Looks at Books

Two Alabama Political Blasts from the Pasts have released new books. While both pols were once at the top of the state’s political heap, the books could not be more different.

The more traditional release is a biography of former Alabama Governor John Patterson. The book Nobody But the People is actually written by Warren Trest, but Patterson worked closely with Trest and has been on the circuit promoting its release. From his role in cleaning up organized crime in Phenix City, to a tumultuous term as governor, to the transition to a respected jurist Patterson’s political career has had many acts and Nobody But the People chronicles them all.

Former State Senator Bill Drinkard has also become an author recently. Drinkard served three terms in the Alabama Senate and chaired the powerful Rules Committee before leaving the Senate to become an influential lobbyist. In the mid 1990s Drinkard pled guilty to a corruption charge and dropped off the political map before recently resurfacing as an aide to the Senate Democratic Caucus.

However, while Drinkard probably could pen an interesting biography about his ups and downs in Alabama politics, that is not what he’s done. Drinkard’s book Elom is a sci-fi novel that introduces (according to Publisher’s Weekly):

a low-tech world where human reproduction is controlled to concentrate desirable traits. Life is regulated by the scriptures of Geerna, a primitive human who long ago reached a covenant with the goddess Shetow. The wise women of the Medora Council interpret Geerna’s words and protect her secret prophecies, overseeing the competitions where adolescents demonstrate their skills and suitability for mating.

Drinkard’s book while obviously aimed at a specific market has met with at least some critical success as prominent sci-fi author David Drake said the book contains “engaging characters in a story told with the feel of a myth passed down by word of mouth.”

Whether or not either of these books is your cup of tea, it’s good to see two Alabama politicians enter the world of the published word. Now if only we could get more Alabama pols to blog…