Were it simply a collection of the best essays from one of Americas great writers, Frye Gaillards Heroes and Other Mortals would be a true journalistic and literary giftcompelling, beautifully-crafted profiles of crusading, committed people, some more well-known than others. But Heroes is much more than that. Even while writing unsparingly about some of lifes darkest situations, Gaillard seeks and finds the best of the human spirit, the best in us. His remarkable ability to get to the core of peoples souls, to crystalize what makes them human and extract the essence of their goodness leads to a lesson for all. Heroes is compelling, inspiring, affirming, relentlessly hopeful. We've needed this book. -- Mark Ethridge * author of Fallout * Collected here are the greatest hits from decades of fearless, in-depth journalism on issues of race, culture, global politics, identity, and more. From Frye Gaillards earliest essay on South Africa to his recent interview with the daughter of the infamous Governor George Wallace, this book serves as a testament to one of our countrys most vital and clear-sighted writers. Gaillard is a writer capable of peering back into the depths of what this country has been to divine what it still might become. His stories offer us hope. -- Charlotte Pence, Director of the Stokes Center for Creative Writing A provocative collection of essays, interviews, profiles, and stories that illuminates the turbulent, pivotal moments of our shared past. . . . For a long time, I have been guided by the belief that good writing is good thinking, thinking that asks hard questions, reveals hidden patterns, and acknowledges the conundrum of truth-telling and hope. In so many ways, Heroes and Other Mortals is such a book. -- Patricia Foster * Alabama Writers Forum *
