September, September [Paperback]

Shelby Foote (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 9, 1991

In September 1957 the South is mesmerized by events in Little Rock, Arkansas, whose governor has called out the National Guard as part of his attempt to halt the integration of Central High School. And in Memphis, two white men and a white woman are planning to capitalize on the confrontation between the races by kidnapping the grandson of a wealthy black entrepreneur and pinning the crime on white supremacists. The problem is that Podjo, Rufus, and Reeny have only an amateur's understanding of what a kidnapping entails -- and a total, terrifying incomprehension of their victims.

In September September a magisterial historian of the Civil War charts its distant repercussions in the streets of the contemporary South. By turns wryly comic, ribald, and chilling, Shelby Foote's novel is at once a convincing thriller and a powerful tragicomedy of race.

September September has been adapted by Larry McMurtry for the Turner Network Television film Memphis, starring Cybill Shepherd.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

In September 1957 the South is mesmerized by events in Little Rock, Arkansas, whose governor has called out the National Guard as part of his attempt to halt the integration of Central High School. And in Memphis, two white men and a white woman are planning to capitalize on the confrontation between the races by kidnapping the grandson of a wealthy black entrepreneur and pinning the crime on white supremacists. The problem is that Podjo, Rufus, and Reeny have only an amateur's understanding of what a kidnapping entails -- and a total, terrifying incomprehension of their victims.

In September September a magisterial historian of the Civil War charts its distant repercussions in the streets of the contemporary South. By turns wryly comic, ribald, and chilling, Shelby Foote's novel is at once a convincing thriller and a powerful tragicomedy of race.

September September has been adapted by Larry McMurtry for the Turner Network Television film Memphis, starring Cybill Shepherd.

About the Author

Shelby Foote was born on November 7, 1916 in Greenville, Mississippi, and attended school there until he entered the University of North Carolina. During World War II he served as a captain of field artillery but never saw combat. After World War II he worked briefly for the Associated Press in their New York bureau. In 1953 he moved to Memphis, where he lived for the remainder of his life.

Foote was the author of six novels: Tournament, Follow Me Down, Love in a Dry Season, Shiloh, Jordan County, and September, September. He is best remembered for his 3-volume history The Civil War: A Narrative, which took twenty years to complete and resulted in his being a featured expert in Ken Burns' acclaimed Civil War documentary. Over the course of his writing career, Foote was also awarded three Guggenheim fellowships.

Shelby Foote died in 2005 at the age of 88.

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (April 9, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679735437
• ISBN-13: 978-0679735434
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #721,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an outstanding read..a must read!!!, December 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: September, September (Paperback)

this southernistic view of greed and crime is a truly well written thriller!!foote has once again showed his talent as a novelist and and a true artist of the english language!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Great Historian is also an Outstanding Novelist, December 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: September, September (Paperback)

Although Shelby Foote is thought of as a historian, he has always considered himself, first and foremost, a novelist. "September, September" is the story of some rednecks up from Mississippi who have come to Memphis, Tenn. to kidnap the son of a prominent black family. As a background for this story, Foote has chosen the month of September, 1957 when the South was in turmoil over the forced integration of Little Rock Central High School. Foote has meticulously researched his novel with a historian's eye for detail: the weather in Memphis on specific days, who won the Miss America pageant in 1957 (Miss Colorado, Marylin Van Derbur), and the release of the Edsel by Ford Motor Company.

Foote's primary weakness as a novelist is that he seems to be unable to find his own voice. Although the book is skillfully structured and well written, the plot is somewhat tired and predictable. There are very few surprises. Foote has somewhat adopted the structure used skillfully by his mentor William Faulkner of telling a little bit of the story at a time from the point of view of different characters. Foote's steamy descriptions of sex and lovemaking and rivalry among two men for the affections of the same woman are reminscent of Erskine Caldwell.

For all it's failings, "September, September" is an excellent novel. Shelby Foote, the excellent American historian, is also an outstanding American novelist.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sex and kidnapping in 1957 Memphis, July 15, 2011

By 

DWD "DWD's Reviews" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: September, September (Paperback)

Shelby Foote is most famous for his massive history of the Civil War (The Civil War: A Narrative), but he was also an author of fiction. I have read several of them and they mostly qualify as Southern gothic - moody, dark and full of tragedy. September September fits that description perfectly, although it takes place later than his other novels.

Set against the backdrop of the racial integration of Little Rock Central High School in September of 1957, the novel features two white men and a white woman who kidnap the grandson of a wealthy black Memphis businessman. They use the Little Rock incident as their cover to blame the kidnapping on racial strife when it is really a brazen attempt to get $60,000 from a man who will not expect much cooperation from the police.

The problem is summed up in a line from one of the kidnappers: "Truth is, we're not very smart, those of us who go in for crime." A sexual triangle forms between the three kidnappers. Anger and jealousy start to take precedence over "the plan" with tragic results.

Foote does a great job of creating characters with a past that feels real and his dialogue is first rate. The most interesting character to me was Theo, the grandfather who pays the ransom. His story would have been worthy of another book.

A surprising part of the book was the frequent and open discussion of sex. Racial tension is the topic of the book - racial strife in Little Rock, as the purported excuse for the kidnapping, as the source of anger in Eben's (the kidnap victim's father) burgeoning racial consciousness - but that is really a veneer. The real topic is sex and how it can strengthen, confuse and even weaken the bonds between men and women. There are quite a few graphic scenes, much more than I remember in his other novels.