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Stars Fell on Alabama (Library of Alabama Classics) Paperback – December 18, 2000

by Carl Carmer (Author), Howell Raines (Introduction)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 36 ratings
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Stars Fell on Alabama is truly a classic. The book enjoyed enormous popularity and notoriety when it was first published (it was a selection of The Literary Guild and also sold widely in Europe). It can be described as a book of folkways—not journalism, or history, or a novel. At times it is impressionistic; at other times it conveys deep insights into the character of Alabama. Carmer visited every region of the state, always accompanied by someone intimately familiar with the locality. The mosaic that emerges from the pages of his book portrays Alabama’s human landscape in all its variety, and it is a work essential to an understanding of Alabama and its culture.
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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University Alabama Press
  4. Publication date
    December 18, 2000
  5. Dimensions
    5.75 x 1.1 x 8.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    081731072X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0817310721
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Carmer reveals himself here as a writer of more than ordinaryperceptiveness and imagination, with the power of extracting from whathe sees, hears, and feels an essence which is fundamentally poetic."

—New York Times

"The 'strange country' that Carmer visited hardly existsanymore save in his pages. Alabama is a healthier, richer, more just, andbetter-educated place. Yet whenever I read the dazzling initial image ofthe book--when I see through Carl Carmer's words a blood-colored moon andpine trees standing darkly against the sky--it is possible to understandthe power of that old, dark magic."

—From the Introduction by Howell Raines

About the Author



Carl Carmer,  a Harvard-educated New York state native, was one of America's most popular writers during the 1940s and 1950s with thirty seven books, documentary films, his own radio program, and four albums of regional songs to his credit. He taught at The University of Alabama for seven years during the 1920s.

Howell Raines, an Alabama native and former New York Times editorial page editor and Pulitzer Prize winner, is the author of My Soul Is Rested: Movement Days in the Deep South Remembered and Fly Fishing through the Midlife Crisis.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University Alabama Press (December 18, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 081731072X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0817310721
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1.1 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

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  1. Carl Lamson Carmer

    Carl Lamson Carmer

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    Carl Carmer

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
36 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Dogman1917
5.0 out of 5 stars A first hand historical glimpse!
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
I am 65 years old and was born and raised in Alabama. The author gave me a glimpse of what the state was like when my father was a young boy. Highly recommended.
5 people found this helpful
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the reader
4.0 out of 5 stars ANOTHER TRAVEL BOOK, I LIKE TRAVEL BOOKS
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
I read this book some time ago and liked it, decided to reread it. This book was written in 1934 and has been made popular again, somewhat. Things have changed in this state as needed.

Mr Carmer, from upstate New York, was an associate professor of English in Tuscaloosa, traveled around the state and wrote about what he saw and experienced. He has divided his book into six sections. When he toured these areas, he was accompanied by friends who were knowledgeable about these areas and took him to parts he was interested in seeing.

He began in Tuscaloosa where he began teaching. He wrote about going to college dances where young people were enjoying each other's company. I was more interested in the black churches, their ways of worshiping, their songs.

I do not care for the KKK though I know it still exists.

Mr Carmer's next trip is into Alabama's Red Hills, the far north. Folks are not that well educated, impressed by Mr Carmer being a professor, perfessor. The people were against the War Between The States, didn't care for balcks, they took away good jobs. The word N is used too much, but that was the time and place. There were still hangings.

The Black Belt, rich farmland, some old plantation type homes from the days before the Civil War. Blacks were still being beaten, people told Mr Carmer stories of how it once was, both blacks and white were good, interesting story tellers, stories of outlaws, admired somewhat. I always enjoy the stories of Brer Rabbit. These are the best and still well known, never to be forgotten. The Black Belt is the largest part of the book.

But I think I enjoyed the last three sections more. The evil, tricky alligator who couldn't be caught and raised much mischief wherever he went, the songs of the blacks, Wade Finley, a strange one, Ida Carter, the Conjure Woman who had so many ways of curing different sicknesses and problems.

Mobile and the Bayou Country, containing the lovely city of Mobile and the two different and interesting islands, Coq d' Inde and Dauphin Island.

Cajan Country, different folks. Where did they come from? Who knows and really cares? They do. A young boy tells Mr Carmer half French, half Indian, no black. This group is dying out. A man and wife, she is Cajan, he from South Carolina, kids, not accepted.. she married a nonCajan.

I did enjoy the book. I got to meet many interesting people and saw some nice country. Things have changed which is badly needed. I like the black music, worship, churches, and John Henry songs.
4 people found this helpful
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Richard M. Rollo
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a forgotten gem
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is an old forgotten gem. The author had the rare talent of telling a warts and all story and yet with empathy. It is very refreshing to read an author who can tell the story and let the reader make up his or her own mind. It is worth noting that Carmer I think described the racial attitudes of the poor white hill people with much more nuance than the usual treatment in the media and some history books. They definitely had racist attitudes, but they were opponents of slavery and the Confederacy. They felt if slavery was outlawed they would be able to afford better land in the flatlands with better soil. I won't spoil it, the stories run from the hilarious to the disgusting and everything in between. I bought an original copy from 1934, still in great shape. I read it because it inspired the song "Stars Fell on Alabama." A great song.
10 people found this helpful
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Schmerguls
3.0 out of 5 stars Ssome interesting things in the book
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2002
The author apparently spent six years in Alabama in the late twenties and early thirties. He made various trips around Alabama and relates stories he heard from people. He was at Decatur, Ala., at the time the second Scottsboro trial was about to be held. He relates comments by people he talked to about the trial and the comments are a sad picture into the racism rampant in Alabama in those years. The book uses the n word without any qualms, and tho the author does not appear to approve of the Jim Crow way of life his condemnation is absent. I did not appreciate this dated book, which in 1934 was a best seller.
2 people found this helpful
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laura
5.0 out of 5 stars stars fell on alabama
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
Book was written in the 30s about a northerner's experience in Alabama. It captures the time and place and demonstrates the changes made. This was a used book in good condition as promised and a great price.
One person found this helpful
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Martin
4.0 out of 5 stars Disconcereting nostalgia
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
This book, written in the early 1930s, gives a Northerner's intimate impression of life in Southern Alabama in the '20s. The unconscious and fully conscious racism of the people depicted is obvious to the writer, but he paints a fairly compassionate view of it. There is condescension in the portrayal of the black characters in this only slightly fictionalized story. Names are changed to protect the innocent and the guilty alike. So the book is a bit disorienting, but I think an accurate historical piece, a window into an unreconstructed culture. I read it in preparation for a visit to the new museum about lynching in Montgomery, AL.
3 people found this helpful
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beach go-er
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2015
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Was a very good read. Glad I bought and read it. Would order from this seller again.
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ebungalow
4.0 out of 5 stars Eyewitness account of Alabama in the 1920s
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2016
Verified Purchase
Fictionalized, but based on experiences of the author during his tenure in Alabama in the 1920s.
2 people found this helpful
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