Ala. publisher gets personal with Southern history

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Through his editorials, Anniston Star Publisher H. Brandt Ayers has earned nationwide recognition, as well as the scorn of some critics at home. Now, he's stretched out with a book called "In Love With Defeat: The Making of a Southern Liberal."

Ayers uses personal stories to describe changes across the South over the past 70 years. With stories from his childhood and career, he describes his own transition into a Southern liberal. His stories involve everyday people, presidents and standout Southerners. What comes through in the end is that Ayers never lost passion for Anniston, Alabama or the South.

Ayers says he decided to write the book because of his age — 78 — and because the election of Barack Obama provided an exclamation point for change in the South.