Nonfiction | Chapter 16

Always an Unexpected Grace Note

Excerpt: People Only Die of Love in Movies: Film Writing by Jim Ridley

By Steve Haruch | December 15, 2017

On March 28, 2016, Jim Ridley collapsed in his office at the Nashville Scene. His heart had failed. For days after his death, you could search the national trending topics on Twitter and find the name Jim Ridley there alongside the likes of Star Wars and Bruce Springsteen. In June 2018, Vanderbilt University Press will bring out a collection of Ridley’s film reviews edited by Steve Haruch.

Jerry Lee Lewis

Book excerpt: Memphis Rent Party

By Robert Gordon | December 11, 2017

Home of the blues, birthplace of rock & roll, soul-music capital—Memphis has been essential to American music. In Memphis Rent Party, coming March 6 from Bloomsbury, Robert Gordon heads behind the scenes to the people and places that music history has yet to record.

The Colors of Music

In a new memoir, Steve Dorff collects tales from a life devoted to song

By Randy Fox | December 6, 2017

Songwriter and composer Steve Dorff’s new memoir, I Wrote That One, Too… A Life in Songwriting from Willie to Whitney, tells stories of creativity, encounters with stars, and lessons from a colorful life.

In Barbecue As in Life

The Proffitts of Ridgewood is a look at one of the most beloved restaurants in the Southeast

By Susannah Felts | November 30, 2017

In The Proffitts of Ridgewood, Fred W. Sauceman tells the story of his favorite barbecue joint and the Appalachian family behind it.

Lifting the Long Black Veil

Michael Bishop’s A Murder in Music City tells a tale of murder, corruption, and a search for justice

By Randy Fox | November 15, 2017

Nashvillian Michael Bishop spins a web of murder, corruption, unforgiven sins, and a search for the truth in his debut true-crime book, A Murder in Music City.

A Life’s Work to Save the Planet

Despite climate calamities unfolding daily around the globe, Al Gore finds hope for the future

By Hamilton Cain | November 10, 2017

An Inconvenient Sequel unpacks the latest scientific data about climate change and spotlights ongoing advocacy efforts around the world. For this book Al Gore focuses on three simple questions: “Must we change?” “Can we change?” “Will we change?”