Product Description
A stunning look at the amazing fish diversity of Alabama, home to almost one-third of all fishes found in the US.

An enormous, superbly illustrated book revealing the astounding diversity of Alabama's fishes through brilliant color plates by Joseph Tomelleri and incredibly detailed information from the authors. Boschung and Mayden are two leading scientists of biodiversity. Boschung , co-editor of the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fishes, Whales, and Dolphins and Mayden, author of over 100 papers on fishes, and editor of the landmark publication Systematics, Historical Ecology, and North American Freshwater Fishes, have dedicated years to documenting the evolutionary histories, diversity, diets, growth rates, reproduction, sizes, distribution, and status of Alabama's fishes, and they present this wealth of information in a helpful, user-friendly format. The identification keys to the species are beautifully illustrated with extremely helpful drawings that provide fast, accurate identification, useful to experts and the general public alike. Whether an angler looking to determine the species of fish he just caught, a biology student interested in stream biodiversity, or a young naturalist exploring North America's hotspot for fish biodiversity, everyone with an interest in the diversity of our world will find Fishes of Alabama ideal. 709 color, 804 b/w illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

This may be the OPTIMAL fish guide to date...
This may very well be the best fish guide we've seen yet.The organization and utility of "Fishes of Alabama" has clearly been influenced by the best previous titles which use a similar format (such as "Fishes of Arkansas").For each species, national range maps are given in addition to Alabama dot localities overlaid on a state watershed map.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this title is the illustration.Some artistically uninclined individuals will prefer photographs, an opinion to which they're entitled, even though photographs are, for most vertebrate groups, inferior to accomplished artwork in both a functional and appreciable sense.Truly landmark wildlife compendiums tend to use quality artwork over photos - that's an historically-substantiated fact. "Fishes of Alabama" is no exception here.Each species account is headed by a beautiful, small specimen painting that showcases important identification features.Each account's painting is duplicated in large plate format in the book's center.The artwork, for those with enough culture to appreciate such achievement and an eye for depiction of important detail , is worth twice the purchase price on its own.

Throw in the consideration that the biological information on each species will help not only sportfishers, baitfishers and ichthyologists active in Alabama, but also in additional states inhabited by the species covered, plus a better-than-average foreward, and you've got yourself a must-have title."Fishes of Alabama" is likely one of those books for which the timeless esteem and utility that it beckons will cause the price it commands to increase substantially once it's out-of-print.

Fishes of Alabama
This is the most beautiful text book I have ever seen! With this book I am learning to "key out" fish for identification. A whole new world is opening before my eyes!

Awesome
This is a very informative book.I would have preferred more pictures and less artists renditions, but one can't be too picky.

Brilliant Book
This book is a great reference for any ichthyologists or anyone who loves fishes and art.It contains a lot of information and citations for each species.

Amazing illusrations, packed with information
This is an excellent reference book.Joe Tomelleri is a remarkable artist with a talent I have never seen before.His illustrations are so close to looking at the fish in a stream.He is a master at capturing life.The information in this book is very complete and concise.A great buy for the money and just a beautiful book to look at even if you are not extremely interested in fish. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A true CLASSIC
The maps in this book are worth the purchase price alone.

The book was origionally published in the mid 1970s, so some of the information about put in and take out points is out of date.The rivers and streams themselves have changed very little, so the detailed maps in the book will give you a blow-by-blow description of what to expect on you adventure.

While there is a lot of information about the Cahaba River, none of the other Alabama rivers and streams are neglected...the Cahaba River is just a great river to canoe, and it rightfully claims an appropriate amount of space in the book.

I purchased this book before I ever baught a canoe, and it has helped me to enjoy trips down the Cahaba Rive, the Sipsey Fork, the Little Fork, and the Mulberry Fork to name a few.

If you own a canoe and live in Alabama (or are just interested in the subject), BUY THIS BOOK.

Misnamed Book
This book should be named Cahaba River Canoe Rides & Float Trips. It focuses primarily on the Cahaba and deals little with the rest of the state. We were disappointed and are still looking for a good book on canoeing the entire state of Alabama.

If you own a canoe and live in Alabama, BUY THIS
In this book, Foshee gives scouting reports of many rivers and creeks inAlabama. It includes maps to put ins and take outs, and brief comments ondifficulty of put in and take out. Also included are distances of eachsection of each river reviewed as well as river maps showing the "bigstuff." For each section, Foshee describes possible problem areas.These are very helpful in planning a trip and can save you from exposure tonumerous hazards. In each section, Foshee gives brief descriptions aboutscenery.

The only problem with this book is that many of the road mapsare outdated. Some put ins and take outs are no longer accessible whilemany areas now have better ins and outs than those in the book. And manyroad names have changed since the book was written. Despite being a littleoutdated, maps are still very helpful, espcially when used along with amore detailed topo map. Of course, the river maps pretty much still applybecuase many of the rivers haven't changed all that much.

This book willhelp you find new places to go and will help determine distances of trips.Anybody who goes canoeing in Alabama should own this. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

A MUST for anyone interested in Alabama Pottery
The best book out there on Alabama Pottery.A wealth of information for any pottery collector.Lots of great early black and white photos and historical information.Huge listing of early potters and their markings.Superb.

