Tennessee Books

This monumental seven volume work covers the early life of most of the fishes in the Ohio River Basin. This is volume 4 and covers the percidae family. This includes fish such as the perch, pikeperch and darters that are found not only in the Ohio but throughout much of the rest of the United States.

The book concentrates on the early life of the fish, which is distinctly different from the life of the adult fish. This provides invaluable information for anyone interested in protecting the spawning grounds or habitat of the fish.

This is a very large book, it reports on extensive research on these fish including drawings, measurements, distinguishing characteristics, and more. These books represent the definitive authority on the subject and represent a type of research that has been all to infrequent in these days of bioinformatics and concentrations on things like gene analysis.

A work in the publisher's series Sport and Popular Culture, "Retro Ball Parks" looks at the urban phenomenon of the building of new, state-of-the-art, baseball stadiums to try to bring back this sport as it is viewed nostalgically. These are the stadiums built in cities around the country usually with some public funds and big tax breaks and other economic favors to the team owners. They are characterized by costly suites for corporate and well-to-do fans, rising ticket prices for all levels of regular seats from boxes to bleachers, moveable roofs and other features to provide comfort for the fans, and corporate logos lining the walls of the playing fields. Rosensweig is interested not only in how these stadiums promising revivals of urban centers come to be out of aspects of contemporary culture and political and economic interests; and also in the peculiar, particularly postmodern, notion of authenticity regarding baseball such stadiums are supposed to revive. In many cases, new businesses have sprung up around the new stadiums attempting to replicate neighborhoods that have been torn down to make way for them. Rosenweig's feelings on this phenomenon he covers are seen in the title of his introduction--"Cheap Grace." The author did most of his research in Cleveland, where the Cleveland Indian's Jacobs Field was built as the anchor of the Gateway Developmental District. "The Gateway serves as a fascinating case study of the cultural shifts enacted by the transformation of a city's economic base from local commerce and manufacturing to recreational tourism." Stadiums in other cities are brought in as well, notably the Baltimore Orioles' Camden Yards, the major urban stadium project giving rise to the others. Rosenweig is a professor of Inter-Disciplinary Studies at the U. of Virginia.

This is a indespensible peice of Vol history for any collector. A rare find now days. Making it in my opinion worthy of owning for any football fan, that is pro or college ball fan. Or for that matter any avid book collector. The photos are unbeleivable. And yes even the write up's are great. So in short weather you live in vol country or just somewhere else in the country, I'd say buy it, keep it, love it. Enjoy........

I was first turned onto Ms. Wilsons book by a co-worker of hers and mine both with the state parks system here in tennessee. I having lived in the area of Roan Mountain was fascinated with the concept of a book that told the history of the peak and thought that I knew all there was to know about the mountain. Knowing Jennifer somewhat personally I called her and got a copy sent to me, she herself had autographed it and put a little message in it for me. I started reading it almost immediately. I waxed off the first 2 chapters during my lunch hour, and finished the rest of it that same night. I found the book to be not only accurate, but informative as to the beginnings and some of the happenings around both the mountain and the state park that is located there. If anyone were to ask me "what book should I read as general interest in appalachia?" I would steer them in the direction of Roan Mountain; A Passage of Time. It ceartainly tops the list as one of my favorite books.

This is a top notch piece of history; obviously exhaustively researched and painstakingly put together. I live in Roanoke (my office is on the former, notorious Railroad Avenue), so it held a great deal of interest for me, but the book is worth reading for anyone interested in the postwar "New South." Roanoke has nothing to do with "Old Virginia," instead it is a rust-belt town based on the railroad, real estate speculation, and manufacturing. Many other Southern cities, Dotson points out, have similar histories-- Birmingham is the one most often mentioned. Dotson very adeptly demonstrates that Roanoke's image of itself as purely a "railroad town" is false; it was a center for printing, manufacturing, and even beer brewing.

Dotson also does a terrific job with the social movements of the late Victorian/ Edwardian era in the US. Roanoke's first battles were over paving the streets, closing the open sewers and running the cattle out of town. Later, the prohibition/temperance movements, the systematic disenfranchisement of blacks and poor whites (accomplished in Virginia by the state constitution of 1900), are covered. Most importantly, Roanoke had severe issues with racial tension, including riots and lynchings, which were often abetted and fanned by the local newspapers.

One other thing-- Dotson really does a hell of a job putting the idea of "economic boosterism by the city fathers" into historical context. Today there is a fair bit of controversy when local governments subsidize new businesses, either with tax breaks or handouts or both. Dotson conclusively proves that this is nothing new; Roanoke was founded on a handout ($10,000 plus all the real estate the N&W and its parent firm could eat), and most of its industries were brought in with "tax free for 15 years" deals. Anyone who bleats about the "good old days" when business came in without incentives will be sorely disapointed.

This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it.

This book is a fascinating study of the historical and cultural contexts for everyday foods. Each chapter looks at the history of a fruit or vegetable that is a common part of American foodways. The writers fill out the historical background with intriguing discussions of the social and cultural norms that are associated with nine different foods and also with tobacco use. Readers can find out the real scoop on Johnny Appleseed and also discover why the cities of Fulton and South Fulton host a banana festival in two towns that straddle the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. The book is an excellent resource for information about common foods in Americans' diets, but it also provides a model for writing a social history of significant aspects of everyday life. You'll never eat an orange or a slice of watermelon in quite the same way after reading this interesting and well-written book that presents solid folklife scholarship in a digestible format.

This review is written by a resident-expert on Rugby, Tennessee. My family has been connected to that town since 1939. I have read the book in question, and without a doubt it is a necessary book for anyone wanting to know Hughes's true intent for the establishment of Rugby in 1880. Its purpose was to inspire young men from England to come to what was then a rather remote region of East Tennessee, to work the land and make good for themselves. I would not recommend it for the casual visitor or tourist who comes to Rugby (several thousand per year)but only for those who have a strong attachment to the Rugby community, or to those who may be studying Thomas Hughes's life. He was an extraordinary character. He was a member of Parliament, Queen's Counsel, lawyer, judge, promoter of a movement known as Christian Socialism in the mid 1800s. This book would be of great value to someone doing detailed research on Hughes and his life. End.

Professors Birdwell and Dickinson have compiled and edited a delightful collection of essays that explore the cultural and historical roots of the Upper Cumberland. This area stretches from north to south in mid-Tennessee between Nashville and Knoxville where the mountains start to rise toward the Great Smokies. Anyone who thinks that the inhabitants are prototypes of The Dukes of Hazard will be surprised to read the truth about the music, history, crafts, culture, religion, and habits of a people proud of their heritage and sturdy as the mountains that surround them. The book encompasses Civil War lore, religious revivals, moonshining, music, farming methods, and many more insights into the lives and history of the area. It is at once scholarly and readable (those two characteristics do not always go together) and is a treasure of information for the student of Southern culture as well as an entertainment for the casual reader.

This is a very good collection of essays and excerpts. I used it for a Russian philosophy class in grad school. A lot of these works seem hard or impossible to find elsewhere in English, so if you're at all interested in the bizarre world that is Russian thought, I'd highly recommend this collection.

Based on the life of Tennessee Williams, this play also deals with more profound and universal dramatical problems. When reading it (or even seeing it played) one really is confronted with the complex situation that arouses when man is hounted by thoughts, dreams and nightmares from the past and is forced to deal with them, turning them into reality.
The monologues are highly complex and illiterate, the dialoges vivid and written in colloquial language.
The book is a very rare gem in the list of contemporary plays with a gay-note in it.