South Carolina Books

Carolina Clay: The Life and Legend of the Slave Potter Dave

Leonard Todd

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The compelling story of a slave, owned by the author's ancestors, who became one of the singular artists of the nineteenth century.

He is known today, as he was then, only as Dave. His pots and storage jars were everyday items, but because of their beauty and massive size, and because Dave signed and inscribed many with poems, they now fetch six figures at auction. We know of no other slave artist who dared to put his name on his work, a dangerous advertisement of literacy.

Fascinated by the man and by this troubling family history, Leonard Todd moved from Manhattan to Edgefield, South Carolina, where his ancestors had established a thriving pottery industry in the early 1800s. Todd studied each of Dave's poems for biographical clues, which he pieced together with local records and family letters to create this moving and dramatic chronicle of Dave's life—a story of creative triumph in the midst of slavery. Many of Dave's astounding jars are found now in America's finest museums.

The H. L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy

Tom Chaffin

Amazon Price: $15.60 List Price: $26.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hill and Wang Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $9.95

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

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On the evening of February 17, 1864, the Confederacy’s H. L. Hunley sank the USS Housatonic and became the first submarine in world history to sink an enemy ship. Not until World War I—half a century later—would a submarine again accomplish such a feat. But also perishing that moonlit night, vanishing beneath the cold Atlantic waters off Charleston, South Carolina, was the Hunley and her entire crew of eight. For generations, searchers prowled Charleston’s harbor, looking for the Hunley. And as they hunted, the legends surrounding the boat and its demise continued to grow. Even after the submarine was definitively located in 1995 and recovered five years later, those legends—those barnacles of misinformation—have only multiplied. Now, in a tour de force of document-sleuthing and insights gleaned from the excavation of this remarkable vessel, distinguished Civil War–era historian Tom Chaffin presents the most thorough telling of the Hunley’s story possible. Of panoramic breadth, this Civil War saga begins long before the submarine was even assembled and follows the tale into the boat’s final hours and through its recovery in 2000. Beyond his thorough survey of period documents relating to the submarine, Chaffin also conducted extensive interviews with Maria Jacobsen, senior archaeologist at Clemson University’s Warren Lasch Conservation Center, where the Hunley is now being excavated, to complete his portrait of this technological wonder. What emerges is a narrative that casts compelling doubts on many long-held assumptions, particularly those concerning the boat’s final hours. Thoroughly engaging and utterly new, The H. L. Hunley provides the definitive account of a storied craft.

Lady on the Hill: How Biltmore Estate Became an American Icon

Howard E., Jr. Covington, The Biltmore Company

Amazon Price: $18.45 List Price: $27.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $15.29

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"What William Cecil has accomplished at Biltmore Estate is one of the great preservation success stories of all time. He has set a high standard for what all historic house museums strive for: magnificently preserved buildings and grounds, engaging interpretation, and--perhaps most challenging of all--economic self-sufficiency. It is no surprise that Biltmore Estate is widely recognized as one of America's finest places to visit."
--Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

"Biltmore is a glorious national historic landmark that, through creative vision and entrepreneurial management, preserves and provides insight into a way of life in the early 1900s. Bill is the imaginative and multifaceted leader who has built this great monument to enrich his community. George and I admire his dedication and success."
--George and Abby Rockefeller O'Neill

"Bill Cecil and his team at Biltmore Estate have sure proved that they know how to build a successful business. They did it the old-fashioned way: embrace a bold idea that others said could not be done and--through commitment, determination, and hard work--bring it to life. Their achievement against the odds is inspiring, and their vision and perseverance are valuable lessons to us all."
--Don Logan, Chairman, Media & Communications Group, Time Warner

"If George Vanderbilt did nothing more than engage the two most prominent and storied designers of their time, architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, to carry out his vision of a European estate in the southern Appalachians, he would have created an American icon. The beauty of the method by which the estate was executed and, even today, the meticulous attention to detail, in the presentation and care of the estate by William Cecil, have brought history to life."
--Gary J. Walters, Chief Usher, The White House

A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation

David W. Blight

Amazon Price: $16.50 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harcourt Amazon Marketplace: 94 new & used starting at $0.67

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Slave narratives, some of the most powerful records of our past, are extremely rare, with only fifty-five post–Civil War narratives surviving. A mere handful are first-person accounts by slaves who ran away and freed themselves. Now two newly uncovered narratives, and the biographies of the men who wrote them, join that exclusive group with the publication of A Slave No More, a major new addition to the canon of American history. Handed down through family and friends, these narratives tell gripping stories of escape: Through a combination of intelligence, daring, and sheer luck, the men reached the protection of the occupying Union troops. David W. Blight magnifies the drama and significance by prefacing the narratives with each man’s life history. Using a wealth of genealogical information, Blight has reconstructed their childhoods as sons of white slaveholders, their service as cooks and camp hands during the Civil War, and their climb to black working-class stability in the north, where they reunited their families.