Alabama Folk Pottery
This book was marvelous.The information contained within was well researched and very thorough.I immensely enjoyed every page, every article, every entry well, you get the picture.It was just what I was hoping for and very good.

Beautiful and informative
Evidenced by twenty years of research, Alabama Folk Pottery introduces the reader to the pottery of the state.Joey Brackner's production of a well organized and beautifully presented piece of scholarship helps the reader to see and understand the potters, the craft and its history.Due to his thorough researcch and effective presentation, this book is well worth the price tag. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: Montgomery?Publication date: 1905Subjects: Educational law and legislation -- AlabamaNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

More of a Unit History than a Memoir
This memoir reads more like a unit history of the Third Alabama than General Battle's memoirs.He does not spend much time talking about himself.Instead, General Battle describes the war as his unit experiencedit.

I thought the book was interesting, and easy to read.It is veryshort, so don't look for too much detailed information.The thing I likedmost were the battlefield vinettes that General Battle describes.

Irecommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about how thesoldiers and leaders of Lee's army viewed the war.

A Missing Link of Civil War History
Third Alabama, ed. by Brandon H. Beck is in my opinion one of the most valuable resources for studying the American Civil War.

Cullen A. Battle the author , Col. of the 3rd Alabama and then a brigade commander fought inall of the major engagements of the Army of Northern Virginia from SevenPines to Appomattox.This book does not only go into detail about thecampaigns in which Battle was involved but it also puts them into a properhistorical context.With the use of context you are able to learn not onlyabout the role of the 3rd Alabama and Cullen A. Battle, but you are alsoable to learn the fates of both sides during any of the campaigns coveredin the memoir.

The book includes six excellently detailed maps of thepositions of the 3rd Alabama in various engagements.The maps also depictsurrounding brigades and the Federal opponents that they faced off with. These maps are a very crucial part to this book for they give a visual aidof Battle's memoir.

I think that Beck and his cartographer should begiven a great deal of credit for making this memoir available to the CivilWar community.

It is definitely a must for everyone to have on theirbookshelves! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

George Wallace & Alabama's State Government
George Wallace dominated Alabama politics for a quarter century. Consider the six elections Alabama held for Governor between 1962 and 1982. Voters elected Wallace four times and elected his wife once (when he was ineligible to run for re-election).

Wallace has been the subject of many books (such as Dan Carter's The Politics of Rage and Stephen Leshar's George Wallace: American Populist). But previous books focus on Wallace's impact on national politics. In Stand Up for Alabama, Jeff Frederick examines Wallace's impact on Alabama.

Stand Up for Alabama is a success. Frederick portrays Wallace as a governor who spent his time campaigning instead of trying to run Alabama. The book shines when Frederick explains how Wallace and Alabama's legislature interacted; the relationship was contentious and the relative power of each side shifted as voters' opinions of Wallace shifted.

The book has a few drawbacks. Conservative readers won't like Frederick's steady criticism of Wallace's opposition to tax increases. At times, the narrative bogs down when it cites reams of statistics comparing Alabama's government programs to those of neighboring states.

At 400 pages, Stand Up for Alabama requires a commitment from its readers. But politics junkies with an interest in state government and civil rights will want to read Stand Up for Alabama.
... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

a good classic worth reading
i decided to read this book after reading about it in black issues book review.I twas a great story and well ahead of its time.Main character is a farm girl who decides that single parenthood is the route for her.Itis interesting to note the attitudes then about this issue vs ours today. This book is hard to find and you may have to special order but it is worthit ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Alabama's "Gone With the Wind???"
Reading "Stars Fell on Alabama" brings to mind lines from the opening scenes of "Gone With The Wind," lines that said something like "look for them (these days)no more because they are gone with the wind..." The same could be said of the Alabama described in Carl Carmer's book.

The days of Margaret Mitchell's classic "Gone With the Wind" never really existed, at least not in the romanticized way in which she wrote about them, but the days described in "Stars Fell on Alabama" did happen. They did, unfortunately, exist, but thankfully, for the most part, they, too, are noe"gone with the wind..."

This book is about life, a cross section of real life in the terriblyrural South from about 1921 through 1927.It was not a pretty time or an easy time, and these are not quaint, pretty sketches of life during that time.The innocent, naive and politically correct reader of today might find parts of this book, most of it actually, quite offensive.And rightly so. But these times, these days and these ways, did exist. And they put life in today's Alabama into perspective.

It is clear to a reader living in Alabama that the state has progressed far more in the last 75 years (1930-2005) than it did in the 75 years immediately after the Civil War (1865-1940). That may be true for the country as a whole, but it is especially true for Alabama.Many intellectuals and scholars cite this book as one of the points at which this progress began. As Howell Raines writes in his introduction (added in 1990) this book was one of the first times Alabamians read about themselves as others saw them. It was not a pretty picture, not all bad not all ugly, but for the most part, it was not how Alabamians felt about themselves and not how they wanted their state--and themselves--to be perceived by those outside the state.To be sure, there was some beauty among the thorns, but it was a racist time and the thorns greatly outnumbered the rosebuds.There are no memories of the grand and glorious "Lost Cause" in these pages. Any and everything but.

