It was the Great Depression in Orangeburg, South Carolina when A.D. Miller was 19 years old. He handed a note to a white girl, telling her he’d like to know her better. He was caught and thrown in jail for his actions, accused of attempted rape. This is the beginning of Adam David Miller’s book Ticket to Exile. What’s really special about this work? It’s all true.
Adam David Miller grew up in the pre-civil rights South where segregation was a horrific way of life. The black schools had less than half the government funding of white schools. Black pay was a fraction of white. If you were black, you couldn’t go downtown after dark or get a Coke from stores owned by whites. You couldn’t eat in their restaurants or buy their goods. But you could caddy their golf games and shine their shoes. This was Miller’s reality growing up.Ticket to Exile is Miller’s memoir of his childhood up until his arrest. What astounds me is the author’s lack of hatred or resentment in his words. Yet he was deeply affected by the events in his life. At the time he often didn’t realize he was going through life-shaping events. His book is honest and sincere, often revealing things of himself that must have taken great courage to put to paper. His straightforward writing style is quite effective at leading the reader on a journey to his hometown in the Jim Crow South.
Whether you feel you don’t know enough about this important part of American history or you want to learn more, Ticket to Exile is a book you’ll surely want to read. I thought I was well informed about the pre-civil rights South, but I read many passages that gave me “I-had-no-idea” moments. Let’s face it – this is a portion of our history that’s covered little in schools; as adults we can make up for that lack and teach our own children when schools fall short.
I’m honored to have a copy of Ticket to Exile to give to one reader chosen at random. You know the drill – leave a comment telling me what intrigues you about this book. If you subscribe to this blog, you’re already entered into this and all book giveaways here, but feel free to comment as your second entry. (Subscribe in the right hand column if you wish. You can read about the full giveaway rules and another entry option on the Giveaway Rules tab above.) A winner will be chosen at 12noon EST March 20, 2008.
Published by Heyday Books.
fascinating suubject matter….important to read!
I love that the book is true and the wordds in the book are staright from the main character rather than a outsider reporting on events. I’d love to know more about Mr. Miller’s story.
please enter me
thank you for this opportunity
Wow, that’s really intriguing! I’m blogging this tomorrow at my book review/contest blog – A Book Blogger’s Diary. Thanks!
Oh, another great review!! And it looks like another GREAT book as well. Count me in on this one too…I am very interested in Adam’s life and this account of it. It is always more fun when it is an exciting story that is acutally true! thanks for another great giveaway!
PS. I just got the book you sent today!!!(thank you!!!) I am so excited that I can’t decide between finishing my last one fast to get to this one, or forgetting my last one until I devour I’jaam!!! I’ll let you know when I review it though.
looks like a good read.
This is a subject matter I am very interested in. My husband and I would love to read it.
The title and cover of the book are very intriguing! We have three mixed children via my husband’s sister. They live between two worlds and I can tell sometime that they are confused because of their young ages. I would love to learn more than I know about the time period and a true story about it. Please enter me in your book drawing. Thanks very much…..Cindi
sounds interesting pick me
This being realistic from the past, will hold my interest – thank you
Looks interesting…
I’d love to read this book. The entire time I read your review I was thinking of Black Like Me, about a white reporter who dyed his skin and traveled through the Jim Crow South. They way he was treated astonished me, and I feel like this book would do that all over again.
Very interesting subject matter.
fascinating story
I would love to read more about the great depression era!
my parents survived the great depression. I’d love to know more about it
what an amazing story! so important to our current times.
I love reading about the past. Great giveaway! Count me in. bebemiqui82(at)yahoo(dot)com
I would like to know more about American history and straight forward writing style intersts me oo!
Do count me in!
I am a memoir junkie so this book is right up my alley. I have never read a memoir on this subject matter and I think it would be really enlightening to do so. I also love how this cover looks!
Thanks for offering this great giveaway and for sharing your comments on the book.
I’d like to read a true story about this part of history. It’s not taught much at all in schools here (I live in Canada) because it’s not our history, but I’d be interested in comparing this to what I’ve heard through popular culture.
I would love to read this book and learn more about the Great Depression.
Wow! That sounds like a powerful read!!!
an important part of our history…and am so interested to learn more…thank you
My reading addiction needs feeding.
What I find intriguing is his lack of hate. This is a subject I have always been interested in.
would love to have this book to help teach my children what really happened
This sounds like a terrific read!
I’m interested in pre-civil rights in the south.
It sounded like an interesting tale and then I see it’s a true story! I can’t wait to read this!
Awesome!
Sounds like a great book – sad but true.
that it’s true
this is such a very interesting read. very historical and straight to the point.
please enter me.
I would love to read this book.
this strikes home, I lived 10 years in NC and now have a beautiful 10 month old grandson. would love to read this
As an Australian who has lived in the US for 15+ years, I wish I knew more about the pre-civil rights South.
Can’t wait to read this book. It sounds like a great read.
Any story that tells of our history is a gift & should be treasured & read by all.
I work in a middle school, and the kids are all still so clueless as to how recent this sort of “history” can be. Obviously I’d need to read it first to know if it’s a book I could share with the kids, but it sounds good.
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This looks like a unique view of a story we all think we know. Count me in!
interesting subject matter; this is so far removed from my life experiences growing up in canada and the fact that its based on a true story; would love to read the whole book
I would love to read this–especially as a resident of SC myself.
would love to win this
would love to read this book
I love depression era books. such an intriguing time in history. great giveaway, thanks!
As a white woman married to a black man, and someone who is interested in our country’s racial history, I’m intrigued by this book.
This is a subject near and dear to me and I would absolutely love to read this book.
My former book group read a book called Leon’s Story that was about a black man’s experience growing up in a small town in the Jim Crow South. The small town was the town I live in.
It was so interesting. We held the meeting at the beautifully restored old home in town that is now a B&B owned by our mayor. (I know, how quaint!) The mayor talked to us about the history of the town and even knew Leon!
This book would interest me because it is probably better written than Leon’s Story…and just as interesting.