Big Top Labor
From trapeze artists to roustabouts to elephants, the golden age of the American circus depended on its workers. Andrea Ringer’s Circus World tells their story.
Explosive Revelations
In Dynamite Nashville, Betsy Phillips plunges into the world of white supremacist violence in Nashville during the civil rights era. Phillips will discuss the book at the Tennessee State Museum on July 13.
River Gods
In The Great River, Boyce Upholt chronicles the long history of how the U.S. government has sought to control and shape the Mississippi River, exploring its social and environmental impacts. Upholt will discuss the book at Novel in Memphis on June 25.
A Southern Story
In The Realms of Oblivion, Andrew Ross tells the history of the 19th-century South through the experience of the Davies family and the Black people who worked their land in both slavery and freedom.
Arcs of Hope and Tragedy
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: Frye Gaillard’s A Hard Rain pulls the reader into the 1960s, not just to witness its momentous events, but to feel its idealism and disenchantment. First published in 2018, A Hard Rain has recently been released in paperback and as an audiobook.
All Shook Up
Tennessee State University historian Michael Bertrand reflects on the complicated history of race, rock ‘n’ roll, and the South. Southern History Remixed compels readers to contemplate the meaning of our everyday actions, behaviors, and consumer choices — including the music we listen to.
