Customer Reviews

An Auburn Autumn

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For years, Auburn University has been held hostage by a clique of nouveau riche bankers and shopping center developers that pay lip service to educational attainment but really put football first and education a distant second, particularly the liberal arts. We have had a series of public embarrassments over this period including probation by our accrediting agency, the firing of an excellent president and his fine staff of alumni affairs, public relations and affirmative action staffers, the expose of the President of the University and certain trustees secretly trying to lure Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino to Auburn even before executing their plans to fire Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville, the firing of a professor who successfully sued a leading trustee's bank, and the mishandling of the racial incident so aptly described in the book.

Brian Egeson depicts the Auburn power clique accurately as it has been and as it remains even after the actual firing of the president who is depicted in the novel. These real-life Auburn poo-bahs appear for all the world to be interested in improving racial relations and minority opportunity only to the extent that it helps Auburn win football or basketball games. And they are capable of doing anything -- and I mean ANYTHING -- to achieve their aims. But I think Egeson's purpose is even more universal than race relations at Auburn or race relations at all. I have seen the same pattern of greed at work among the rich and particularly the noveau riche for years as a congressional staffer and reporter in Washington and the same type of novel could have been written based on those scenarios. To sum up, this book does a better job of slamming the Snopes,related mentalities and the greedy arrogant than the Faulkner books I read as an Auburn freshman 50 years ago. An Auburn Autumn has a universal message and should be required reading in literature courses throughout the South and throughout the world. It is that good.

I read An Auburn Autumn not knowing what to expect really. The first chapter is hard to get through because of the tough subject. But after that it gets a bit easier to read. I enjoyed how the writer made the plot intense. The book is a pageturner, but be ready to deal with some tough issues.

It made me think about how far race relations have come, but how far back we're going when things like this happen. I didn't go to Auburn and I didn't pledge a fraternity and I found the the book very engaging.

The opening scene: Spooks, Klansmen, Jungle Bunnies and a black man with a noose around his neck. What the hell is going on at Auburn University? A Halloween party -- of course. Not your typical one, but one that has become an annual occasion for one of the fraternities on campus.

The photographer, at the party, posts the pictures to a website and what was once innocent fun becomes total chaos. With the passing of volatile email, the pictures lead to the threat of shutting down the most philanthropic fraternity on campus and igniting a possible riot. Tempers are flaring and everything is idling waiting for the flag to drop signifying: GO!

President Runner is in total disarray and seeks the help of his loyal colleague -- Hairis -- to get him out of this jam. Hairis reassures President Runner he'll take care of everything and not to worry. That is until...more hell breaks loose. A well-known Psi Phi makes his intents known and wants serious repercussions, up to and including expulsion of those involved. A well-known Auburn alumnus flexes his muscles and lets Psi Phi know that's not how business is done at Auburn; he seeks a more amicable resolve. Is this an issue of black and white: a black fraternity versus a white fraternity? Or is it really an issue of the rich versus the poor. Either way, someone has got to pay, but whom?

Brian Egeston is the M-A-N and has managed to pen another bestseller. AURBURN AUTUMN is drama without being overly dramatic. It keeps you dangling on the edge with the threat of taking you over with each page turned. Egeston's use of sub-plots and descriptive make him the talented writer he is. If I gave you anymore in this review, I'd spoil it all. Stop reading and go buy the book; it's worth every dollar.

I bought this book based on the positive reviews, and I was prepared for a difficult read in the first chapter. While I read the entire book, I found the whole thing difficult to stomach. While the author is African American, I was still offended by his regularly referring to African Americans as "coons"--and not just in dialogue but throughout the text. While the White characters are not sympathetic, they remain mostly two-dimensional. The most despicable character is a brutal Black fraternity member. The hazing is horrid, and that no one steps in to stop it. There is a freshman orator mentioned briefly who, if he had been more fully fleshed out in the writing, could have become a moral center of the book. Instead we get more characters portraying negative Black stereotypes.
I read some of the author's blog [...]and I found it to be well written and I would recommend reading it instead of the book.