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270civil war history expressing. As Theodore Rosengarten observed: "These intimacies come as a revelation, at a time when contemporary histories of the Old South emphasize the alienation of planters from their wives." Marital relationships among this class, he continued, "will have to be reexamined" (p. x). This conclusion is even more strikingwhen the Bird letters are compared to those of the Jones family of Savannah, whose voluminous correspondence form the basis of The Children ofPride—Eva Berrien Jones, one of the central figures in this book, was Edgeworth Bird's cousin. The Jones letters, however, are colored by the absence of any intensely personal subjects while members of the Bird family become very real, and very human, individuals. Although this book is an important addition to Georgia history, it will also appeal to a wider audience. The Granite Farm Letters will add to our knowledge and understanding of antebellum Southern culture. Additionally , Bird's comments on the war (he fought at Gettysburg, Chancellorsville , and in the Wilderness) are perceptive, and often poignant. Moreover, William T. Sherman's march to the sea was a central theme in any Georgia correspondence in 1864. The editing is adequate but not intrusive. Rozier aids the reader by briefly identifying people and events at the end ofeach letter. Military historians will find this volume lacking in detail while social historians may praise Rozier's decision to allow the letters to stand without overly extensive comment. Nevertheless, this glimpse into the life of a southern gentleman and his family will prove valuable. The Granite Farm Letters will add another dimension to understanding the people who were part ofthe South that Margaret Mitchell described. Anne J. Bailey Georgia Southern College The Heavens Are Weeping: The Diaries of George Richard Browder, 1852-1886. Edited by Richard L. Troutman. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1987. Pp. 575. $19.95.) A title referring to the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, and a dust jacket featuring soldiers and a Confederate battle flag, may give the false impression that The Heavens Are Weeping: The Diaries of George RichardBrowder, 1852-1886will interest only Civil War buffs. Actually, it has much to recommend for historians of diverse specialties. George Browder was a Kentucky farmer, slaveholder, and Methodist circuit rider who kept a series of diaries spanning some of the most turbu- BOOK REVIEWS271 lent years in American history. Despite gaps caused by lost volumes and Browder's occasional lassitude, a transcription of his journals ran to some two thousand pages oftypescript. From these editor Richard L. Troutman selected representative entries which compose over four hundred pages of text. In a superb introduction, Troutman places Browder's writings in the social, political, economic, and religious context of the diarist's life and times, drawing attention to important recurring themes. These range from religion, slavery and the Civil War, to agriculture, transportation, education , and medical practices. Many of Browder's diary entries concern the Methodist Church, which from an early age was the focus of his life. His writings illustrate the enormous physical challenges faced by the rural nineteenth century circuit preacher. Despite frail health, Browder routinely traveled great distances across difficult terrain in every extreme of weather, and in return for this labor for Christ he received salaries which often did not even cover his expenses. Generous to a fault, he expected no more, but he was human enough to criticize wealthy Christians who made only minimal contributions to the collection plate. Tolerant and ecumenical in his outlook, Browder had but one comment on ministers who seemed to place personal ambition above their sacred call: "Shame! Shame!!" (p. 70). Browder recorded disappointingly little on the division ofthe Methodist Church into Northern and Southern branches, but from the conferences he attended and the supervisory positions he held in later life, one gains insights into the working ofthe Church at many levels. His diaryentries while a circuit rider are particularly interesting. His descriptions of camp meetings , weddings, funerals, family gatherings, and neighborhood feuds provide a fascinating and occasionally humorous look at the ordinary folk of south central Kentucky. He records an era when diseases ran largely unchecked , when death during childhood and childbirth was...

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