Adding significantly to our understanding of Southern and American Catholicism, this book provides a detailed history of the Mississippi Church's development in modern times. It focuses on the three bishops of the period--John Gunn, Richard Gerow, and Joseph Brunini--but also considers how the clergy and religious, especially the Irish clergy, facilitated the Church's growth, and how the laity worked to foster the Church in Mississippi's Protestant environment. Examining all facets of Catholic life, particularly the evangelizing roles of Catholic education, Catholic charities, and Catholic hospitals, the author places the Mississippi Church in the context of both its Protestant environment and Southern Catholicism generally. He concludes that the Mississippi Church is in the mainstream of Southern Catholicism, which is distinct from Northern, Midwestern, or Western Catholicism.

Emphasizing the Church's evangelizing activities, he shows that the Mississippi Church has been and remains missionary, that it has a continuing impact on its surroundings, particularly at the local level, and that it is symptomatic of Southern Catholicism. The work is the first scholarly study of the Church in Mississippi in the 20th century. It makes extensive use of primary sources and adds significantly to the growing body of knowledge on Southern and American Catholicism.

Rexford G. Tugwell's diary of the New Deal era is one of the most important first-hand, primary accounts of the New Deal available. One of FDR's most intimate advisors, Tugwell provides an open account of what went on in the New Deal, particularly in the early days when programs to address the Great Depression were being devised.

The diary talks openly about how programs were devised, who was involved, and how FDR reacted. It is very specific about such New Deal Programs as the NRA, AAA, and the different relief programs, including CWA, PWA, the Resettlement Administration, and CCC. The diary also discusses individuals, such as FDR, Henry Wallace, Hugh Johnson, Donald Richberg, Chester Davis, Louis Brandeis, Felix Frankfurter and fellow Brain Trusters Raymond Moley and Adolf Berle. The diary also provides insight into how Tugwell viewed himself and whether or not he agreed with the individuals assigned to run the New Deal programs. One of the most used sources at the FDR Library, this diary gives a rare glimpse of FDR and how he treated his intimate advisers.