Q & A

Nashville writer David Dark has revisited his 2016 book, Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious, creating a “reframed and expanded” new edition. He’ll appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on January 7.

With Freedom’s Dominion, Jefferson Cowie spins a dark, intricate tale of white, racist, anti-statist ideas of freedom in Alabama, revealing a sprawling history — stunning in its scope — of white resistance to federal power.

In Soul City, Thomas Healy tells the epic, tragic, and potent story of founding a new, Black-oriented community in 1970s North Carolina. Healy will discuss Soul City at a virtual event held on Facebook Live, on the page of the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change, on November 15.

Clay Risen’s American Rye presents a comprehensive guide to a uniquely American spirit. As with his previous books on bourbon and scotch, Risen explains the evolution and making of rye whiskey before offering reviews and tasting notes on 225 contemporary expressions of the spirit.

In Reorganized Religion, journalist Bob Smietana examines the evolution of America’s Christian institutions.

In Walking Gentry Home, poet Alora Young crafts a family history from the stories passed down through generations.