Book Reviews | Chapter 16

The Measure of a Man

Jon Meacham traces the political roots of George H. W. Bush

By Chris Scott | December 2, 2015

December 2, 2015 Distrusted by liberals who saw him as Reagan’s lap dog and by conservatives who thought him too soft, George H. W. Bush is generally viewed as a genial but inconsequential president. But, as Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham points out in Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, that dismissal is wrong. Meacham will discuss the book at three different Tennessee events in December.

Between the Mystery and the Wonder

Korby Lenker’s debut story collection brings magic to the everyday

By Sara Estes | November 30, 2015

November 30, 2015 Medium Hero, the debut story collection by musician Korby Lenker, confronts everyday perils with humor and an honest eye. Lenker will sign copies at Parnassus Books in Nashville on December 1, 2015, at 6:30 p.m.

Flaming Malevolence

In Erica Wright’s second thriller, beloved New York drag queens are the target of a hate group

By Liz Garrigan | November 19, 2015

November 19, 2015 In Erica Wright’s second thriller, The Granite Moth, private eye Kathleen Stone is still trying to nab drug kingpin Salvatore Magrelli. But her caseload multiplies when two drag queens, colleagues of her dear friend Dolly at the Pink Panther nightclub, are killed in an ostensible accident during the city’s Halloween parade on Sixth Avenue. Wright will discuss The Granite Moth at Parnassus Books in Nashville on November 24, 2015, at 6:30 p.m.

Finding Fame in Defeat

Two University of Tennessee professors assess the legacy of George Armstrong Custer

By Chris Scott | November 18, 2015

November 18, 2015 Edward Caudill and Paul Ashdown’s new book, Inventing Custer: The Making of an American Legend, tells the story of George Custer’s transformation from Civil War hero to legendary symbol of the American frontier. That legend has served the purposes of many points of view, making Custer still relevant 139 years after his death at the Little Bighorn.

A Friendship Across the Divide

In Sarah Einstein’s Mot: A Memoir, a woman in search of herself befriends a tormented wanderer

By Maria Browning | November 17, 2015

November 17, 2015 Sarah Einstein’s Mot: A Memoir tells the story of the unlikely friendship between a woman trying to find some purpose in her troubled life and a chronically homeless man who struggles with an army of inner demons.

X Stands for Mistakes

Nothing is quite what it seems in Sue Grafton’s twenty-fourth Kinsey Millhone mystery

By Faye Jones | November 16, 2015

November 16, 2015 If mystery fans were afraid Sue Grafton would run out of steam before she finished her alphabet series, her new novel, X, proves she still has many narrative routes to explore. Grafton will appear in conversation with Judy Kaye at the Nashville Public Library on November 20, 2015, at 6:15 p.m.

Tias and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us

By Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez, illustrated by Josie Del Castillo
Seal Press
304 pages
$30

“Within these pages, I found my abuela, my tías and my primas — laughing, crying, and nodding alongside me. This book is a gift of understanding, and loving one’s family, even when our families are complicated and painful. It’s a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling and the profound connection of kinship.”

~ Paola Mendoza, author, organizer and filmmaker