Lemuria Books – Page 18

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By Jim Ewing. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (October 7)

Eric Jay Dolin’s Black Flags, Blue Waters lives up to its subtitle as “The Epic History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates” with little known facts, sweeping narratives, and gripping tales.

It’s a fascinating voyage into the Golden Age of Piracy that not only proves true some of the stereotypes of legend, book and film, but also debunks others and shockingly reveals the depth of early America’s connection to the outlaw seafarers.

Indeed, the contributions of pirates to colonial America, Dolin reveals, was vital to the nation’s founding.

For example, he reports that by 1684, “at least half the coins in colonial America” were Spanish pieces of eight, most of them likely from pirates. The Boston mint, established in 1652, produced the colony’s coins from silver bullion provided by pirates. And the sea-dogs provided a substantial amount of indigo, cloth and sugar that provided New England’s essential needs—avoiding the high prices, inferior goods, and taxes of imports from the mother country.

Their plunder enriched the colonies, making niceties affordable to the masses. So much so that early colonists often sided with the pirates against the Crown’s wishes, laws, and regulations.
In this early period, pirates saw their occupation as a job, not a lifestyle, providing for their families and the wealth of their communities.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that the wealth was robbed from galleons loaded with gold and silver from the New World owned by English rival Spain, or was carried to Puritan New England from merchants robbed in the Muslim world.

Piracy in New England touched and infused all classes, both good and ill. The great-grandfather of President Millard Fillmore himself was a pirate (though conscripted against his will).

The organization of pirates at sea was also endemic of the American character, practicing that new idea of democracy 100 years before the colonies rebelled from monarchy. Crews on pirate ships signed contracts that stipulated their rights, obligations, and percentage of the booty each member received. And they could elect or remove a captain by voting—an unheard-of practice at sea.

This is not to say that pirates were upstanding citizens. Indeed, Dolin reports, they were usually thugs and ne’er-do-wells who differed only from their landlubber criminal contemporaries by robbing and debauching on water.

Even so, the picture formed by Dolin offers a view unlike that popularized in swashbuckling films and novels. For example, while pirates could be—and often were—cruel, barbaric and violent, they also preferred not to fight. The threat of violence was more to their liking, raising the Jolly Roger to extort riches rather than actually risking death.

It suited the preferences of the victims, as well. A sailor on a merchant ship working for low wages was not disposed to risk life and limb for investors or potentates far away. Better to heave to and give it up, to sail another day.

Dolin goes into great detail about the pirate colonies of the Caribbean and Bahamas (reportedly hosting some 4,000 pirates and dozens of ships at a time), as well as ventures along the American Eastern Seaboard, from the early 1680s to 1726. Then the tide turned from pirates aiding colonial economic interests to more frequently harming them with predations closer to home.

He offers extensive notes and bibliography for further reading.

Arghh, maties! Thar be treasure here.

Jim Ewing, a former writer and editor at the Clarion Ledger, is the author of seven books including his latest, Redefining Manhood: A Guide for Men and Those Who Love Them.

Eric Jay Dolin will be Lemuria tonight, Monday, October 8, at 5:00 to sign and read from Black Flags Blue Waters. Black Flags, Blue Waters is Lemuria’s September 2018 selection for our First Editions Club for Nonfiction.

Author Q & A with Hampton Sides

By Guest Author

On October 7, 2018

In History, War

Interview by Jana Hoops. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (October 7)

Author-journalist Hampton Sides brings his readers yet another true–but almost unbelievable–high-stakes account of grit and courage with his newest work, On Desperate Ground: The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle.

Though lesser known than other heroic military campaigns throughout America’s history, the struggle that played out along the frozen shores of the Chosin Reservoir in the snowy mountains of North Korea in 1950 tested the mettle of the First Marine Division beyond reason.

Through his meticulous research that includes declassified documents, unpublished letters and interviews with scores of survivors on both lines, Sides presents a “grunt’s-eye view of history” as he shows “what ordinary men are capable of in the most extreme circumstances.”

His previous books include Ghost Soldiers, Blood and Thunder, Hellhound on His Trail, and In the Kingdom of Ice. An award-winning editor for Outside magazine, Sides’ Ghost Soldiers also captured the PEN USA Award for Nonfiction.

A native of Memphis, Sides is a graduate of Yale University and teaches narrative nonfiction at Colorado College.

Since you grew up in Memphis, do you have ties to our state?

Yes. I have deep roots in Mississippi, actually. I have lots of relatives from around Holly Springs. My dad taught at Ole Miss law school. Some of my best early journalism was done in the state. And I always love getting back to the Delta, which just has a certain vibe about it that I’ve always loved.

Throughout your writing career, your books and journalistic works have focused on a steady stream of real-life–and often high-risk–tales of adventure, discovery, exploration, and the great outdoors, not to mention war and other profound historical narratives. Tell me how you developed your appetite for these bold themes.

Hampton Sides

Probably my interest in these types of stories grew out of my years as an editor at Outside magazine, which over the years has run some of the very best adventure and sports writing in the country. When I was on staff there, I got to work with some of the preeminent writers in the country, who gave me some terrific ideas about how to make writing vivid and muscular, and how to make things come alive on the page.

