Today at lunch I finished “Black Warrior’s Curse” a novel by Joe H. Harless, published in 2005.

Yes, that Joe Harless.

It was only this past March that I found out, during my preparations to do a video interview with Joe at his home in Newnan GA before the Spring Conference, that he had even written a novel.

It is an excellent book. I literally could not put it down.

Perhaps it was because I know the author?

No. It is THAT good.

It is the kind of book that I’ll send to several favorite family and friends come Christmas time.

It is about race relations in Alabama as the civil rights movement was growing across the south. The book made me happy, sad and mad at times. Given what is going on in the US right now – it was a timely read for me.

Here is the Amazon.com description:

Connected in a way unknown to themselves, a young white man and an African American of the same age live in a small town on the Black Warrior River in Alabama. It is the site where DeSoto massacred seven thousand Choctaws and their dying leader, Tuskalusa, cursed “all men-of-no-color” who would live on the river. The two become entangled in the bloody struggle for civil rights in the 1960s. Each is changed by the horror of the Birmingham riots and bombings, “Bloody Sunday,” and the freedom rides. Each is influenced by men as disparate as “Bear” Bryant, Martin Luther King, George Wallace, Malcolm X, and a Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. Each is shaped and given strength by the women in their lives. In the dramatic climax, the two learn how and why they are connected.

According to what I’ve read online, the movie rights have been purchased. That will be a definite must see – as I think the book is a must read.

Thank you Brother Joe!!! For another great contribution!!!

Cheers!
Guy