Curses And Blessings: Life And Evolution In The 20th Century South

In stock in Ireland - PAPERBACK good condition - with shelf scuffing - covers are scuffed - spine is uncreased and the spine text is clear - page block is clean and tidy - 2004 edition - The author of this memoir takes us on a journey through the twentieth century and finds much both to curse and to bless. The overarching theme is change, personal and societal. The Secrest family shows proud accomplishments while also confronting dysfunction occasioned by a strain of mental illness. The nation meanwhile wrestles with years of hot and cold war and with tension born of growing racial awareness. A journalist for twenty years, Secrest observed and participated in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. His work led him to Selma, Alabama, only one stop among many nationwide. The Second Reconstruction he finds more far-reaching and successful than the First. The setting is mainly four small communities: Monroe and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Cheraw, South Carolina, and Saranac Lake, New York. Average, ordinary people merge with the celebrated and powerful as the story unfolds, and memorable characters emerge. The fullest picture is of Monroe in the 1930s and '40s, and it is a gift-vivid, convincing, and by now all but forgotten by time. Unsparingly objective, this account is by turns funny, sad, angry, and forgiving. It offers readers an exciting, if sometimes bumpy, trip through the last century of the second millennium. Hop on board. You will enjoy the ride.…