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AL SMITH covered a big-time mafia boss, crooked cops and mad Governor Earl Long until booze busted him off two New Orleans dailies. Sobering up on a Kentucky weekly, he began buying newspapers and launched a TV career. He worked for two U.S. presidents in Washington and won acclaim as a "National Rural Hero" for his efforts in journalism. From his boyhood in a Sarasota mansion to living poor on a rundown Tennessee farm and winning a national speech championship, this is the colorful life story of an engaged and revered journalist who believes in truth and fairness and always has a cause to champion.
Release Date: November 2011
Praise for Wordsmith
"Al Smith's boyhood began in Sarasota, then a tattered circus tent of a town. Hard times moved his coming of age to a scant farm scavenged from family holdings in Depression-era Tennessee. After the Army, he abandoned two college scholarships for drinking years in New Orleans as a young reporter covering madams and murderers. Recovered from whiskey in the state where they make it best, Al came back as a weekly newspaper owner, radio host and TV commentator. Wordsmith isn't just the who, what and where, but also the why and how Al Smith became modern Kentucky's leading citizen-journalist, a force for progressive causes and an advocate for rural America."
- Mark Neikirk, Civic Engagement, Northern Kentucky University;
former Managing Editor, The Cincinnati Post and The Kentucky Post.
"Like the author himself, the many-layered story that unfolds is informed, inspiring, and, most of all, interesting. The man who rose and fell in New Orleans, later owned a string of newspapers, hosted a weekly TV show, and headed the Appalachian Regional Commission. Here he tells a personal history that includes despair and delight, demons and determination, tragedy and triumph. It is his story, but, in truth, it is the human story-it is our story."
- James C. Klotter, State Historian of Kentucky
Author of A New History of Kentucky
"Al Smith's long-awaited memoir provides a revealing look into the life and politics of the twentieth century South. Smith is a master storyteller whose anecdotes and analysis of state and national leaders, backroom deal making, and political skullduggery are both humorous and insightful. He overcame adversity to become one of the leading voices for progressive change in the modern South."
- Ron Eller, Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Kentucky
Author of Uneven Ground: Appalachia since 1945
Praise for Al Smith
"A man dying from alcoholism fifty years ago, Al Smith recovered by working the twelve-step AA program. He has been a wonderful role model and example for thousands of recovering alcoholics - giving us hope, encouragement, and inspiration."
- Gordon L. Hyde, MD, Emeritus Professor of Surgery, University of Kentucky
Past Executive Director of International Doctors in AA
"Al Smith's essential ingredients are his never-dimming curiosity, his passion for politics and news, and his storyteller's soul."
- Jamie Lucke, Lexington Herald-Leader editorial staff
"Al Smith created a unique spot for himself in Kentucky politics and journalism with Comment on Kentucky. He informed, cajoled, agitated and, yes, entertained thousands of Kentuckians for over three decades. We are richer for his vision."
- Ferrell Wellman, Host of Comment since Al's retirement in 2007
"Al has done much for Kentucky but also for many individuals. We differ in our politics, but his encouragement and help have opened wonderful opportunities for me."
- John David Dyche, KET Election Night analyst, and Louisville attorney
Recent News on Book Release:
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111106/OPINION04/311060032/David-Hawpe-Rural-revival-Al-Smith
http://w ww.kentucky.com/2011/11/06/1949022/kentucky-journalist-al-smith-puts.html
http://www.kentucky.com/2011/11/06/1949056/an-engaging-memoir-by-an-engaged.html
http://richmondregister.com/viewpoints/x471033872/Al-Smith-s-memoir-worth-reading
http://www.whas11.com/great-day-live/video/Journalist-Al-Smith-and-his-new-book-Wordsmith-My-Life-in-Journalism-133538728.html |
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