Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Aram Goudsouzian

Liar, Liar

Joseph Hayden explains the long history of disinformation in American politics and journalism

From hoaxes to demagogues to unthinking media prejudices, disinformation has long infected American politics and media. Joseph Hayden traces that history.

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Root, Root, Root for the Home Team

Keith Wood paints a portrait of a Memphis baseball team and the Black community that loved it

Keith Wood, a leading scholar of sports in Memphis, reconstructs the history of the Memphis Red Sox, a longstanding team in the Negro Leagues and a pillar of the city’s Black community.

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Big Top Labor

Andrea Ringer rewrites the history of the circus from the workers’ perspective

From trapeze artists to roustabouts to elephants, the golden age of the American circus depended on its workers. Andrea Ringer’s Circus World tells their story.

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Explosive Revelations

Betsy Phillips’ Dynamite Nashville is a raucous, engrossing investigation of white supremacist violence

In Dynamite Nashville, Betsy Phillips plunges into the world of white supremacist violence in Nashville during the civil rights era. Phillips will discuss the book at the Tennessee State Museum on July 13.

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River Gods

Boyce Upholt explores the long history of the Mississippi River

In The Great River, Boyce Upholt chronicles the long history of how the U.S. government has sought to control and shape the Mississippi River, exploring its social and environmental impacts. Upholt will discuss the book at Novel in Memphis on June 25.

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A Southern Story

Andrew Ross reconstructs the history of one Shelby County plantation from multiple perspectives

In The Realms of Oblivion, Andrew Ross tells the history of the 19th-century South through the experience of the Davies family and the Black people who worked their land in both slavery and freedom.

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