April 17, 2014 In a music career spanning six decades, Jim Rooney has worn nearly every hat—from stage hand, promoter, and performer to producer, publisher, and biographer— and crossed paths with all manner of luminous talents: Bob Dylan, Howlin’ Wolf, John Prine, and Iris DeMent, just to name a few. Rooney will discuss and sign copies of his autobiography, In It For The Long Run, at Parnassus Books in Nashville at 6:30 p.m. on April 23, 2014, and at The Station Inn in Nashville on April 24, 2014, from 6 to 8 p.m.

April 16, 2014 In An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties, and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, his highly readable popular history of the politics behind the groundbreaking civil-rights legislation, Todd Purdum is open to messy, multi-causal explanations involving a large cast of historical characters. Purdum will appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on April 23, 2014, at 3 p.m.

April 14, 2014 With their third cookbook, Memphis restaurateurs and Food Network celebrities Pat and Gina Neely offer a charming celebration of handed-down traditions, memories preserved through meals. The Neelys will discuss Back Home with the Neelys at the Nashville Public Library on April 17, 2014, at 6:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

April 10, 2014 John Sevier was widely recognized as a hero during his own time. Later writers and historical societies frequently revisited his legend, producing literature and monuments that reflected their own historical context. In John Sevier, Tennessee’s First Hero, Gordon T. Belt and Traci Nichols-Belt dig into those books, pamphlets, speeches, sermons, editorials, and letters to see how Sevier’s reputation has evolved over the years. The Belts will appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on April 13, 2014, at 2 p.m.