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Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg » (Reprint)

Book cover image of Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg by Rick Bragg

Authors: Rick Bragg
ISBN-13: 9780375725524, ISBN-10: 0375725520
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Date Published: August 2001
Edition: Reprint

Author Biography: Rick Bragg

A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter formerly with The New York Times, Rick Bragg hit the bestseller charts with his first book, All Over but the Shoutin , his account of breaking free from the poverty of his youth and finding success at the pinnacle of American journalism.

Book Synopsis

Some 60 of Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Bragg's articles, mostly written for the . The articles cover victims of natural disasters, prison inmates, economic inequality, the elderly, race, Louisiana bayou culture, schools, and other issues of the American scene (including three articles on former Alabama governor George Wallace and seven stories on Susan Smiththe Carolina woman accused of drowning her children after alleging a Black carjacker kidnapped them). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

KLIATT

Stories of heroes, death, life and triumph—all seasoned with a "bit of southern humor and perspective"—make this an entertaining and informative read. A national correspondent for the New York Times based in New Orleans, Bragg gives the reader a glimpse of human drama and complex relationships in an historical context of the 20th-century South—a region reflecting the great social, economic, and political changes of modern times. The book is nicely divided into thematic categories—"Secrets," "Silver Hair-Golden Years," and "Colors" are examples—which is a nice readability feature. Another positive aspect is the combination of readability and thematic structure—lending to effective use as an assignment-based tool in a variety of high school curriculum areas (sociology, U.S. history, English, etc.) My only wish for this excellent presentation would be the inclusion of an index. The wealth of information associated with this work would make it a great reference tool for SLMAs across the nation. Category: Collections. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Random House, Vintage, 277p., Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Tom Adamich; Tech. Serv., Stetson Univ., College of Law, S. Pas

Introduction,	1
SURVIVORS
Tried by Deadly Tornado, An Anchor of Faith Holds,	4
On Walls, Memories of the Slain Are Kept,	8
Still Haunted, Families See Justice in Shape of a
Killer's Grave,	13
The Valley of Broken Hearts,	16
FOUR WALLS TO HOLD ME
Where Alabama Inmates Fade into Old Age,	23
Inmates Find Brief Escape in Rodeo Ring,	28
A Thief Dines Out, Hoping Later to Eat In,	33
Man Imprisoned for 30 Years Is Rid of Bars but Not Fears,	37
Prisoner's Pittance Is Meant As Reminder of a Great Loss,	43
HURTFUL THINGS
New York's Bodegas Become Islands under Siege,	47
"I Never Seen Nothing Like That,"	53
Living in Another World,	61
Where a Child on the Stoop Can Strike Fear,	67
The Story of Dirty Red,	74
SECRETS
Town Secret Is Uncovered in Birth Quest,	82
Woman, Sold as Infant in '65, Grasps at Clues to Her
Roots,	87
New Development Stirs Old Case,	92
Autism No Handicap, By Defies Swamp,	100
SILVER HAIR, GOLDEN YEARS
All She Has, $150,000, Is Going to a University,	105
Band PlaysOn for Class of '39	109
Woman Clings to Her Paradise,	116
Little Women Look Back on a Lost World,	119
Country Club Meets Enemy: Country Music and Pigs,	123
ICONS
The King Is Long Dead, but Long Live the King,	126
Savoring a Sweet Taste of Southern Summers,	130
A Delicacy of the Past Is a Winner at Drive-In,	133
A Sugar Bowl Lacking a Certain Sweetness,	135
GEORGE CORLEY WALLACE
Emotional March Gains a Repentant Wallace,	140
A Symbol of Alabama's Past, Indelible to Black and White,	143
Wallace Remembered, for Who He Was and Who He Became,	147
MONUMENTS
In New Orleans, a Day for Visiting the Dead,	151
A Coach's Shrine, the Fátima of Alabama Football,	154
A Balladeer of Bluegrass Is Now Gone Yet Lives On,	156
BOURBON AND BAYOUS
French Quarter's Black Tapping Feet,	160
In a Louisiana Bayou Town, "Uncle Pal" Is the
Law,	164
In Louisiana, Card Game Reveals the Cajun Spirit,	166
Cajun Christmas Tradition Refuses to Die Down,	169
COLORS
To Bind Up a Nation's Wound with Celluloid,	174
Just a Grave for a Baby, but Anguish for a Town,	180
Racism Wins in Small Town in Texas,	183
Fort Bragg Area Is Haunted by Ghost and Two New Deaths,	189
Unfathomable Crime, Unlikely Figure,	193
For Jasper, Just What It Didn't Want,	196
BOMBS
In Shock, Loathing Denial: "This Doesn't Happen
Here,"	200
Tender Memories of Day-Care Center Are All That Remain
after the Bomb,	202
Oklahoma Toll Is No Longer in Deaths, but in Shattered
Lives,	206
In Oklahoma City, Recovery a House at a Time,	212
Altered by Bombing, but Not Bowed,	215
SUSAN
An Agonizing Search for Two Boys,	219
Mother of "Carjacked" Boys Held in Their Deaths,	222
Sheriff Says Prayer and a Lie Led Susan Smith to Confess,	225
Psychiatrist for Smith's Defense Tells of a Woman
Desperate to Be Liked,	228
Father Testifies in Penalty Part of Smith Trial,	231
Carolina Jury Rejects Executioner Woman Who Drowned Sons,	234
A Killers Only Confidant. The Man Who Caught Susan Smith,	238
SCHOOLYARDS
Arkansas Boys Held as Prosecutors Weigh Options,	242
Determined to Find Healing in a Good and Decent Place,	246
Past Victims Relive Pain As Tragedy Is Repeated,	250
Jonesboro Dazed by Its Darkest Day,	254
Murder Trial Opens for First School Shooting Defendant,	259
Arkansas Boys Who Killed Five Are Sentenced,	261
LIVING AND DYING
Living with a Grief That Will Never Die,	266
On Florida Bridge, Troopers Are Also Suicide Counselors,	270
Jazzy Final Sendoff for Chicken Man,	274

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