Rating: 
Summary: We liked it!
Review: We read "All Over but the Shoutin'" in our book club and the concensus was "wonderful!" The comparison to "Angela's Ashes" is unavoidable, but Bragg brings an American voice and an unambiguous point of view to his story that is a nice counterpoint to McCourt's novel. I would recommend it over "Angela's Ashes."
Rating: 
Summary: All Over but the Shoutin' was the best book I read this year
Review: All Over but the Shoutin', the author's memoir, was the best book I read this year and one of the most heartfelt books I have ever read. This memoir stands to compare to Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. Bragg as a child grew up dirt poor in rural Alabama and was the father of an abusive alcoholic and is now a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The New York Times. He brings you through his life journey which goes to show that talent and a little luck bring you a long way. Through his eloquent writing which reads like fiction, Bragg also explores his life as a journalist covering some of the biggest news stories of his generation. All Over but the Shoutin' is a tribute to all single mothers who raised their children with courage and sacrificed everything for their children.
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Summary: Completely Wonderful Book
Review: I bought this book because of Pat Conroy's strong recommendation on the cover, and I wasn't sorry, just a wonderful, wonderful book. It reminded me of a male version of The Liar's Club by Mary Karr.
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Summary: Excellent nonfiction--evocative, funny, sad and endearing
Review: A native Okie transplanted to northern Kansas (Yankee land for sure), I was moved to laugh and cry over Bragg's fine memoir. A couple of childhood years in RURAL southern ARK also let me identify with the Dinner on the Ground, recall the ugly racism just beneath the surface(white trash always on the lookout for something lesser, unhappily), and rejoice in the attempt at a decent, loving family life. No, my dad wasn't alcoholic, but plenty of family members were and they wrought havoc on the entire 'clan' who wanted respectability in small-town 1950s Oklahoma. A huge thank-you to R. Bragg. My h.s. English students will have a chance at this in the biography section of 11th grade Eng. Some 20th C. reality ought to do them some good!
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Summary: perfect memorialization of a time and place few experienced
Review: I am yet another transplanted Alabamian left in awe as I finished this book. I wonder if all the reviews by southerners like me, came from our searching for someone to talk to about this perfect account of a time and place - the 60's and 70's in rural Alabama - that was almost like time had stood still. It was so far removed from the hippies and woodstock, and full of Hank Williams, the Florida Boys, George Wallace, Bear Bryant's football and all of the rest of the very specific terms, brands, species, and local color that Rick Bragg uses in his writing. Like his mother said -"People forgets if it aint wrote down". I feel almost relieved that he has done such an excellent job of bringing that time to life. And since I've read the other reviews I see that I'm not the only one that was moved to tears by the story of the tall blonde woman and all she endured for the benefit of her sons. I wonder if you hadn't actually lived all that is described in the book, if you'd be as impressed with it. I've concluded that yes, you would. You just wouldn't be paralayzed by some memory that flies into your mind every time something like purple hull peas, or spitting on your worm for luck was mentioned. Or Red Eye Gravy and lightnin bugs. And the descriptions of the food, whether it's the food on the grounds at the Baptist church, or the Foot Long Hot Dog at PeeWees Dixie Dip, or the Thanksgiving dinner at his momma's new house, they were all incredible! (not the bologna sandwich on the dead mule,though) This book also gives me some new respect for our age (I'm a half-year younger than Bragg) His stories of "the stories" that he's covered made me realize that we've seen some news, too, in our life times, even if there were no wars or giant disasters (Thank God). It's ok to be going on forty. His determination to make good for his momma is very admirable. This story is not just about the most stuborn and different men on the planet (yes, southern men) but about all men. It was refreshing to read such a sensitive and honest account of what one man was thinking when he did the things he did, especially relating to his own mother. I didn't want this book to end. It was like reading a letter from home. I savored every word of it and ordered my sister her own copy, because I don't want to pass this one on. I know that I will re-read it, at then in parts, almost like it was my Bible. See, he's right, God does hang on like a rusty fish hook in those parts. Even when you've been living in Southern California for eighteen years, the religion they taught you just doesn't go away. I always thought we grew up in a special time, that very few got to experience, but it was hard to describe or explain. This book confirmed it for me. Maybe he's right....there's a price to pay for living in the lovliness of rural Alabama.
