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Thursday, July 5, 2007
Book on county will be real tell-all
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two years ago, Elliott Brack got the idea to set up a student exchange program between the two Duluths — Georgia’s and Minnesota’s.
When he visited the seaport, he’d wanted to take its mayor and schools superintendent something that told Gwinnett’s story.
Brack found nothing to his liking. So the Norcross resident and former associate publisher of AJC Gwinnett News chose to do something about it: Write the county’s history, the stories behind the story of how Gwinnett has become what it is today.
His book, tentatively titled “Gwinnett: A Little Above Atlanta,” is to be self-published this spring. So far, he’s written about 150,000 words, and expects to tap out around 200,000.
“I hope it’s a blockbuster and a substantial reference for years to come,” said Brack, a Macon native who moved to Gwinnett in 1974. “It will include over 100 tables and articles in the appendix, which may add another 100 pages or more.”
No doubt Brack has documented many of the county’s twists and turns. He served as president and general manager of the now-defunct Gwinnett Daily News for 13 years, followed by an equally long stint at AJC Gwinnett News as associate publisher.
Call him Mr. Gwinnett.
Brack retired from newspapers in 2001, but he still wanted to keep his hand in journalism, not to mention the community. He publishes GwinnettForum.com, a free online commentary about local issues, and GeorgiaClips, a digest of the most significant news in the state that is sent to paid subscribers electronically by 8:30 a.m. each business day.
“When I get up in the morning, I need to write to get something out of my soul,” he told me in an e-mail. “I wrote a column six times a week for the Gwinnett Daily Post and four times a week for the AJC.”
Initially, this bespectacled lover of seersucker suits figured he’d belt out the county’s history in six short months. Researching, though, taught him otherwise. The book, he estimates, may reach 500 pages.
“Suddenly I will realize I haven’t included this or that, and there I go again,” he said. “The more I got into it, the more and more stories and topics seemed necessary, so it expanded … into a longer view.”
That longer view traces the county’s major events since 1950. It will include conversations, past and present, that Brack has had with “leaders, wannabes, ordinary people and drivers of the county.
“My wish is for this to become the standard reference on Gwinnett, enlivened with the stories behind the story, making it very readable, and bringing to light material never seen before, often told by the very folks who made the news.”
As for that student exchange between the two Duluths, well, Brack’s still trying to work it out. When — not if — he does, he’ll have something to give the Minnesotans that tells Gwinnett’s story.
And makes Mr. Gwinnett proud.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
