; and inspired him to become a river boat pilot - explained in length in this book; much of which is quite humorous, while other parts are heartbreaking, including that of the horrible death of his brother, Henry.

One of the main complaints about this book that some people have is that is uses too many facts and figures, which tends to bog the reader down. This is true. Yet, the avid reader, and Mark Twain enthusiast, will not bypass these chapters. We will revel in them, and read them with inspired intent; simply because the Mississippi River has been such an integral part of Mark Twain's life, that the more we get to know about the river, the more we get to know about the real Mark Twain.

"Life on the Mississippi" is a work of nonfiction; perhaps Twain's truest account of historical fact concerning his life. For those who are just getting interested in knowing about Mark Twain's writings, I would recommend reading "Roughing It"; as it is humurous throughout. "Life on the Mississippi" would be the second book I would recommend.

The proses in this book are extraordinary. Grau knows the land, the plants, the animals, the smells and the sensibility of the place she writes about so the reader can feel like s/he is walking down that rural road with her as she describes a place. There is something of a touch of Annie Dillard in Grau --the way she loves the natural world. And then there are the people who inhabit the places she describes...they are shaped by but different from the land that the Howland family inhabits, owns, nurtures and has grown a part of without fanfare or intention. The Howlands are a people who know and remember their history and where they live is part of who they are. As Grau builds this story, she gently introduces us to layer upon layer of the complex mix out of which racism grew and festered and which distorted the world, so that our narrator eventually ends up in the fetal position on the floor trying to fend off, alone the ugliness of a racist society full of people who use each other ruthlessly...a society that turns the narrator herself into a less than perfect character. This is a pulls-no-punches story. It is the kind of book people ought to talk about after they read. It is full of who we are as a nation-and it could help us find our way out of the mess we've made for ourselves.

What a fascinating read!! The Keepers Of The House is a marvelous book that I spent an entire Sunday reading, from cover to cover. It tells the story of William Howland, a wealthy white landowner, and Margaret Carmichael, a black woman who becomes his maid, and the love that they shared, along with the choses and consequences their love would bring. The story is told by William's grandaughter Abigail Howland Mason, in a long line of Abigails. She narrates this tale, William's and Margaret's history, how they met, their children and how they lived. She also tells how years later the marriage of William and Margaret affects her life. Grau tells the story of forbidden love and revenge that is laced with racism extraordinarily well. Even though throughout the book the reader is aware that the narrator is Abigail, it doesn't hinder the essence of William and Margaret. The soul of the characters are exposed. A very well written book. I know of no better way of spending a Sunday!!

I am black and grew up in poor, rural North Carolina in the 50s. I wish I had found this book in the late 60s when I wanted so much to read, hear, and talk with whites about this kind of true life story from the south. Shirley Ann Grau brings her characters to life so calmly and clearly. She writes of emotion, yet she hides much emotion, especially through the somewhat vague and underexposed storyteller-granddaugher, Abigail Howland Mason. The writing is so beautiful, and the story is so sorrowful. I left the ending wondering, not why the rage of the small town when racial secrets are discovered, but why the deep bitterness and anger shown by Abigail and her half-black, half-white kin. Yes, the south was - and in some respects remains - a cruel and contented place, and yes, people can be coarse and ugly, but in my heart I longed to see some sign of reconciliation.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fine language and is drawn to the exploration of love and hate, conformists and nonconformists, parents and children, greed and grace from a southern perspective. Ms. Grau deserved the Pulitzer in 1965 and I am glad I found her at last in 2001.

Faulkner's novel The Reivers is in my opinion his best work. Unlike many of Faulkner's stories The Reiver's comedic and lighthearted and at the same time it tackles and touches on many of the dark and not so comedic sectors of human nature. The novel is viewed through the lens of a young man named Lucius priest. Lucius accompanies his on an unsanctioned trip to Memphis with two of his fathers employees Boon Hoggenbeck and Ned McCaslin. Putting it lightly Lucius' traveling companions are, "men of the world" that is they protray a great deal of flaws and weaknesses that permiate humanity. They drink, smoke, gamble, steal, and womanize..... As Faulkner puts it they are, "practitioners of non-virtue". As the trip progresses Lucius soon realizes that he too has began down the path of non-virtue. As I said earlier Lucius and party are travelling to Memphis, but in The Reivers it is not the destination that is important to the story it is how they get their. Every leg of the journey find the characters with a new problem to tackle and a new display of what non-virtue is. As with many of his novels Faulkner takes the base human instincts good and bad and portrays them in a believable and poignant manner. The language used in the novels suits its characters and time perfectly and adds to the humor in some instances. The question you should ponder is does Lucius succumb to the non-virtue he is surrounded by in his travels? Read it and find out.