I decided to go back into history and hunt for some of those same qualities that we were looking for at Outside. Many of my books have focused on the larger theme of human endurance–how people survive terrible ordeals, summoning some combination of courage, ingenuity, and grace under pressure. It’s a powerful motif, and one I seem to keep returning to.

On Desperate Ground is an account of the almost unbelieveable efforts of the U.S. Marines during a pivotal battle in the Korean conflict of the 1950s. Considering the substantial investment of your time and effort, how do you make decisions on topics to write about–and how did this story catch your attention?

Years ago, at a book signing in Virginia, I met a grizzled old veteran of the battle. With a hand that was missing a few digits from frostbite, he slipped me this card that said “The Chosin Few.” He said I ought to write about it someday. Honestly, I’d never even heard of the Chosin Reservoir. I put the card in my pocket and didn’t think about it for many years.

When I finally started looking into the battle, I realized it was one of the most harrowing clashes in our history, a remarkable feat of arms. I thought it should be better known. Here, it seemed, was the ultimate military survival story. Finally, with all the recent developments in our relations with China and the two Koreas, I felt that was an auspicious time to tell this classic story.

Many readers will no doubt be surprised to read your portrayal of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, disclosed in this book through his actions and attitudes. Describe the man your research revealed.

In 1950, Douglas MacArthur was a famously arrogant man and a glory hound at the height of his power, but he was criminally out of touch with reality. He ignored clear evidence that vast numbers of Chinese had entered North Korea to spring a trap and prepare a surprise attack.

He presided over one of the most egregious intelligence failures in American military history. And once the intelligence came in loud and clear, he and his staff of sycophants chose to ignore it, suppress it, or willfully misinterpret its import. In so doing, they needlessly put many tens of thousands of Americans in harm’s way. In my mind, he has a lot of blood on his hands.

You write in the book that the soldiers who survived this horrific, bitterly cold battle were “different men” when it was over. What can you tell me about your interviews with actual survivors of this battle.

At Chosin, the mercury dropped to 20 below zero, sometimes even lower. Many weapons wouldn’t fire. Lots of guys froze to death. The weather claimed more casualties than the combatants did. More than 80 percent of these men suffered severe frostbite. Many lost fingers and toes. Some of them told me they still feel the cold., that they never did quite thaw the chill from their bones.

All battles are terrible, but this one was fought under such extreme conditions, on such forbidding terrain, in such insane weather, and against such overwhelming numerical odds, that it takes a special place in the annals of combat. It’s one of the most decorated battles in our nation’s history, and with good reason. The extremity of the ordeal brought to the fore a naked survival instinct, a fierce camaraderie, and a rare improvisational spirit.

And yet, because i twas in the Korean War, much about their experience has been forgotten. I know a lot of these veterans are resentful of the fact that their experiences and sacrifices seem to have been largely ignored by so many of their countrymen and given short shrift in the history books.

The current, developing relationship between North and South Korea, along with the role of the United States, has been in the news a lot lately. Can you share your thoughts on their progress, and what you may see in their future?

I recently spent time in South Korea, and I was heartened by what I saw and heard. I could feel a certain energy in the air, almost like we saw in Germany before the wall came down. I know that President Trump likes to take credit for these developments, but the desire to improve relations between the two countries is much, much bigger than any one individual. I think what we are seeing is largely an organic phenomenon of the people, not one that’s particularly being driven by the U.S., China, or any other power.

Of course, Korea should never have been divided in the first place–it is one of the great tragedies of modern times. Many, many thousands of families were torn apart and never were allowed to see each other again. Korea is one people, one language, one culture, and I believe one day it will be united again.

Are you already working on another book or other project, and, if so, what can you tell me about it?

My next book, tentatively titled The Resolution, is about the final fateful voyage of the British explorer, Captain James Cook. It takes place during the American Revolution, and I plan to give the story a uniquely American slant. I’ve just begun the research, which will take me from Tasmania to Kamchatka, from the Bering Strait to Tahiti, with lots of time in Hawaii and the archives of London. In the end, it’s a story of far-flung exploration, and a tragic collision of cultures in Polynesia. It will keep me busy for years, and I can’t wait to get started.

Hampton Sides will be at Lemuria on Wednesday, October 10, at 5:00 p.m. to sign and read from On Desperate Ground. On Desperate Ground is Lemuria’s October 2018 selection for our First Editions Club for Nonfiction.

Khaled Hosseini’s ‘Sea Prayer’ is a powerful plea for peace and safety

By Jamie

On October 3, 2018

In Foreign Fiction, Poetry

Khaled Hosseini writes beautiful books. My favorite is (was?) A Thousand Splendid Suns, a heart-wrenching, lush novel that follows two generations of Afghan women beginning from before the Soviet invasion and to after their ouster and the rise of the Taliban. One of my favorite aspects of Suns is that it’s a 700+ page book that doesn’t read like an endless tome. The writing is rapid and fluid, with equal attention given to plot, detail, and character.

