The best Southern U.S. Biographies: Reddit reviews

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Personally, 'credible' requires any amount of evidence beyond he said/she said. Pictures, DNA samples, old journal entries even (from the time when the event occurred and not therapist notes from 30 years later)... Eyewitness testimony is insanely bad. Most people aren't great at remembering faces two days after an event, much less decades later, and trauma-memory tends to be even worse. Picking Cotton is a good, readable book-length example of eyewitness gone wrong.

I think the statue of limitations (not applicable to the Kavanaugh situation, I know, but as long as I'm commenting already...) really needs to be cut down. Respecting baseless accusations that are later found to be hogwash casts an unfortunate shadow on legitimate cases.

Maybe one evidence-free accusation that is within the universe of probability is sufficient for disqualifying a person from the Supreme Court, and that all the Justices need to be completely Teflon-coated saints. Until we start hatching them from pods, however, the standard needs to be just a little lower.

I don't have strong feelings about Kavanaugh being a good/bad Justice or a good/bad person; I do have strong feelings about the standard of evidence and people treating accusations like Gospel.

Everyone needs to read 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' - hands down the best science book I've ever read. The audiobook is good too.

it's really not. It's because truly rich people tend to leave their money in trust funds which are not entirely in their heirs' control, and which doles out what amounts to a generous allowance out of earned interest without allowing them direct and convenient access to the principle. Check out the history of the Vanderbilt family. A handful in the first couple of generations of heirs had some business savvy, but they were outnumbered by those who had absolutely no concept of wealth management. Trust funds are only partly about tax avoidance, they're also about protecting your estate from your beneficiaries, or depending on your perspective, your beneficiaries from their own poor money management skills.

:edit: I recommend this book to anyone curious; it was a pretty fascinating read I thought.

I didn't study Jefferson all that much. I did study Washington, and did my final research paper (for my B.S in History) on Washington

However. I would pick up The Adams-Jefferson Letters The Complete Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail And John Adams. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807842303?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00

Also You could pick up what is called: Jefferson's Writings http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Writings-Autobiography-Addresses/dp/094045016X/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1XGBZYMQVME0K99J5HQZ&dpID=41MkU7lrtVL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR99%2C160_

My approach was to study the man first, not what other people said about the man.

The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King

https://www.amazon.com/Fish-That-Ate-Whale-Americas/dp/1250033314?ref_=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=48b930b4-3ed3-4762-be67-256f18574ac2

Yeah, this was probably a good example of something all lawyers and very few others know: eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable. For something that's considered the cornerstone of reliable evidence, it should be shocking how often people testify in good faith and still get everything wrong. (Source: am lawyer.)

I know of at least one book coauthored by a wrongly accused rapist and the victim who was absolutely convinced he was her rapist--until physical evidence freed him, forcing her to come to terms with the unreliability of her memory.

I’m generally not a huge fan of sporting events for the mob mentality alone. Perhaps the culture has changed though there were definitely students, alumni, and fans in my day that took an ultimately inconsequential basketball rivalry much too far—well beyond the bounds of human decency and considerate behavior. It’s certainly happened at UNC—I recall discussing our disappointment with the cheers over Zion’s injury with a few old friends. I’ve also seen the Cameron crazies wildly celebrate the blood coming from the face of Tyler Hansbrough. And there’s a reason you never wear Carolina colors when tailgating at Carter-Finley unless you’re traveling in a large group.

People are people. We’re capable of empathy and excellence. We’re capable of heinous, selfish, harmful acts as well. We may vary by degrees from individual to individual, but the potential is always there. I hope you have the opportunity to interact with some more pleasant, down-to-earth Chapel Hill students/residents in the future—perhaps in a less raucous, competitive context. I’d also encourage you to get your passport updated and visit the People’s Republic of Carrboro just a bit further down Franklin Street as you’ll never find a more spectacular assortment of delightfully strange people in our entire state. 😅

Also, give this book a read-through sometime. There’s a lot of great history tied up in the Tobacco Road rivalry. My first dorm-mate practically forced it onto my first semester reading list. The context gave me a healthier perspective on the significance of long-standing sport/fandom rivalries.

https://www.amazon.com/Hate-Like-This-Happy-Forever/dp/0060740248

We did. I don't think Americans like to look at these things because it contradicts a set of beliefs that's holding them together. Look at the themes of this thread. "It's you", "won't happen here" kind of bullshit. A lot of people's prep plan if based on beliefs that don't exist when crap hits the fan.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers and the Spike Lee Film about Katrina were amazing. Where was the outrage? It pretty closely mirrored what I see in films like Threads. Inept local governments savings themselves and everyone else being on their own.
https://www.amazon.com/Zeitoun-Dave-Eggers/dp/0307387941

This whole episode is well covered in the excellent history of the Carolina-Duke rivalry. I highly recommend for anyone who’s a fan of either team or college basketball in general.

Back in the 1990's I worked with a British guy who moved here (DC area), married his pen pal sweetheart, and purchased a nice home in the suburbs. Unfortunately his wife ran into troubles at work, and she fell apart emotionally. She was convicted of staging a fake intrusion at their home, and when her husband walked outside to check it out, shooting him in the back of the head on their front lawn.

https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/stafford-county-woman-found-guilty-in-husbands-death/article_ec0a9346-02ce-5ca5-97d9-14044ef160a1.html

And she wrote a book:

https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Doing-Life-Notes-Prison/dp/0199734755

This may provide more insight for you. I haven't read it yet, but it's on my long list. It covers the life of the guy that made United Fruit what it was.

https://www.amazon.com/Fish-That-Ate-Whale-Americas/dp/1250033314/ref=sr\_1\_2

An imperfect analogy, but the best way to describe the difference between FBS and NFL is that college football is like international football/soccer and NFL would be domestic leagues.

