The big picture.

as an avowed history buff, visiting antebellum and historical homes in Mississippi is one of my favorite pastimes. It's also a great way to give children a hands-on education on what life was like "way back then," as I found when taking my children on a tour of the wonderfully preserved Manship House in Jackson this summer. Seeing the antique furniture and hearing stories about how the Manships, a prominent Jackson family, lived during the Victorian era made stories my children remembered reading from the Little House books all the more real to them.

Two books are now available that serve as visual reminders of the rich historical treasures that are Mississippi's beautiful homes, noteworthy for what they tell us about the lives of ordinary Mississippians throughout time past. While Jim Fraiser's The Majesty of Eastern Mississippi and the Coast focuses on homes in those areas of the state, Mary Carol Miller's Great Houses of Mississippi takes an in-depth look at several homes, examining their architectural styles and how those styles were influenced by the economic and social conditions of the state during different periods of history. Along with another new photo book, Mississippi 24/7, which takes a more contemporary view of the state's beauty; each of these volumes reveals a unique glimpse of Mississippi, past and present.

Fraiser continues the work he began in The Majesty of the Mississippi Delta with this companion volume, the latest installment in Pelican Publishing's Majesty series. In the foreword, John J. Fraiser, Jr. notes that while attention is often focused on plantation houses in the Delta and southwest Mississippi, beautiful examples of antebellum architecture also flourish in Laurel, Hattiesburg, Meridian, and, particularly, Columbus. "True antebellum gentility and sophistication there fostered luxurious living," the elder Fraiser writes. "Similar legacies were left by residents in all the other cities and towns covered in this book."

The book organizes the visual tour by location, beginning with the "Northeastern Hills:" the Curlee House in Corinth, the Stewart-Anderson House in Tupelo, and Ammadelle and Magnolia Grove in Oxford. Each page has a photograph of the home's exterior, accompanied by a short description of the borne, its historical significance, and its current condition and ownership. Particularly well-preserved homes, such as the Magnolias in Aberdeen, Waverly in West Point, and Merrehope in Meridian, are given two or three pages of interior and exterior photos, shot by Jackson photographer Rick Guy.

As the book moves into central Mississippi, most of the entries are focused on public buildings, such as Jackson City Hall, the Governor's Mansion, and the old and new Capitol buildings. Some private homes, particularly from the early post-war era, remain available for the public to see, including the Manship House and the Oaks, both residences for former mayors of the city. The book makes a great start for a reader looking for a quick tour through the state's historic properties.

Great Houses of Mississippi, which features the glorious photographs of Mary Rose Carter, has fewer entries but provides more detail on each borne, particularly from an architectural historian's point of view. Separate chapters of the coffee table book focus on homes considered prime examples of various architectural styles, including Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Gothic Revival, and Eclectic. "We have tried to include representative samples of each of those architectural periods and highlight the landmark houses that define the state's image," Miller writes in the preface. "But we have also chosen a variety of houses that won't make most books on historic architecture ... It's merely an introduction to a representative group of great houses, each worthy of reverence and preservation."

Much ink is devoted to descriptions of the homes and how to distinguish the styles they represent. The largest chapter is on Greek Revival, not only because of the number of examples but also for how its characteristics were so suited to Southern sensibilities and climate. "The simplicity of the basic Greek Revival design was relatively easy to duplicate in frontier towns with no trained architects," Miller writes. "A skilled carpenter like William Turner of Oxford could fashion simple square columns, top them with an unornamented pediment, and repeat the pattern with little of no alterations all over the county." Providing comfort during hot Mississippi summers was another important consideration in designing homes in the pre-air-conditioning days, and the Greek Revival style was particularly rewarding in that respect, Miller notes. "Its deep porches, tall windows, and high ceilings provided natural ventilation during Mississippi's summer months," Miller writes.

Great Houses of Mississippi doesn't just focus on the showplaces in Natchez, Vicksburg, and Holly Springs--readers also see some of the structures most desperately in need of renovation and restoration, including the Boddie Mansion at Tougaloo College and Mount Holly in Washington County. Work ongoing since 2001 is noted in the Boddie Mansion entry, but photographs of the home's boarded-up windows surrounded by scaffolding are a reminder that preservation projects should remain a priority; that notion is part of Miller's purpose in writing the book. "Our goal in choosing these 35 great houses is to remind us all of our obligation to protect the best of our past for future generations," Miller writes.

Preserving the present for future generations is the impetus behind the publication of Mississippi 24/7, part of a multi-state project by DK Publishing being rolled out this year after the success of last year's America 24/7. For last year's publication, more than 25,000 photographers took thousands of photographs over the course of a single week to create what the publishers called an "unprecedented visual time capsule of American life." The 50-state project takes the concept a step further, creating a book of photographs unique to each state and rolling the volumes out on an ongoing basis in 2004.

The Mississippi installment features photos from all over the state, including entries from Jackson's "Catfish on Parade" public art exhibit from 2003, the interior of the Hollywood Cafe in Robinsonville, and gravestones in Biloxi National Cemetery. Not all of the photos are of celebrated places and people--amateur photographers sent in shots of guests at a wedding in the Delta, a homecoming football parade in Greenville, and home folks sitting around the table at the Dinner Bell Restaurant in McComb.

In addition to Mississippi 24/7's 160 full-scale photographs, more than 820 thumbnail images line the edges of the 144 pages. The visual effect is like the largest family scrapbook you've even seen, full of people you think you just might know, whether they live in Natchez, Starkville, Corinth, or Port Gibson. The themes of "Hearth and Home," "Hard at Work," "Mississippi at Play," "Reason to Believe," and "Our Town" resonate with each of us and show all of America what we're about.

Weaving together the past and the present, these books document a visual history of Mississippi that you have to see to believe. Whether looking backward or forging ahead, historians of all ages and persuasions can find something to enjoy in these colorful books all about Mississippi.

THE MAJESTY OF EASTERN MISSISSIPPI AND THE COAST

Text by Jim Fraiser; photography by Rick Guy. Hardcover, $18.95. Pelican Publishing Co., 888/5-PELICAN, www.pelicanpub.com.

GREAT HOUSES OF MISSISSIPPI

Text by Mary Carol Miller; photography by Mary Rose Carter. Hardcover, $45. University Press of Mississippi, 800/737-7788, www.upress.state.ms.us.

MISSISSIPPI 24/7

Created by Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen. Hardcover, $24.95. DK Publishing, www.america24-7.com.

rebel yell

Mississippi State and Southern Miss fans, stop reading now. But those who eat, sleep, and breathe the red and blue of Ole Miss will want to pay close attention to a new book based on the Eli Manning-led team's successful 2003 season. Return to Glory: An Ole Miss Football Season to Remember is sure to be a hit in the Grove this fall and may help all those armchair quarterbacks feel like they're right there on the 50-yard line.

After a foreword by head coach David Cutcliffe, the coffee table book walks fans through each game of the season with photographs by Bruce Newman. Here, it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words, as little text is needed to explain the effort and exuberance shown in these images. The heartbreaking losses, like the hard-fought battle against LSU in what might have been the most highly anticipated game in Oxford in years, are shown right alongside the big wins. "... When the team came back on Monday, I knew something special was taking place," Cutcliffe writes of the aftermath of the LSU game. "This group of student-athletes desired more. They were still hungry."

That hunger led them all the way to the Colton Bowl, where the Rebels pulled out a win over Oklahoma State. The season had ended with the ultimate prize, and team members and fans embraced their success with joy but also with the same hunger to do it all again next year.

"My hope is that there are many more memorable moments to come in the future," Cutcliffe writes. Readers of this book would no doubt wish for the same.

RETURN TO GLORY: AN OLE MISS FOOTBALL SEASON TO REMEMBER

Photography by Bruce Newman; foreword by David Cutcliffe. Hardcover, $37.95. Jefferson Press, www.jeffersonpress.com.