Why did so many ancient civilizations collapse at the same time? Eric H. Cline explains
October 27, 2015 Archaeologist Eric H. Cline tackles one of ancient history’s great questions in 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. Cline delivers the Sesquicentennial Lecture in History at the University Center Theater at the University of Memphis on Nov. 5, 2015, at 6 p.m.
David Maraniss chronicles eighteen months in the history of Detroit, when the city was at its peak
September 16, 2015 In Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story, David Maraniss weaves together the city’s key stories during the early 1960s: Ford’s unveiling of the Mustang, the liberal dreams of labor leaders and politicians, the civil-rights movement and its discontents, and the glory of Motown. Maraniss will appear at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 9-11, 2015.
Cecelia Tichi paints a portrait of Jack London as a champion of progressive causes
September 2, 2015 Jack London was a writer and a fighter. As Vanderbilt professor Cecelia Tichi notes, London’s writing worked to fight against the wealth inequality and labor exploitation of his day. Tichi will discuss Jack London: A Writer’s Fight for a Better America at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 9-11, 2015.
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In (Re)Presenting Wilma Rudolph, Rita Liberti and Maureen Smith prod us to consider how we remember our sports heroes
July 8, 2015 In (Re)Presenting Wilma Rudolph, historians Rita Liberti and Maureen Smith deliberately complicate the way we tell the story of the Olympic champion of the 1960s.
Oak Ridge tells triumphant stories about its past; Lindsey A. Freeman asks if they’re the right stories
June 9, 2015 In Longing for the Bomb, sociologist Lindsey A. Freeman tackles the myths of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and their meaning in a nuclear America. Freeman will appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on June 14, 2015, at 2 p.m.
Pate McMichael talks with Chapter 16 about Klandestine, the story of an unlikely partnership that led to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
March 31, 2015 James Earl Ray did not, at first glance, seem like a foaming-at-the-mouth white supremacist, and conspiracy theories inevitably arose in the wake of his assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. In his new book, Klandestine: How a Klan Lawyer and a Checkbook Journalist Helped James Earl Ray Cover Up His Crime, Pate McMichael combines rigorous archival research with a fast-paced narrative to explain how one of those conspiracies was created. McMichael will discuss the book at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on April 7, 2015, at 6:30 p.m.
