Robert Norrell tells the story of Alex Haley, whose books shaped the way we think about black history and culture
December 10, 2015 In his new biography, Alex Haley and the Books That Changed a Nation, Robert Norrell not only chronicles the life of a fascinating author but also reveals how The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Roots shaped our thinking about African-American history and culture.
Leslie Lytle’s first novel chronicles a Tennessee woman’s fight against factory farming
December 9, 2015 A single mother in central Tennessee struggles to save a family farm threatened by a (barely) fictional corporate-poultry giant in Chicken Stock, a first novel by Tracy City journalist Leslie Lytle. Although Lytle is clearly a proponent of sustainable farming, the book deftly avoids becoming a poultry polemic.
Rick Hall’s The Man from Muscle Shoals delivers a personal take on sweet soul music
December 8, 2015 In a new memoir, The Man from Muscle Shoals: My Journey from Shame to Fame, Rick Hall tells an idiosyncratic tale of his life and career as a ground-breaking producer of classic Southern soul, rock’n’roll, pop, and country records. Hall will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on December 12, 2015, at 2 p.m.
Lisa Alther and Françoise Gilot discuss art, sex, war, and other things in About Women: Conversations Between a Writer and a Painter
December 7, 2015 About Women: Conversations Between a Writer and a Painter by Lisa Alther and Françoise Gilot is a lively dialogue between longtime friends about family, war, sex, fashion, food, and any number of other subjects. The conversation meanders through the history of the twentieth century, exploring the way culture and circumstance shaped the lives and work of two brilliant, unconventional women.
B.A. Shapiro’s new historical novel eerily evokes the refugee crisis of today
December 4, 2015 While a storm rages in our world over the fate of Syrian refugees, B.A. Shapiro’s The Muralist reminds us that history too often repeats itself. The novel is set in pre-WWII New York, where a young Jewish artist desperately tries to obtain American visas for family members living in France and Germany. Shapiro will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on December 9, 2015, at 6:30 p.m.
Jon Meacham traces the political roots of George H. W. Bush
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.
