The Most They Ever Had by Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg may just be the most powerful work of a stunningly gifted author. He bears witness to the lives of good, hard working people who worked the cotton mill in Jacksonville Alabama. His words show he honors telling their stories, giving them the respect and dignity their hard working lives deserve. He does not let them down. His conveys their essence with power; "You need not use foul language to damn a man here. Just say a day's work would kill him, and you tore him down to the bald nothing." We used to value hard work in this country. The people in this book are proud people, folk who take pride in working hard to provide for their families. They don't expect much, just a roof over their heads, a newer car every once in a while, and maybe a night at the movies. They are not anticipating easy lives or great wealth. Is it too much to expect a safe working environment and a living wage? Apparently it is. Rick Bragg has written a eulogy to the time in America where we built things rather than chased ever faster after the next deal, the easy dollar, and the fastest way to chase the money. Now a company's parts are worth more than its whole, the jobs can be done cheaper overseas, and Wall Street needs to be kept happy. We have become a nation of financiers. A nation obsessed with flashy ball players paid mega dollars, CEO's bringing home checks with so many zeroes it will make your head hurt, starlets wearing next to nothing, and reality shows illustrating the decline of our culture. In this era of bigger is better, more, more, more, Rick Bragg has written a book about the lives of hard working, everyday people who hold their dignity close. Rick reminds us of a set of values and a way of life that defined our country far better than the lust for the deal, and fast money culture of late. This book is a powerhouse!