In the stories of Turnage and Washington, we find history at its most intimate, portals that offer a rich new answer to the question of how four million people moved from slavery to freedom. In A Slave No More, the untold stories of two ordinary men take their place at the heart of the American experience.

Ramblings of a Lowcountry Game Warden: A Memoir

Ben Mcc Moise

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: University of South Carolina Press Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $18.63

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This title features the career-spanning tales of a coastal crimefighter, ranging from the dangerous to the hilarious.Moise served with distinction as a South Carolina game warden for nearly a quarter century, patrolling the coastal woods and waters of the Palmetto State. In this colorful memoir, the cigar-chomping, ticket-writing scourge of lowcountry fish and game law violators chronicles grueling stakeouts, complex trials, hair-raising adventures, and daily interactions with a host of outrageous personalities. Along the way he paints a vivid and fluid portrait of evolving attitudes and changing regulations governing coastal conservation.In briskly paced accounts of episodes ranging from dangerous to humorous, he introduces a lively cast of watermen, lawyers, country judges, hunters, and poachers who animate the coastal environs and whose quirky personalities and foibles are the game warden's daily stock in trade. Moise's narrative highlights the working lives of commercial crabbers and shrimpers, the antics of overly enthusiastic fishermen, and the great lengths to which hunters will go in their quests for doves, ducks, and marsh hens. Moise also describes encounters with displaced "urban wildlife," the coastal marijuana smuggling business, and his fellow game wardens.The memoir also features a foreword by Lloyd Newberry, celebrated hunter and senior editor of "Sporting Classics Magazine".

Making Government Work

Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings, Fritz Hollings

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: University of South Carolina Press Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $11.72

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Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This book describes a career politician's pragmatic remedies for broken government, drawn from a half-century of political leadership experience."Performance is better than promise" has long been the motto of Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings, former governor of South Carolina and 6-term U.S. Senator. In this political autobiography of his 50-year career in public service, Hollings takes to task our flawed political machine and pulls from his own experiences compelling - and often colorfully candid - accounts how one makes government work in spite of itself. Confrontational at times toward those individuals and issues he cites as to blame for deadlocking government and putting America "in the ditch", Hollings proves through his crystal clear prose he is deeply committed to improving our system of government, strengthening regulations on free trade, countering dependence on wooing campaign contributions, and enhancing our communication and education systems to better compete in an information-driven global market. Hollings details specific instances from his past of moments when bold leadership and smart use of resources and authority led to positive differences in the lives of Americans. It is his mission through this volume to reinvigorate a floundering system and call good people and good ideas back into the service of America's future.

South Carolina: A History

Walter Edgar

Amazon Price: $29.70 List Price: $45.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: University of South Carolina Press Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $22.95

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Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Most controversial state in the Union!?! 4 out of 5 stars.
29 of 29 people found this review helpful.

Overall this was an excellent book on what is most likely the most controversial state in the Union...Since the first landing in St. Helena Parish, through the Colonial period and the Civil War era to the flag controversy in the late 1990's, South Carolinians have been different, in almost every way, then the rest of the country. While NC's motto may be 'first in flight', South Carolina's could very well be 'first to fight'. Their instigation of the Revolutionary war and the Civil war, not to mention dozens of other controversial actions on the part of some of our ancestral fire-eaters make this book not just a history every SC-olian should read but one that every American should read as well. Like it or not, SC has played an extremely vital role in the path our country has taken and the culture we have developed. This book attempts to cover this role... While some of the book may bog down, the majority of the chapters are very well researched, flow smoothly, and are extremely interesting. You will find such topics as Colonial life in SC, Antebellum life in SC, SC-olinans in the Revolutionary War, SC-olina's role in starting the Civil War, how SC bucked reconstruction, etc...Overall, if you are a fan of good history then you will enjoy this book. If you are looking for action then try a couple books about SC's role in the fighting of the Civil War...'Kershaw's brigade' and 'the Stuck eagle: South Carolina Infantry in the Civil War'. Enjoy...

