Our Fathers' Fields: A Southern Story [Hardcover]

James Everett Kibler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1998

When the author purchased a dilapidated South Carolina plantation in 1989, he had no idea that his rehabilitation of the property would include the unearthing of an incredible tale of the land and the people who lived on it. This saga offers a vivid portrayal the antebellum South, a compelling collection of Civil War letters, and a poignant account of life after the war. 16 photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The author lives on a South Carolina plantation, an ancestral seat that he has restored to former glory. The Hardy family acquired this extensive piece of property in 1786, and it was to remain in Hardy hands for two centuries. When Kibler bought it, he got involved not only in the resurrection of the house and land but also in the story of the Hardy family, and in this exuberantly detailed narrative, he tells all he learned. His book is a greatly revealing immersion in southern plantation life from colonial times to the present. Vivid reconstructions of farming practices, domestic tasks, and what the Civil War did to antebellum life give context to meticulously researched details about specific topics, ranging from the plasterwork found inside the house to the plants in the formal gardens outside. Overarching the factual material are the stories of the family members, who are brought vividly to life here. Brad Hooper

Review

"This 200-year history of a South Carolina plantation family--seen from the inside, so to speak, in letters and ledgers and the comments of descendants--brings us home to who we are by showing us where we came from. Kibler has researched and presented an overall account that resonates for all of us in the very core of our being." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 444 pages
• Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Pr; 1ST edition (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570032149
• ISBN-13: 978-1570032141
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,441,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An insightful and fascinating history, February 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Fathers' Fields: A Southern Story (Hardcover)

The author of this book, Dr James Kibler, bought a derelict plantation house in the South Carolina upcountry in 1989 and proceeded to restore it. For those of us who wish we had the time, money and energy to do the same, this book is a wonderful Walter-Mittyesque escape. However, it is also something a great deal more significant, recently winning a major book award, as the non-fiction winner alongside the best-selling "Cold Mountain", the winner in the fiction category. Narrowly considered, "Our Fathers' Fields" is the history of only one house and only one family and their neighbors in one small area. However, this material is presented so that it becomes a "case history" for a more universal experience, namely the overall history of the agrarian South. The Hardy family followed the same migration routes and came from the same cultural context as those who populated the rest of the South. Southern genealogists will see many familiar surnames in this work, further increasing the sense of identification. (It is no accident that "The Bonnie Blue Flag", anthem of the Confederacy, began, "we are a band of brothers", although a band of cousins might have been more accurate). While the Hardys were quite rich by the 1830's, the beginnings of their plantation were humble -- 200 acres and a cabin, and their early pioneer story mirrored that of most families that left Virginia and headed south or west. The book looks at plantation life in the broader context of all strata and presents the history the whole Hardy family, black and white, over these generations in a sympathetic but not over-romanticised light. It is one of the very few local history works that has managed successfully to present as a cogent whole the complete history of a house: its architecture, the genealogy of its family, the cultural and historical framework in which both developed over two centuries, and such engaging details as furnishings, garden design and natural history, which other historians might have discarded as trivial but which tell us a great deal about these people and how they lived and what they thought. Dr Kibler's meticulous research has clearly become a labour of love. This comes through clearly in the book and the work is the better for it because of the insights that he has developed. The Hardy family comes alive in this book, not as stiff, enigmatic figures in a tintype but as flesh and blood folk with hopes, dreams, and opinions, who experience tragedy and loss with grace and strength. In some ways it is almost as if Kibler has acquired the viewpoint of an early planter, and some of the book reads almost like a first-hand account as a result. Dr Kibler's exhaustive cataloguing of the biodiverse flora & fauna of the area perhaps was the most telling -- it was exactly as a plantation owner would have done in the 18th and early 19th century -- reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, or of William Byrd's diaries -- and of the "game books" at the great English country houses. The head of England's Historic Houses Association once remarked, "We don't own our houses. They own us." This quintessentially English sense of stewardship, of holding heritage in trust for future generations, survives outside of England uniquely in the American South. Through this book, James Kibler has become perhaps its foremost exponent. This book is an un-put-down-able read that has something for everyone -- history buffs, students of Southern culture, genealogists, people who like old houses, antiques or garden design. There's even a ghost story!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Southern Classic - Most Accurate & Informative, March 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Fathers' Fields: A Southern Story (Hardcover)

Apparently the reader from Pickens,South Carolina who gave a review entitled "Blind, reactionary, racist drivel," which was posted 7 February, 1999, has sadly confused the names of authors James Kibler & James Kilgo. While on holiday in Charleston, South Carolina last year, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the South Carolina Poetry Society, in which Kibler read from the chapter entitled "Captain Dick," from "Our Fathers' Fields." One thing I could not help but notice was how after the meeting, those in attendance (particularly all five of the blacks in the audience)expressed relief to Kibler of the fact that his book is not caught up with racial pandering, which is a rather strange fascination of some other authors who have written books with regards to their questionable interpretation of history in South Carolina. Indeed, it is most refreshing to read a book like this which does not have such an agenda, with contrast to a number of books lately written by authors defaming the character South (particularly South Carolina). Thank goodness that Jim Kibler at least had the fortitude of using the most accurate documentation in writing this Southern classic. No wonder Shelby Foote is looking forward to presenting Kibler with the award of "Best Southern Non-fiction Book of the Year," this April.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best & Most Accurate Book On The South This Decade, January 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our Fathers' Fields: A Southern Story (Hardcover)

The untold story of the South has now been told. "Our Fathers' Fields is simply the best & most accurate book on the South written this decade, & perhaps the most enjoyable book since "Gone With The Wind." For years, we Southerners & Southern-minded people across the world have been subjugated to an undeserving "to the victors go the spoils" revisionism. With this book, Southerners (black & white) can sincerely feel a sense of healing, a bonding with one another, as well as their family roots & traditions. It eloquently shows that we all can relate to the Hardy Family & that there are stories like this all over the South & beyond. This book truly deserves the National Book Award, as well as many others.