Jay Jennings

I received this book as a Christmas present and read it a short time afterward. This historical narrative looks at the 50th anniversary of the Little Rock Central High desegregation crisis of 1957 through the prism of the school’s football teams, both in 1957 and in 2007. As you would expect by the topic, the subject of race is front and center and colors every discussion from the relationship between the football players, the local politics (both past and present), housing patterns, highway construction, school locations, you name it.

As an Arkansas resident, and someone that is very familiar with Little Rock and much of the history contained in the book, I found the subject matter, at times intriguing and at times irritating. The author certainly has an almost pathological hatred for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that makes many of his observations suspect. By and large, however, he is relatively objective and gives a good, solid history of both the events of 1957 as well as racial events as far back as the 1920s while detailing the 2007 football season that makes up the bulk of the story. While I enjoyed the narrative, I wasn’t terribly impressed with the writing style and eventually tired of the dialogue that he attributes to head coach Bernie Cox. Seriously, how many repetitive pre-game and post-practice speeches can you digest before you’ve had enough? I guess you have to include some filler if you want to consume 275 pages.

If you’re from Arkansas, you might enjoy the familiar subject matter. I can’t recommend it for anyone else.… (more)

For the avid tennis fan, this is a great collection of short stories and poetry that feature the game of tennis. Most of the stories are only mediocre from a strictly literary standpoint, although a few stand out as top-notch. However, when scouring literature for tennis themes, I imagine there isn’t a huge pool to choose from, so given the parameters of the book, I think the collection is a fine group of stories and poems. The tennis player will enjoy this book, as there is much to relate to. Most of the stories are fun and flippant, not so much touching on tennis and the meaning of life as the title states. Nevertheless, this was a fun read and recommended to anyone interested in tennis.… (more)

First, let’s talk about the series Images of America. Here’s the background. This series of books takes very specific subjects throughout America and presents the history of that site/area through old pictures. There is generally some background, and additional description around the pictures. I’ve purchased a few of these and I’ve found a universal truth about them. First, you should have a profound interest in the area being presented because there will be minutia that the casual observer may have no interest in. Second, you will see images you haven’t seen before and you will want more substance. Neither of these is necessarily bad. It’s just that I am always amazed by what I find (because I have, so far, focused on areas of interest), and I find myself wanting more details about what I’ve seen and read.

And so it is with this book focusing on Knott’s Berry Farm. It is as much a history of the Knott family as it is the berry farm. The pictures chronicle their start as farmers and lead all the way to the establishment of what is often argued to be the first true theme park. The family portion is interesting, but just made me want them to hurry up and get to the park. The pictures of the growth of the berry stand, chicken dinner restaurant, and the Ghost Town are invaluable to anyone who wants to actually see how it grew. And, as with the others in this series, it just made me want to read more about the way this all began. It also left me very hungry for more about the more recent history of the park (the 70’s on) but, after all, it was titled “the early years”. A great appetizer with unimagined flavors that just makes you beg for a full course.… (more)