Speaking of Howell Raines' introduction, it would be far more useful and appropriate as an Afterword or Epilogue. In this book it would be better to put what you have read in perspective than to write about what you are going to read. That's not true for all books, but it is true for this book.

In the hours after finishing "Stars Fell on Alabama," two thoughts come to mind again and again:

--"We may not be where we ought to be, but, thank God and by the grace of God, we aren't where we used to be..."

--And this book was obviously written before football took over the University of Alabama (where Carmer taught for six years) and the state as a whole.Football is never mentionied, either during his time in Tuscaloosa, or in his travels around the state. Not once.In that respect, life in Alabama has certainly changed.But even now, there are racial overtones in the rivalry between Alabama and Auburn.But that is another story for another time.

If you are from Alabama, live in Alabama,or want to learn about the rural South as it was in the twenties and thirties, read the book. You will learn from it and you will enjoy it.Parts of it will make you cringe but it will be a learning experience.And learning is good, even if you don't appreciate and agree with all that you learn or are exposed to.

Stars Fell On Alabama
To properly understand history, you must be able to accept all aspects of your topic, good, bad, and all shadings in between, as sources of information and for enrichment of your knowledge.History rarely conforms to our personal view of the world, for there are so many factors which are beyond our control. So it is with Stars Fell on Alabama.The South was no friend to anyone but itself, and this book gives the reader, no matter what their background, an honest, sometimes raw, sometimes fantastic, sometimes poignant, picture of what a part of the South was like for everyone, black and white, and that is its value to anyone who read it and especially to anyone who uses it to teach about the South.

Fictionalized History
I often wondered why falling stars appeared on Alabama license plates and why Dylan sang about the same. Ultimately I found my way to this book, written by Carl Carmer over 60 years ago. The answer to my original questions are within the book. The forward is perhaps more interesting and revealing, exposing the strength and Achilles heal of Carmer's work. Carmer was writing about the Alabama he experienced at the time he resided there. It is a snapshot of history and was very controversial when originally printed. So, it has some literary and historical value. However, many of the characters and incidents are composed of amalgamated individuals and conglomerated incidents. So, it is more representational like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn than an accurate recounting of actual events. Allegedly, Carmer was trying to mask actual places and people to protect their privacy but it left me questioning the authenticity and veracity of the whole. It took the edge off, making the book much less appealing and leaving me disinterested in places. Is it fiction or non-fiction? Is it exaggerated or not? How much to rely on this thin ice is what the reader will have to consider and that will be a distraction throughout.

Ssome interesting things in the book
The author apparently spent six years in Alabama in the late twenties and early thirties.He made various trips around Alabama and relates stories he heard from people.He was at Decatur, Ala., at the time the second Scottsboro trial was about to be held.He relates comments by people he talked to about the trial and the comments are a sad picture into the racism rampant in Alabama in those years.The book uses the n word without any qualms, and tho the author does not appear to approve of the Jim Crow way of life his condemnation is absent.I did not appreciate this dated book, which in 1934 was a best seller.

Book of immense influence, still fresh after 65 years
Before Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, Carl Carmer took a train from New York to Alabama to become a college professor, writing of a strange country he visited and returned from, as different as another planet for his known world. He roamed and wrote of the cornwhisky- swilling backwatersof Alabama and the rough-hewn urban centers like Birmingham during the 20s and early 30s -- the time of the Scottsboro boys, the Klux Klan in its first great revival, deep oral and cultural traditions among Alabama African Americans including the title, inspiration for the 30s pop song about a meteor shower more than a century before.. The Civil War veteran turned murderer of U.S. marshals and religious zealot -- lynched to avoid a trial and certain execution -- before Jim Jones and Waco.The great outlaws and train robbers, Rube Burrow and Railroad Bill, one white, the other black and so feared his body was displayed in several cities to prove he was dead. A period piece -- the N word is used-- it also paints a picture of a complex and diverse black community, its cultural and folk roots,its white relationships. Many Alabama natives, including this expatriate, would notknow these tales but for Carmer who returned to New York to write about that state and area for decades more But his Alabama is Sleepy Hollow with a bite like "Two-toed Tom" the 15 foot gator trapped in a pond by stalkers only to find him surfacing in a nearby pond, devouring a 12 year old child, decades before scientists learned of the ancient underwater tunnels of the reptiles. Tom moved on to become a legend in Florida where he's still talked about just as Carmer's retelling of the great tales lives on in Alabama, too oftenwithout his name attached. Sometimes a bizarre mixture of charm and horror, and perhaps a bit of hyperbole, Stars Fell on Alabama is one of those Academic reprints that reminds us the past is never so simple as we might dream and that the man with manners is to be as feared as the trainrobber with a gun ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1904Original Publisher: Alabama Historical SocietySubjects: Local historyAlabamaHistory / GeneralHistory / HistoriographyHistory / United States / State ... Read more