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Summary: Painful to read at times, but the most grippin' I've read.
Review: Thank you, Mr. Bragg. I've always taken pride in being a yankee. I'm in the midst of a career change and am attempting to commit to writing a personal and painful family experience. But this book humbled and inspired me. All Over But The Shoutin' conveys a personal experience but sends a universal message. Unconditional love of a parent, at least one, is necessary to become human, to feel dignified and to recognize the independence and dignity of others. Mr. Bragg is lucky to have had a momma with such independence and dignity and who loves him and her family unconditionally. I've been through college and law school and back to college; I'm 36 years old. I have never read anything as powerful as Rick Bragg's All Over But The Shoutin'. It defies categorization. It's not truly an autobiography yet it tells much about Mr. Bragg. It tells far more about his momma and her parenting and strength and the strength of a people to carry on, to pick up the pieces. It should humble all of us. I hope Mr. Bragg writes more. My husband ordered this book having not heard of it before. He's 53, has lived an interesting life and reads history, biographies, a few per week. He's a non-stop reader and a "New Yorker" lover. The tears ran from his eyes, fell from his chin, as he read Mr. Bragg's story. I have never seen him do that. Never. I knew I was in for some soul-searching when it would be my turn to read it. I was, I did, and I'm glad. I look forward to the next installment. Karen Ellinwood. 5/14/98
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Summary: One of the best books I have ever read!
Review: I do not know why I picked "All Over But the Shoutin'" from the shelf, but after reading a few lines I knew it was the best thing I had seen in a long time.I cried as I read because it reminded me of some baggage I had carried for many years . As a teenager, I was sometimes ashamed of my parents: my Dad was confined to a wheelchair because he was crippled from fighting in World War I, and my mother dressed plainly because we were poor. Much later, I learned the richness present in our humble home, and the knowledge that happiness does not come from material things. Poverty in the hills of western Pennsylvania didn't differ too much from that in Alabama or Georgia--it was not as hot in the summer and we had no cotton fields--but we were considered white trash. I learned that truth on my first day of school when I wore my cousin's hand-me-down shoes: my cousin was a girl. It was ground into me when I later stood in line for relief food and clothing, and lived in shacks in the black section of Washington, PA. My Dad didn't drink and beat me, but I cried many times as I read the description of Rick's early life. I fell in love with his wonderful mother. Oh, what a marvelous person of strength, faith, courage, and dedication ! Rick's writing of her touched me more than anything I have ever read, and I have read all my life. I have been successful in life as has Rick, but I have never forgotten my roots. I am a writer, but Rick found the words to portray what the rest of us cannot. I look forward to more of his writing, but he will have to go some to beat this one.
Rating:
Summary: simply put, a masterpiece
Review: Everyone raved over Angela's Ashes, but I think Rick Bragg's book is by far the best autobiography ever! Even though it's not fiction, it's the best of Southern writing, in the same class as Harper Lee or William Faulkner. Bragg speaks candidly about subjects that most of us fear to speak about, and he does it with such eloquence that one doesn't want to put this wonderful read down! If you haven't bought a copy of this book, run and I mean run to your nearest bookstore. Your Momma will love you for it!
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Summary: the most memorable book I've ever read
Review: This is truly the most memorable and beautiful book I've ever read. My heart broke with each of the tragedies the family suffered and soared with all of the successes they obtained. The love and admiration Mr. Bragg has for his mother is truly inspiring and only made my appreciation of my own mother stronger.
Rating:
Summary: Cathartic
Review: "All Over but the Shoutin'" deserves a place among contemporary masterpieces. Its description of the devastation wrought in this country by war and poverty, and the salvaging aspects of pride and grit, is breathtaking in its honesty. I lived Rick Bragg's life in another town, with different parents, at roughly the same time. For years I searched for the words to make it real to those who now love me, and never came close to these: "But if there is any real regret in me, I could not find it. There was no pain to speak of, I think because the dead place inside me where my father resides is shiny and slick and perfectly symmetrical, polished by a lifetime. It is not pain so much as a sculpture of it. It is hard to the touch, but smooth" (Prologue, xxi). I fervently hope Rick Bragg reads these reviews and knows that he has touched so many lives, so deeply.
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