Legends and Lore of Birmingham & Central Alabama
Legends and Lore of Birmingham & Central Alabama

Author: Beverly Crider

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2014-03-18

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1625849273

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From Jasper to Selma to Hoover, central Alabama is bursting at the seams with unique stories and legendary characters. Read about the Goat Man, the famous wandering traveler who wrestled a bear, narrowly avoided being lynched by the Ku Klux Klan, was pronounced dead and taken to the morgue and later became an ordained preacher. Learn the story of the Alabama White Thang, a seven-foot-tall creature covered in white hair that has appeared all over the region. Be charmed by Fred, the Rockford town dog that became everyone's best friend and had his fifteen minutes of fame on Animal Planet. Author Beverly Crider brings the most bizarre facets of the Alabama spirit to life with dozens of strange stories in central Alabama.

He Calls Me By Lightning: The Life of Caliph Washington and the forgotten Saga of Jim Crow, Southern Justice, and the Death Penalty
He Calls Me By Lightning: The Life of Caliph Washington and the forgotten Saga of Jim Crow, Southern Justice, and the Death Penalty

Author: S Jonathan Bass

Publisher: Liveright Publishing

Published: 2017-05-16

Total Pages: 548

ISBN-13: 1631492381

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Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post and Kirkus Reviews A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A Southern Independent Booksellers Association “Spring Pick” This harrowing portrait of the Jim Crow South “proves how much we do not yet know about our history” (New York Times Book Review). Caliph Washington didn’t pull the trigger but, as Officer James "Cowboy" Clark lay dying, he had no choice but to turn on his heel and run. The year was 1957; Cowboy Clark was white, Caliph Washington was black, and this was the Jim Crow South. Widely lauded for its searing “insight into a history of America that can no longer be left unknown” (Washington Post), He Calls Me by Lightning is an “absorbing chronicle” (Ira Katznelson) of the forgotten life of Caliph Washington that becomes an historic portrait of racial injustice in the civil rights era. Washington, a black teenager from the vice-ridden city of Bessemer, Alabama, was wrongfully convicted of killing a white Alabama policeman in 1957 and sentenced to death. Through “meticulous research and vivid prose” (Patrick Phillips), S. Jonathan Bass reveals Washington’s Kafkaesque legal odyssey: he came within minutes of the electric chair nearly a dozen times and had his conviction overturned three times before finally being released in 1972. Devastating and essential, He Calls Me by Lightning demands that we take into account the thousands of lives cast away by the systemic racism of a “social order apparently unchanged even today” (David Levering Lewis).

Haunted Talladega County
Haunted Talladega County

Author: Kim Johnston

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015-09-28

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1625851502

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Talladega County is known for its auto racing and rich southern history. Stories of the strange and supernatural, however, are just as prevalent. Like the story of Gloria's bridge, where the spirit of a woman and her baby are said to appear when her name is called out. Or the ghost of a man and his dog wandering the forests of Cemetery Mountain. At Hill Elementary, the specter of a principal still patrols the grounds, watching over her students. Paranormal writers Kim Johnston and Shane Busby chronicle the strange, mysterious and ghastly past of Talladega County.

Chasing American Monsters
Chasing American Monsters

Author: Jason Offutt

Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide

Published: 2019-03-08

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0738760064

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STEP RIGHT UP and BEHOLD a stupendous COLLECTION of over 250 FEARSOME and FANTASTICAL CREATURES from Every State in the Union! The Black Dog of Hanging Hills, the Tommyknockers of Pennsylvania, the Banshee of the Badlands—these beasts and hundreds more will hold you spellbound, unable to look away from their frightful features and their extraordinary stories. Come face to face with modern-day dinosaurs, extraterrestrials, dragons, lizard men, giants, and flying humanoids. This illustrated collection includes more than 250 monsters and cryptids that will make your hair stand on end when you hear something go bump in the night. From Alabama to Wyoming and everywhere in between, these enigmatic abominations lurk in the darkest corners and the deepest shadows. This eye-opening book details the origins, appearance, and behaviors of these bizarre creatures so that if you should come across a terrifying beast in the wild, you'll know exactly what you're dealing with. Praise: "Jason Offutt does a special service to the field of cryptozoology with this new book Chasing American Monsters. By keeping all of us up-to-date and incredibly informed—beyond the scope of lesser guidebooks—we have a better head start on knowing where to look for these cryptids. Highly recommended."—Loren Coleman, author of Cryptozoology A to Z and director of the International Cryptozoology Museum

My First Pocket Guide About Alabama
My First Pocket Guide About Alabama

Author: Carole Marsh

Publisher: Gallopade International

Published: 2011-03-01

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 063508371X

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The perfect reference guide for students in grades 3 and up - or anyone! This handy, easy-to-use reference guide is divided into seven color-coded sections which includes Alabama basic facts, geography, history, people, places, nature and miscellaneous information. Each section is color coded for easy recognition. This Pocket Guide comes with complete and comprehensive facts ALL about Alabama. Riddles, recipes, and surprising facts make this guide a delight! Alabama Basics section explores your state's symbols and their special meaning. Alabama Geography section digs up the what's where in Alabama. Alabama History section is like traveling through time to some of Alabama's greatest moments. Alabama People section introduces you to famous personalities and your next-door neighbors. Alabama Places section shows you where you might enjoy your next family vacation. Alabama Nature section tells what Mother Nature gave to Alabama. Alabama Miscellaneous section describes the real fun stuff ALL about Alabama.

Hidden History
Hidden History

Author: Lynn Rainville

Publisher: University of Virginia Press

Published: 2014-02-12

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0813935350

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In Hidden History, Lynn Rainville travels through the forgotten African American cemeteries of central Virginia to recover information crucial to the stories of the black families who lived and worked there for over two hundred years. The subjects of Rainville’s research are not statesmen or plantation elites; they are hidden residents, people who are typically underrepresented in historical research but whose stories are essential for a complete understanding of our national past. Rainville studied above-ground funerary remains in over 150 historic African American cemeteries to provide an overview of mortuary and funerary practices from the late eighteenth century to the end of the twentieth. Combining historical, anthropological, and archaeological perspectives, she analyzes documents—such as wills, obituaries, and letters—as well as gravestones and graveside offerings. Rainville’s findings shed light on family genealogies, the rise and fall of segregation, and attitudes toward religion and death. As many of these cemeteries are either endangered or already destroyed, the book includes a discussion on the challenges of preservation and how the reader may visit, and help preserve, these valuable cultural assets.

Lost Birmingham
Lost Birmingham

Author: Beverly Crider

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2013-04-30

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 162584056X

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Some of Birmingham Alabama's history has been lost. This book takes a look at this lost history and brings it back to life. Birmingham has many notable historic landmarks today, but so many more are all but forgotten. The Bangor Cave Casino was once a world-renowned speakeasy. The Thomas Jefferson Hotel featured a zeppelin mooring station, drawing lots of attention from tourists. Other significant sites from the past, such as Hillman Hospital and the buildings on the "Heaviest Corner on Earth," are unknown even to natives now. Local author Beverly Crider presents an intriguing and educational tour through these and more hidden treasures.