Book excerpt: Wallace Jernigan has somehow managed to fill the time allotted for one life with a multitude of lives well-lived. His thirst for knowledge made him a civil engineer, a businessman, a beekeeper, and a licensed mortician. His zeal for adventure led him into politics, music, and bear hunting. But that's not even half the story. In this tale of the first half of his life, Wallace traces a personal journey from 1925 to 1962, from the Great Depression to Desegregation. With his trademark sense of good humor and his genuine love for people, he tells the story of his unique American adventure. From rural southern Georgia and his beloved Okefenokee Swamp to the heights of state political power under the Gold Dome in Atlanta, Wallace Jernigan tells his story. He lifts the veil off the headlines from the Atlanta newspapers to show how life and politics really operated in the middle of the twentieth century. Come on in and see who's in "Those Smoke-Filled Rooms."