The first-person account of the family that changed the American retail landscape.

Longtime Dollar General CEO Cal Turner, Jr. shares his extraordinary life as heir to the company founded by his father, Cal Turner, Sr., and his grandfather, a dirt farmer turned Depression-era entrepreneur. Cal's narrative is at its heart a father-son story, from his childhood in Scottsville, Kentucky, where business and family were one, to the triumph of reaching the Fortune 300--at the cost of risking that very father/son relationship. Cal shares how the small-town values with which he was raised helped him guide Dollar General from family enterprise to national powerhouse.

Exploring three generations of a successful family with very different leadership styles, Cal Jr. shares a wealth of wisdom from a lifetime on the entrepreneurial front lines. He shows how his grandfather turned a third-grade education into an asset for success. He reveals how his driven father hatched the breakthrough dollar price point strategy and why it worked. And he explains how he found his own leadership style when he took his place at the helm--values-based, people-oriented, and pragmatic. Cal's story provides a riveting look at the family love and drama behind Dollar General's spectacular rise, pays homage to the working-class people whose no-frills needs helped determine its rock-bottom prices, and shares the life and business lessons of one of 20th-century America's most compelling business leaders.

The Southern Wildlife Watcher is a colorful look at thirty-six common and not-so-common animals found in the southeastern United States--from the hummingbird to the bald eagle and from the bullfrog to the bobcat. Rob Simbeck, one of the Southeast's most widely read naturalists, combines a poet's voice with a journalist's rigor in offering readers an intimate introduction to the creatures around us. Through delightful storytelling each vignette offers accessible information supported by quotes from noted naturalists and biologists. Simbeck covers habitat, diet, mating and reproduction, environmental challenges, and even folklore in outlining the lives of insects and other invertebrates, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, and fish. The Southern Wildlife Watcher is a refresher course and handbook for veteran nature lovers, an introduction for young readers, and fireplace or bedtime reading for those wanting to reflect on nature's bounty. A foreword is provided by Jim Casada, the author or editor of more than forty books and some five thousand magazine articles. He serves as editor at large for Sporting Classics magazine.

Tennesseans may be stirred by the sight of their state flag or the strains of "The Tennessee Waltz," but there are many other symbols associated with the Volunteer State: animals, plants, and even rocks. This new edition of Rob Simbeck's popular book describes thirty-one emblems of Tennessee's heritage and explains how they came to be recognized as official state symbols. Simbeck has compiled a treasury of facts and anecdotes about Tennessee's symbols that will surprise even those who have lived their entire lives in the state. Here is the story behind the construction of the state capitol; an account of the "war of the iris and passionflower" as they vied for official recognition; and a fascinating look at the most fragile state symbol, the freshwater pearl, the product of the state's mussels, many of which are endangered. Also included are the lyrics to Tennessee's seven state songs, from "Rocky Top" to "Pride of Tennessee." New entries in this edition include the state reptile (eastern box turtle), state amphibian (Tennessee cave salamander), and the state tartan, which celebrates the Scottish origins of Tennessee's early settlers--plus the state's official festival, the Sithville Fiddlers' Jamboree and Crafts Festival. From the mockingbird to the zebra swallowtail butterfly, these symbols are a celebration of what it means to be a Tennessean. Simbeck's stories will delight readers of all ages and give them a new appreciation for their state's rich heritage. The Author: Rob Simbeck is a writer whose works have appeared in publications from the Old Farmer's Almanac to Rolling Stone. He is the author of Daughter of the Air: The Life or Cornelia Fort and 50 Seasons: A History of the Nashville Symphony and a contributor to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture.

The first-person account of the family that changed the American retail landscape.

Longtime Dollar General CEO Cal Turner, Jr. shares his extraordinary life as heir to the company founded by his father, Cal Turner, Sr., and his grandfather, a dirt farmer turned Depression-era entrepreneur. Cal's narrative is at its heart a father-son story, from his childhood in Scottsville, Kentucky, where business and family were one, to the triumph of reaching the Fortune 300--at the cost of risking that very father/son relationship. Cal shares how the small-town values with which he was raised helped him guide Dollar General from family enterprise to national powerhouse.

Chronicling three generations of a successful family with very different leadership styles, Cal Jr. shares a wealth of wisdom from a lifetime on the entrepreneurial front lines. He shows how his grandfather turned a third-grade education into an asset for success. He reveals how his driven father hatched the game-changing dollar price point strategy and why it worked. And he explains how he found his own leadership style when he took his place at the helm--values-based, people-oriented, and pragmatic. Cal's story provides a riveting look at the family love and drama behind Dollar General's spectacular rise, pays homage to the working-class people whose no-frills needs helped determine its rock-bottom prices, and shares the life and lessons of one of America's most compelling business leaders.