Customer Reviews

Inside Alabama: A Personal History of My State (Alabama Fire Ant)

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I enjoyed this book from the Creek Indians until the end. The book ended just before Alabamians would hopefully vote for a better Alabama, however, tax reform we don't have, so business is the same as usual in Alabama. I guess the state has too many "Wal-Mart Republicans." I think the book was a very interesting and educational read. It is not boring like a text book history. It will give you quite an insight on Alabama politics in 1901and 2004, unfortunately not much change has been made. There is so much I could say, but I might be telling too much and I think the readers should draw their own conclusions. However, I do think it should be required reading before any Alabamian is allowed to vote in the State of Alabama!

This book is great! It is full of knowledge and is written in a fun, easy-to-read style! I have had classes with the author. Dr. Jackson writes just as he speaks. A must have for any Alabamian.

In his forward Professor Jacksons called himself a "expatriate" from Alabama for much of his adult life. He went on to relate that often times he found himself defending, or at least attempting to explain, Alabama to bewildered people of the states where he lived. Since then he has moved back to Alabama to teach, and his attempts to defend/explain his home state produced this book. I, like Professor Jackson, am an "expatriate" Alabamian and I too have had to defend/explain my home state. This has led to much soul searching, and this book has been immensely helpful to me, and I think it will be helpful to anyone who wants to understand the colorful, strange, beautiful, flawed, and enigmatic state of Alabama.

Stating from the outset that he has biases and that he did not try to hide them at all, Professor wrote this book as the recipient of story-telling traditions that historians seldom voice. In folksy language the author tells the story of Alabama from pre-historic times to the turn of the 21st century. He paints his picture in vivid words and broad brush strokes as this is a work for popular audiences. Yet, despite the broadness of his topic, he offers penetrating analyses about trends and people in Alabama history. This is where his bias comes out, but rather than detracting from the story it offers color and a glimpse into the mind and heart of someone who loves and is at times frustrated by his beloved state. His obvious care for Alabama and its people, as well as his flare for telling stories, left me moved at the end even as I disagreed with him on some political/philosophical points. That valuable combination of good story telling with acknowledge bias leads me to a healthy grappling with ingrained assumptions we all need to re-examine, especially those of us who love Alabama even if we don't live there for now. After reading this I feel like I have a better handle on my poor white, working class forebears even as I work through my middle-class, college educated assumptions.

A great book for anyone who grew up in Alabama or for anyone who has moved into Alabama and wants to know why things are the way they are.

This book should have been sub-titled "From a Neo-lib's Perspective". According to the author more government is always better as are higher taxes on the "rich" (read middle class). The fault with Alabama's poor educational system lies with Bourbons and fat cats - Paul Hubbert and the AEA are blameless. His insistance that Lincoln's war was about nothing but white Alabamians' desire to perpetuate slavery is patent nonsense, of course. Thank heavens his mother helped integrate a laundrymat in Grove Hill; otherwise he has very little good to say about his people.