Have you ever read a novel or a short story and felt an urgency to finish it but also an urgency to never finish? That's how I felt while reading Faulkner's The Reivers. This Pulitzer prize novel concerns one eleven-year-old white boy named Lucius Priest. Through the mediation of his father's underlings--Boon Hoggenbeck and Ned McCaslin--Lucius comes of age in the art of non-virtue. While Lucius's grandfather is away, the three of them "borrow" the old man's automobile and embark on a bumpy journey to Memphis. On the trip, Lucius sees it all--whoredom, lust, theft, profanity, gambling--and struggles with these things in the context of a southern religious tradition. Though he has every opportunity to turn back and forgo the trip, he presses on and convinces himself that it's all too late. Non-virtue has already embraced him. On the other hand, Boon and Ned have no doubts of their lack of virtue, and when they see Lucius drinking from evil's muddy waters, they just nod their heads (don't think that the story is grim, for it's down right funny at times). The story is addictive, even though the language is rocky and convoluted at times. Faulker was no Raymond Carver or Ernest Hemingway; conversely, he was the ultimate practitioner of the compound-complex sentence. The dialogue was so real, especially with Ned and other black folks. I felt as though I were standing around the campfire chewing tobacco and thumbing my suspenders and talking about horse racing. No wonder this novel hooked the Pulitzer. It's quality stuff.

I remember reading Faulkner's Sound and the Fury as a college sophmore and swearing never to read another book by him again. I happened to find the Reivers in my local library and decided to give his Pulitzer Prize winning book a try. It is a charming book that tells the story of a stolen car, a stolen horse, a horse race, and the life changing experiences of an 11 year old boy in the course of a week. Although Faulkner employs colons and semicolons more than any writer, and his sentences seem to continue on indefinitely, the effort of adjusting to his style rewards the reader with a wonderful tale. I highly reccomend this book, and hope to try another Faulkner book in the near future. Maybe I will even attempt the Sound and the Fury someday.

I loved "In the Cold Light of Day"! Although the author told us who the likely killer was in the first few pages, the suspense of the story kept me glued throughout the book. You worried about the accused getting away with it and the brave witness getting done in along with any number of possible twists and turns due to the uncertainty of the justice system at that time and in that location. It is chilling that this is a true story. This book haunted me for days....a mark of a really good story.

I was brought up in this town in Mississppi and knew indivduals personally that this book is about, I attened and graduated from the the same high school as the author, sherriff, many of the attorneys and well as the person convicted of the slaying. It is very true and exacting story of a muder that took place in a sleepy little southern town. That will still bring questions to ones mind.

The 50's were a time of family and community. Children played outside until dark and we all felt safe in our neighborhoods. Like the author, I grew up in the 50's and in a similar community. In the Cold Light of Day took me back to that time.

It is certainly not a mystery that this book received such good reviews on Amazon and in the San Francisco Chronicle (I first read about this book there). I bought it and read it from cover to cover -- and the interesting twists and turns kept me turning the pages long after dark! I highly recommend it and am looking forward to more "true crime" by this first-time author.

Tennessee Williams's Pulitzer Prize winning play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a reverie filled drama of lust, greed, and death that puts emphasis on the interaction of families. Williams creates universal characters that are pathetic yet familiar and therefore warrant the reader's sympathy. He writes with such deceptive simplicity that he masks his characters's inner turmoil initially, making the turnout of such characterizations intriguing. The play presents that humanity isn't beautiful while attempting to shed light on the emotional lies that govern the interaction of families. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"'s intertwining themes of the lie of life and the deception of death provide the reader with insight towards the amblivalence of life.

To say so much within such a short piece is a mystery within itself. The sheer power of the plot is testimony of Williams's genius. The play is beautifully constructed and hits upon many themes and emotions with clarity and precision, making it an enjoyable read while having substance. I did an analysis of this book for my junior Reading class, and recommend the read to anyone seeking high drama and a well rounded take on death.

Cat on A Hot Tin roof deals with love and loss, but once looked into deeper, deals with each character's take on death. this play is genius, and to give you a taste--"...But a man can't buy his life with it [money], he can't buy back his life with it when his life has been spent, that's one thing not offered in the Europe fire sale or in the Amercian markets or any markets on earth, a mans can't but his life with it, he can't buy back his life when his life is finished."

