Kirjahaku

An indelible portrait of one of the most famous and beloved authors in the canon of American literature--a collection of letters between Harper Lee and one of her closest friends that reveals the famously private writer as never before, in her own words.The violent racism of the American South drove Wayne Flynt away from his home state of Alabama, but the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee's classic novel about courage, community, and equality, inspired him to return in the early 1960s and craft a career documenting and teaching Alabama history. His writing resonated with many Alabamians, in particular three sisters: Louise, Alice, and Nelle Harper Lee. Beginning with their first meeting in 1983, a mutual respect and affection for the state's history and literature matured into a deep friendship between two families who can trace their roots there back more than five generations. Flynt and Nelle Harper Lee began writing to one other while she was living in New York--heartfelt, insightful, and humorous letters in which they swapped stories, information, and opinions on topics both personal and professional: their families, books, Alabama history and social values, health concerns, and even their fears and accomplishments. Though their earliest missives began formally--"Dear Dr. Flynt"--as the years passed and their mutual admiration grew, their exchanges became more intimate and emotional, opening with "Dear Friend" and closing with "I love you, Nelle." Through their enduring correspondence, the Lees and the Flynts became completely immersed in each other's lives.Beautifully written, intelligent, and telling, this remarkable compendium of their letters--a correspondence that lasted for a quarter century, from 1992 until Harper Lee's death in February 2016--offers an incisive and compelling look into the mind, heart, and work of one of the most beloved authors in modern literary history.

"The best sort of introductory study . . . packed with enlightening information." —The Times Literary Supplement Poor whites have been isolated from mainstream white Southern culture and have been in turn stereotyped as rednecks and Holy Rollers, discriminated against, and misunderstood. In their isolation, they have developed a unique subculture and defended it with a tenacity and pride that puzzles and confuses the larger society. Written 25 years ago, this book was one scholar's attempt to understand these people and their culture. For this new edition, Wayne Flynt has provided a new retrospective introduction and an up-to-date bibliography.

These life histories - accounts of hard times and hard work - are a selection of 28 from more than 100, written throughout the state of Alabama by workers and farmers under the Federal Writer's Project of the 1930's.

This historical memoir by the widely recognised scholar, Wayne Flynt, chronicles the inner workings of his academic career at Samford and Auburn Universities, as well as his many contributions to the general history of Alabama. Flynt has travelled the state and the South lecturing and teaching both lay and academic groups, calling on his detailed knowledge of both the history and power structures in Alabama to reveal uncomfortable truths wherever he finds them, whether in academic institutions that fall short of their stated missions, in government and industry leaders who seek and hold power by playing to the fears and prejudices of the public, or in religious groups who abandon their original missions and instead seek financial and emotional comfort in lip service only. In doing so he has not only energised those who think the State of Alabama can and must do better, but also has earned the enmity of those who prosper, profit, and prevaricate for their own selfish ends. Nevertheless, Flynt utilises a lifetime of learning and reflection to voice the conscience of his community. Keeping the Faith: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives tells the story of his life and his courageous battles against an indifferent or hostile hierarchy with modesty and honesty. In doing so he tells us how Alabama institutions really are manipulated and, more importantly, why we should care.

The vast range and complexity of Alabama's triumphs and low points in a defining century. Wayne Flynt is Distinguished University Professor of History at Auburn University and author or coauthor of 11 books, including Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the Heart of Dixie, Poor But Proud: Alabama's Poor Whites, Alabama: The History of a Deep South State, and Taking Christianity to China: Alabama Missionaries in the Middle Kingdom, 1850-1950. He has been recognized by numerous awards and honors, including the Lillian Smith Award for nonfiction, the Clarence Cason Nonfiction Award, the James F. Sulzby Jr. Book Award (twice), and the Alabama Library Association Award for nonfiction (twice).

Tells the history of the dominant religious group within the state during the last two centuries.

Imagine sitting with an esteemed writer on his or her front porch somewhere in the world and swapping life stories. Dr. Wayne Flynt got the opportunity to do just this with Nelle Harper Lee. In a friendship that blossomed over a dozen years starting when Lee relocated back to Alabama after having had a stroke, Flynt and his wife Dartie became regular visitors at the assisted living facility that was Lee’s new home. And there the conversation began. It began where it always begins with Southern storytellers, with an invitation to “Come in, sit down, and stay a while."The stories exchanged ranged widely over the topics of Alabama history, Alabama folklore, family genealogy, and American literature, of course. On the way from beginning to end there were many detours: talks about Huntingdon College; The University of Alabama; New York City; the United Kingdom; Garden City, Kansas; and Mobile, Alabama, to name just a few. Wayne and his wife were often joined by Alice Lee, the oldest Lee sister, a living encyclopedia on the subject of family genealogy, and middle sister Louise Lee Conner. The hours spent visiting, in intimate closeness, are still cherished by Wayne Flynt. They yielded revelations large and small, which have been shaped into Afternoons with Harper Lee. Part memoir, part biography, this book offers a unique window into the life and mind and preoccupations of one of America’s best-loved writers. Flynt and Harper Lee and her sisters learned a great deal from each other, and though this is not a history book, their shared interest in Alabama and its history made this extraordinary work possible.

The definitive biography of Sidney J. Catts—Florida's fiery governor who fused pulpit rhetoric with populist politics in the early twentieth century. Cracker Messiah by Wayne Flynt is a riveting portrait of Sidney J. Catts, one of the most controversial figures in Southern political history. Catts rose from Baptist pulpits and Chautauqua stages to Florida's governor's mansion in 1916, riding a wave of rural populism, prohibition fervor, and anti-Catholic rhetoric. His fiery oratory and outsider persona electrified "Florida crackers" at a time when industrial and urban forces were reshaping the South. Yet Catts was more than a demagogue. His administration championed progressive reforms—good roads, penal improvements, vocational education, and even women's political participation—while his career oscillated between idealism and opportunism. Wayne Flynt's meticulously documented biography illuminates this complicated politician, tracing Catts's battles with the Democratic establishment, his failed Senate bid, and his later flirtations with gambling and real estate during Florida's boom years. Drawing on interviews, archival sources, and legislative records, Cracker Messiah illuminates the tensions between nativism and reform, faith and hypocrisy, populism and progressivism in the early twentieth-century South. This new edition will appeal to readers of Southern history, political biography, and Progressive Era studies, as well as anyone interested in the roots of American populism and the enduring complexities of cultural and political identity in the Deep South.

A Southern senator at the crossroads of change. Duncan Upshaw Fletcher: Dixie's Reluctant Progressive is the definitive portrait of one of Florida's most influential yet overlooked political figures. Serving in the U.S. Senate from 1909 to 1936, Fletcher bridged the gap between Wilsonian progressivism and Roosevelt's New Deal, shaping landmark legislation such as the Federal Farm Loan Act, the Shipping Act, and major banking reforms. Far from a demagogue, Fletcher was a methodical, pragmatic leader who championed moderation, urban progressivism, and economic development while resisting racial and religious extremism. Wayne Flynt's deeply researched biography illuminates Fletcher's paradoxical career—a Unitarian in a fundamentalist state, a reformer who later embraced conservatism, and a Southern Democrat who became a loyal New Dealer. Through vivid analysis of Florida's turbulent political landscape, the book explores themes of coalition-building, economic modernization, and the South's evolving role in national politics. This work will captivate readers interested in Southern history, political biography, and the roots of modern progressivism. Scholars of the New Deal, reform movements, and Florida history will find it indispensable, while general readers will appreciate its lucid style and insights into a leader whose story resonates with today's debates over moderation, governance, and social change.