Professor-Politician: The Biography of Alabama Congressman Glen Browder

by Geni Certain, Wayne Flynt (Foreword by)

Overview

Professor-Politician challenges common depictions of politics as a constant struggle of good-versus-evil and heroes-versus-villains, with “dirty politics” usually winning. The truth is that good government can prevail in Montgomery and Washington.

Journalist Geni Certain recounts Glen Browder’s civic adventures as one of Alabama’s prominent scholars and public officials over the past half-century. This is a story of practical and reform politics told by someone specially positioned to comment on the Alabama government and American democracy.

Certain interviewed knowledgeable people, researched public records, and scoured the Browder Collection at Jacksonville State University for this intriguing and inspiring biography of a civic-oriented leader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603062527
Publisher:	NewSouth Books
Publication date:	01/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Journalist GENI CERTAIN was for thirteen years an editor of The Anniston Star. She also worked as the editor-in-chief of The Daily Home in Talladega before retiring.
WAYNE FLYNT is a southern historian and educator who retired after teaching for decades at Auburn University, where he directed more than sixty graduate programs. He has lectured at Sichuan University in China, at Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the universities of Newcastle, Oxford, Cambridge, and Sussex in Great Britain, at the Franklin Roosevelt Center in The Netherlands, and at the University of Vienna. He is the author of fourteen books dealing with Southern politics, history, white poverty, and culture (religion, art, music, literature). His numerous awards include the Rembert Patrick Award for Florida History, the Lillian Smith Prize for Nonfiction from the Southern Regional Council, the Alabama Library Association Award for non-fiction (three times), the C. Vann Woodward/John Hope Franklin Prize by the Fellowship of Southern Writers, the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum Award for Excellence in Writing, a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize (1989), and the Alabama Governor's Award for the Arts.

Table of Contents

Foreword: "A Different Kind of Politician" ix

Autobiographical Essay: Philosophy, Politics, and Good Government xi

I Prologue: The Professor-Politician 3

II Young Glen 6

III Dr. Browder 17

IV Into the Fire 40

V A Reformer Takes Charge 81

VI The National Stage 111

VII A Blue Dog Points the Way 141

VIII Playing Defense 162

IX Up or Out 184

X The Road Ahead 209

Epilogue 218

Sources 223

Notes 227

Index 249

A selection of photographs follows page 140

Editorial Reviews

[Professor-Politician] fits nicely into historians' ongoing analyses of southern politics after the 1960s. Students of recent Alabama politics will enjoy following the trajectory of Browder's career, the extensive remarks on local and state issues, and the stories of lively politicians who are relatively unknown outside the state. Broadly instructive and insightful.

The Journal of Southern History

In an era of hyper-partisanship it is good to reflect on an effort to find a middle ground and actually get some things accomplished in Washington. Glen Browder and his "Blue Dogs" were one of the bright spots in an otherwise dismal picture that included party politics that almost brought government to a standstill. This excellent study of Dr. Browder's career reminds us what was accomplished and what might be if we sent more like him to Congress.

Dr. Harvey Jackson III

Glen Browder’s biography presents a very rare combination of insights stemming from the former Congressman’s record as an academic and as an elected official at both state and national levels. The volume by Certain and Browder may prove especially useful for those young adults who contemplate entry into the arena of electoral politics, but wish to balance the need to win on election day with the desire to serve a public interest by addressing deeply rooted social ills. Their work details the struggles of a professor-politician who lived firsthand with this very difficult balancing act.

Dr. Jess Brown

In this well-written biography, Browder emerges as a complex political leader during a critical period of Alabama and American history. Anyone who wants to understand state or national politics will find it a splendid read.

Dr. Wayne Flynt

[Professor-Politician] fits nicely into historians' ongoing analyses of southern politics after the 1960s. Students of recent Alabama politics will enjoy following the trajectory of Browder's career, the extensive remarks on local and state issues, and the stories of lively politicians who are relatively unknown outside the state. Broadly instructive and insightful. — The Journal of Southern History

Glen Browder’s biography presents a very rare combination of insights stemming from the former Congressman’s record as an academic and as an elected official at both state and national levels. The volume by Certain and Browder may prove especially useful for those young adults who contemplate entry into the arena of electoral politics, but wish to balance the need to win on election day with the desire to serve a public interest by addressing deeply rooted social ills. Their work details the struggles of a professor-politician who lived firsthand with this very difficult balancing act. — Dr. Jess Brown, Professor of Political Science at Athens State University

In this well-written biography, Browder emerges as a complex political leader during a critical period of Alabama and American history. Anyone who wants to understand state or national politics will find it a splendid read. — Dr. Wayne Flynt, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Auburn University History Department

In an era of hyper-partisanship it is good to reflect on an effort to find a middle ground and actually get some things accomplished in Washington. Glen Browder and his "Blue Dogs" were one of the bright spots in an otherwise dismal picture that included party politics that almost brought government to a standstill. This excellent study of Dr. Browder's career reminds us what was accomplished and what might be if we sent more like him to Congress. — Dr. Harvey Jackson III, Eminent Scholar in History, Jacksonville State University

From the Publisher

Glen Browder’s biography presents a very rare combination of insights stemming from the former Congressman’s record as an academic and as an elected official at both state and national levels. The volume by Certain and Browder may prove especially useful for those young adults who contemplate entry into the arena of electoral politics, but wish to balance the need to win on election day with the desire to serve a public interest by addressing deeply rooted social ills. Their work details the struggles of a professor-politician who lived firsthand with this very difficult balancing act. — Dr. Jess Brown, Professor of Political Science at Athens State University

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