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is another masterpiece by Tennessee Williams, who was truly one of the 20th century's greatest playwrights. This play was presented in New York in the 1950s, and in book form it is an excellent read.

I haven't looked at other editions, but the Signet edition contains two different versions of Act 3, along with a note by Williams explaining how director Elia Kazan persuaded him to write a second version. This feature makes the book particularly useful for teachers and students.

"Cat" takes place on a Southern plantation, and deals with a wealthy, but very dysfunctional family. Williams creates stunning dialogue for his characters: Brick, the bitter, alcoholic ex-athlete; Brick's frustrated wife Margaret; "Big Daddy," the patriarch, who is dying of cancer; and the rest. Williams also establishes the plantation's original owners as a haunting presence through the lines of his characters.

"Cat" is an explosive family drama about greed, secrets, guilt, alcoholism, and sexual frustration. Williams' characters are larger-than-life, and even grotesque, but Williams never loses a grasp on their essential humanity. An important book for those with a serious interest in American drama.

Louis Kincaid, a former Detroit police officer, moved back to Black Pool, Mississippi to take care of his dying mother. He took a temporary job as a deputy in order to continue his law enforcement career. During one of his patrols he finds the body of a black man that was lynched approximately thirty years ago. Most people in town want to keep the past buried by making him a John Doe; Kincaid wants to identify the victim and give him justice.

This is the first novel for the sister team of P. J. Parrish. Their main character is a conflicted young man with a strong sense of responsibility. Deputy Kincaid is going to explore Black Pool's dark history in order to find out the hidden facts. He will defy the town's authority and discover the truth even if it costs him his life. Once he starts there is no turning back.

The authors do a great job with characterization. They show the town's diversity by including the town's rich white people all the way to the poor African Americans. There are times that they go overboard showing the community's racism that it almost falls into a stereotype. One dislikes the characters before one even knows them. The story is thought provoking and a good start to the series. DEAD OF WINTER follows DARK OF THE MOON and does a good job of it.

Dark of the Moon was a quick read that really sets the reader through the eyes of Louis Kincaid. I wonder how many readers were not able to "see" the story for not being able to relate to the main character. It brings the ugly picture of race, racism, and ignorance forward, (from both sides, White and Black), yet allows for some resolution of the issues without painting a happy rosey "all is resolved and good in this land" ending. I do wish that more twist and turns would have lay in wait for me as the reader, (don't get me wrong there were curves and twists, but I wish there were more twists than curves). Overall it is a book that I wish more would take the chance to open and see the world of Black Pool through Louis Kincaid's eyes.

This is one of the best debuts novels I ever read. The author captures your attention and never lets go. The suspense never lets up. I think suspense readers will definitely love this book. The tragic incident was heart wrenching. And you couldn't help but find yourself getting behind Louis. He is a very likable character. I wish the book could have been longer. I will definitely add to my "authors to look for list". I can't wait to read the next Louis Kincaid novel.

The Book Light in August is definitely a complex book to read. This is the first novel I have read by William Faulkner. Light in August ranks among the very finest of novels of world literature. The book incorporates great moral themes relating to the ruins of the Deep South in the post-Civil war era. The characters in the book are all unique and complex in there own way. One main character in the book, Joe Christmas, still sticks in my head after I read it. He is a contemptuous man who looks white, but whose father is black. He ends up being the murderer of a woman. People who have a lot of time on their hands and want a good book to read should read this book. The story is filled with great themes, is extaordinarily complex, and is almost always laced with trauma and misery!

Just when I thought the only Faulkner book I would ever remotely understand was his Sanctuary---along comes the serendipitous discovery of Light in August. It is a relatively straightforward journey into the lives of yet another cast of tragic Southern characters; a dark, mythic voyage into the subterannean caverns of their souls...or something like that. Faulkner truly does an impressive job of mining the psychological depths of his characters, often through the technique for which he's famous---Stream of Consciousness. If you've stumbled over Faulkner's difficult style in novels like As I Lay Dying and Intruders in the dust then this book, along with Sanctuary, is an excellent starting point. Grab a strong cup of coffee, make sure your reading light is bright, and good luck.

Faulkner again proved himself a master of American literature with his tragic story of Joe Christmas, a truly unlucky and unloved fellow whose life of rejection has led him to make some truly unwise choices. Crafted in Faulkner's signature intellectual, sometimes verbose, style, this novel is an important examination of some major flaws in the typical American character. We all identify with the characters in this book.