Hosseini’s newest book, Sea Prayer, is the exact opposite, with one striking similarity. It’s short, airy, yet still strikingly beautiful. The writing is spare—the text is spread across 20 pages that are adorned with lovely watercolors by London-based illustrator Dan Williams—and stylistically, a departure from Hosseini’s typical dense prose. Framed as a letter from a fictitious father (i.e., not Hosseini) to his son, Sea Prayer explains why the family had to flee Homs, Syria, during the son’s toddler years. But before documenting the strife and violence, the narrator describes a Syria vastly different from the one we all know now. It was a “bustling” place with “a mosque for us Muslims, a church for our Christian neighbors,” a vibrant market filled with sounds and wonder, a home filled with family and peace.

Then, things changed: protests; a siege; “The skies spitting bombs. Starvation. Burials.” This is the Homs that the narrator’s son has lived in as far as his young memory can stretch. Now, they live in a Syria from which, for their own lives’ protection, they must flee. So the narrator and his family find themselves waiting on the shore for a boat to spirit them away to someplace without bombs and burials. First, though, they must cross the sea, “how vast, how indifferent,” a thing against which the father finds himself entirely powerless—much like the monster the father is running from.

And it’s this running from that strikes me about Sea Prayer. It’s a reminder that when people run toward new countries, they are often running away from horror and murder, away from bombs and burials. They’re not invading so much as evading.

Hosseini’s narrator prays that the sea understands this, and I don’t think I’m too far off base in assuming that this is Hosseini’s prayer for us as well. Hosseini has stated that his inspiration for Sea Prayer came from the image of young Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea as his family sought safety in Europe. The proceeds from Sea Prayer will go to various charities supporting refugee aid. In this, the book pulls a double duty: it affects both the world in which we live and the hearts of those who read it, much like a prayer should.

Signed first editions of Sea Prayer are currently available at Lemuria.

Poetry for the Divided Life: ‘If They Come for Us’ by Fatimah Asghar

By Former Lemurians

On October 2, 2018

In Poetry

by Trianne Harabedian

It is rare and beautiful to find a book that is simply about people. A book that presents a life, that delves deeply into the pain of one person, that shows intimately the struggles of a particular family. It is even more rare to find a book that takes all of these elements and places them within a controversial context. Such a book is not passive. But instead of shoving you into political action, it leads you to take the first steps toward compassion on your own. Fatimah Asghar’s If They Come For Us is one of these books.

If They Come For Us is a collection of poems that tell the story of a young Pakistani Muslim woman who has grown up in America. Orphaned as a child, the speaker lives with her aunt and uncle. Her life is a very American mix of cultures, where she plays with Beanie Babies, eats badam, runs track, and reads the Qur’an. By day, she attends public school and tries to fit in with her blonde classmates. By night, she is told her family’s history of Partition and running from violence. Mixed with all of this are the growing up stories of every woman.

Rather than forcing the entire book to conform to one style, Asghar allows each poem to take a form that reflects its subject. “Kal,” a gentle and dreamy poem about the speaker’s mother, takes a more traditional free verse form with three-line stanzas and proper punctuation. “How We Left: Film Treatment” tells the story of the speaker’s family running from violence as if it were being adapted for film, with sections labeled “Character Breakdown” and “Working Title”. “Shadi,” told from the perspective of women who were abducted and forced to marry their captures during Partition, is a poem of scattered words and phrases that reflect instability and grief. There are even a few poems that mix playful form with a serious subject, like “Microaggression Bingo” and “Script for Child Services: A Floor Plan.” Weaving everything together are seven poems titled “Partition.” Each uniquely approaches the violent division of British India, telling stories from a historical lens, from a modern perspective, or both.

This book took a few days to read. Not because the form is strange or the words overly complicated, but because the subject matter is painful. The speaker is alone, both physically and emotionally, for most of her life. She deeply appreciates the family and friends that she does have, but there is a parental and cultural void. The feeling of not being understood in the United States is intensified toward the middle of the book, when the event that forever changes the American view of Muslims occurs–9/11. Suddenly, the speaker must analyze everything she does in fear of being identified with the terrorists. She becomes anxious when schoolmates ask her where she is from, and does not use the trendy phrase “that’s the bomb.”

It can be easiest to see life through our own lens. To only think about the way the War on Terror has changed our own routines. But one of the most beautiful functions of books is that they bring us into other people’s lives. And through lovely, honest, heartbreaking poetry, by telling the story of one person, If They Come For Us has given me another perspective.

Stephen Markley’s ‘Ohio’ explores tragedy, nostalgia of early adulthood

By Former Lemurians

On October 1, 2018

In Fiction

By Andrew Hedglin. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (September 30)

Stephen Markley’s gripping debut novel Ohio tells the story of events, both private and national, quotidian and shocking, that reverberate tragic consequences in the once seemingly-idyllic heartland of America.

On one fateful summer night in 2013, four former classmates are compelled to visit their struggling hometown of New Canaan, Ohio, after they thought they had left it behind for good.

Bill Ashcraft is a drug-addled, abrasive political activist on a mission to deliver a mysterious package. Stacy Moore is a thoughtful grad student, in town to meet with the disapproving mother of her high school love. Dan Eaton, an unassuming Iraq War veteran, has been convinced by his former fiancé to visit a gravely ill favorite teacher. Tina Ross, a big box-store worker who moved a few towns over, comes back to gain closure from a traumatic event.

