Hoffman recounts his personal visits with writer Mary Ward Brown in her library in Hamburg, with photographer William Christenberry in a field in Newbern, and with storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham and folk artist Charlie ?Tin Man? Lucas at their neighboring houses in Selma. Also highlighted are the lives of numerous alumni of The University of Alabama?among them Mel Allen, the ?Voice of the Yankees? from 1939 to 1964; Forrest Gump author Winston Groom; and Vivian Malone and James Hood, the two students who entered the schoolhouse door in 1963. Hoffman profiles distinguished Auburn University alumni as well, including Eugene Sledge, renowned World War II veteran and memorist, and Neil Davis, the outspoken, nationally visible editor of the Lee County Bulletin.

Set in Alabama over a period of fifty years beginning in the late 1940s, this exquisite collection of fifteen short stories provides snapshots into the lives of different characters. The link between the stories is Billy, AKA William Vernon Johnson. Though they can be read as stand-alone stories, the collection chronicles the life of young Billy from a young boy to a man enjoying his role as a grandfather. Billy/William narrates several stories, but many of the stories are told in the third person, allowing for human experience to be revealed from several different perspectives. Author John Isaac Jones writes with elegant simplicity, yet his narrative is rich with detail and the keen observation of the human character. Jones's easy-going and familiar story-telling voice and descriptions place the reader in the heart of each story. The stories are simply told yet contains a paradox, an irony, a heartfelt lesson in love and life. There are many stories painting the portraits of the diverse people in William's life, but the final story, GRANDFATHERS, brings the collections to a heartwarming close. William draws parallels between his experiences with his grandfather, and his experiences as a grandfather with his own grandson, and brings the collection to a satisfying conclusion:"Both knew instinctively that nothing could stop the eternal transition from the old to the new. The forward movement of the big wheel was an undeniable certainty. ALABAMA STORIES provides a beautifully understated and compelling glimpse into human experience. -- Reviewer Maya Fleischmann for IndieReader

"The Cullman Democrat was established about 25 years after the first newspaper to publish in the town named for the famous German settler, John G. Cullman. While it came relatively late on the scene, its circulation soon grew to match that of the most successful Alabama weekly newspapers. The Democrat was first published by Major W.F. Palmer in June of 1901. Palmer sold the paper to R.L. and J.E. Griffin in 1902, but by the end of January of 1903, the paper was purchased by Joseph Robert Rosson. The Democrat remained in control of the Rosson family for man years after."--Publisher's description

When tragedy befalls Cheney McGillvray, she decides to pack up and leave her beloved home on Scotland’s Isle of Skye. She travels to the beachfront town of Kelby on Alabama's gulf coast and appears unannounced on her sister Meara's doorstep with a plan not only for her own future but also for that of her niece. Greer, fresh out of culinary school and two months pregnant, takes the advice of her headstrong grandmother Sarah, and agrees to a partnership with her aunt. Together they transform Sarah’s beautiful old home into a proper Scottish B & B right in the heart of America’s southland. Both women realize the time to face their pasts has arrived in the weeks before they are to open Gannon’s Glen. Cheney finds it difficult to hide the darkness of her past when she begins suffering from debilitating nightmares that bring Greer to her bedside at night and a hurricane sweeps in more than stormy weather. News of the destruction of his childhood home brings Greer’s high school sweetheart and their unresolved relationship back into town. Although they are nearly strangers separated by a forty year age gap, Cheney and Greer lean on one another as they come to terms with their lives and realize the possibilities of their futures. Sprinkled with humor and colorful descriptions of both the Gulf Coast and that of Scotland’s Inner Hebridean Islands, Alabama Skye is a story about the strength of four generations of women who discover that when things go wrong the ones who stand by you and the ones who carry you are the ones you call family.

This fifth volume of news clippings from the historic issues of the Walker County, Jasper Mountain Eagle spans the years 1910 through 1913. Practically every issue from the time period is represented. All other issues are represented. Missing issues include Feb 21 and Dec 11 from 1912; and Jun 25 and Nov 26 from 1913. These clippings from the Mountain Eagle come from microfilm purchased from the State Archives in Montgomery. Every issue of the Eagle was examined column by column to capture all available information regarding births, deaths, marriage notices, and relevant news items and information regarding the early history of Walker County and the surrounding area. Death notices were compared against available cemetery records at FindAGrave.com and were annotated. The history of Walker County is written in the pages of its early newspapers. This book will be a valuable asset to the serious student of Walker County genealogy and history.

"The Cullman Democrat was established about 25 years after the first newspaper to publish in the town named for the famous German settler, John G. Cullman. While it came relatively late on the scene, its circulation soon grew to match that of the most successful Alabama weekly newspapers. The Democrat was first published by Major W.F. Palmer in June of 1901. Palmer sold the paper to R.L. and J.E. Griffin in 1902, but by the end of January of 1903, the paper was purchased by Joseph Robert Rosson. The Democrat remained in control of the Rosson family for man years after."--Publisher's description