southern
TALES
n LISTEN TO THE LAMBS, DANIEL BLACK (st. martin’s press)
n memories of the mansion: the story of georgia’s governor’s mansion, sandra deal, jennifer dickey, catherine lewis (UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA PRESS)
History in the Making Explore the beautiful Greek Revival mansion that has served as the Atlanta home for Georgia’s governors since 1968 in this new book penned by First Lady Sandra Deal, in collaboration with Kennesaw State University historians Catherine Lewis and Jennifer Dickey. “We had three goals when we began this project: recount the history of all the Georgia governor’s mansions, with specific focus on the West Paces Ferry Road mansion; document the rich collections in the mansion and share these resources with readers; and share behind-the-scenes stories from the eight first families who, so far, have known it best,” Sandra Deal wrote in the preface. “This history belongs to the people of the state of Georgia, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to share it.” Designed by Atlanta architect Thomas Bradbury, the Buckhead mansion is filled with Federal period furnishings and decorative arts, inspired by items chosen by Jacqueline Kennedy when she redecorated the White House 34
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in the early 1960s. Most of the first-floor furnishings were made by American master craftsmen in the early 1800s. Deal said her curiosity was piqued when she and Gov. Nathan Deal moved into the home and walked the 18-acre grounds. “I was astounded.” She started asking questions to people in the know, from former first ladies Mary Perdue and Betty Sanders (who played a critical role in getting the mansion built, though she and Gov. Carl Sanders never lived in it) to longtime employees and volunteer docents, mansion manager Joy Forth and past curator Kitty Farnham. All were happy to share their knowledge and memories. “I learned so much about the mansion and its residents during the course of my research that I knew a book needed to be produced to preserve that history,” she wrote, adding that the Georgia Archives, Atlanta History Center, Special Collections at the University of Georgia, and Georgia State University were just a few of the many institutions that helped tell the story.
Clark Atlanta University professor Daniel Black researched his latest novel on the streets, interviewing the city’s homeless to get firsthand accounts of their struggles. His moving portrait follows the plight of Lazarus Love III, who leaves behind a life of affluence to seek peace as a possessionless man. After a brutal act, his newfound family of wanderers must struggle to save him, learning the beauty of sacrificial love.
n trapped in key west, peter bacle (Mangrove Publishing)
A colorful chronicle of living, working and playing in the Florida Keys, Peter Bacle’s memoir offers an insider’s look at island life. Many of the storied adventures and humorous tales are rooted in Bacle’s business, the Stock Island Lobster Company, started by his father in 1953.