The stars of the book, however, are the memories of those left behind: Rick, Bill’s childhood best friend and deceased Iraq War vet; Ben, who was Bill and Rick’s go-between friend and songwriter who died in a drug-related accident; Lisa, Bill’s girlfriend and Stacy’s best friend, presumably gone to look for her lost father in Vietnam; and Todd, Tina’s boyfriend and has-been football star, whose life has been sidetracked by poverty and poor choices.

The story is, at its core, about longing, love, and lost innocence, and for that, ghosts dominate the landscape.

There is no anchor scene in which the four main characters are together, but the story is tightly bound together by their collective experience, deftly portrayed in flashbacks from ten years earlier. While the narrative slowly builds, Markley is particularly adept at never quite tipping his hand as to where the story is going, leading to several crescendoing shocks. The contrivances needed to make this happen are relatively minor.

The pre-release publicity and certain subsequent reviews for this book like to talk about it in relation to the zeitgeist: this is what 9/11, the Iraq War, economic decline, and the opioid crisis have wrought.

Those cultural markers do feature heavily in the story, but they serve to enhance, not limit, the characters. National problems have personal consequence. Ohio is a human story, with timeless themes. How many generations have returned from war? For how many has the economy been robust? This novel could have been set in the 1970s with minimal alteration to the essence of the story or characters.

Even the town itself is claimed to be cursed, at least by its woebegone denizens. They say its misfortunes are the result of The Murder That Never Was. Less substantial than even a rumor, this urban legend is propagated by those have little evidence to support it. For the more cynical characters, such as Bill, the point of the theory is to make those whose repeat it feel elevated, as if their problems couldn’t be merely the results of a combination of larger forces and inner demons.

The experience of reading the novel, while melancholic, flows smoothly. It is occasionally buoyed by delicious dramatic irony, such as when characters stubbornly misremember or misinterpret relationships between characters, events in the high school parking lot, and the song lyrics of their dead friend and minor troubadour Ben Harrington.

The main characters are, at their core, primarily driven and deceived by love, some to greater detriment than others.

Each has the burden of heartbreak to show for it. And a broken heart is the price paid by the reader for sharing in their worthwhile story.

Andrew Hedglin is a bookseller at Lemuria and a life-long Jackson area resident.

Signed first editions of Ohio available here. Ohio was Lemuria’s September 2018 selection for our First Edition Club for Fiction.

Author Q & A with Elliot Ackerman

By Guest Author

On September 30, 2018

In Fiction

Interview by Jana Hoops. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (September 30)

National Book Award finalist Elliot Ackerman shows his grit as both a tested warrior and intrepid wordsmith with his new release Waiting for Eden, a fiercely moving novel about how the wounds of war linger beyond life itself.

It was five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan that earned the former U.S. Marine the Silver Star, Purple Heart, Bronze Star for Valor and the distinction of White House Fellow–and it would be his novel Dark at the Crossing that secured his finalist spot for the National Book Award in 2017. His also authored the acclaimed novel Green on Blue.

Other writings and articles by Ackerman have appeared in Esquire, The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The New York Times Magazine, as well as The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Travel Writing.
Ackerman divides his time between New York City and Washington, D.C.

Elliot Ackerman

How do you align your remarkable military career with your accomplishments as a writer?

People who don’t know me often say they’re surprised that I would have gone from the Marines into the arts. However, people who knew me growing up often say it surprised them that I went into the Marines instead of the arts. Those who aren’t familiar with the military often view it as a monolith. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the most talented writers, playwrights, and artists I know spent time in the service. That’s true today and it’s been true in the past.

The tone, the structure and the plot of Waiting for Eden are all striking in their uniqueness. The story itself is brutal, yet gentle–and obviously influenced by your own years in the military. How did you form the idea for this emotional and unexpected tale?

If you spend any time at war, you get acquainted with loss. That was a big part of my war experience. I learned about losing people that I loved when I was young; I was 24 when my first friend was killed in combat. Obviously, those who fight in a war aren’t the only ones who are acquainted with loss. A parent, a sibling, a friend– who among us isn’t touch by similar loss?

I wanted to tell a story about the wars, but also one that transcended the wars and dealt with issues that are universal, which is why so much of the book occurs at home. Grief was a theme that interested me. We often think of grief as a transitory state. We suffer a loss, then we grieve, and then through our grief we’re able to move on. But what if you can’t move on? At its core that’s what this novel is about.

Eden Malcom, the main character, is a victim of a tragic explosion during a deployment in Iraq. He is left with terrible injuries that leave him badly burned and clinging–for three long years–to life. His wife Mary spends those years by his side every day in a San Antonio burn center. His best friend, the book’s narrator, is actually dead but can see, hear, and understand Eden’s thoughts and feelings. This would probably be a good place to ask you to explain the title of the book.

The opening lines of the book are, “I want you to understand Mary and what she did. But I don’t know if you will. You’ve got to wonder if in the end you’d make the same choice, circumstances being similar, or even the same, God help you.”

