Former Democratic Alabama congressman Elliott ( Annals of Northwest Alabama ), assisted by Virginia journalist D'Orso, here recounts his role in the struggle for civil rights--and against George Wallace. Recognized by the first John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 1990, this largely unsung hero emerges from years as a destitute invalid to recall his part in passage of the National Defense Education Act and membership in the House Rules Committee under Kennedy. With zest and without self-pity, he relives his youth as a Southern tenant farmer, his hard-earned education and his career as a "barter" lawyer for the miners and dirt farmers who sent him to Congress in 1948. The Klan, Birchers and the Wallace machine defeated Elliott's bid for reelection to a ninth term and a 1966 gubernatorial attempt which ruined him financially and ended his political life. The narrative is rich in portrayals of political figures, including the "fearsome magnetism" of a ruthless Wallace. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Former Alabama Congressman Elliott was the first winner of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. His autobiography focuses on his political career in the 1950s and 1960s when Alabama and the rest of the South were convulsed by struggles over racial integration. It was his liberalism, his failure to staunchly support segregation, and the power then wielded by segregationist Governor George Wallace that brought Elliott's career to an early end. His book contains a few factual errors (e.g., the Congress of Racial Equality is misidentified). Still, it is a good way for general readers to develop some understanding of the problems facing moderate and liberal Southern politicians during this turbulent period. For a broader examination of Southern politics during this same era, readers can consult Numan V. Bartley and Hugh D. Graham's Southern Politics and the Second Reconstruction ( LJ 6/15/75). Suitable for public library collections on Southern history and politics.
- Thomas H. Ferrell, Univ. of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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