The Ballad of Fiddling Tom Freeman: Music, Moonshine and Murder in Bug Tussle, Alabama
by Joyce H. Cauthen with Robin Sterling, $29.95, The University of Alabama Press (folklore)
This portrait of a forgotten America is drawn from the handwritten memoirs of a bootlegger, fiddler, and chronicler of life in the first half of the 20th century. Today, rural voices are often drowned out by polished narratives, but this book resurrects the unfiltered perspective of a man who lived through – and candidly documented – the chaos and violence in his home place.
Heroes and Other Mortals: Stories of Our Better Angels
by Frye Gaillard, NewSouth Books (biographies), $29.95,
The author combed through a collection of essays, columns and profiles he’d written over the years to compile this book, which blends interviews and stories of such well-known figures as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Sidney Poitier and Jane Goodall with lesser-known heroes, who all worked to make the world a better place. Gaillard is a former writer-in-residence at the University of South Alabama and lives in Mobile.
Casket Case
by Lauren Evans, $14.38 paperback, Dell Publishing (romantic comedy)
Nora thought she was finished with Rabbittown, Ala., for good. But after an unexpected tragedy, she finds herself back in her hometown running the family casket business. Her ordinary day is interrupted by a handsome stranger … who happens to be a logistics coordinator for Death. The author is from northeast Alabama and is a graduate of the University of Alabama.
Historic Resting Places of Alabama
by Mollie Smith Waters, $27, Reedy Press (history)
Alabama is full of old cemeteries, and while they are places to pay respect for the departed, they are also repositories of the beauty and history that capture the story of the state’s rich and diverse culture. Each Alabama county is represented with at least one cemetery that has something unique to teach its visitors.
Antique
by Seth Panitch, $30.21, Grand Central Publishing (women’s fiction)
An uplifting, magical story about a once-celebrated antique appraiser who gets caught in the thrall of a strange, powerful necklace — one that has the power to transform her life, and the fortunes of those around her. The author is a playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, and a professor of theatre and heads the MFA Acting program at the University of Alabama.
The Tensaw River: Alabama’s Hidden Heritage Corridor
by Mike Bunn, $24.95, The University of Alabama Press (natural history)
The book introduces one of the American South’s richest and most fertile natural features. The author is director of the historic Blakeley State Park, nestled in a prominent bend of the majestic Tensaw River. The river is a gateway to the enchanting beauty of – and humankind’s enduring relationship to – the landscape of the American South.