When you meet Mary and the unnamed narrator at the beginning of the book, they have been waiting for three years for Eden to succumb to his wounds. They have no hope that he might recover; his injuries are too severe. Mary lives at the hospital, having sent her young daughter to live with her mother, and Eden’s best friend remains in a quasi-purgatory, hovering over the narrative as he tells us Eden’s story. So with Mary at the hospital and his best friend watching on the other side of life, these two have kept faith with Eden.

But what they are really doing is grieving, because grief is a type of faith; contained within it is the belief that eventually our spirits will heal. I’m not sure the healing always happens. When it doesn’t, we are left with something other than grief. We are left waiting. Hence the title of the novel.

Tell me about Eden’s phobia of–and ongoing battle with–cockroaches.

Like Eden, cockroaches are virtually indestructible. They’re one of the few species of animals that would survive a nuclear holocaust. They’re impervious to radiation and most diseases. Few creatures can withstand quite as much punishment as a cockroach. So Eden has this in common with them. But he also has a phobia of them, and this phobia predates his horrific injuries. It’s as though he knows what he is going to become, and it terrifies him, causing his phobia to act on a subconscious level. Here he is thinking of the cockroaches he imagines are lingering in the crevices of his hospital room, “He knew they’d crawl over him before he could even get a look and he did the only thing he could: he waited.”

In what ways did John Milton’s Paradise Lost influence this book–and the name of the main character?

The idea of original sin, which is present in Paradise Lost, certainly influenced this book. More than anything else, this is a book about a marriage and the sins that occur within a marriage and the way that they project out through our lives. The idea of an Eden, or paradise, goes hand-in-hand with the idea of original sin. Eden is the place before the sin, the place we are trying to get back to. This too is what they’re waiting for.

The devotion Mary shows for her husband is fierce and steadfast, and is one that would be difficult, if not impossible, for many spouses. What drives Mary’s strength and determined commitment to her suffering and slowly dying husband?

There’s a saying I’ve always like–it does come from my Marine days, and it was spoken about the Marines on Iwo Jima. You’ve probably heard it: “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.” You would be surprised what people are capable of when placed into extraordinary situations. Mary’s situation is most certainly extraordinary. The extent of her husband’s wounds, and the choice she is asked to make, none of this is everyday stuff. However, I don’t think that her devotion, which I would certainly characterize as fierce and steadfast, is quite as extraordinary as many of us might think. Mary rises to the occasion as so many of us are often called upon to do.

Through Waiting for Eden, what did you wish to tell readers about war?

I don’t consider Waiting for Eden to be a book about war; it is a book about grief and one that I hope will resonate for those of us who’ve ever struggled to let go of a person we’ve loved. What I prize about fiction is that it isn’t trying to tell us anything. When I wrote this book, I felt something as I put down this story on the page. If you, as the reader, feel any fraction of what I felt for these characters then the transfer of that emotion is the goal; it is what I hope you would take away from this book, as opposed to my telling you anything about a certain subject.

In the final pages of the book, Eden is pleading for the end of his life to finally come, and his wife makes a surprise decision that also affects his best friend, the narrator. Can you tell us (without spoiling the end) what they are all really waiting for?

I don’t want to spoil the end, so I’ll simply say that there is a common love that three of them share. Through that love they hope to be made whole, to return–at least in some small way–to their lives before the original sin.

Do you have your next book project already in the works yet?

My next book, Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning will be out in May 2019. It is a piece of nonfiction which deals with my time in both Iraq and Afghanistan, expatriate life in Turkey, and my coverage of the Syrian Civil War. I am also finishing a novel set in Istanbul, where I used to live, and it is scheduled for release the year after that.

Elliot Ackerman will be at Lemuria on Monday, October 22, at 5:00 to sign and read from Waiting for Eden, which has been selected one of our November 2018 selections for Lemuria’s First Editions Club for Fiction.

Author Q & A (Southern Splendor)

By Guest Author

On September 26, 2018

In Southern History

Interview by Jana Hoops. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (September 23)

A shared interest in preserving a part of the South’s complex history, as expressed through its grand plantation homes of the antebellum years, has led three Southern historians to author their own definitive examination of many of these notable properties–with an eye toward explaining exactly why saving these “fragile relics of history” still matters today.

It took Marc R. Matrana, Robin S. Lattimore and Michael W. Kitchens–the authors of Southern Splendor: Saving Architectural Treasures of the Old South–nearly five years to merge and expand their collective research into this joint volume, published by University Press of Mississippi. The book explores nearly 50 restored or preserved homes built pre-Civil War.

Matrana, a physician at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, is an active preservationist and historian and has authored Lost Plantation: The Rise and Fall of Seven Oaks and Lost Plantations of the South, both by UPM.

Lattimore, a resident of Rutherfordton, N.C., is a high school teacher who has written more than 25 books, including Southern Plantations: The South’s Grandest Homes. He was honored with North Carolina’s Order of the Longleaf Pine, one of the state’s most prestigious recognitions, in 2013.

An Athens, Ga., attorney and historic preservationist, Kitchens has authored Ghosts of Grandeur: Georgia’s Lost Antebellum Homes and Plantations. He was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Award for Best New Voice in Non-Fiction in 2013.

