Weekly “what are you reading” Thread #23

I am reading Down From the Hills, 1 & 2, by Orval Faubus. A few weeks ago I was reading his autobiography about WWII. These books are more political than the WWII book, and instead of keeping it clean from politics, he instead is lavishing the reader with his takes, stories and other somewhat scrapbook oriented materials that can be found in his book. His writing is good, but he seems to mount a scattered defense of what his actions did and how he justified it. The content is fascinating from a historical perspective, but has little redeeming value beyond that.

I find at this juncture Faubus to be a sad character, perhaps even tragic. His only son killed himself, his wife murdered in Texas. It's sad to see someone go from high of governor and trying to claw their way back into power as their personal life shreds from political and personal upheaval. He is notably unrepentant for his role in segregation politics, something that sets him apart from even George Wallace. While not evil, he does somewhat reject the common sense, good neighbor politics in exchange for reinforcing a racial hierarchy many at the time found distasteful. Faubus in the end fades out of the limelight and dies, as most segregationists did. You end up feeling bad for the guy, while not feeling particularly bad that he and his politics lost.