Tennessee Books

Someone gave me this book 14 years ago, and I just got around to reading it because there was nothing else on my bookshelf that I hadn't read. I'm glad I picked it up! The book deals with music and violence and family, and the prose itself is musical at times. There is one chapter devoted to a relatively minor character's death that is heartbreakingly beautiful. And no, not a "typical" Vietnam story at all. I, an avid Jane Austin fan, loved it.

A great book that sneaks up on you over time. The relatively slow beginning is a wonderful evocation of the rural south and of the healing power of music and nature. However, violence is not that easy to tame. As someone who grew up after the Vietnam War (born 1969), I've often wondered why so many veterans ended up training in some form of martial arts. This book goes a long way towards explaining that need. The violence from the war bleeds through the lives of the vets in this novel as both a liberating and a destructive force; they can't shake it and they aren't sure if they really want to.

Laidlaw and Redmon were raised together in the Tennessee hills on the horse farm owned by Laidlaw's father; the black Redmon family living in one of the out-buildings and Redmon, Sr. working for Laidlaw, Sr. The boys are friends, a friendship complicated less by their different races than by young Redmon's perception that his father prefers Laidlaw to him. The boys, as boys will, grow to manhood, enter the army and are shipped to fight in Vietnam, where terrible things happen. They return, independent of each other, and spend much time alone-Laidlaw living in the Redmon's old home (Laidlaw's father died when the main house burned down) and Redmon in prison as the fall-guy in a real estate scam. Laidlaw had used his solitary year, surrounded by nothing more than a motley of farm animals, a stray dog, and a runaway peacock, to become proficient enough with a banjo that he can attract a following playing with a blue-grass band. Redmon seeks him out at a performance and the friendship is renewed.

In "Soldier's Joy", Madison Smartt Bell has much to say about tragedy, loss, solitude, betrayal, fathers and sons and the psychological devastation that can be wrought upon young men who have spent a year up to their elbows in gore. This is a book rich in both description and nuance. The Tennessee countryside is vivid and the musical imagery-and there is a lot of it-doesn't come across as forced or cloying but instead reads like a soundtrack. The writing is so fine, so "writerly" that it is easy to overlook the fact that the plot is almost an afterthought and is full of holes. This is not to say that Mr. Bell can't tell a story-he can. There are several scenes of firefights that are gripping and exciting and rank with the best of the breed. However, the basic plot (introduced well into the novel) about the Klan being somehow offended by the interracial friendship of Laidlaw and Redmon and by the interracial following of a local evangelist and trying to end both by violence, is thin. There are also two characters-Laidlaw's musician girlfriend and the ex-Green Beret leader of the Klan-who deserved better development. These are quibbles. "Soldier's Joy" is post-Vietnam fiction that is well worth reading.

This is a wonderful book, the kind that you start to read slower when you get close to the end because you don't want to say goodbye to the characters.

the story itself is engaging and interesting, but the subtly crafted dialog, revealing so much about the characters so naturally is what astonished me.

This is a book that celebrates the extraordinary in ordinary people, and made me feel better about humanity (be warned, I don't think you'd call it a 'feel good' book though!).

I loved this book, and will be seeking out more by the author.

Can you really go wrong with anything lady vol related? I haven't been able to yet!

I ordered this issue of Sports Illustrated as a "collectors item" and it arrived in perfect condition. It was better than the issues I've seen on the news stands!

Great Lady Vols collectable! I am a big fan and this is an awesome magazine to add to my collection.

This is a must have for all Vols. fans. The stories is fantastic. I especailly like the one about Shannon Bobbitt growing up in New York and how she became a Lady Vol.

Only a mother can understand the loss of a child. For those mothers that have suffered just a loss and are unable to express their feelings, I recommend reading Trophies and Treasures. I thank the author for finding the courage to express her feelings and bless her for her generous heart in sharing those feelings. God Bless

This book is great... it has helped my family a great deal in dealing with the loss of my brother... I only wish that there had been more poems... It touches the heart in only a way that someone who has gone through the experience could... i am sorry that she had to go through what she went through but i am greatful that finally someone had been able to expression what others like myself feel... Thank you....