The book includes nearly 300-plus photos and dozens of firsthand narratives and interviews surrounding properties that have been restored as part of the historic preservation movement led by the South since the 19th century. Today, they say, only a small percentage of the South’s antebellum structures survive.

As co-authors of Southern Splendor, you all live in three different Southern states–how did you all get together to collaborate on this book–and have you worked together on previous books or other projects?

Robin S. Lattimore

Lattimore: We had all three written and published other books on antebellum houses in the past. We became friends first, because our paths often crossed when doing research, and then collaborators on this shared project because we respected each other’s work. Being from three different areas of the South actually served to provide greater depth of knowledge and experience to this project. The most gratifying part of making the decisions on which houses to feature in the book was being able to highlight some lesser-known properties alongside iconic treasures.

What is the goal of this book?

Lattimore: Our greatest hope for this book is to draw attention to the significant work done through the years by individuals, families, non-profit organizations, corporations, and others in restoring and preserving the South’s antebellum homes, many of which had once been in dire straits. The South’s antebellum architecture is being lost at an alarming rate due to neglect, fire, and increased residential, commercial, and industrial development. Ultimately, we hope that this book increases awareness of what we stand to lose if more historic homes are not preserved.

In Southern Splendor, you acknowledge that the South’s plantation homes represent a culture and lifestyle that was “made possible by an economic system that required the forced labor of enslaved people.” In what ways does your book examine that reality of Southern history?

Lattimore: As cultural historians, we are aware that plantation houses are at the epicenter of a complex web of human relationships that have shaped the social, economic, and political heritage of the South for generations. This project allowed us an opportunity to explore and celebrate the contributions made by African-Americans to the architectural heritage of the South, not just as laborers helping to construct grand plantation houses, but also the artistry and craftsmanship that people of color contributed to create these architectural masterpieces.

The book showcases antebellum residences in your home states of Louisiana, Georgia, and North Carolina, as well as half a dozen other states, including Mississippi. How were the homes from Mississippi chosen?

Marc R. Matrana

Matrana: We wanted this book to be a real celebration of preservation to showcase the fact that even the most destitute property can be saved from the brink of destruction if people care about it and decide to dedicate resources and efforts towards a project. We tried to find properties that had a strong preservation story behind them, like Beauvoir in Biloxi, which was almost destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. That historic home has since been meticulously restored to its former glory and the grounds, presidential library, and other facilities are better than ever. Or like Waverly (near West Point), a unique plantation home that was fully restored by the Snow family.

How did you become interested in this enormous task of preserving and restoring Southern antebellum homes?

Michael W. Kitchens

Kitchens: The path to becoming more than passively interested in preserving the South’s antebellum architectural treasures is somewhat different for everyone. However, I think I can speak for all three authors of this book by saying that our respective interests first arose when we visited some of these homes years ago. Visits turned into quests to read as much information about the homes as we could find. Reading turned into research; then research turned into a desire to share what we learned about the homes and histories with others by writing about them. All the while, each of us has become involved in activities and organizations whose purpose is to preserve the South’s historic structures. We hope that our efforts to record the histories of some of these homes may inspire others to take up the cause to preserve what we have left.

Could you briefly describe the main architectural styles of these homes? What inspired their designs?

Kitchens: The predominant architectural style in the South before 1861 was the Greek Revival style. Entire volumes are dedicated to explaining why this particular style was so loved in the South between 1820 and 1860. Many believe that Southerners saw themselves as being philosophically true to the Greek’s democratic ideas and chose the style to reflect that self-identification. However, an equally plausible explanation may be that the Greek Revival style was the prevailing style in Europe, particularly in England, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when explorers were discovering Greek ruins across the Mediterranean. In the 1850s, the Italianate style became increasingly popular with Southerners as it allowed for asymmetrical designs which departed from the strict symmetry of Greek Revival designs.

Finally, Gothic Revival designs found their way into many corners of the South, harkening back to some of Europe’s great public and private architectural treasures from the Renaissance. The casual observer would be astonished to discover the wide variety of sizes and styles of antebellum architecture utilized in the South before 1860. It was far more diversified than just what we see in fictional film mansions such as Twelve Oaks or Tara.

A great deal of detail about these homes is included in “Southern Splendor”. How long did this project take, including the research?

Matrana: The book was a natural progression from the authors’ previous books, including my “Lost Plantations of the South”, Kitchens’ “Ghosts of Grandeur”, and many works by Robin Lattimore, including “Southern Plantations” published by Shire. We have each been separately researching Southern plantations for decades, each amassing large collections of materials, references, photos, etc. We started talking together about a collective project about five years ago and pitched the idea to Craig Gill at the University Press of Mississippi in the summer of 2014. We’ve been working on putting the book together ever since.

Tell me about the stunning photography in the book. How many photos are included?

Kitchens: The authors worked hard to select for this volume photographs which would not only illustrate the homes but evoke for the reader the raw beauty and majesty of these structures. There are over 270 color photographs and nearly 60 black and white photographs in Southern Splendor. It was our hope to illustrate how close some of these historic dwellings came to being lost forever. Many have already been lost to everything but memory. Some of the black and white photographs simply illustrate how a home looked decades ago. A few of these images date from the 1860s, and many of the black and white photographs were taken from the Historic American Buildings Survey which recorded the homes in photographs taken in the 1930s and 1940s.