Editorial Review:

A comprehensive history which chronicles 475 years of recorded history in the Palmetto state. In readable presentation, Edgar uses letters, diaries, and other writings to let voices from the past take part in telling the state's fascinating story.

Wade Hampton: Confederate Warrior to Southern Redeemer (Civil War America)

Rod, Jr. Andrew

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: The University of North Carolina Press Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $22.93

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Few Southern elites gave more to the Confederate cause or suffered more in its defeat than General Wade Hampton III of South Carolina. One of the South's most illustrious military leaders, Hampton was for a time the commander of all Lee's cavalry and at the end of the war was the highest-ranking Confederate cavalry officer. Yet for all Hampton's military victories, he also suffered devastating losses. He lost a beloved son and a brother, his own home as well as his grandfather's ancestral mansion, and his vast personal fortune. He failed to deter Sherman's legions from capturing his hometown of Columbia and was blamed for the inferno that destroyed it. Previous studies of Hampton have leaned toward hero worship or taken a political approach that considered his personal history irrelevant. Rod Andrew's critical biography demonstrates that Hampton's life is essential to understanding his influence beyond the battlefield and his obsession with vindication for the South.

Andrew's analysis of Hampton sheds light on his critical role during Reconstruction as a conservative white leader, governor, U.S. senator, and Redeemer; his heroic image in the minds of white Southerners; and his positions and apparent contradictions on race and the role of African Americans in the New South. Andrew also shows that Hampton's tragic past explains how he emerged in his own day as a larger-than-life symbol—of national reconciliation as well as Southern defiance.

Slaves in the Family (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Edward Ball

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Total reviews: 98 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Writer Edward Ball opens Slaves in the Family with an anecdote: "My father had a little joke that made light of our legacy as a family that had once owned slaves. 'There are five things we don't talk about in the Ball family,' he would say. 'Religion, sex, death, money and the Negroes.'" Ball himself seemed happy enough to avoid these touchy issues until an invitation to a family reunion in South Carolina piqued his interest in his family's extensive plantation and slave-holding past. He realized that he had a very clear idea of who his white ancestors were--their names, who their children and children's children were, even portraits and photographs--but he had only a murky vision of the black people who supported their livelihood and were such an intimate part of their daily lives; he knew neither their names nor what happened to them and their descendents after they were freed following the Civil War. So he embarked on a journey to uncover the history of the Balls and the black families with whom their lives were inextricably intertwined, as well as the less tangible resonance of slavery in both sets of families. From plantation records, interviews with descendents of both the Balls and their slaves, and travels to Africa and the American South, Ball has constructed a story of the riches and squalor, violence and insurrection--the pride and shame--that make up the history and legacy of slavery in America.

The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas

John Buchanan

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Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> Revolution & Founding -> Battles
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> Revolution & Founding -> General

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Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Most of us are familiar with the role that North and South Carolina played in the American Civil War: if nothing else, every grade-schooler knows the significance of the 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. But to popular historian John Buchanan, "that tragedy is of far less interest than the American Revolution. The Revolution was the most important event in American history. The Civil War was unfinished business." And the Carolinas, Buchanan convincingly argues, were the most critical theater in that conflict, with their wild Back Country seeing "a little-known but savage civil war far exceeding anything in the North."

The Road to Guilford Courthouse is no less than a tour de force of pop military scholarship, an exhaustive battle-by-battle account of the Crown's grinding march to wrest the Carolinas from the resourceful Rebels. Beginning with Colonel William Moultrie's valiant defense atop the palmetto ramparts of Fort Sullivan against an outnumbering force of British men-of-war to the final "long, obstinate, and bloody" exchange at Guilford Courthouse, Buchanan meticulously recounts each skirmish, battle, and shift of strategy in the campaign. Relying on copious primary and secondary sources, he brings the combatants to life, from the worthy but somewhat obscure, such as Nathanael Greene, whom George Washington considered to be his successor should he fall, to soon-to-be legends such as Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. --Paul Hughes