Our Father's Fields: A Southern Story

This work by Dr. Kibler reveals the history of this family, their life style, the impact that the members of the family had on southern society during that time period, and the impact of that time period on the family.As an ancestor of the Hardy family he so elequently describes, I thank Dr. Kibler for the efforts he relentlessly pursued in order to reveal the life of this southern family.Additionally, I thank the reviewers - all of you, pro and con - that have taken the time to extend their personal thoughts and feelings about Dr. Kibler's work. I assure each and everyone one of you that the ancestors of this proud Southern family are alive and well, and that the history of the Hardy family is a Southern history that ALL of us share that reside here in the deep south. It will always remain a vital part of this family, and of this culture, through all time. My children are well aware of their heritage, and are filled with pride to be personally related to the family that lived and survived in this historical, colorful past. My brother and sister, both residents of South Carolina, are just as proud.God bless all of you.Allen Key Hardy

Maybe it's just my agrarian "roots," but I am sure I smelled honeysuckle and felt a cool Southern breeze as I strolled thru Dr. Kibler's latest work, 'Our Fathers' Fields.' At last! Someone from academia has come forth with a work about the South that is not infused with politically correct gobbledygook. Unfortunately, if one is in possession of a closed mind, i.e., an anti-South cultural bigot, this book will not smell of honeysuckle. Yet, for those who understand that history is written and enforced by the victor, 'Our Fathers' Fields' will surely become a must read. After reading this book, I am convinced that one day Dr. Kibler's name will be etched upon the wall of honor along a side the names of such men as Donald Davidson, Richard Weaver, M. E. Bradford, and other defenders of true Southern history. Take it from a Louisiana Southern Partisan, this book should be read by Americans in general and Southerners in particular---Deo Vindice.

Apparently the reader from Pickens,South Carolina who gave a review entitled "Blind, reactionary, racist drivel," which was posted 7 February, 1999, has sadly confused the names of authors James Kibler & James Kilgo. While on holiday in Charleston, South Carolina last year, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the South Carolina Poetry Society, in which Kibler read from the chapter entitled "Captain Dick," from "Our Fathers' Fields." One thing I could not help but notice was how after the meeting, those in attendance (particularly all five of the blacks in the audience)expressed relief to Kibler of the fact that his book is not caught up with racial pandering, which is a rather strange fascination of some other authors who have written books with regards to their questionable interpretation of history in South Carolina. Indeed, it is most refreshing to read a book like this which does not have such an agenda, with contrast to a number of books lately written by authors defaming the character South (particularly South Carolina). Thank goodness that Jim Kibler at least had the fortitude of using the most accurate documentation in writing this Southern classic. No wonder Shelby Foote is looking forward to presenting Kibler with the award of "Best Southern Non-fiction Book of the Year," this April.

The author of this book, Dr James Kibler, bought a derelict plantation house in the South Carolina upcountry in 1989 and proceeded to restore it. For those of us who wish we had the time, money and energy to do the same, this book is a wonderful Walter-Mittyesque escape. However, it is also something a great deal more significant, recently winning a major book award, as the non-fiction winner alongside the best-selling "Cold Mountain", the winner in the fiction category. Narrowly considered, "Our Fathers' Fields" is the history of only one house and only one family and their neighbors in one small area. However, this material is presented so that it becomes a "case history" for a more universal experience, namely the overall history of the agrarian South. The Hardy family followed the same migration routes and came from the same cultural context as those who populated the rest of the South. Southern genealogists will see many familiar surnames in this work, further increasing the sense of identification. (It is no accident that "The Bonnie Blue Flag", anthem of the Confederacy, began, "we are a band of brothers", although a band of cousins might have been more accurate). While the Hardys were quite rich by the 1830's, the beginnings of their plantation were humble -- 200 acres and a cabin, and their early pioneer story mirrored that of most families that left Virginia and headed south or west. The book looks at plantation life in the broader context of all strata and presents the history the whole Hardy family, black and white, over these generations in a sympathetic but not over-romanticised light. It is one of the very few local history works that has managed successfully to present as a cogent whole the complete history of a house: its architecture, the genealogy of its family, the cultural and historical framework in which both developed over two centuries, and such engaging details as furnishings, garden design and natural history, which other historians might have discarded as trivial but which tell us a great deal about these people and how they lived and what they thought. Dr Kibler's meticulous research has clearly become a labour of love. This comes through clearly in the book and the work is the better for it because of the insights that he has developed. The Hardy family comes alive in this book, not as stiff, enigmatic figures in a tintype but as flesh and blood folk with hopes, dreams, and opinions, who experience tragedy and loss with grace and strength. In some ways it is almost as if Kibler has acquired the viewpoint of an early planter, and some of the book reads almost like a first-hand account as a result. Dr Kibler's exhaustive cataloguing of the biodiverse flora & fauna of the area perhaps was the most telling -- it was exactly as a plantation owner would have done in the 18th and early 19th century -- reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, or

The untold story of the South has now been told. "Our Fathers' Fields is simply the best & most accurate book on the South written this decade, & perhaps the most enjoyable book since "Gone With The Wind." For years, we Southerners & Southern-minded people across the world have been subjugated to an undeserving "to the victors go the spoils" revisionism. With this book, Southerners (black & white) can sincerely feel a sense of healing, a bonding with one another, as well as their family roots & traditions. It eloquently shows that we all can relate to the Hardy Family & that there are stories like this all over the South & beyond. This book truly deserves the National Book Award, as well as many others.