But perhaps the most stunning photographs are color images showing the homes in their current state of restored splendor. Many of these photographs come from the authors’ private collections. Some photographs were donated for use in this book by the current owner of the house or museum. Still other images were provided by professional photographers retained by the authors to capture for the readers of this volume the most artful and stunning images possible. It is our hope that the readers enjoy these images and are inspired to visit and support the preservation of these and other historic structures.

The book states that many more of these historic homes are losing their battles with deterioration and decay than are possible to restore. In your estimation, what are the numbers, approximately–and why does saving these homes matter to us now?

Matrana: At the height of plantation culture, prior to the Civil War, there were almost 50,000 plantations in the South. Not all were associated with a grand mansion, but most were family estates. Today, only a few thousand plantation homes survive, and each year dozens are lost to fires, neglect, intentional demolition, etc. Hundreds of these homes are at risk today. Some sit in woods or fields rotting away, waiting for someone to rescue them from demolition by neglect.

Collectively, these structures represent our past–the good and the bad. The buildings were often constructed by slaves and provide real tangible evidence of slavery, a piece of our history which we surely must not forget. They provide a physical link to the past, which can never be restored once it is lost. As we’ve shown in Southern Splendor, restoring such homes can be an economic boom for local economies while simultaneously providing balanced education to the public about our shared history.

Marc R. Matrana and Robin S. Lattimore will be at Lemuria on Tuesday, October 2, at 5:00 to sign and discuss Southern Splendor.

Remarking on ‘An Absolutely Remarkable Thing’ by Hank Green

By Former Lemurians

On September 25, 2018

In Science Fiction

by Andrew Hedglin

Hank Green, the author of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, is sort of famous. He is famous in the online video community, helping to create and host the educational YouTube series Crash Course and SciShow. He also has a YouTube channel and podcast with his older brother John Green, author of several successful YA novels, some of which have been turned into movies (you’ve probably heard of the The Fault in Our Stars, if you haven’t seen or read it, and didn’t know who created it.)

So, even if he’s not like famous like a pop star or president, he’s had occasion over the past decade or so to consider the ramifications of fame, celebrity, and influence in our culture. And he’s put these ideas to use in his smart, fun debut novel An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.

The hero of his novel is harried recent art school graduate, April May. On her way home from a late night at a demanding start-up app company, she passes by what she initially assumes is a fantastic, if neglected, art installation on the streets of New York. Sympathetic to the indifference this tall sculpture (which she nicknames “Carl”) receives from the public, she contacts her videographer friend Andy Skampt. They make a gag video, in which April “interviews” the statue, which they post online and stop thinking about.

Until the next day, when it is revealed that dozens of Carls have shown up simultaneously and spontaneously in almost every major city on Earth. The mystery of what, or who, these things are, how they got there, and what their purpose is occupies our heroes (and just about everybody else) for the rest of the book.

April finds herself thrust into the role of the “discoverer” of the Carls, and later spokeswoman for their benevolence. Of course, soon an opposition “Earth first” counter-movement called the Defenders springs up, led by the odious but seemingly credible Peter Petrawicki.

There’s great action, dialogue, characterization, and first-person narration in this novel, but even with all that, theme is this book’s strong suit. April, only in her early twenties, has to figure out who she is as a person while making decisions that could affect the future of the human race–both at the same time. Fame and celebrity distort her ability to see herself, her friends, or the Carls with the clarity that she needs. This book has a lot to examine about the nature of our contemporary–often online–discourse and the polarization of political opinion–all about a science fiction concept that does not (yet?) exist. The believability of what transpires seems to suggests that often what we argue about has less to do with the issue at hand, and more to do with something more basic in our natures.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is an exceptionally well-crafted debut that stands on its own, apart from his brother’s books or even his own other, previous creative work. I absolutely encourage you to pick up a copy of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and read for yourself what a remarkable book this is.

Signed first editions of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing are currently available at Lemuria.

William Boyle’s ‘Gravesend’ dazzles with depth of characters

By Guest Author

On September 24, 2018

In Mystery

By John M. Floyd. Special to the Clarion-Ledger Sunday print edition (September 9)

When failed actress Allesandra Biagini returns from Los Angeles to her Brooklyn neighborhood following the death of her mother, she finds that nothing much has changed in the past eleven years: it’s still a place she both loves and hates. And that’s a feeling shared by most of the people she knows.

Gravesend is a glum, gritty, depressing place on the wrong side of the Brooklyn tracks—but it’s also an old, close-knit neighborhood with a small-town feel, where everyone knows everyone else and everyone else’s business.

What the gossips don’t know is that Conway D’Innocenzio, one of Allesandra’s former classmates and the stock boy at the local Rite Aid, is planning a murder. Sixteen years ago, troublemaker Ray Boy Calabrese was convicted of the hate-crime killing of Conway’s brother, and now that Ray Boy’s been released from prison, Conway intends to get even.

