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Summary: Bragg reminds us that poverty and ignorance are not brothers
Review: Rick Bragg's brave memoir reminds us that being poor doesn'tdoom us to ignorance. His respect for hard working people, regardlessof wealth or education, is a tribute to all that used to be important to Americans. He identifies his own fears and stereotypes of the bourgeois and intelligentia, yet he never catagorizes one group as being superior. His love for his mother, and recognition of her sacrifices reminds us of what it means to be a parent, what it means to love. I will remember his life lessons and apply them to my own life. A great achievement.
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Summary: THE BEST BOOK I'VE READ IN THE LAST 5 YEARS
Review: THIS BOOK IS A DIFFERENT GENRE FROM THE USUAL NY TIMES BESTSELLERS, ie. A MEMOIR TO MR BRAGG'S MOTHER. THE BOOK I S CONCISE, SUPERBLY WRITTEN, AND WARMS THE COCKLES OF THE READERS HEART. A TEAR OR TWO WILL UNDOUBTEDLY SLIDE DOWN YOUR CHEEK. IT WILL REKINDLE REMINESCENT THOUGHTS OF APPRECIATION FOR SACRIFICES THAT MOTHERS, AND YES FATHERS MAKE FOR THEIR CHILDREN. I LOVED THIS BOOK!!
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Summary: It's almost like going home.
Review: Growing up in a rural Alabama county neighboring Mr. Bragg's, I can honestly say that his book is as close to home as a transplanted Southerner can get here in New Jersey. His book was an early birthday gift from my dearest friend, who still resides in St. Clair County, Alabama. It's a gift that I will treasure and recommend to any one with the least bit of curiosity about the South. He's welcome at my house any time for homemade biscuits, fried chicken and home grown tomatoes. (The "likker", however, won't be homemade.)
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Summary: I could have just read the New York Times....
Review: I agree with many others when I say the first part of the book was a good read, but I did not care to read about all of his accomplishments, his stories, about how being a journalist is the best job in the world, and about how he didn't need a "fancy education" with all of his talent. If I wanted to read about all of the stories he has written, I couldn've just read the New York Times. It is the story of an egotistical journalist, not of a mother. A story of how rich people are somehow bad. A story that makes him feel better about himself. Maybe he should have kept this book to himself instead of publishing it for others to read.
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Summary: Great book, really opened my eyes to another world.
Review: All Over but the Shoutin' is a memoir that Rick Bragg makes to come to life. He takes us on the journey of his past. He vividly recreates his life so that others may share his experience as a journalist and as a son of a mother who did everything that she could for her sons. Bragg has a unique style of writing that raises his characters from their everyday life that they understandably did not want. All Over but the Shoutin is a well-told story of a small town family who is underseving of their fate. I believe that there is two important themes in this book: love can conquer all and hard work will always pay off in the end. The love of Rick's mother carried him through out his life. That impression of love has supported Rick and his brothers throughout their lives. The structure that Rick received from his father was that he knew he never wanted to be like his father. That impression has kept him working hard all of his life. Being a hard worker is something that Rick knew, something he cherished just as much as his mother. Bragg had a unique style of writing that vividly described any and every story he told. His vivid style helps his readers to understand his lifestyle better. Even though it may have been hard to write this memoir, Bragg uses a poetic form and tries not to leave out any description. I particularly enjoyed the story when he returned home for Christmas. It was sad, but it displayed a quality of selfworth in him, a quality of knowimg where he truly came from and where he is going. That small country town was who he was even though he might not wanted to admit it. I think that this book is important, not just to Rick, but to us all. This gives us a vision of the past, what it was really like for some and it also shows others how lucky they really were. Bragg's purpose for this book was to have a specific record of his family history; a record that was real to him and his family.
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Summary: Master of words gives glimpse of his life
Review: While reading Rick Bragg's "All Over but the Shoutin'" I found myself on a journey across a canvas where I felt every stroke of his pen as I was brushed into his world. With remarkable description and memory he pulls the reader into the pages of his life as if you're living it right along beside him. I finished the book and felt like picking up the phone and calling my new dear ole friend, Rick. Congratulations Mr. Bragg. And, thanks for sharing.
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Summary: Rick Bragg's style of writitng is magical!!
Review: As a fourteen year old girl from the south I identified greatly with this book. It much reminded me of stories I have heard from my own family. If you are from the south you MUST read this enchanting story of a family from rural Alabama. It moved me deeply and I now have a completely new outlook on life.
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Summary: Exciting
Review: This book was great. I cried, I laughed and I felt all the pain Russell suffered. It was my life all over again. Rick Bragg is absolutely a great writer. Would love for Rick to edit my story. Sincerely. Anne
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Summary: The first half of the book is better than the second
Review: This book is very interesting while the author's mother and father have an active relationship. His mother is a recluse for the second half of the book so the author focuses on his many accomplishments. His country boy affectations begin to grate. (For example, he has a habit of ending sections with 'I reckon so'.)I thought the whole book was about growing up in rural Alabama; if I'd realized that half of the book was about his adult accomplishments, I would never have bought it.
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Summary: One of the best books I've ever read!
Review: My priest is from Alabama and kept asking me if I'd read this book. The first thing I did after I finished it was to email him so we could get together to discuss it. Then I wrote ten pages about it in my journal, and next I called my sister to tell her about it and talk to her about our own family. Rick Bragg is a gifted writer who does "talk Southern," and I understood every word. My mother's people were sharecroppers during the Depression. I know how hard she tried to raise us out of her own poverty, what she sacrificed, and how well she succeeded. I saw in my own history both those things of which I am most proud and those things of which I am most ashamed. He softened my shame and strengthened the pride, as I'm sure he did his own. Naming the demons frees us, and I thank him for helping me to name a few of mine. I'll recommend this book to everyone, including my high school journalism and American literature students. It touched me in a deep place.
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