Explores the livelihood of the regional antebellum economy surrounding the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee River valley and the resulting global impact of this industry This study focuses on the port of Apalachicola, Florida and the business men who lived the trade, flourishing amongst the poor conditions of transportation, communication, money, and banking. Cotton businessmen located along the waterway and on the coast neatly divided the labour necessary to market the region's major source of income. Early regional economics revolved around and grew from the rivers that served as the primary form of transportation, and each patchwork of economy in the antebellum South relied on a different river system and its major transportation artery. Few people truly understand and realize how important cotton was to the world's economy, and no other American export came close to the importance of cotton. This power and success allowed the South to function self-sufficiently, eliminating the need to rely on other regions for goods. It was not until the introduction of the railroad system that these individual river economies blurred and faded into one another, gradually uniting to one integrated national economy.

In deference to the wishes of innumerable readers and at fantastic trouble and expense, we are able to here present a collection of extracts from that learned work, long in preparation but still unpublished, treating upon the fascinating but difficult subject of 'Asum Grammar.' Ben Judd's articles on this mysterious if not mythical tome were a wonderful, long-running and well-loved mainstay in the pages of the Evesham Journal. They treat eruditely and humorously on the matter of Asum, the 'language' once peculiar to Evesham. The current book collects together selected articles and, on the basis that too much of a good thing can be too much, intersperses them with snippets on local vocabulary (places, flowers, birds and suchlike) together with odd poems and snippets in Asum from the letters page of the Evesham Journal. The whole is illustrated by some lovely drawings by E.H. New (from 1904) of many local scenes and buildings.

Long-time word-detective and bestselling author of Port Out, Starboard Home, Michael Quinion brings us the answers to nearly two hundred of the most intriguing questions he's been asked about language over the years. Sent to him by enquiring readers from all around the globe, Michael's answers about the meanings and histories behind the quirky phrases, slang and language that we all use are set to delight, amuse and enlighten even the most hardened word-obsessive. Did you know that 'Blighty' comes from an ancient Arabic word? Or that Liberace cried his way to the bank so many times people think he came up with the phrase? That 'cloud nine' started out as 'cloud seven' in the speakeasies of '30s America? And that the first person to have their thunder stolen was a dismal playwright from Drury Lane? Michael Quinion's Why is Q Always Followed By U? is full of surprising discoveries, entertaining quotations and memorable information. There are plenty of colourful stories out there, but Michael Quinion will help you discover the truth that lies behind the cock-and-bull stories and make sure you're always linguistically on the ball.

In the tradition of The Glass Castle, Educated, and Heartland, Neal Wootentraces five decades of his dirt-poor, Alabama mountain family as the years and secrets coalesce. Neal Wooten grew up in a tiny community atop Sand Mountain, Alabama, where everyone was white and everyone was poor. Prohibition was still embraced. If you wanted alcohol, you had to drive to Georgia or ask the bootlegger sitting next to you in church. Tent revivals, snake handlers, and sacred harp music were the norm, and everyone was welcome as long as you weren’t Black, brown, gay, atheist, Muslim, a damn Yankee, or a Tennessee Vol fan. The Wooten's lived a secret existence in a shack in the woods with no running water, no insulation, and almost no electricity. Even the school bus and mail carrier wouldn’t go there. Neal’s family could hide where they were, but not what they were. They were poor white trash. Cops could see it. Teachers could see it. Everyone could see it. Growing up, Neal was weaned on folklore legends of his grandfather—his quick wit, quick feet, and quick temper. He discovers how this volatile disposition led to a murder, a conviction, and ultimately to a daring prison escape and a closely guarded family secret. Being followed by a black car with men in black suits was as normal to Neal as using an outhouse, carrying drinking water from a stream, and doing homework by the light of a kerosene lamp. And Neal’s father, having inherited the very same traits of his father, made sure the frigid mountain winters weren’t the most brutal thing his family faced. Told from two perspectives, this story alternates between Neal’s life and his grandfather’s, culminating in a shocking revelation. Take a journey to the Deep South and learn what it’s like to be born on the wrong side of the tracks, the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of a violent mental illness.

In Rich Man's War historian David Williams focuses on the Civil War experience of people in the Chattahoochee River Valley of Georgia and Alabama to illustrate how the exploitation of enslaved blacks and poor whites by a planter oligarchy generated overwhelming class conflict across the South, eventually leading to Confederate defeat. This conflict was so clearly highlighted by the perception that the Civil War was "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight" that growing numbers of oppressed whites and blacks openly rebelled against Confederate authority, undermining the fight for independence. After the war, however, the upper classes encouraged enmity between freedpeople and poor whites to prevent a class revolution. Trapped by racism and poverty, the poor remained in virtual economic slavery, still dominated by an almost unchanged planter elite. The publication of this book was supported by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission.

