In this periodic feature, we highlight books either about Alabama people or events, or written by Alabama authors. Summaries are not reviews or endorsements. We also occasionally highlight book-related events. Email submissions to [email protected]. Due to the volume of submissions, we are unable to feature all the books we receive.
Alabama Short Stories, Vol. 2, by Shawn Wright, $16.95 paperback (Alabama history) This collection builds on the narratives from the author’s podcast, bringing to life the rich heritage and diverse experiences of Alabama through 30 new nonfiction stories. The author, who lives in Birmingham, says it is a celebration of our state’s culture, history, and the people who shape it.
Midnight Cry: A Shooting on Sand Mountain, by Lesa Carnes Shaul, NewSouth Books, $27.95 hardcover (true crime) Close to midnight on May 17, 1951, four north Alabama lawmen drove to a bootlegger’s home to serve an arrest warrant. Before the clock struck 12, the bootlegger lay dead, and three of the four officers were also dead. Afterward, a 16-year-old boy would face a series of trials that would divide a county and thrust the state of Alabama into the national spotlight.
Some Nightmares are Real: The Haunting Truth Behind Alabama’s Supernatural Tales, by Kelly Kazek, University of Alabama Press, $22.95 hardcover (folklore) Dark secrets lurk beneath the sleepy surface of Alabama. Ghosts and grisly creatures haunt the towns and forests. In the great Southern ghost-story tradition, storyteller Kazek weaves a gothic tapestry of ten stories drawn from real people and legendary creatures, cursed places, and harrowing events.
Old Enough: Southern Women Artists and Writers on Creativity and Aging, edited by Jay Lamar and Jennifer Horne, with Katie Lamar Jackson and Wendy Reed, NewSouth Books, $34.95 hardcover (literary collections) Twenty-one women artists and writers write about the experience of aging; these women are not squeamish about the challenges of growing older, including ageism, health concerns, and loss. But in lyrical, sometimes wry, often inspiring essays they explore what growing older can offer: self-knowledge, insight, and acceptance.
The Survivors of the Clotilda: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the American Slave Trade, by Hannah Durkin, Amistad Publishing, $20.30 hardcover (Black and African-American history) The Clotilda was the last slave ship to land on U.S. soil, docked in Mobile Bay in July 1860. The last of its survivors lived well into the 20th century; the author tells the stories of the Clotilda’s 110 captives, tracing their terrifying 45-day journey across the Middle Passage and the subsequent sale of the 103 survivors into slavery.
Montevallo (Past and Present), by Carey W. Heatherly and Clark Hultquist, Arcadia Publishing, $24.99 paperback (photography history) Montevallo, located near the geographic center of Alabama, has a rich historic legacy spanning 200 years.
The city has been home to the University of Montevallo, Alabama’s public liberal arts college, and its predecessors since 1896. For this volume, the authors selected images from the university’s Anna Crawford Milner Archives and Special Collections.
