Customer Reviews

An American Insurrection: The Battle of Oxford, Mississippi, 1962

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've lived in Oxford my entire life (26 years) and never knew the true story behind the integration of Ole Miss. It is something I hate I was not privy to, but something I am glad to now know. Mr Doyle does an excellent job telling both sides of the story. I come from a long line of Mississippi racists. I always heard what a mistake it was for Meredith to have been admitted to the University. Thankfully, I have never felt this way since I was able to give my own opinion on matters. I now work for the University in the Old Gym, just behind the Lyceum. I see those visuals everyday and I enjoy the lush beauty of the rolling campus. It brings tears to my eyes to know that these actions took place not long ago. Oxford still has a long way to go, but I am so proud it is no longer like this. A few students still insist on the band playing "Dixie" and carrying their Confederate flags wherever they go, but they are no longer the Oxford of 1962. Anyone who enters the beautiful town of Oxford and grand campus of Ole Miss will find it full of friendly folk, of various nationalities and races. Drink a coffee and read at the balcony of Square Books, stroll through the tree-filled Grove (but watch out for theiving squirrels!), and walk past the magnificent Lyceum, a time-honored symbol of the University. You'll get a real feel of what the University is now, not then.

I am 62 years old now. On that morning when
the 716th MP Battalion was brought to the campus,
I was in one of the groups exactly as pictured in
the middle of the book. At the time I had no idea
what the big picture was. I just did as I was told.
I was in the army for about a year prior to that day,
but never had live ammunition except for practice.
We had our gas masks on and our bayonets fixed. We
were each handed one clip of live ammunition for
our M-1 rifles. I vividly remember my knees literally
knocking together as we stood there waiting for the
trouble that never came at that time. We had heard
that a soldier had been killed prior to that. This
book is giving me the big picture and a full under-
standing of how we got there and why we were there.
I am finding this book to be riviting and educational.
I heartily recommend it. Mike Cuggino, NY.

This book gives what appears to be an almost complete and factual account of the events of the enrollment of James Meredith at Ole Miss. Having first hand experience of being there as a staff member in the Office of the Registrar, I was drawn to this book and find it flows well and coordinates time lines in an understandable format. It can easily be read in two evenings and makes you feel as though you were there. A must for anyone interested in history.

William Doyle has written an excellent account of the events surrounding Meredith's entry into Ole Miss. Particularly noteworthy is his detailed account of the behind the scenes negotiations between the Kennedys and Mississippi's segregationist governor, Ross Barnett. The book's depiction of the riot is also rich: Doyle vividly potrays the chaos that reigned in Oxford during the riot. The narration is gripping and this book is an entertaining read.

I thought the book was not nearly as strong in the final 30 pages. There is no clear direction to the book's "conclusion." Doyle sort of vasillates between providing updates on the book's main characters and attempting to place the riot into a historical perspective. While both are interesting, this portion of the book drags on.

Overall, a very enjoyable read.

Mr. Doyle has done very well what so many others have failed at. He has taken the stuff of a compelling story and told it as a straightforward and detailed narrative that needs no excessive or distracting "artfulness" to make it live on the page. Here are real, hateful villains, conflicted heroes, confused bureaucrats and the inscrutably zen-like James Meredith. Every one of these individuals - with the possible exception of Meredith - is caught up in circumstances way beyond his "job description" and required by fate to draw his best or worst abilities to the tasks he has been drawn into.
Whatever anyone else may say about this book it is first and foremost a wonderfully compelling reading experience. As a writer of history, Doyle is right up there with McCullough, Ambrose and Goodwin as a writer of skill, insight and a willingness to let the story take the front seat. You will appreciate this book; you will respect this story; but most of all you will savor every minute you spend reading it.

I found this book to be very enlightening. It is a factual account of the clash between the United States Government and the State of Mississippi. Anyone who has been to Oxford would find it hard to imagine that those events actually occurred. It is a great example of our constitution being put to the test.

I spent the night of September 30-October 1 in the middle of the Ole Miss Campus. There were four of us who were barricaded in the Student Union Building. We watched the fightining swirl below through the night, but I did not know -- until I read this book -- how close to the abyss we really were. I think this a very balanced account that is basically accurate. There were no bars in Oxford in 1962 for Mississippi was legally dry until 1966! A few other slips like that do not detract from the totality of the book. This is the third or fourth book I have read on the subject and the first that really places the blame for what happened on both sides. It has always seemed to me -- and I have said so -- that the most foolish thing one could have done was what the Federal Government did by surrounding the Lyceum Building late on Sunday afternoon, thus giving a focal point for returning students and invading strangers . . . and the oncoming cover of darkness. In hindsight, it would have been so much better to lay low until early Monday, slip onto the campus and register James Merideth in the early morning, and face the daylight hours rather than the night. However, the men in the field had to deal with the situation that the Governor and the President had permitted to be created . . . and they cannot really be blamed for lack of foresight when those in a much higher position had shown the same lack of foresight.

An excellent book . . . that scares the wits out of someone who was really there!

While one can quibble with some things in this book (the author seems to draw on anti-Kennedy books for his material on the Kennedys) all in all it tells the story well, and is really exciting, even tho one is appalled that there could be in the 20th century such benighted persons as instigated and participated in the insurrection to prevent a student entering Ole Miss. The last chapter tho makes a person feel better and I am glad the author spent some time finding out what happened to the people involved in the tumultous events of October, 1962. How pleasant to know that the student body president, the newspaper editor, the quarterback, and the head basketball coach in 2000-2001 were all African-American, and how stupid the rioters must feel now about the views they had in 1962. This is a popular account but it is great reading.

I Have visited Oxford and the surrounding area and have found it, a most beautiful, peaceful part of our country. Visit Faulkners home, go to the department store or book store on the square. As you sit in the square it is hard to imagine, the raw hate and anger directed at James Meredith. This book will take you back in time and put you right in the middle of this terrible event. It is a good book to read and a hard one to put down.

I Have visited Oxford and the surrounding area and have found it, a most beautiful, peaceful part of our country. Visit Faulkners home, go to the department store or book store on the square. As you sit in the square it is hard to imagine, the raw hate and anger directed at James Meredith. This book will take you back in time and put you right in the middle of this terrible event. It is a good book to read and a hard one to put down.