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Promises Kept

A Memoir
By Sidney S. McMath
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Brief Description
Winner of the 2006 Booker Worthen Literary Prize and the 2004 Ragsdale Award A dominating spirit of public service animated the life of Sidney Sanders McMath (1912–2003), the thirty-fourth governor of Arkansas. Promises Kept, completed and published when McMath was in his nineties, tells his story... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$8780

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Winner of the 2006 Booker Worthen Literary Prize and the 2004 Ragsdale Award

A dominating spirit of public service animated the life of Sidney Sanders McMath (1912–2003), the thirty-fourth governor of Arkansas. Promises Kept, completed and published when McMath was in his nineties, tells his story in his own words—from the piney hills of South Arkansas to the battlefields of World War II; through the human dramas of the courtroom to the marbled corridors of the State Capitol.

In Promises Kept, McMath recounts a rural upbringing that grounded him in the concerns of everyday Arkansans. He tells his life story through key milestones, including distinguished military service and a dramatic political rise to governor of Arkansas. During his four years in office, he pursued reform and modernization by expanding roads and electricity to rural areas, fighting the poll tax, building the state's first medical center, opening Democratic primaries to Black voters, and standing with President Harry Truman in resisting the segregationist Dixiecrats. McMath's political career ended amid unproven allegations tied to the highway program—charges he addresses directly here—and concludes with his return to the law, where landmark cases earned him honours.

Throughout, McMath reveals the excitement and the hard choices of real democracy, offering compelling human stories and a crucial perspective of a pivotal time in Arkansas history.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781682262979

Publisher: University of Arkansas Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 31 May 2026

Country: United States

Imprint: University of Arkansas Press

Illustration: 60 images

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 41.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 454g

Pages: 504

Collections

American & Canadian History Biography & Memoir Education & Reference History & Archaeology History & Military Non-Fiction Political Biographies Politics & Current Affairs Sidney S. McMath

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