Briefly Noted

“[Skaggs’] career has been a matter of following a God-given calling.…He tells the stories of the first half of his life and of the rest, too, with natural enthusiasm, innate good nature, and an unflagging, positive Christian spirit.”

“In ‘Dixie Redux’ historians Raymond Arsenault and Orville Vernon Burton honor Hackney, gathering eclectic essays that ask what historian Charles W. Joyner terms ‘large questions in small places.’ The articles succeed in relating Southern to national and international themes and emphasizing paradoxical elements of Southern history.”

“The Volunteer State has been a pioneer in southern literature for generations, giving us such literary stars as Robert Penn Warren and Cormac McCarthy. But Tennessee’s literary legacy also involves authors such as Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor, who delayed writing his first novel but won the Pulitzer Prize upon completing it. Join author Sue Freeman Culverhouse as she explores the rich literary heritage of Tennessee through engaging profiles of its most revered citizens of letters.”

“The once-thriving houseboat communities along Arkansas’ White River are long gone, and few remember the sensational murder story that set local darling Helen Spence on a tragic path. In 1931, Spence shocked Arkansas when she avenged her father’s murder in a DeWitt courtroom. The state soon discovered that no prison could hold her. For the first time, prison records are unveiled to provide an essential portrait. Join author Denise Parkinson for an intimate look at a Depression-era tragedy. The legend of Helen Spence refuses to be forgotten–despite her unmarked grave.”