...about Alabama. It's probably in a new book printed by The University of Alabama Press and compiled by the Alabama Department of Archives and History. The 600+ page volume is similar to books produced by other states, and is being used as a giveaway to industrial prospects by the Governor's office. (Bob Riley gets a front cover credit for writing a foreword. He took hot-off-the-presses copies with him on his current trip to Europe.)
New South Books publisher Randall Williams edited the work.
There are pages and pages of information about elected officials and heads of departments in state government, including their pictures.
The state's history is told: calling George Wallace an "exploiter"; citing Guy Hunt's election as the first Republican since Reconstruction (but not mentioning his removal from office for misuse of funds); mentioning Don Siegelman just once, in reference to his effort to bring Mercedes and Hyundai to Alabama, with nothing said about his conviction and jailing. There's even a picture of President Barack Obama at the Edmund Pettis Bridge Reenactment in 2008, although Alabama voted more for John McCain than virtually any other state.
Publisher Williams says it is a "kind History" of the state, and that since it is being used to give away to potential industrial prospects, it does not "dodge the negative history of the state, but doesn't dwell on it either". He says the project was conceived and launched well before today's economic climate, so whether a new edition will be published after next year's elections, when hundreds of new people are elected or appointed, making the book outdated, is anyone's guess.
Perhaps the book will find success the same way those "Who's Who" style guides do, by printing long lists of names, knowing that many of those in it will buy a copy...that way the new Alabama Guide could become a bestseller!
[The Alabama Guide will soon be available via New South Books and elsewhere.]
Pure and Simple: A waste of Alabama taxpayer dollars.
ReplyDeleteRemember... Bob Riley effectively RAISED property taxes in Alabama by DEMANDING that reappraisals occur annually.
Bob Riley advocated, endorsed and signed the state legislature's approval of the Jefferson County/Birmingham Occupational Tax on the working man.
Seems Bob Riley never saw a tax he didn't like!
Now... he's abused state resources to publish this "history."
I think EVERY Alabamian should have a copy.
It's OUR book, made with OUR money.
Why not write and/or call demanding a copy from the governor's office, senate and representative's offices and others?
They'll only wind up collecting dust on some shelf in Mobile or Montgomery, anyway!
That's because Riley's a lame duck.
What a damn-fool idiot... wasting money at the last like this.
We ought'a take it out of his hide!