Customer Reviews

Everything Is Pickrick

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was thoroughly impressed with Everything is Pickrick, by Bob Short. What a wonderful depiction of a flavorful past Georgia Governor. Though so many have warped opinions of Lester Maddox, this book will tell the truth about a dedicated, honest, respectful man who led our state successfully. I recommend it!

Excellent portrayal of the controversial Georgian governor. This will likely turn into a tv mini-series or movie, just like that of neighboring Alabama George Wallace. Bob Short made this humorous, lively story jump out of the pages. A must read!

Literary award winner Bob Short has written the only truly balanced biography of one of this nation's most controversial and misunderstood political leaders of the 20th century, former Governor Lester Maddox of Georgia. No one other than a close family member could even approach a description of the complicated Maddox psyche better than Short. After all, Short was there during the astounding and amusing events highlighted in his award winning book. Get ready to stay up all night when you open this revealing masterpiece.

"...If they think they're better than him, they're wrong!" That's how Randy Newman put it in the song "Rednecks". Many of the people who laughed at Maddox *were* no better than him and Maddox, it turned out, was better than quite of few.

Maddox became governor of GA, with the support of the Citizens' Councils and the K.K.K. largely on the strength of his confrontation at his restaurant the "Pickrick" with civil rights demonstrators in 1964. By the end of his tenure, Maddox had appointed more african americans, reformed the prison system, and raised teachers salaries.

But this isn't a case of a repentant demagogue, like George Wallace, or a wily politician who trimmed his sails, like Strom Thurmond. Lester Maddox *was*, and is, a segregationist. The fact that he would close the "Pickrick" rather than integrate and then make the appointments he did was no contradiction to him. When confronted, he would just shrug and say "I just got the best people for the job." Despite this, Maddox never got substantial black support, like Wallace or Thurmond, but then he never sought it, either.

Admirers may bemoan Maddox being remember only for the "pick axe handles incident," where he handed out ax handles to "Pickrick" patrons to back him up in the aforementioned "confrontation." But its hard not to, considering how he used to glory in its memory years afterward. Selling autographed ax handles in his gift shop in underground Atlanta. To this day, Maddox apologizes for nothing.

Maddox's racial attitudes are old fashioned, fotunately his commitment to honesty, industry, thrift, and fair play were old fashioned as well. "Good government" for him, was not just code for "white supremacy." On balance he was a good governor. With a little humility and willingness to meet people on terms other than those he dictated, he *could* have been great.

The advantage of Short's book is that is the closest we will probably get to an autobiography. By the same token, Short is too close to his subject and his sources are mainly current and retired pols, many former Maddox associates. Short is not exactly, uncritical, but he doesn't probe much either. Maddox is a plain, simple man, seemingly without guile, but the times in which he lived and the phenomenon of his public life, were anything but. Short's book will be an important source for years to come, but it also points to the need of a serious, historical study on the level of Dan T. Carter's book on Wallace.

Ralph Ellison, in a defense of LBJ, wrote of the "myth of the flawed white southerner", "one who while true to his southern roots has confronted the injustices of the past and been redeemed." "Such a man, the myth holds, will do the right thing however great the cost, whether he likes Negroes or not, and will move with tragic vulnerability toward the broader ideals of American democracy. The figure evoked by this myth is one who will grapple with complex situations that have evolved through history, and is a man who has so identified with his task that personal considerations have become secondary."

Lester Maddox is a man with great flaws, but he is also one of considerable virtues as mentioned above. And if someone like Lester can accomplish so much good...there may be hope for us all!!!

Having grown up in the north, the only opinions I had on Lester Maddox were that he was a bigot and a demogogue. Thanks to Bob Short's revealing look inside this controversial man, I now know that there's more to him than meets the eye. Now that I have read Short's book, I see a different Maddox, a man whose actions speak much louder than his words. Everyone should read the Maddox biography. It's interesting and informative.

I was born in Atlanta and never had much interest in Georgia politics. Now that I reside in Colorado, I am interested in books about my childhood home. This book was a fascinating account of a very complex man, Lester Maddox. I recommend it to anyone who wants to get a sense of this gentleman and what he did for the state of Georgia. Many thanks to the author for enlightening me on Gov. Maddox.

I didn't think that I would ever want to read a book about Lester Maddox, but when a friend lent me Everything is Pickrick I could not put it down. It is truly one of the most interesting biographies I've ever read.All I have ever known about Maddox is far from complimentary. Bob Short's book reveals a human side of the man that I never knew existed.

This book should be a requirement of every student in the state of Georgia! What a terrific way to see Georgia politics durning Lester's day. He is a work of art, that Lester Maddox. Too bad he was so criticized! He did so many good things for this state. This is a fun one to read. New author Bob Short did a fine job.

A well written informative book. I no longer feel about Mr Maddox as I once did. After reading this book, I see a caring, honest, hard working person that loved his state and the people in it. This is a book that every student should read. How ironic that the presidental election and the Governor's election when Mr Maddox won are both on the same controvesial level. That's politics I guess. Go Bob Short would like to read more of your writings.

I give this book a five star rating not for the book, but for the man. This book by Mercer University Press is simply filled with inaccuracies which from what I can ascertain, is no fault of the authors. However, I would still recommend the book as it portrays Lester Maddox for the truely great man that he was and still is.