Book Reviews

August 24, 2010 Like so many other young men of the Victorian era, Frank Lenz, a clerk from Pittsburgh, wished to make his mark on what was still a largely unexplored world. Lenz was a first-class bicyclist, and in that pre-automobile age, first-class cyclists were celebrities. It didn’t take Lenz long to realize he could trade that celebrity for lasting fame—if he were willing to take a calculated risk. In his new book The Lost Cyclist, bicycle historian David V. Herlihy recounts Lenz’s big gamble and the great adventure that cost him his life. Herlihy will appear at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on August 25 at 7 p.m. and at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on September 25 at 1 p.m.

August 12, 2010The relentless news coverage of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina obscured the fact that the Mississippi Gulf coast was just as devastated by the storm. In Rising from Katrina, former CNN reporter Kathleen Koch, a one-time resident of the Mississippi coastal town of Bay St. Louis, writes about the destruction there and the residents’ heroic struggle to rebuild. Koch will discuss her book at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on August 12 at 6 p.m.

August 2, 2010 For newcomers and original descendants alike, there is much to find fascinating in Nashville: Yesterday & Today. Nicki Pendleton Wood presents an overview of the city’s history, including its economy, architecture, education, and race relations. Breaking down Nashville into its geographic components, she provides a sense of how the various parts of the city developed and inspires readers to make a visit to both well and lesser-known sites. Wood will sign copies of the book at the Metro Archives in Nashville at 5:30 on Aug. 3. Proceeds will benefit St. Luke’s Community House.

July 27, 2010 After making over-medium eggs in Juneau for an ex-goldpanner, Matthew Gavin Frank decided to take the advice of the patron who’d just spit out his food: “In a world full of idiots, you have to go to the place with the fewest idiots.” Barolo is Frank’s account of the six months he spent living and working—the back-breaking labor of grape harvesting—in Barolo, Italy (pop. 646), in the country’s northern Piedmont region. He will read from his book at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on July 27 at 6 p.m. and at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on July 28 at 7 p.m.