Fair To Middlin

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.

Beckett's first 'literary landmark' ( St Petersburg Times) is a wonderfully savoury introduction to the Nobel Prize-winning author. Written in 1932, when the twenty-six-year-old Beckett was struggling to make ends meet, the novel offers a rare and revealing portrait of the artist as a young man. When submitted to several publishers, all of them found it too literary, too scandalous or too risky; it was only published posthumously in 1992. As the story begins, Belacqua - a young version of Molloy, whose love is divided between two women, Smeraldina-Rima and the little Alba - 'wrestles with his lusts and learning across vocabularies and continents, before a final "relapse into Dublin"' ( New Yorker). Youthfully exuberant and Joycean in tone, Dream is a work of extraordinary virtuosity.

Doing business in the antebellum South required a very delicate balancing act - with the central role in the process played by the coastal merchant. From this vantage point the merchant manipulated the resources from the upriver suppliers and through an intricate economic and banking network provided cotton to the international brokers. It was, in effect, a closed system on each river under the careful control of the coastal merchants. This study focuses on the port of Apalachicola, Florida, and the businessmen who created a chain of international finance and trade in the promotion and distribution of the Old South's major source of income. Fair to Middlin' provides a detailed, highly readable description of a regional antebellum economy in the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee River valley and reinforces the argument that the South was self-sufficient and not dependent on other regions for its food supply. Willoughby explains in fascinating detail how the businessmen associated with the area's cotton trade coped with the poor conditions of transportation, communication, money, and banking. Early regional economies revolved around the rivers that represented the primary transportation arteries for trade in the Old South. Cotton businessmen located along the waterway and on the coast neatly divided the labor necessary to market the region's major source of income. Local money and banking conditions retarded the economic growth of this frontier area, and only the innovations of these coastal businessmen enabled the continuance of this vital trade network. The advent of the railroad shattered this ongoing business arrangement and completely altered the cohesiveness of the river economy. Railroadsfundamentally changed the business customs and trade routes so that boundaries of the once separate river economies blurred and eventually faded, gradually leading to an integrated national economy.

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 the spring of 1932 during the Great Depression. Jonathon Jackson's mother can't afford to keep him in Dallas, and as a puny twelve-year-old kid, he can't get a job. She buys him a Continental Bus ticket and sends him to East Texas to live with her parents. Through the voice of Jonathon "Sonny" Jackson, this story captures the bond between a boy and his family, a boy and his horse, and the innocence of adolescent love. Scallons genuinely depicts life during the Great Depression as one of hard work, hope and dreams. Unlike mainstream depression-era history, Scallons remembers the humor, love of God, laughter and tears with his writing set in this great time of trial for our country. Larry C. Scallons was born in the late 1920s on a cotton farm outside of Dallas, Texas. A Second World War and Korean War veteran, Scallons has lived all over Texas and travelled the world. He is a successful businessman who has written several short stories and is currently working on another novel.