Category Archives: american history

May 7, 2013

Twentieth Century Drifter wins country music book award

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in american history, awards, music | Comments Off

Diane Diekman’s book, Twentieth Century Drifter: The Life of Marty Robbins, will receive the Belmont Country Music Book of the Year Award given by the Mike Curb Entertainment and Music Business Program at Belmont University. The award ceremony will take place during … Continue reading →

April 24, 2013

Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass book trailer

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in american history, author commentary, music, women's history | Comments Off

In May 2013 we will publish Murphy Henry’s new book Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass, which documents the musical lives of more than seventy women including Sally Ann Forrester, Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, the Dixie Chicks, Bessie Lee … Continue reading →

April 16, 2013

David Levering Lewis on MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail

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in american history, biography, black studies | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Fifty years ago today Martin Luther King Jr. completed his open letter from Birmingham Jail. David Levering Lewis, writes in his book King: A Biography (recently released in a new third edition): “Every nation has its stockpile of rhetorical memorabilia, … Continue reading →

March 28, 2013

The First to Fly Controversy

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in american history | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Recently the publication, Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft declared at that aviator Gustave Whitehead, instead of the Wright brothers, was the first to take to the air in the sustained operation of a flying machine. The claim has caused quite a dustup amongst … Continue reading →

February 21, 2013

Q & A with One Woman in a Hundred author Mary Sue Welsh

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in american history, author commentary, music, women's history | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Mary Sue Welsh is a former executive director of the Bach Festival of Philadelphia, where she worked with its chair Edna Phillips.  She answered our questions about her new University of Illinois Press book One Woman in a Hundred: Edna Phillips … Continue reading →

February 20, 2013

The Rise and Fall of Early American Magazine Culture wins award

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in american history, American literature, awards | Comments Off

Jared Gardner’s recent University of Illinois Press book, The Rise and Fall of Early American Magazine Culture has been chosen for the EBSCOhost-RSAP (Research Society for American Periodicals) Book Prize for the best book published over the past two years … Continue reading →

February 20, 2013

Q&A with Lisa Phillips, author of A Renegade Union

Posted by michael
in american history, author commentary, labor history | 1 Comment

Lisa Phillips is an assistant professor of history at Indiana State University.  She answered our questions about her new book A Renegade Union: Interracial Organizing and Labor Radicalism. Q: What is the “renegade union” of the book’s title? Phillips: Local then … Continue reading →

February 13, 2013

NPR’s Weekend Edition features Wade

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in american history, music | Comments Off

The February 10, 2013, Weekend Edition Sunday featured a segment on Bill Stepp’s version of ”Bonaparte’s Retreat,” which is profiled in Stephen Wade’s book The Beautiful Music All Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience.  

February 7, 2013

Albert Figone discusses gambling and game fixing in college sports

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in american history, author commentary, sports history | Comments Off

Albert J. Figone is a professor emeritus of kinesiology and a former head baseball and assistant football coach at Humboldt State University.  He answered our questions about his new book Cheating the Spread: Gamblers, Point Shavers, and Game Fixers in … Continue reading →

February 4, 2013

Q&A with Organized Crime in Chicago author Robert M. Lombardo

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in american history, author commentary, Chicago | Comments Off

Robert M. Lombardo is an associate professor of criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago and a former Chicago Police officer. He answered our questions about his new book Organized Crime in Chicago: Beyond the Mafia. Q: What is your definition … Continue reading →