First, let's look at the people of Mississippi through two of it's most important pastimes--football and the Blues.
Mississippi JUCOS: the Toughest Football League in America is by X.M. Frascogna, Jr., X.M. Frascogna, III, and Martin Frank Frascogna. "Mississippi JUCO football is one of the oldest and most colorful leagues
in America. Tucked away in Mississippi arguably the most rabid football
state of all is a self-contained, highly unique football ecosystem. The
Mississippi JUCO football league, or, as the locals refer to it, JUCO
ball , or simply the League , consists of fourteen Junior Colleges (now
referred to as Community Colleges except for one) all inside the
boundaries of Mississippi. On the surface the League has the
characteristics of any small college football conference one might find
at the NCAA Division II or III levels. However, upon closer examination
you discover a fascinating athletic subculture. Depending on one s
perspective JUCO ball could be described as a league wrapped in violence
and brutality, a vicious athletic underworld. But to most of the
players matriculating through the JUCO League, it is football Nirvana.
Hidden from the national media JUCO teams in the Magnolia State compete
for the League s Championship each year. Every game played during the
season matters and many are bitter rivalries. The result is all out war
from the beginning of the season to the last regular season game. The
two playoff games for the League s Championship are like Armageddon I
and II. The League has produced literally thousands of players who have
gone on to compete at the NCAA Division I and professional levels. The
number of JUCO players who go on to play at four year colleges at the
Division II and III levels is staggering. However, even more impressive
is the large percentage of the coaching profession who are graduates of
the JUCO league. Famous JUCO coaches such as Dobie Holden, Sim Cooley,
the Delta Fox Jim Randall, Bull Cyclone Sullivan, Goat Hale, H.C. Hook
Stone, Joe Renfroe and A.J. Kilpatrick are spread throughout the annuls
of the League. The record books bulge even more when considering the
accomplishments of Bobby Ray Franklin, Parker Dykes, Billy Ward, Mike
Eaton, Wooky Gray, Gene Murphy, James Sloan, Hugh Shurdon and George
Sekul. Love it or despise it, Mississippi JUCO ball is unique." (Amazon.com)
Live from the Mississippi Delta
by Panny Flautt Mayfield, "showcases a rare collection of photographs and stories about musicians
from Robert Plant, B. B. King, and ZZ Top to local guitarists playing
gigs on the weekend. Panny Flautt Mayfield, a lifelong Delta resident
from Tutwiler and an award-winning journalist, documents multiple
decades of blues and gospel music in her native land. Her first book
collects over two hundred black-and-white and color photographs from a
long career of photographing live music. Featuring text by Robert
Plant in honor of Mayfield, the book opens with him addressing senior
citizens gathered in Tutwiler to honor their town as the birthplace of
blues. From there, the book proceeds throughout the Delta from juke
joints and festivals to blues markers and museums. Mayfield presents
images and tales of local icons such as Early Wright, Wade Walton, and
the Jelly Roll Kings, as well as international celebrities. She shares
intimate photos, including Garth Brooks and Bobby Rush charming
elementary school kids in West Tallahatchie, along with insider stories
and photos of B. B. King's Homecoming, the Governor's Awards, the Delta
Blues Museum, the Sunflower and King Biscuit festivals, and a
fascinating side trip to Norway's Notodden Blues Festival, which has a
rich sister-city relationship with Clarksdale and the Sunflower
Festival. Years ago volunteer tour guide Shirley Fair announced to
visitors that there is a church or a juke joint on every corner in
Clarksdale. Those demographics are still mostly accurate. Igniting a
high-octane finale are photographs taken at iconic juke joints such as
Smitty's Red Top, the Bobo Grocery, the Rivermount Lounge, Po' Monkey's,
Hopson, Shelby's Dew Drop Inn, the Rose, Ground Zero, Sarah's Kitchen,
Margaret's Blue Diamond, and Red's." (Amazon.com)
For a look at Mississippi's natural resources, why not try one of these?
Guide to Birding Coastal Mississippi by Judith A. Toups, Jerry Bird, and Stacy Jon Peterson highlights the wonderful birds that populate Mississippi's Gulf Coast area. "Each year a wide variety of birds and numerous birders flock to
Mississippi's Gulf Coast, making it one of the most exciting bird
watching locations in the US. In this definitive guidebook, three
seasoned Mississippi birders lead the reader through the area's swamps,
forests, and beaches, dispensing plenty of insider advice along the way.
Maps and bar graphs illustrating monthly probability of occurrence
ensure that, no matter what time of year, visitors will find a trip to
the region to be a rewarding birding experience. Includes listings for
all coastal species and the months in which they appear as well as
detailed maps for Lamar, Forrest, Perry, Greene, Pearl River, Stone,
George, Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson Counties." (Alibris.com)
In
Mushrooms of Mississippi and Other Fungi and Protists, George H. Dukes, Jr. takes us around the state and introduces the reader to one of the most overlooked and misunderstood organisms on the planet: Fungi. "A compendium of over 200 species of naturally occuring macroscopic
mushrooms and related fungi,
Mushrooms of Mississippi presents textual
and photographic records on facing pages for quick and easy reference.
Edible, poisonous, and hallucinogenic forms are described; the role of
fungi in the environment, including saprobic and parasitic
relationships, beneficial and harmful effects and habitats is
documented." (Amazon.com) Dukes also includes some very cute photos of his "mushroom hunting" dogs.
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