Patterson later recanted his segregationist views and went on to become a widely respected judge, but as governor from 1958 to 1962, he led Alabama into full white-supremacist rebellion against the national effort to integrate schools and public accommodations. He was a rare Southern supporter of JFK in 1960, but the two broke bitterly over the 1961 Freedom Rides.
Patterson is revealed as a complex and likable politician and jurist whose decisions he later regretted on racial issues.
Prologue 11
Barefoot in Tallapoosa 18
When All the Leaves Were Green 33
Across the Chattahoochee 48
March to the Sound of the Guns 61
Long Road Home From El Guettar 75
Another Lawyer in the Family 93
No More Darkness, No More Night 113
Big Trouble in River City 134
Bittersweet Refrain in Birmingham 158
New Blood and Old Political Wars 180
The Jingle, the Rumble, the Roar 212
Sweeter Than Muscadine Wine 242
The People's Governor 263
All the Way with JFK and LBJ 292
"It's a Hell of a Job" 328
Building Highways, Building Bridges 349
When Evening Shadows Fall 372
White Knight on a Dark Horse 393
The Lectern and the Law 418
Epilogue 438
Acknowledgments 443
Notes 445
Bibliography 475
Index 481
Overview
Patterson later recanted his segregationist views and went on to become a widely respected judge, but as governor from 1958 to 1962, he led Alabama into full white-supremacist rebellion against the ...