The Prince of Frogtown Paperback – April 7, 2009

In his first two family memoirs (*All Over But the Shoutin’* and *Ava’s Man*), Rick Bragg wrote about himself and about his mother’s family. He ignored his late father, who left the family when Bragg was six, except as the person who had made his mother poor and miserable. He dismissed his father as “a mean drunk and a tragic figure.”But at the age of 40, Bragg finds himself in love and married to a woman with a 10-year-old son, who thinks he “hung the moon.” For him to be a father, he needs to learn who that shadowy figure really was. For the first time he asks his father’s family about the past, from the Alabama mountains where his father’s people were born to the mill town where they married, drank, and fought. Brilliantly written and deeply moving, this is one of the great American memoirs about fatherhood.

Rick Bragg is one of our favorite authors. His books never disappoint!

Having read Rick Bragg's other works, I can say that this book not only didn't disappoint me in any way - it is as beautifully written as All Over But The Shoutin' and Ava's Man - but it also fulfilled a curiousty created by All Over But The Shoutin, in particular. It dug in to just who Rick's father was and created a three dimensional man, giving those of us who have followed this family saga an understanding of what made that man tick. There is tremendous sadness in this understanding, but Rick manages to weave in humor that will simply touch your heart. Watching the relationship develop with The Boy through passages so descriptive it was as if I could see the two of them together...more than once I found myself with a lump in my throat...and more than once I beamed with joy (particularly at the church league basketball game)! These "characters" are so rich, you'll forget that these are real people and not some beautifully crafted works of fiction. Very well done!

This series was a very emotional read for me. The father was nothing like mine. My dad was a very loving man who was emotional abused by my mother. Why he lived with her for more than 50 years I will never know. I guess he loved her more than he loved himself.I struggle with the love I feel for my mother because she has always rejected me and has clung to my younger brother and an older sister who died when she was 9 months old. My brother and I never got along & after my father died I had no contact with either my mother or brother for a number of years.My brother died and I called to see if I could go to his funeral but my mother did not return my call and I did not go. Shortly after his death her older sister was very sick and her family called to let me know. This was the first time in years any family members had contacted me because they were afraid of my mother's reaction.Days before my aunt died my mother & I would be present at the same time and she never spoke to me. It was only at my aunt's funeral that she said I was all she had left and she guessed she needed me.Things were peaceful for a couple of years but she gradually became more and more controlling and I was forced to walk away for my own sanity. Now I struggle constantly because I feel the loss so profoundly. The loss is not the reality of our relationship but what I wish it was. Reading these books, listening to others talking about their mothers, looking at my husband's relationship with his mother just makes it so much worse.I relate to Mr. Bragg on so many levels but not the deep, profound love he shares with his mother. We both grew up poor in the south. My parents both worked in textile factories, alcohol was a large part of my family and I often had to fight to fit in.This series spoke to my heart in many ways. I am very glad I was introduced to his writing.

This is an important, relevant piece of American nonfiction. Bragg's prose is perfect for this story, beautifully descriptive but sometimes choppy in its conventions. The Bragg family story tells an American history often excluded in textbooks; it is a story of family and perseverance that transcends the superficial crap of our contemporary, confused American society.

This is not the last book by Rick Bragg that I plan to read. HIs recounting of his father's life, and growing up poor in Alabama, is told with such insight and heart it is really like no other memoir I've ever read, and that is due primarily to the author's talent. Every page is a pleasure, and I look forward to going back to read the first two books in this trilogy. Easily one of the most rewarding books I've encountered in a long time. He makes the people in his childhood and adulthood come to life in the best way possible.

This was an interesting book as it wove two stories together, that of his father and the author's son. His ability to describe characters and environments is second to none, you see them clearly and his well chosen words put you there, living the hardscrabble life with them. That life is contrasted with the life style of his step son, and his love for the boy is so evident page after page. A wonderful book

Beautifully written, absorbing, and heart wrenching. I grew up in a totally different environment and am in awe of the resilience of his people. Would recommend Rick's books to anyone interested in social history!