Complaining the way people can be heard these days. Not raging, just complaining. This book should not have been called THE FOUNDING OF ALABAMA.

 2.0 out of 5 stars

 Not a worthy tribute to Frances Cabaniss Roberts

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2021

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I am very disappointed with this book and will probably expand these comments later. There are ways of honoring the early female scholar than this book. Alabama could have used the introductory tribute and Roberts's dissertation without calling the book THE FOUNDING OF ALABAMA. How can you have a history of the founding of Alabama without treating (for example) William Wafford (or Wofford)? The title of the book is misleading--I did not get what I paid for. So, there was a mistake or (you would not want to think) deceit in packaging. Then there was a failure of well-intentioned editorial labor and publication staff. I know about making notes work when they are stuck in the back of the book. You can do it. Northwestern University Press helped me make notes in MELVILLE BIOGRAPHY: AN INSIDE NARRATIVE accessible. We put running heads in the notes. I open it now to 512-513 and see the running heads: "NOTES TO PAGES 111-117" and "NOTES TO PAGES 118-123." We might have done even better by putting chapter titles in the notes rather than just having "Chapter 5" on 513 but the running heads give all the information immediately needed. Now, the FOUNDING OF ALABAMA thwarts Roberts's desire to be conscientious and clear. You are reading in the chapter "Early Beginnings" page 35, so the book is open to 34-35. Great--you have "Chapter 1" facing "Early Beginnings" so you feel in good hands. On 35 you want to read the note numbered 112. Heaven help you! You go back, find Chapter 1, and start looking. There are running heads "200 / NOTES" facing "Notes / 201." Note 112 is not there. Ah! Note 112 is on 204! So you have to write down "page 35" next to the note so you can find it again expeditiously and mark p. 204 on the running head so you know that 112 refers to something on p. 35. Then if you are going to be consulting this passage again and again you have to go back to 35 and make a note that 112 is on p. 204. No reader who has paid a very seriously high price should have to do this work which the editors and the press ought to have done. So the desire to pay a tribute to Frances Cabaniss Roberts has been tarnished by packaging -- misleadingly entitled and rendered appallingly difficult to use. I am seriously disappointed. I want what I paid for and wish what I actually got was more usable.

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