|
|
|
All God's Dangers; The Life of Nate Shaw: The Life of Nate Shaw
by Nate Shaw, Theodore Rosengarten
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Random House Inc (T) (1974-09)
ISBN: 0394490843
EAN: 9780394490847
Dewey Decimal #: 976.106092
Hardcover: 561 pages
Edition: 1st
SKU: 20404
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Hardcover. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. All pages clean and free of marks.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Thanks For The Memories, Nate
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-02-23
17 out of 17 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a timeless classic, and not just among memoirs, because the subject was a great American---a man who "had no get-back in him." Nate Shaw (real name Ned Cobb) had an amazing memory, and also an acute understanding of the post-Civil War rural South. The rhythm of the seasons, work routines, knowledge of livestock, nature and people too, combine for a profound view of a vanished America. (If you want to really know about mules, Ned's the man.) But Ned didn't just observe, he worked with the Alabama Sharecroppers' Union and defended powerless friends, serving 12 years in prison for his pains. This activism sets him apart from Kas Maine, a South African sharecropper to whom he's been compared in recent years. The earthy dialect wears out some readers, but otherwise "All God's Dangers" is compelling from start to end. Writers from Wendell Berry to Pete Daniel praise both man and book, while John Beecher's "In Egypt Land" is a moving poetic rendition of Ned's story. R. Kelley, "Hammer & Hoe" vividly recreates 1930s Alabama; on Kas Maine, see C. Van Onselen, "The Seed Is Mine." But Ned tells about his world far better than the others. In living, then narrating, a life of great struggle lived with great dignity, Ned Cobb performed a signal service---for all of us. We are in your debt!
|
|
Family, Race, Class and Farming in Alabama
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-01-05
9 out of 9 customers found this reveiw helpful
In the middle of Rosengarten's book, truly a masterpiece of oral history memoir making, Nate Shaw says "all God's dangers ain't a white man." This would seem truly a remarkable thing for a black man who spent over a decade in an Alabama prison to say, but as a farmer growing cotton in Alabama during the first half of the twentieth century it quickly makes sense once he explains it. Shaw's story of his chaffing under his good for nothing father's roof; his growing prosperity as share cropper and than as a yeoman farmer; his hucksterism when dealing with violent and hostile whites attempting to cheat him; the defense of fellow small farmers that got him thrown in jail during the Great Depression; and his takes on the science of farming, race relations, the American class system and his own life experiences show Shaw to be a master story teller and Rosengarten and master interviewer. The combination of these two was absolute dynamite.
|
|
The Real Nate.
Rating (5)
Date: 2001-01-04
12 out of 14 customers found this reveiw helpful
Nate Shaw was the father of my Uncle Oscar Turner's best friend. His real name was Nate Cobb and the family of the son, Lorraine, is prominent in the Middletown, Ohio ghetto. The author has done a masterful job of illustrating how greatness was thrust upon him. Nate never set out to become a hero, only to protect his own dignity and provide for his children. I do not believe that there is a better book for teaching about the lies of 20th century sharecroppers. Theirs is an overlooked legacy.
|
|
Just looking for help with a book report
Rating (5)
Date: 2000-10-29
4 out of 31 customers found this reveiw helpful
I am hoping that by entering a review here, I can see other reviews that I can use to write a book review on this title. Its due tomorrow! Yikes!
|
|
A Natural For Oprah's Book Club
Rating (5)
Date: 2000-04-06
5 out of 8 customers found this reveiw helpful
Ted Rosengarten is a masterful writer. All God's Dangers is an amazing undertaking that brings Nate Shaw's story to life. After a few pages, it's almost as if you can hear Nate talking. A must read for anyone interested in history and anyone who wants to learn how a book should be written. And Rosengarten's Tombee, if it can be found, is another must read.
|
|
|
|
|