When Kansas Bled Over Slavery
The war between North and South began in the West. In the 1850s, the fight over whether Kansas would allow slavery became so violent that it ignited the Civil War. As the guerilla war between southern "ruffians" and northern "jayhawkers" escalated out of control, the nation called it Bleeding Kansas.
Dogs, Kids and Art
Four Dog Blues band in the Big City; Gents dapper and ladies pretty; Art ball guests will dance all night; Our band will play 'til morning light. Horrrruuuuuuu!
Tough Babes
If you've ever wondered about the history of the female superhero, then the upcoming "The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines" may just be the book for you.
God's Secret Club
The shocking details of Leisha Pickering's suit against the alleged mistress of former U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering is only the latest scandal connected with C Street House, a Washington, D.C.-based political fraternity and Christian fellowship home.
A Beautiful, Rambling Mess
Arthur Goldwag's "Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies: The Straight Scoop on Freemasons, the Illuminati, Skull & Bones, Black Helicopters, the New World Order, and Many, Many More" is a messy book about messy ideologies, and you have to read it in a messy way or you're not very likely to enjoy it.
Crisis of Righteousness
Some people argue that the purpose of good literature is to make you think, while the purpose of good art is to make you feel. While this is an oversimplification, it does hold some merit. What, then, happens when these two mediums are combined?
Coming to Terms in the Delta
Forty years ago in Mississippi, federal judges had had enough. A decade and a half had come and gone since Brown v. Board of Education, and the state's public schools remained segregated.
Trial in the Desert
The year is 1942. The United States has just entered World War II, but England still stands almost alone against the Axis powers. Germany's Afrika Korps and their Italian allies, led by legendary Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, have driven the British army back into Egypt. If Egypt falls, the British will lose the Middle East and its oil fields. That would force the Soviet Union to make peace with Germany. The Nazis can still win the war.
The Key Ingredient
Cooking with love. That's the philosophy of Pat and Gina Neely, married co-hosts of Food Network show "Down Home with the Neelys," which they tape in their Memphis home.
The Neelys in My Kitchen
"Down Home with the Neelys: A Southern Family Cookbook" is more than just a book filled with recipes. Pat and Gina Neely share family photos and personal stories throughout the book, including how they met and the history of their family barbeque restaurant, Neely's Bar-B-Que.
'A Richer Sense of Being Alive
There isn't a simple way to characterize someone as complex as Frank Owen; consciousness-explorer, Celtic spirituality facilitator, travel guide and Jungian all come to mind. But to stop there would be to leave out an arm or a legeach of the myriad facets comprising Owen's background being vital to the whole.
Parting The Curtain
Mississippi Values: It sounds innocuous, even noble; yet under the pens of Alex A. Alston Jr. and James L. Dickerson, the phrase takes on an ominous ring. Magnolia State residents "have a long history of being against whatever the rest of the nation is for," the authors write in "Devil's Sanctuary: an Eyewitness History of Mississippi Hate Crimes".
Imperfect Heroes
"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.Martin Luther King, Jr. It wouldn't be fair to describe John Dittmer's "The Good Doctors" as a story about failure, but it does reveal some harsh, Calvinist truths about what it means to stand up for social justice.
The Myth of Yazoo Blues
John Pritchard is a Mississippi native whose newly released novel, "The Yazoo Blues," chronicles the adventures of a Delta man named Junior Ray Loveblood.
Jihad, Defined
Casual readers may view "How to Win a Cosmic War" (Random House, 2009, $26), the second book by acclaimed religious scholar Reza Aslan, as a defense of Islam. In part, this is an accurate assessment.