Nonfiction

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.

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.

September 15, 2011 In her new memoir, Not About Madonna, Nashville songwriter remembers her skinny, wise-cracking, indefatigable college roommate—before she became an international icon. Hill will appear at the 2011 Southern Festival of Books, held October 14-16 in Nashville.

August 31, 2011 There are echoes of his voice on the radio today. When Tim McGraw sings—or Willie Nelson, or Merle Haggard—what you’re hearing is the influence of Lefty Frizzell, front and center stage. Little known today, Lefty’s music was simply everywhere in the early 1950s. And his life was filled with as many ups and downs as his loose, turbulent voice. In his new memoir, I Love You A Thousand Ways: The Lefty Frizzell Story, Lefty’s brother David tells the story as he knew it.