John Milton-a true son of the South- endeavored to find ways in which to keep Florida relevant to the Confederate cause. Under Milton, Florida was a key contributor of supplies for the Confederate Army. supplies. By pledging men, beef, and salt among other supplies, Milton gave credence to Florida's war effort. However, poor strategizing, blockades, and lack of military might led to several failed attempts to overcome the Union armies infiltrating the Florida coast. Left to defend themselves from the enemy with little help from their Confederate compatriots, Floridians grew increasingly disenchanted with their government's dismissive attitude. Over the course of the war, they were caught between survival and secession. With little resources remaining, survival was the only way for the state to maintain itself. Left disillusioned, the embattled Milton took matters into his own hands, refusing to submit to the impending surrender secession and the ignominy of defeat. Warrior at Heart is an in-depth study of Florida's Southern history during the Civil War. Historian John Adams gives detailed analyses of not only the economic dynamics reasons for the South to wage war, but also the events that shaped John Milton's role in the war effort....

It is often said that people in Texas speak differently than in other parts of the good ole' USA. We have different expressions, or "Texasisms", and we pronounce words differently. This can be very interesting and intriguing, yet also a bit perplexing. Have you ever asked, "What are they actually saying"? "What do these words and expressions mean"? Well, if so, then this is the book for you! This book begins with brief explanations on Texas geography, economy and culture. It then touches on linguistical nuances of the Texan vernacular before getting into the "meat of the matter", which are the Texan expressions. With over 150 of the most common phrases, you will be exposed to real Texan speech. Each expression has a definition so you know exactly what is the meaning behind the phrase. Additionally, each expression is followed by two (2) example sentences so you can see how it is used in standard context. After reading through this book, you will be "Talking Like A Texan" in no time! You may, however, have to work on your Texas "twang" or "southern drawl", lol, but that will come with time!

A marvelously funny piece of Southern humor and a language-lover's delight, this book preserves and explains the South's linguistic heritage with some 3,000 specimens of the region's most picturesque, metaphorical, and gloriously inventive speech.

Logger, seaman, hotelier, politician, millionaire—Gordon Gibson was a tough man, a fast friend and a hellish enemy. Bull of the Woods is a tale of guts and raw courage from a Canadian Horatio Alger—a man big enough to tell his life story with the same brutal honesty with which he lived it. In a skeptical age when Canadian heroes are our of fashion, this is a memoir worth its salt and then some. When first published in 1980, it sold an incredible 50,000 copies and was widely reviewed nationally as one of the best books of the season. This new edition includes an introduction by Gordon Gibson's son, Globe & Mail columnist Gordon F. Gibson.

Gogol's 1842 novel Dead Souls, a comic masterpiece about a mysterious con man and his grotesque victims, is one of the major works of Russian literature. It was translated into English in 1942 by Bernard Guilbert Guerney; the translation was hailed by Vladimir Nabokov as "an extraordinarily fine piece of work" and is still considered the best translation of Dead Souls ever published. Long out of print, the Guerney translation of Dead Souls is now reissued. The text has been made more faithful to Gogol's original by removing passages that Guerney inserted from earlier drafts of Dead Souls. The text is accompanied by Susanne Fusso's introduction and by appendices that present excerpts from Guerney's translations of other drafts of Gogol's work and letters Gogol wrote around the time of the writing and publication of Deal Souls. "I am delighted that Guerney's translation of Dead Souls [is] available again. It is head and shoulders above all the others, for Guerney understands that to 'translate' Gogol is necessarily to undertake a poetic recreation, and he does so brilliantly."—Robert A. Maguire, Columbia University "The Guerney translation of Dead Souls is the only translation I know of that makes any serious attempt to approximate the qualities of Gogol's style—exuberant, erratic, 'Baroque,' bizarre."—Hugh McLean, University of California, Berkeley "A splendidly revised and edited edition of Bernard Guerney's classic English translation of Gogol's Dead Souls. The distinguished Gogol scholar Susanne Fusso may have brought us as close as the English reader may ever expect to come to Gogol's masterpiece. No student, scholar, or general reader will want to miss this updated, refined version of one of the most delightful and sublime works of Russian literature."—Robert Jackson, Yale University