The problem is, he finds that he can’t bring himself to do the deed, even after years of nursing the grudge, and it’s this cowardly failure to act—along with the fact that the regretful Ray Boy no longer seems to be a threat to anyone—that forms the basis of the plot.

Other players include Eugene Calabrese, a troubled fifteen-year-old who idolizes his Uncle Ray Boy and fancies himself a gangster; sweet but reclusive Stephanie Dirello, who has always admired Allesandra and secretly longs for Conway; and bartender Amy Falconetti, a Flushing native and Allesandra’s love interest, who also appears in Boyle’s recent novel The Lonely Witness. There’s even a local mob boss, Enzio Natale, and his deadly henchmen.

Nothing about any of these people is predictable, and it’s a testament to Boyle’s talent that by the end of the novel most of their lives intersect in a way that’s both perfect and unexpected.

William Boyle’s writing has been compared to that of Elmore Leonard, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, and Dennis Lehane, and for good reason. Similarities include a mastery of setting, pitch-perfect dialogue, and detailed, suspenseful plotting.

Gravesend has all of these, but its biggest strength probably lies in the depth of its characters and the fact that there is so much conflict at every turn, and on many levels: dead-end jobs, discrimination, dysfunctional families, broken dreams, and of course the ever-present street crime and violence. And the neighborhood itself plays a huge part in the story.

In one paragraph we’re given a look at it through the eyes of Allesandra, on her way home: “She strained to see down to the avenue. Old ladies with shopping carts. Chinese men blowing on hot coffee in doorways. Others with plastic bags, talking on cell phones, texting, looking down. The sidewalks were wet where storeowners had hosed them down. Garbage flitted around, paper bags and rotten fruit, and she swore she could smell it all the way up in the train.”

In this novel Boyle has given us the best of all literary worlds: complex characters, a gripping story, and an elegance of language not often found in crime fiction. In addition, it’s a story that portrays Italian-Americans in a way that seems far more real and believable than what we’re accustomed to seeing on the page and the screen—probably because Boyle is himself a product of the neighborhood where the book is set, and knows it so well.

At its core, Gravesend is a realistic and compulsively readable story of mean streets, neighborhood bars, wanna-be gangsters, former schoolmates, revenge killers, Italian and Russian mobsters, and working-class people struggling to survive.

It’s a powerful novel, one that the reader will remember long after it’s finished.

John M. Floyd is an Edgar Award nominee and the author of the upcoming book The Barrens. He and his wife Carolyn live in Brandon.

William Boyle will be at Lemuria on Wednesday, September 26, at 5:00 to sign and read from Gravesend.

‘T-Rex Time Machine’ travels to Lemuria

By Former Lemurians

On September 20, 2018

In Oz: Children's Books

Two hungry T. Rex Dinosaurs?

A time machine?

What could possibly go wrong??

When two hungry dinosaurs travel from the age of the dinosaurs to the future in a time machine, the time machine lands in the drive through lane of a fast-food restaurant called “Burger Town.” The dinosaurs are amazed by all the food that can be found everywhere! As they chorus: “THE FOOD COMES TO US!” The T. Rexes go on a jaunt around town, scaring the townspeople (unintentionally) while eating everything from pizza to noodles. When the police show up to arrest the dinosaurs, they scatter, running through a donut festival and back to the “magic egg,” (a.k.a. the time machine). While inside the time machine, they can’t figure out a way to travel back to their own time, and the green dinosaur wails, “I didn’t get a donut!” What they don’t know is that the time machine is voice activated. The time machine says, “I didn’t quite get that. Did you say… ‘I want to dance with King Tut’?”

Do the dinosaurs make it home? Or are the great pyramids in their future…

T. Rex Time Machine by author/illustrator Jared Chapman is a hilarious picture book that will leave you hungry for french fries and donuts–and more dinosaur adventures! Jared Chapman’s illustrations are eye-catching and the humor is for children and adult readers alike. Some of Chapman’s clients include Walt Disney Television Animation, Nick Jr., Nike, McSweeney’s, Hallmark, Jib Jab, and Mudpuppy.

Don’t miss a story time and book signing with Jared Chapman at Lemuria Books on Saturday, September 22 at 10:00 a.m.! Jared Chapman will be drawing dinosaurs, reading T. REX TIME MACHINE, and signing books. Fun for the whole family (with snacks for both hungry little dinosaurs and their parents), there will be photo opportunities with a REAL T-Rex and a Time Machine!

Call 601-366-7619 or visit lemuriabooks.com for more information.

Page 18 of 257

Eric Jay Dolin’s ‘Black Flags, Blue Waters’ is a fascinating voyage

Author Q & A with Hampton Sides

Khaled Hosseini’s ‘Sea Prayer’ is a powerful plea for peace and safety

Poetry for the Divided Life: ‘If They Come for Us’ by Fatimah Asghar

Stephen Markley’s ‘Ohio’ explores tragedy, nostalgia of early adulthood

Author Q & A with Elliot Ackerman

Author Q & A (Southern Splendor)

Remarking on ‘An Absolutely Remarkable Thing’ by Hank Green

William Boyle’s ‘Gravesend’ dazzles with depth of characters

‘T-Rex Time Machine’ travels to Lemuria

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