In 2005, I came across Confederate Battle Stories, a collection of short fiction that is edited by Martin Greenberg, Frank McSherry, and Charles Waugh. It was published by August House Publishers in Little Rock. Included are stories by some of America’s most famous authors, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, and others. McSherry’s introduction, “Always Outnumbered–Never Outfought” is a stirring one.

McSherry claims that the “warriors of the Confederacy” were tough opponents, and that “some of the generals who led them, men justly ranked by historians as military geniuses” have no equal in history. He says their “valor was unsurpassed, their devotion undying.”

McSherry provides an interesting anecdote that captures the pride and spirit of the Confederate soldier. He says that “Confederate Robert Toombs, a fire-eater of the Old South, was asked by a Union friend after the war if he had applied for the pardon offered by the United States government to former Confederates.

“Pardon for what?” Toombs snapped. “I have not pardoned you all yet.”

However, the stories are not sugar-coated Southern propaganda. These stories, as good fiction must, tell the truth, portraying the hard truths of the world the Southern soldiers lived in. I enjoyed the read, and if you like the Civil War, I think you will too.

With the publication of my children’s book, Jim Limber Davis: A Black Orphan in the Confederate White House, I realized at my signings how little people knew about the President of the Confederacy.  Jefferson Davis, a man honored  by the schools,  streets, schools, and other things named after him,  is a man that America  has yet to know.  The look on people’s faces when I tell them that Davis adopted a free child of color is priceless.

One of the best books about him is  Was Jefferson Davis Right? by the Kennedy brothers, Pelican Publishing.  This book will change the way you view history. A must read if you care anything about the Civil War (and how it changed everything about America).   Here are some endorsements of this book:

Charley Reese, nationally syndicated columnist: “Every American ought to read this brilliant new book by the Kennedy brothers.”

Thomas Fleming, editor of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture.  “Decisively refuting all the old slanders, the authors give us back the real Davis–a patriotic soldier, a reluctant secessionist, the model of a Christian gentleman, and an inspiration to all Americans, North and South.”

At the Pulpwood Queens Festival, I met a wonderful author–Heather Bornback-Bland who wrote a rich and moving account of her life entitled God Said Yes. This is a book you must order and share with others. Heather’s story builds one’s faith in God (without being a preachy account) and it helps us really understand what human dignity, compassion, and love are all about. She is a wonderful public speaker and an excellent fund raiser, so I hope your school will think of using her. Here is a photo of Heather and myself at the Jefferson Author/Book Event:

FROM HER WEBSITE:

Heather Hornback-Bland
My Story:
I would like to share with you some of my life’s joys and pains. My hope is that in sharing my story, I can give hope to the hopeless and to those that are blessed with so much, a desire to give and be thankful.

Speaking:
I am blessed to be able to speak on a number of topics including “Being Strong,” “Trusting That God Will Provide,” “Persevering Through Pain (When You Don’t Want To),” “Life After Divorce,” “God Showed His Unconditional Love,” and many more.

Press Room:
My speaking engagements and the tremendous efforts people make to support me and my ministry make their way into the papers.

Mackenzie:
A true gift to me, my daughter Mackenzie, has an incredible story all to herself. And a page all to herself, too!

The Book:
“God Said Yes” is the title of my life story in book stores on October 1, 2007. Penguin Group is the publishing my life story. We are so excited to tell you that you can pre-order “God Said Yes” on Amazon.com.

Here is a photo of Heather and her friend Kelly that Bonnie Barnes took:

To learn more of Heather do go to her website: http://www.godsaidyes.net/

Today I took off work to prepare my taxes, and I was reminded of a very fine book I read and edited for Ronald Kennedy entitled, Reclaiming Liberty. One of the chapters had the fitting title of “Taxes and Other Ways to Steal Other People’s Money.” This book is published by Pelican Publishing and if you are unhappy with or wondering about what is wrong with the current American political world, this book will answer those questions and raise some others you haven’t thought of.

Kennedy (along with many other current writers) points out that the medieval serfs paid a tax of approximately 25-30 % of all they earned/owned.When you think of how that is roughly the equivalent of how Americans are taxed today, you realize that we are not citizens–we are serfs. We are as one writer said, “Democracy’s serfs.” Kennedy points out that Americans are taxed in a multitude of ways, some of them hidden or invisible. If you have any interest in politics at all, do yourself a favor and visit the Kennedy brothers site. Steer anyone you meet who is unhappy with the present political scene to it (Most people I know are unhappy with it). http://www.kennedytwins.com/

Here is a quote from the chapter: “Money is the mother’s milk of American politics. Politicians need money to enter or maintain themselves in office [Has our government become an oligarchy?] , to grant favors to the special interest groups that provide votes in elections, to support business ventures of the politically connected, and to support the ever enlarging bureaucracy required to maintain their political empire. Most contemporary politicians are rich compared to the average taxpayer . . . their fortunes are safe; it’s your income they desire . . . regardless of who is in power–conservative, liberal, Republican, or Democrat–under the current liberal/socialist political system,your income is always at risk” (p. 163).

The Kennedy brothers have also written other books you need to find and read:

The South Was Right! Was Jefferson Davis Right? Why Not Freedom! Myths of American Slavery, and Red Republicans and Lincoln’s Marxists. I’m sure I will have other posts about the writings of the Kennedy brothers, but hopefully this will encourage you to take a look at their work.

Oh, and remember this song by the Beatles?

Taxman
Artist(Band):The Beatles

Let me tell you how it will be,
There’s one for you, nineteen for me,
‘Cos I’m the Taxman,
Yeah yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all,
‘Cos I’m the Taxman,
Yeah yeah, I’m the Taxman.
(If you drive a car), I’ll tax the street,
(If you try to sit), I’ll tax your seat,
(If you get too cold), I’ll tax the heat,
(If you take a walk), I’ll tax your feet.
Taxman.
‘Cos I’m the Taxman,
Yeah yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Don’t ask me what I want it for
(Ah Ah! Mister Wilson!)
If you don’t want to pay some more
(Ah Ah! Mister Heath!),
‘Cos I’m the Taxman,
Yeah yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Now my advice for those who die,
Declare the pennies on your eyes,
‘Cos I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
And you’re working for no-one but me.

Today, I presented a program at Waskom, Texas High School. I’ve really never seen a better behaved and polite group of high school students. My program was my Scots-Irish program, with a show and tell table, but the rest of the day was spent performing mostly Scottish or Irish music. I’ve been invited back next year, so I think it went well. I’m tired, but I feel inspired and motivated because of the encouraging students and teachers I talked to today. I wore my kilt, and I know I exposed the young scholars to many facts about Scotland and Ireland they’ve never known about. It was a lucky day for me. I woke at 3:00 am, arose at 3:30 am, dressed and drove on to Waskom, 124 miles from my house.

Reading List:

I’ve received in the mail two books I must read and review soon: One is by Lisa Wingate, entitled, Talk of the Town. The other is My Soul to Keep by Melanie Wells. I’ll read them and post their reviews. They both have GREAT openings, so my gut feeling is that I will give them good reviews.