William
F. Winter and the New Mississippi, the
first biography of this pivotal figure, traces Winter’s life and
influences from his boyhood days in Grenada County through his service in World
War II through his long career in public service. Author Charles C. Bolton shines new light on one of
Mississippi’s best known and least understood public policy heroes.
Referred to by
President Bill Clinton as “one
of the great, unsung civil rights heroes of our age, and one of the finest men
I know” Winter lived a remarkable life in service to the public. For more than six decades, Winter (b. 1923) has been one of the
most recognizable public figures in Mississippi. His political career spanned
the 1940s through the early 1980s, from his initial foray into Mississippi politics
as James Eastland’s driver during his 1942 campaign for the United States
Senate, as state legislator, as state tax collector, as state treasurer, and as
lieutenant governor. Finally, Winter served as governor of the state of
Mississippi from 1980 to 1984.
William F. Winter
and the New Mississippi serves as a
testament to one of Mississippi’s greatest leaders and one of the most important politicians in
twentieth-century.
Charles Bolton is professor and head of history at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is the author of The Hardest Deal of All: The Battle over School Integration in Mississippi, 1870-1980 (University Press of Mississippi) and co-editor of With All Deliberate Speed: Implementing Brown v. Board of Education.
The is the first
McLemore Prize for a UPM book since 2007 when Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2006 by Jere Nash and Andy Taggart was honored with
the award.
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