Nonfiction

August 2, 2010 For newcomers and original descendants alike, there is much to find fascinating in Nashville: Yesterday & Today. Nicki Pendleton Wood presents an overview of the city’s history, including its economy, architecture, education, and race relations. Breaking down Nashville into its geographic components, she provides a sense of how the various parts of the city developed and inspires readers to make a visit to both well and lesser-known sites. Wood will sign copies of the book at the Metro Archives in Nashville at 5:30 on Aug. 3. Proceeds will benefit St. Luke’s Community House.

July 27, 2010 After making over-medium eggs in Juneau for an ex-goldpanner, Matthew Gavin Frank decided to take the advice of the patron who’d just spit out his food: “In a world full of idiots, you have to go to the place with the fewest idiots.” Barolo is Frank’s account of the six months he spent living and working—the back-breaking labor of grape harvesting—in Barolo, Italy (pop. 646), in the country’s northern Piedmont region. He will read from his book at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on July 27 at 6 p.m. and at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on July 28 at 7 p.m.

July 19, 2010 Did a poor black man named Willie McGee rape a white housewife named Willette Hawkins in Laurel, Mississippi, in 1945? Was she even raped, or did she just dream it? Or were the two—as Bella Abzug alleged in McGee’s third trial—lovers? As journalist Alex Heard finds in The Eyes of Willie McGee, the truth is disturbingly gray. The book is part history and part detective story, with Heard intersplicing McGee’s story with the tale of his own hunt for the facts. Heard discusses the book at the downtown branch of Nashville Public Library on July 21 at 5 p.m., and at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on July 22 at 6 p.m.

July 16, 2010 Most of the scientific information predicting global warming that Gwynne Dyer outlines in his new book, Climate Wars, has been in the news for years. Many people have ignored it, however, and even those who are both informed and concerned may not have thought through the logical consequences of what scientists predict: famine and war—and human extinction. Dyer will discuss Climate Wars at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on July 20 at 7 p.m.

July 8, 2010 Pat Benatar ruled the radio airwaves during the 1980s, and for good reason. Her talent for writing and choosing clever, anthemic, and arena-ready songs earned her four Grammy Awards, produced nineteen top-forty singles, and sold more than 22 million records worldwide. Now she’s written a memoir, Between A Heart And A Rock Place, which she’ll discuss at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on July 9 at 12:30 p.m.