I found this book to be written openly and honestly. You are able to see, through the words of a grieving mother, her search for peace. This book is beneficial not only for those who are grieving now, but for those who have suffered grief in the past; and for friends and family as well.

Excellent collection of poems that give the reader a glimpse into a mother's grief. Readers will be deeply moved by the raw emotion conveyed by the writer. I look forward to reading other selections by Ms. Thompson.

It was a gift and while it was attractive, I hope the recipient enjoys it!

This book is very well written and contains replicas of UT memoribilia that would be hard to find anywhere else. I bought one for each of my brothers as Christmas presents and they loved it! It is well worth buying and I would recommend it to any die hard Tennessee fan.

WONDERFUL BOOK FOR THE TRUE TENNESSEE FAN. REPRODUCED MEMORABILIA FROM YEARS GONE BY UP UNTIL THE RECENT. A REAL TREASURE!!

Great gift for a UT lover, but product was over-priced at Amazon. I saw the exact same product for 10.00 less at my local grocery store.

We received this book as a gift and it really makes the A+ grade. My ds 8 and dd 9 love it - and with the additional information it provides (e.g. state rock, state animal, prominent landmarks)it could be used at much older ages. With attractive pictures and interesting text, this is a enjoyable supplement for homeschoolers - a way to make Geography lessons fun. This is a book to read and reread. We do hope to acquire more of this series!

This book will be valuable for anyone interested in learning more about the state of Tennessee. Mr. Shoulders takes the reader from Beale Street to the Trail of Tears. The neat thing is that the rhyming verse will be enjoyed by toddlers, but people of all ages will appreciate the information in the sidebars. The illustrations are very good, especailly those dealing with nature. I highly recommend this book.

This book can be enjoyed by anyone who wants to learn more about the state of Tennessee. The neat thing about it is that the rhyming text will delight toddlers, but the information in the sidebars can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Mr. Shoulders takes us from Beale Street to the Trail of Tears. It's an informative journey enhanced by Langton's illustrations. Especially pleasing are those that deal with nature. I highly recommend this book.

"V is for Volunteer" is a wonderful new addition to the selection of books about Tennessee. As a teacher and librarian, I can see many uses for this book. As a Tennesseean, Michael Shoulders has done an excellent job of finding interesting Tennessee people, places, and items for each letter of the alphabet. Even young children will recognize people they know of, such as Elvis, or places they have visited such as Nashville. The text provides an excellent read-aloud for any grade level, but the information on the end pages provides extra information that would be valueable for reports for upper grades. Adults and children alike will love this book!

This is an excellent book on the ins and outs of Division I college basketball. Dane Bradshaw is an tremendous role model, and I would recommend any young athlete to read this book.

Dane has become an icon of how to do it right. He came along at a point in time when things were not going too well at UT. His notes and observations about being an collegiate athlete are well done. It is always interesting to find out some of the little things that usually go un-noticed in the overall scheme of a season. This book is well organized, straight-forward and a very easy read..

Entertaining read about UT Men's Basketball program and all of the hard work players go through before and during a season.

I loved this book. I even bought a copy for another friend who is a UT fan. If you admire Coach Pearl and/or Dane Bradshaw; then you need this book.

Sad to say, but many of us eat out at the same four or five restaurants most of the time - and many of us are leery of trying something new and different without some sort of recommendation or endorsement. But now anyone living in or visiting Nashville has a comprehensive guide to restaurants, one which readers will find deliciously helpful in steering them to places they've never tried (and probably never heard of). All types of eateries are included, from meat 'n threes to Middle Eastern to Guatemalan. "Where The Locals Eat" is just that - the password to places jealously guarded by locals who don't want too many people cluttering up their favorite food emporiums. Yum! I want another order of pupusas!!

It's high time someone wrote this book. Where the Locals Eat is an incredible resource for both natives and visitors to Music City. The succint descriptions of Nashville's hidden food treasures give readers an incredibly accurate and thorough view of Nashville's culinary landscape. Being a Nashville native, I can attest to just how on target this book is..The writers found every delicious place in town. And, the book is so user-friendly with its specific categories. You can find the answer to any and every craving! I hope we see these for other great cities across the nation.

