With righteous fury and scathing wit, Ben Fountain’s Beautiful Country Burn Again dissects the monster of American politics in the age of Donald Trump, providing what may stand as the definitive account of the 2016 election. Fountain will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.
American Prison by Shane Bauer is a searing indictment of for-profit prisons, both in his own experience and in American history. Bauer will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 22.
The principal charm of Whiskey in a Teacup is Reese Witherspoon’s narrative voice, which is so sincere, un-fussy, and personable, it’s like you’re sharing a casual chat with an old friend over a Moon Pie and an RC Cola. Witherspoon will discuss her book at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville on September 23.
Alice Bolin’s essay collection, Dead Girls, is a savvy mix of cultural critique, coming-of-age diary, and confessions of a pop-culture fangirl. Bolin will read at Novel in Memphis on September 20, at The Bookshop in Nashville on September 23, and at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.
With The Thin Light of Freedom, Edward L. Ayers casts new light on the Civil War through the experience of two communities—one Northern, one Southern—occupied by enemy armies made up of their former countrymen. Ayers will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.
Glen David Gold’s vibrant memoir, I Will Be Complete, tracks the 1970s, from fashion trends to punk bands, while probing psychic scars inflicted by his mother, a ravishing “Linda Evans”-like Englishwoman transplanted to the West Coast. Gold will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.
