Two University of Tennessee professors assess the legacy of George Armstrong Custer
November 18, 2015 Edward Caudill and Paul Ashdown’s new book, Inventing Custer: The Making of an American Legend, tells the story of George Custer’s transformation from Civil War hero to legendary symbol of the American frontier. That legend has served the purposes of many points of view, making Custer still relevant 139 years after his death at the Little Bighorn.
Knoxville native David Madden examines the complex legacy of the Civil War
October 19, 2015 In The Tangled Web of the Civil War and Reconstruction: Readings and Writings from a Novelist’s Perspective, David Madden illustrates the difficulty inherent in unraveling the various narratives and ongoing effects of America’s defining conflict. He will discuss the book at the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville on November 10, 2015, at noon.
Female war correspondents fight their way to the front lines in Meg Waite Clayton’s new novel
October 6, 2015 Drawn from real-life World War II experiences of women who reported from the front lines, Meg Waite Clayton’s The Race for Paris documents the events of the summer of 1944, when the world anxiously awaited news of the liberation of France. Clayton will appear at the Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 9-11, 2015.
Brad Thor conjures a host of perils in his fifteenth Scot Harvath thriller
July 7, 2015 With Code of Conduct, bestselling Nashville novelist Brad Thor turns up the heat on his superspy, Scot Harvath. Plagues and terrorism, secret cabals and patriots, make for a worthy summer thriller. Thor will discuss Code of Conduct at the Nashville Public Library on July 13, 2015, at 6:15 p.m. The event, part of the Salon@615 series, is free and open to the public.
Robert Blagojevich’s new memoir testifies to the injustice of the federal justice system
June 23, 2015 Robert Blagojevich was indicted and tried, along with his brother Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois, for attempting to sell Barack Obama’s former Senate seat. In Fundraiser A: My Fight for Freedom and Justice, Blagojevich describes a journey through the looking-glass world of investigators, prosecutors, judges, juries, and media that left him bitter but emboldened. He will discuss his memoir at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 27, 2015, at 2 p.m.
Archivist Tom Kanon examines Tennessee’s role in the War of 1812
February 27, 2015 The nearly forgotten War of 1812, with the related Creek War, made Andrew Jackson a hero and launched Tennessee to national prominence. In Tennesseans at War, 1812 – 1815: Andrew Jackson, the Creek War, and the Battle of New Orleans, state archivist Tom Kanon details the causes, facets, and consequences of a fight that should be more remembered.