I graduated from LSU, so that's why I support them. Not a general rule, but most people pull for their college football team because they went there or have a direct attachment to that school.

If you like reading, I would recommend Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer by Warren St. John. Can shine a lot of light into what makes up why people love college football.

In addition, get your hands on an older console and try out the old NCAA football series. The latest one goes for ~$80 USD, but you can get the 05 version for less than $5.00 [not including shipping].

If interested in the history of the banana market in Central America, especially Honduras, the Fish that Ate the Whale is a good read: https://www.amazon.com/Fish-That-Ate-Whale-Americas/dp/1250033314

" When Samuel Zemurray arrived in America in 1891, he was tall, gangly, and penniless. When he died in the grandest house in New Orleans sixty-nine years later, he was among the richest, most powerful men in the world. Working his way up from a roadside fruit peddler to conquering the United Fruit Company, Zemurray became a symbol of the best and worst of the United States: proof that America is the land of opportunity, but also a classic example of the corporate pirate who treats foreign nations as the backdrop for his adventures."

I've got the Adams-Jefferson Letters sitting on my bookshelf and am looking forward to the opportunity to read through them.

I apologize- you hadn't put any reported statistics down, so there really wasn't any sources for me to look into; I had presumed it'd be fine to do the same. But here ya go:

Per Guttmacher, in 2014, it accounted for 31% of all abortions, and while I'm sure the numbers have gone up since then, I've not seen any evidence that they've surpassed 50%.

In his book <em>Life's Work: A Moral Argument for Choice</em>, published in 2017, Dr. Willie Parker says "Twenty percent of abortions in the United States are now medication abortions, and that number has been rising."

In terms of medical issues, most tests and scans that are used to detect fetal anomalies occur far later than 8 weeks, precisely because the embryo is still growing and developing; doctors can't know about a neural tube defect until the neural tube has actually started growing, you know?

And the idea that parents are picking out names and painting rooms at 8 weeks seems fairly premature to me; I'm sure it's the case for some, especially those who have been trying for a baby, but it's a strange claim to make when it's somewhat common wisdom to hold off sharing the news of one's pregnancy until after the first trimester, when the risk of miscarriage drops off pretty dramatically.

Check out Dr. Willie Parker. He’s a devout Christian and an abortion provider. You can find his book “Life’s Work: a moral argument for choice” here

I highly recommend the book Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption. It's about a man named Ronald Cotton who was incorrectly identified by a rape victim as the perpetrator and spent 11 years in prison.

In the book, the story is recounted by both Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson (the rape victim). The two are good friends now and are leading advocates for eyewitness identification reform.

https://www.amazon.com/Picking-Cotton-Memoir-Injustice-Redemption/dp/0312599536

If anyone is really interested, there is a really good book about one of the main participants of this: Sam Zemmurray. The book is called The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King. As a Honduran, it totally blew my mind learning about what these people did.

AL.com is largely clickbait, and leaves you forced to read Kevin Scarbinsky. Roll Bama Roll is an excellent choice, and their EIC, Erik, is a Bama law grad. He tends to keep them from posting stupid stuff.
Read Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer if you can get your hands on a copy. Warren St. John comes off as a bit of a "Yankee by adoption" (which I find regrettable), but the book is a window into what the fanbase looked like pre-Saban, proving we're not just a bunch of bandwagon crazies.
I get a lot of my info from Twitter though, so hit me up if you want some suggestions of good follows.

Just occured to me, Duke players always look like the fuckwit fraternity from Animal House.

That being said, firmly believe coach K is a good guy. (see http://www.amazon.com/Hate-Like-This-Happy-Forever/dp/0060740248)

and i'd just read The Fish that ate the Whale over summer, too

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fish-That-Ate-Whale/dp/1250033314

also, everyone knows Jamaicans are the ones with the cocaine. at least quantity.

I'd recommend The Adams-Jefferson Letters edited by Lester J. Cappon. There are prefaces and footnotes for each letter that help you understand what they're talking about and they (the editor's additions) aren't particularly difficult to get through. It also includes correspondence between Abigail Adams and Jefferson. She and Jefferson were good friends as well but ceased contact during the Jefferson-Adams feud, renewing it a few years before her death.

I would also like to point out that many of the letters are available online for free through Wikipedia and Google Books. Buying Cappon provides you with commentary and context; it's definitely worth it, though.

OP, click this link to learn a bit about eye witness testimony.

If you want a more in depth case study, pick up a copy of Picking Cotton. Hell, if you want, I'll buy you a copy.

Have you ever read Picking Cotton? I highly recommend it if you have not, it's actually pretty close to your story.

This is a book authored by one of my fiancée's college friends:

http://www.amazon.com/Woman-Doing-Life-Notes-Prison/dp/0199734755/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1268973635&amp;sr=1-1

If you're for real and can PM me your address & cell #, I'll buy you a copy have it sent.

It's true, there's a lot more heat than light in most of these discussions. If you are interested, I'd recommend the Adams-Jefferson Letters. It chronicles their correspondence beginning in 1777. Not much on the Constitution in specific, but nevertheless an interesting window into what things were like in the early republic. I enjoyed it anyway :)