We are proud to announce that Stephen M. Monroe’s new book, “Heritage and Hate: Old South Rhetoric at Southern Universities,” has recently been added to our Library’s collection. The author, son of Brenda and Dun Monroe, who gave the book to us, grew up on Signal, attended Baylor School, and is currently chair and assistant professor in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at the University Mississippi in Oxford. The book was published by the University of Alabama Press.
An erudite and quite relevant study, the volume discusses how the words, symbols, and customs of many Southern universities have served to uphold and influence harmful traditions. Monroe writes in the introduction that the “book focuses on Southern university communities to explore how they have struggled with their linguistic and symbolic inheritance: a panoply of Old South words and symbols.”
Covering the period from Reconstruction to the election of Barack Obama, the book examines both the attitudes that have changed and the many traditions that are still being questioned. He notes that, “This study is not about unearthing inactive and forgotten shards of linguistic history. It is, instead, about understanding a blaring and ongoing rhetorical event. In Mississippi, Confederate rhetoric remains active, loud, and influential.”
Monroe also looks at “the Confederate rhetoric” in several other universities, including the Universities of Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, and Tennessee. He adds that these schools all have rich histories that can be examined to better understand the cultures they continue to support.
John T. Edge, author of “The Potlikker Papers” and a frequent presenter at the Chattanooga Conference on Southern Literature, says of the book, “This is a very important book that offers insights into the historical development of Confederate rhetoric on Southern college campuses, as well as the ways in which it is sustained and resonant in the contemporary era. Monroe skillfully explicates its hidden nature and offers abundant evidence pointing to the ways in which its subtlety functions to ‘protect’ it from the forces of modernization, even in the setting of academic institutions (ostensibly) committed to the progressive ideals of inclusion, critical thinking, and fairness.”
Book Reviews
If it’s summer, it must be time for a new Daniel Silva novel, and once again, readers will be captivated by the author’s enigmatic hero, head of Israeli intelligence Gabriel Allon, now in his 21st incarnation.
The book, entitled “The Cellist,” is even more timely and provocative than usual as it involves the nefarious activities of the current Soviet leader and his minions who are doing their best to beat the West by creating and promoting misinformation, practicing uber money-laundering, and carrying out an unthinkable and incredibly violent plot.
Allon gets involved after the murder of Viktor Orlav, a Russian ex-pat who once saved Allon’s life and is living in splendor in London, believing he has escaped Putin’s reach. One day as Orlav opens a dispatch of documents, he is quickly exposed to a mysterious powder that turns out to be a deadly nerve agent known to be a Russian weapon.
Working with Isabel Brenner, who is the cellist of the title, Allon seeks to beat the Soviets at their own game and steal millions from them by using their own money-laundering schemes. Isabel is a financial whiz who also wants to turn the tables on the Russians by dismantling the RhineBank, the institution that is embroiled in cleaning their vast and ill-gotten sums. The tricky maneuvers work, but beating the self-proclaimed “czar” is not over. In a chase scene in the French Alps, somewhat reminiscent of a Bond escapade, Isabel’s mettle is severely tested.
The action then moves to Washington where the former president, determined to deny the results of the election, foments a scheme, part fiction and part fact, to hold onto his power, with the help of his now financially crippled Soviet counterpart. No spoilers here, but there is action to the end.
In an author’s note at the end of the book Silva explains that he rewrote the ending of “The Cellist” after the events of January 6, and his take on the incidents before, during, and after the storming of the Capitol is decidedly pro-Biden and anti-former president. But, as Admiral James Stavridis, former 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, said in his review of the book, “This is the starkest of cautionary tales.”
Short Reviews of More New Books
“Appleseed” by Matt Bell, Young Lions Fiction Award-finalist, deals with climate change and moves from the 18th century to 50 years from now to a thousand years in the future. Its speculative storyline is shocking, enlightening, and ultimately hopeful.
“Atlas of Disappearing Places” by Christina Conklin and Marina Psaros focuses on the threat of rising sea levels and illustrates the narrative with stunning graphics and photos. Locations from around the world are highlighted in this inspiring work.
“Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health” by Dr. Leana Wen tells the Chinese immigrant’s uplifting story of surviving a sometimes-homeless childhood to attending college at 13, becoming a Rhodes Scholar and eventually a public health official, CNN medical analyst and contributor to the Washington Post. Believing in the vital importance of public health, Dr. Wen has worked to promote treating social ills, as well as medical issues. According to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, “Dr. Wen’s hopeful and wise account is a reminder of why she has quickly become one of America’s most important physician leaders.”
by Karin Glendenning
An erudite and quite relevant study, the volume discusses how the words, symbols, and customs of many Southern universities have served to uphold and influence harmful traditions. Monroe writes in the introduction that the “book focuses on Southern university communities to explore how they have struggled with their linguistic and symbolic inheritance: a panoply of Old South words and symbols.”
Covering the period from Reconstruction to the election of Barack Obama, the book examines both the attitudes that have changed and the many traditions that are still being questioned. He notes that, “This study is not about unearthing inactive and forgotten shards of linguistic history. It is, instead, about understanding a blaring and ongoing rhetorical event. In Mississippi, Confederate rhetoric remains active, loud, and influential.”
Monroe also looks at “the Confederate rhetoric” in several other universities, including the Universities of Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, and Tennessee. He adds that these schools all have rich histories that can be examined to better understand the cultures they continue to support.
John T. Edge, author of “The Potlikker Papers” and a frequent presenter at the Chattanooga Conference on Southern Literature, says of the book, “This is a very important book that offers insights into the historical development of Confederate rhetoric on Southern college campuses, as well as the ways in which it is sustained and resonant in the contemporary era. Monroe skillfully explicates its hidden nature and offers abundant evidence pointing to the ways in which its subtlety functions to ‘protect’ it from the forces of modernization, even in the setting of academic institutions (ostensibly) committed to the progressive ideals of inclusion, critical thinking, and fairness.”
Book Reviews
If it’s summer, it must be time for a new Daniel Silva novel, and once again, readers will be captivated by the author’s enigmatic hero, head of Israeli intelligence Gabriel Allon, now in his 21st incarnation.
The book, entitled “The Cellist,” is even more timely and provocative than usual as it involves the nefarious activities of the current Soviet leader and his minions who are doing their best to beat the West by creating and promoting misinformation, practicing uber money-laundering, and carrying out an unthinkable and incredibly violent plot.
Allon gets involved after the murder of Viktor Orlav, a Russian ex-pat who once saved Allon’s life and is living in splendor in London, believing he has escaped Putin’s reach. One day as Orlav opens a dispatch of documents, he is quickly exposed to a mysterious powder that turns out to be a deadly nerve agent known to be a Russian weapon.
Working with Isabel Brenner, who is the cellist of the title, Allon seeks to beat the Soviets at their own game and steal millions from them by using their own money-laundering schemes. Isabel is a financial whiz who also wants to turn the tables on the Russians by dismantling the RhineBank, the institution that is embroiled in cleaning their vast and ill-gotten sums. The tricky maneuvers work, but beating the self-proclaimed “czar” is not over. In a chase scene in the French Alps, somewhat reminiscent of a Bond escapade, Isabel’s mettle is severely tested.
The action then moves to Washington where the former president, determined to deny the results of the election, foments a scheme, part fiction and part fact, to hold onto his power, with the help of his now financially crippled Soviet counterpart. No spoilers here, but there is action to the end.
In an author’s note at the end of the book Silva explains that he rewrote the ending of “The Cellist” after the events of January 6, and his take on the incidents before, during, and after the storming of the Capitol is decidedly pro-Biden and anti-former president. But, as Admiral James Stavridis, former 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, said in his review of the book, “This is the starkest of cautionary tales.”
Short Reviews of More New Books
“Appleseed” by Matt Bell, Young Lions Fiction Award-finalist, deals with climate change and moves from the 18th century to 50 years from now to a thousand years in the future. Its speculative storyline is shocking, enlightening, and ultimately hopeful.
“Atlas of Disappearing Places” by Christina Conklin and Marina Psaros focuses on the threat of rising sea levels and illustrates the narrative with stunning graphics and photos. Locations from around the world are highlighted in this inspiring work.
“Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health” by Dr. Leana Wen tells the Chinese immigrant’s uplifting story of surviving a sometimes-homeless childhood to attending college at 13, becoming a Rhodes Scholar and eventually a public health official, CNN medical analyst and contributor to the Washington Post. Believing in the vital importance of public health, Dr. Wen has worked to promote treating social ills, as well as medical issues. According to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, “Dr. Wen’s hopeful and wise account is a reminder of why she has quickly become one of America’s most important physician leaders.”
by Karin Glendenning
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