A family history comes to life in John Barton Ratliff III's impressive true story, The William Pinkney Ratliff Family Saga 1847-1988. Meet William Pinkney Ratliff. Born in 1847, he lived a remarkable life as a farmer, preacher, merchant, Confederate soldier, newspaper editor, and politician-in addition to being a dedicated husband and father to eleven children. Conveyed in meticulous detail by his great-grandson, Ratliff's life was one of triumph, tragedy, and everything in between. Covering the years spanning from his birth to the death of the last of his children, this saga reveals the man behind the legend that so many in his community got to know and love. An abundance of photos throughout the book help to bring this memorable family's story to life. Ratliff's life was marked by sporadic violence, heartache, and deception as he strived to maintain the life he had built for himself and his family. Ratliff's shootout with a political opponent at the Attala County Courthouse that resulted in two people dead, a murder trial, and endless newspaper coverage throughout the country is recounted in dramatic detail, unfolding from the escalating tension before the shooting to the jury's verdict three weeks later. But Ratliff's story does not end with him. Each of his eleven children has a story to tell. Learn the truth behind his daughter's grief and decline into mental illness, and his son's trial for murder that eerily echoes his own father's courthouse drama long ago.