Curses and Blessings: Life and Evolution in the 20th Century South
by Andrew McDowd Secrest
Authorhouse 2004, paperback, 597 pages, $24
"As a newspaperman, Mac Secrest was known for telling it as it is, for his readiness to take a stand and hold it, and for his eye for illuminating detail. Now, in this candid and engaging memoir, he has shown additionally a gift for narrative that commands our attention and respect. The result is a fascinating blend of personal and social history with the ideas that marked his time in the twentieth century. He has also given us cause to redefine the dysfunctional family. After Faulkner, Caldwell, Williams, Wolfe and Hellman, you may have thought you knew the Southern family. But now meet the Secrests." -- Calvin Kytle, author, editor, retired publisher
* * *
"In this marvelous book, Mac Secret makes us an eyewitness to the inside events that racked the South during the civil rights revolution in the latter half of the 20th century. He never forgets the personal touch while sharing the historic dimensions of those momentous years." -- Gary Blanchard, retired public affairs consultant State of New Jersey
* * *
"In writing his memoir, Secrest has used his psychoanalytic understanding to depict the half-century changes in himself, his family, and in Southern society. Fascinating reading." -- Erwin R. Smarr, M.D., psychoanalyst and Judith S. Smarr, MSS
* * *
This book is a remarkable sociological illustration of how the racial issue played out in two small Southern communities….[It] is a tribute to how a family handles mental illness...Mac’s journalistic talents are evident throughout….Anyone interested in the American South will get a good taste of its flavor by reading this book…a genuine perspective on “life in the 20th century South.” -- Robert E. Seymour, Minister Emeritus, Binkley Baptist Church
* * *
And from other readers:
* * *
"A page-turner!"
* * *
"Riveting!"
* * *
"Tennessee Williams meets Eugene O’Neill in the unlikely red clay of Piedmont North Carolina."
* * *
"Race and religion; madness, murder and mayhem, mixed with humor and normality, animate a gallery of functional and dysfunctional characters who emerge as real people, emblematic of Everyman."
* * *
"The evolution of an individual, as well as the region from which he came—from child to boy, from youth to maturity, from adult to senior citizen—is told with honesty and dignity as well as withering anger, wit and humor."
* * *
"If you’re looking for a sweet, grandfatherly story, forget about this book. It is not for The Children’s Hour."
* * *
"With an eye for detail, Secrest closely discerns the complexities and contradictions that describe the human personality as well as the region from which he comes."
* * *
"The author understands human nature and reveals the contradictions and fluidity of his characters’ deepest feelings."
* * *
"Secrest reveals a talent for succinct characterization, reminiscent of a master of the art, Charles Dickens himself."
* * *
"For an appreciation of race relations in America during the lost decade 1954-1964, here is a liberal editor’s experience in the eye of the storm, providing insight and understanding, told with affection, humor, and, frequently, indignation."
* * *
"Life and death; love and hate; kindness and cruelty, all contradictions in the human spirit, find reconciliation and synthesis here."
* * *
"Names make news. Here you will find encounters between the author and Richard Nixon, Martin Luther King, Strom Thurmond, Dizzy Gillespie, Jesse Helms, JFK and LBJ, Skipper Bowles, Luther Hodges, Terry Sanford, Fritz Hollings, federal judges and media moguls. There are more name drops in this book than rain drops in a thunder storm."
* * *
"A confessed agnostic, Secrest has written a spiritual book in spite of himself, finding the truest expression of the human spirit in the teachings of the Church, the Golden Rule, the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount."
* * *
"Southern Gothic with a touch of mordant humor and malice…regional story-telling at its best."
Add your review below
Click here to learn more about this book, read a brief excerpt, and BUY IT. READ IT, tell all your friends to buy it.
Recent Comments