A Publication of Humanities Tennessee

The Mack Marsden Murder Mystery: Vigilantism or Justice?

The Mack Marsden Murder Mystery: Vigilantism or Justice?

The Mack Marsden Murder Mystery: Vigilantism or Justice?

Joe Johnston

Missouri History Museum Press
336 pages
$24.95

One of the last of the bad men in Missouri was Mack Marsden. For over three years he was suspected of every major crime in Jefferson County. Though the newspapers labeled him a desperado, he was tried only once and never convicted of any wrongdoing. When he was ambushed, shotgunned, and left dying on a dusty road, his life became even more mysterious. Who murdered him? And if Mack wasn’t the desperado behind all those crimes, who was? For the first time, all of the available resources, including oral histories, are mined for the clues that answer these questions and more. This narrative nonfiction book is a true mystery that bears striking parallels to the life of Missourian Jesse James—and is as thrilling as any of the more famous tales of the Old West.

— From the Publisher

He Stopped Loving Her Today: George Jones, Billy Sherrill, and the Pretty-Much Totally True Story of the Making of the Greatest Country Record of All Time

He Stopped Loving Her Today: George Jones, Billy Sherrill, and the Pretty-Much Totally True Story of the Making of the Greatest Country Record of All Time

He Stopped Loving Her Today: George Jones, Billy Sherrill, and the Pretty-Much Totally True Story of the Making of the Greatest Country Record of All Time

Jack Isenhour

University Press of Mississippi
176 Pages
$28.00

He Stopped Loving Her Today, the story behind the making of the song often voted the best country song ever by both critics and fans, offers an overview of country music’s origins and a search for the music’s elusive Holy Grail: authenticity. The schizoid bottom line-even though country music is undeniably a branch of the make believe world of show biz, to fans and scholars alike, authenticity remains the ultimate measure of the music’s power.

— From the Publisher

American Pickers Guide to Picking

American Pickers Guide to Picking

American Pickers Guide to Picking

Libby Callaway

Hyperion
224 pages
$24.99

“In these pages, professional treasure hunters Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz chronicle their road trips across the American countryside in search of “rusty gold” to buy and sell among the picking world’s one-of-a-kind characters. Whether you are a fan of the show or just like finding hidden riches, you will love seeing what Wolfe and Fritz dig up and enjoy meeting the devoted collectors, extreme stockpilers, and elite dealers who they encounter along the way.”

— From the Publisher

Getting to Know A. Lincoln

September 26, 2011 Writing a compelling new biography of a subject as monumental as Abraham Lincoln is a remarkable achievement. Ronald C. White Jr. has done just that with A. Lincoln, a universally praised new look at one of the most important figures in world history. The biography is both detailed and accessible, and White recently took the time to answer questions from Chapter 16 via email about what makes Lincoln so fascinating. White will give a lecture about the Civil War on September 26 at 5:30 p.m. at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. The event is free and open to the public.

Getting to Know A. Lincoln

The True Costs of Amazon's Savings

September 22, 2011 Liz Garrigan’s Dear John letter to Amazon in today’s edition of Chapter 16 is an unvarnished call for book lovers to put their money where their mouths are and support their local bookstores instead of buying books online. Garrigan argues that Amazon’s refusal to collect the state and local sales taxes that other bricks-and-mortar stores collect–taxes that support local schools, police and fire departments, and other civic necessities–amounts to a “powerful incentive for customers to let their fingers do the clicking.”

Rehabilitating Honor

September 20, 2011 For many twenty-first-century Americans, the notion of honor rings hollow. The very word “honor” conjures up images of the joust or a gentle slap with a soft leather glove: haughty behaviors perhaps best left to history books. According to philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah, however, honor is the very thing we need more of. In The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen, Appiah maintains that, rather than being obsolete, honor can be a fundamental, powerful engine for social change. Appiah will discuss his work at Rhodes College in Memphis on September 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Rehabilitating Honor

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