You Live and Learn. Then You Die and Forget It All: Ray Lum's Tales of Horses, Mules and Men [Paperback]

William Ferris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1992

A livestock trader and auctioneer offers his intuitive insight into human nature, chronicling a life of travel in which he encountered depression, dirt farmers, blacks and whites, wealthy ranchers, outlaws, conmen, politicians, and more. 250,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Born in 1891 in rural Mississippi, Ray Lum traveled the South for 60 years as a respected livestock trader and auctioneer, collecting rich experiences he retold--even at universities and folk festivals--in a colloquial, humorous and generous voice. Ferris, coeditor of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture , interviewed Lum (who died in 1977), and notes that his life "bridged the disparate worlds of black and white, of old and new, of South and West." Lum's tales, organized into six chapters of narrative, might better be chopped into episodes, but they remain valuable for those interested in such folklore. His language is vivid (a cemetery is a "marble orchard") and his voice wise (when he loses money on an early deal, the lesson is, "You don't absolutely have to have, you can do without"). Among many adventures, Lum bested cheating gypsies who offered a pretty but vicious horse, ate barbecued rattlesnake, made a deal for wild Texas horses and barely avoided the outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. "I'm fine," said Lum in his old age. "I just need to have my speedometer set back." This book lets him live on. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ferris serves a slice of Southern life in this presentation of the wit and wisdom of Ray Lum, livestock trader and auctioneer. Born in 1891 in rural Mississippi, Lum bartered horses and mules throughout the South and Southwest. He recalls his travels and life experiences with the passion and color characteristic of a consummate storyteller. These personal reflections are a tribute to a way of life gone by and a preservation of its memory. The volume opens with a foreword by Eudora Welty and concludes with an extensive bibliographic essay and endnotes. Full of humor and the drama of life, this book will delight a wide range of readers.
- Eloise R. Hitchcock, Tennessee Technological Univ. Lib., Cookeville
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; 1st edition (March 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385419260
• ISBN-13: 978-0385419260
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #468,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Ferris is Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History and senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Ferris coedited the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and is the author of Blues from the Delta. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine named him among the top ten professors in the United States.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story for the genuine, native Mississippian, December 12, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Memphis, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Live and Learn. Then You Die and Forget It All: Ray Lum's Tales of Horses, Mules and Men (Paperback)

One of the ways we Mississippians shrug off how well we have done is to make the statement, "Well, I'm just an old mule trader". Bill Ferris seems to have captured just that statement. Here is the tale of a simple man, Ray Lum, born 1 of 9 children who by sheer will became a celebrated livestock trader, a big fish in a small pond so to speak. His charm and wit made him successful in a business full of bootleggers, con men and rattlesnakes. I particularily liked the part when Ray visits the graveyard where his ancestors are "planted". I think it should be required reading in Mississippi Civics classes in high school.