This book is still in print. I bought mine at a National Park bookstore in TN. Sabra ----- Original Message ----- From: <tazzer@us.inter.net> To: <ALLAMAR-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2001 9:25 PM Subject: Rare book for AL. History (c)1934 many counties! > Stars Fell on Alabama © 1934 > "1st Edition!" by Carl Carmer > > This is a very rare, true classic, some of the best reading I have done in a > very long time. Takes you back to yesteryear when during the war, slave, and > the country hicks way of life. > Illustrated by Cyrus LeRoy Baldridge. > > STARS FELL ON ALABAMA > Some of the places/things mentioned are: > Tuscaloosa, AL. > Ku Klux Klan. > Indians of Tuscaloosa-Great Chief Tush-ka-lusa. > Nokomis, Escambia, AL. > Oxford, AL. > Birmingham, AL. > Springville, AL. > Opp, AL. > Montgomery, AL. > Lamar Co. > Eutaw, Al.-Letter written by S. J. Chapman to Mrs. Chapman. > Green Co., AL. > Oxford, AL. > Black Rituals > Mobile, AL. and the Bayou Country. > Dauphin Island. > Hogansville > Includes old Mountain superstitions. > Old Negro superstitions. > Names many quilt patterns. > Names of old fiddlers tunes. > Many old poems > > Voodoo Conjuring-Conjur Woman: > To Cure Warts. > To Drive Your Rival Out of the Country. > To Give Your Rival Bad Luck. > To Get a Girl To Sleep With You. > To Keep Wife From Flirting Around. > To Keep Your Land and Have a Good Crop. > To Know When You Have Been Tricked. > To Revenge Yourself On An Enemy. > To Cure Misery in de Back. > To Keep Your Girl Coming To You Regularly. > > Arriving in Alabama on a train from New York, Carl Carmer wrote of a strange > country he visited, as different as another planet from his known world. > He roamed and wrote of people he met, and their foreign way of life, .... the > whisky-swilling backwoods men of Alabama, the raw towns like Birmingham during > the 20s and 30s, ... the Scottsboro boys, ... the Klux Klan, ... oral and > cultural traditions among Alabama African Americans, ...the Civil War veteran > who became a murderer of U.S. marshals and a religious zealot, and who was > lynched to avoid a trial and certain execution, ... the great outlaws, The > Outlaw Sheriff of Sumter County, Rube Burrow: Alabama Robin Hood, and Railroad > Bill, one white, the other black and so feared his body was displayed in > several cities to prove he was dead. > Carl Carmer paints a vivid, sometimes charming, occasionally horrifying, but > always fascinating picture of the complex and diverse black and white > communities. > The "N" word is used throughout, describing cultural and folk roots, "Conjure > Woman", "Black Rituals", "Stud N.....", etc. And then, there's "Two-toed Tom", > a 15 foot aligator thought to be trapped in a pond, only to be found surfacing > in a nearby pond, devouring a 12 year old child. > Years later, scientists learned of the ancient underwater tunnels of the > reptiles, as Tom moved on to become a legend in Florida. > Author's Note > "All of the events related in this book happened substantially as I have > recorded them. > It has been necessary in a few instances to disguise characters to avoid > causing them serious embarrassment (for instance my hosts during the lynching). > I have also taken the liberty of telescoping time occasionally--since I have > attempted to select significant occurrences which took place over a span of a > half-dozen years. > The number of people who have helped me in the making of this book is legion. > It must include a surprisingly large percentage of the inhabitants of Alabama. > I should be graceless indeed, however, if I did not own my gratitude to Ruby > Pickens Tartt and her daughter, Fannie Pickens Tartt, who made my Black Belt > excursion possible; to Knox Ide and Robert Harwood who wandered the Red Hills > with me; to the Honorable Earl McGowin and Francis Inge whose companionship > throughout my life in Alabama and afterwards has been full of affectionate > encouragement; to Clyde Robinson who has been an indefatigable scout for > interesting material; to Marie Bankhead Owen of the Alabama State Department of > Archives and History; and to all my Negro friends, unfailing in their warm- > hearted assistance." > > This is a hardbound book of 294 pages, decorated endpapers and wonderful > illustrations by Cyrus LeRoy Baldridge. > It was published in 1934 by Blue Ribbon Books. It is in good condition. > > http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll? > ViewItem&item=1678766792&r=0&t=0&showTutorial=0&ed=1018916314&indexURL=0&rd= 1 > > Thanks, > Kat > > > --------------------------------------------- > This message was sent using Inter.net Webmail. > http://www.us.inter.net/ > > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >