Virginia Van der Veer Hamilton is professor of history, The University of Alabama in Birmingham, and is the author of Seeing Historic Alabama: Fifteen Guided Tours (UAP, 1982) and the editor of Hugo Black and the Bill of Rights (UAP, 1978), among other works. Hugo Black: The Alabama Years was first published in 1972.

""[A] crisply written, carefully researched political biography.""—New York Times| “Virginia Hamilton has given us a thorough, well narrated account of Justice Black’s Alabama years, with emphasis on his meteoric political advancement from police judge to United States senator. It is especially good on the Byzantine complexities of Alabama politics.” – Journal of Southern History| “Hamilton writes well and Alabama politics is always fascinating. As narrative history the book is outstanding, and it is easily the best study of Black’s political career.” – American Historical Review