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Summary: One of my favorite books ever!
Review: One of the most engaging books I've ever read, Rick Bragg's poignant and candid memoir brings to life the past and present South through straightforward dialogue, vivid imagery and sensitive storytelling. His descriptive passages of the observances and experiences of his youth, such as "playing the church piano loud was near as important as playing it right" and "fighting bloody battles over girls in the parking lot of the local Hardee's" take me back to incidents from my own past. I especially enjoyed the chronicle of his mother's first trip to New York--everything from the airplane ride to "glass elevators that shoot you heavenward like a crystal bullet" to his mother's own impression: "Now them's some buildin's." Well put! His accounts of Harvard are hilarious: "if you throw up your hand and say 'hey, how you doin,' you'll scare 'em to death or at least into therapy;" and the stories from his colorful career as a reporter are worth reading. I recently heard Rick Bragg speak at the BookExpo in Chicago and he was gracious enough to sign my book afterwards. I now look forward to listening to "All Over But The Shoutin'" on audio cassette. This is a book you'll want to read more than once, like I did. Thank you, Rick, for "dreaming backwards" and making yourself "grit your teeth and remember." And thank your Momma, too, for giving you permission to write it.
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Summary: Excellent book illuminates poverty, illuminates life
Review: Bragg has a conversational, easily followed style that makes him hard to put down and no doubt helped to claim a Pulitzer for his newspaper features. It helped that his news career placed him at tragedies commanding national attention. I found myself drawn into these stories not just by the facts, but by Bragg's honest account of their personal impact against the backdrop of pain of a dirt-poor childhood. His childhood poverty is recalled with a clarity not dimmed by bitterness or embarrassment. Miles-wise, I grew up about half a state away from Bragg. Culture-wise his home was just down some dirt road. So many times he described scenes that I had witnessed, but because of my more privileged upbringing, it had evoked little emotional response. As I reexperienced my own memories through Bragg's poverty and pain, they were transformed and given meaning. Most chapters are short and self contained. If you are busy, it's the kind of book that can be read in short breaks. However, it's a better read consumed in one sitting, curled up by a warm fire on a cold, dreary Saturday, or read aloud to someone you dearly love.
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Summary: Midwest Book Review
Review: Rick Bragg understands poverty. He knows intimately the taste and smell of being dirt poor, has experienced the chill that settles deep into a person's marrow. When it comes to the haves and have nots of life, he's walked both sides of that line and knows first hand the strengths and weaknesses of both. He witnessed from an early age the deprivation that can drive both the strong and weak to violence and desperation. And he by God knows determined courage when he see's it because he grew to manhood watching true fortitude in action. In this book, courage and cowardice, violence and devotion, poverty and triumph are found in equal measure.
Bragg's mother was a pretty southern girl who married young. When her husband went away to war in Korea, she waited loyally for his return. The young man who loved music and laughter did not return to her from Korea. In his place, she got an irresponsible alcoholic given to drunken rages and abuse who abandoned his growing family with regularity, leaving them to scrounge their way without him. To feed her three sons, the author's mother worked long hours picking cotton and ironing the clothes of those who could afford such luxury. Much of this memoir is a testament to his mother's strength, as well it should be. The people and places he decribes are also memorable, whether Bragg speaks of them with bitterness or pride. And he cuts himself very little slack in the telling.
Whether sharing memories of Alabama, Africa, or Afghanistan, Rick Bragg sees life with his heart's eye, and documents prosaically his visions. He writes of times and places few of us have seen, and does it with compassion. All Over But the Shoutin' is a gift to those of us who love to read.
Rating: 
Summary: All Over But the Shoutin
Review: All Over But the Shoutin, by Rick Bragg is a touching memoir about growing up in the south and learning about life once you leave Alabama.
The way Rick Bragg tells a story makes you think about things from your own childhood. His wry sense of humor helps you to identify with his struggles, and also helps you not dwell on them. Some of the most moving chapters revolve around his relationship, or non-relationship with his father. You can actually feel his struggle to maintain a distance from him and his desire to want to understand and forgive. This book is an honest account of a man's life. It doesn't hide the bad points of Bragg's life, and try to only highlight the good. It is an even mix of joy and sorrow, along with an unapologetic view of Bragg's successes and sorrows. Overall this book is a good read. Initially I was put off by the slightly egotistical manner that Bragg gives off, but as you read you come to understand that he is not trying to brag, be he's telling his story the way it is, and if you don't like it, too bad.
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Summary: Southern Boy's Valentine to his Mama Makes a Fine Read
Review: Rick Bragg makes me miss my mama! His valentine to southern mamahood, All Over But the Shoutin', should do for poor white trash what Angela's Ashes did for penniless Irish. Bragg's book tells us about his life, which was an interesting one - he started out red-dirt poor in Alabama and ended up a high-falutin' journalist with more honors than wall to put them on. His autobiography has a twist, however, which adds to the emotional pounce of the book: Bragg "wouldn't have gotten nowhere without his mama". Mama Bragg endured back-bending labor and soul-squashing humiliation at the hands of her no 'count husband, but never became bitter. She took the world on her back, squared her shoulders, and made life as good as she could for her three boys. We see her dignity and strength hone son Rick into a decent man. All Over But The Shoutin' is a great, feel-good story. If your heart doesn't get snatched by the love Rick has for his mama, it will be grabbed bald-headed by his descriptions of the deep south...red-eye gravy, red-hot Augusts, and red-rimmed eyeballs from corn likker. This book will make you want two things: A cat-head biscuit and more stories from Rick Bragg.
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Summary: A reader from Nebraska
Review: I checked this book out of my local library, and was gald I did. Rick Bragg's mother reminded me of my own. Another rviewer said Mrs. Bragg should have gotten a job. The lady already picked cotton from daylight til dark, then took in ironing which she worked at half the night. Rick Bragg's family lived in a different time, when southern poverty was far worse than it is today. Picking cotton and ironing are not jobs for the faint of heart. Bragg made it quite clear in his book how hard his mother worked at horrible jobs to make a life for her children. She was the glue that held this book together and gave it a shine. If you love your mother, love or have a certain curiosity about the south, you need to read this one.
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Summary: Grossly overrated
Review: I do not get it. He writes an ode to his mama, who, it seems to me, could have made all their lives a lot easier if she had just gotten a job.
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Summary: Different and exciting
Review: What a pleasure it was to come across this book by accident. It's truly unlike anything else out there with its beautiful prose, its well-developed and earthy characters, and its marvelous settings. The mother figure in the story is by far one of the most moving portraits of a giving and wonderful parent ever written. This is the story of a difficult existence in Alabama, told by one of this country's truly talented writers. Whether or not you grew up in poverty, you'll be moved by this remarkable account of courage and determination. Also recommended: Welcome to the World, Cold Mountain, and Bark of the Dogwood
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Summary: Uh huh...
Review: So is this really Bragg's story, or is it another "borrowing" from an uncredited freelance writer? The guy's credibility is a bit questionable, yes? And now he has a grossly overwritten and incendiary book about Jessica Lynch. He's a parasite.
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Summary: Welcome to the South
Review: Rick Bragg's novel is a wonderful collection of detailed and descriptive stories that depict the drama he endured throughout his life. The fact that he can tell a story in just a few pages is a strength in his writing because it allows the reader to start and stop at his or her own pace. Because this is such a daunting read, it can be tiresome. I think thatin some parts of the book the details are overwhelming. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who has lived in the south or who has had a father come back from war a different man. The power of persistency in Bragg's book is inspiring and may even rub off on the reader.
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