This is a great book and works easily as a resource. What I found was that people coming in and out of the house were stopping to check what was written about their favorite restaurant. This started many conversations and led to wonderful discussions about what people like and don't like. I had been looking forward to checking it out but had no idea how provocative it would be. Many thanks to the editors for the ease in finding restaurants and the great descriptions!

Handy size and chocked full of good info on the local favs here in Nashville. Proves far more useful than many of the mainstream guides from other publishers by giving readers a real look at primarily non-chain restaurant dining in Nashville. Truly, where the locals eat.

The book covers a huge variety of dining categories- the editors did a great job of reviewing just about any dining possibility imagineable. I'll keep this guide in the car for those moments when I'm drawing a blank on where to eat or if I want to try something new.

Will also be good for arming visitors & family with their own guide to eating in Nashville and save me the time of describing our personal favorites...

I'll look forward picking up a few more if they come out for travelling (Atlanta GA, Columbus OH would be great!) - just too useful and convenient.

If you frequently travel to or live in Nashville, TN you'll undoubtedly enjoy this dining guide!

I really enjoyed this book. It was happy and sad. It made you laugh, it made you want to cry. It was a wonderful story and I can't wait for the next one. God bless you, Sandra!

Woody is a sweet and inspirational book. It shows that there are good things and not-so-good things, no matter what decade we grew up in. I liked the last paragraph best, when a new life was beginning for Woody.

"Woody" is an absolute must read!!! The characters are charming and delightful. It is one of those books that, once you start reading, you can't put it down. I am looking forward to the sequel.

I liked the way the book was written. So simple and down to earth. It was a very interesting book and, I thought, well written. I found that there were so many emotions I felt as I read the book. I could identify with the lack of material possessions and the drinking. Even with all of the hard times, they had a lot of love. That came through loud and clear. Woody had to grow up to fast. I admired the Mother for the inspiration she was to the family. I felt bad for Woody when he left home, for the hard times and the sad times. When he went back home and Henry resented him, it was hard to accept. Everyone had their way of running the farm and they had worked so hard without him. The jealousy and resentment were hard for him. But, life went on, and all of the hard work paid off. The ending came to soon and I would like to see a sequel to the book.

Thepageturner's review (below) inspired me to get this book, and Marius's hypnotic writing kept me reading it, almost non-stop. This is a huge, panoramic novel of 1950's Tennessee, set in Bourbonville, also the setting for After the War, and involving later generations of some of the same families. Hope Kirby's killing of his wife and her lover start the spiralling action in this thoughtful, but exciting, novel and provide the forum for the author's extended study of the different ways we define justice and seek retribution.

Charles Alexander, a college student and newspaper reporter who accidentally witnesses the double murder, escapes being executed by Kirby only because he promises not to tell what he's seen. Charles, however, eventually becomes overwhelmed with guilt and confesses to the sheriff that he was a witness. While this action might seem on the surface to be clearly a correct action, it is not so simple in Bourbonville, where many believe the "code of the hills" is inviolate and Charles's breaking of his word of honor to be a serious betrayal. Even the clergy get in on the action, some advocating that he retract his statement, and Charles finds himself with few friends and even fewer supporters.

Plenty of drama, and even melodrama, keep the reader going, and the pages fly by, as we become totally caught up in the plot and in the lives of the characters, all of whom face demons of some sort. Marius is a master of keeping mysteries alive and making us understand and care for these characters, even those we dislike or consider misguided, because he makes us share their experiences, often through flashbacks. The complexities of religious faith, which we see as Charles and many other characters battle their doubts, are brought into sharp focus as we also share the traumas many characters have experienced during World War II, traumas still affecting both their earthly and spiritual lives. Marius takes on the big questions and provides a fascinating novel in which love and justice sometimes seem ineffable goals in a society which often honors tradition and shared community values far more than humanity and individual worth. Mary Whipple

A wonderful book, on a par with the work of Ferrol Sams and T.R.
Pearson, set in Bourbonville, Tennessee (a fictionalized
Lenoir City) 25 miles SW of Knoxville. An excellent sense of
place and time, the third book in a trilogy starting with The
Coming of Rain (Bourbonville in 1885) and followed by After the
War (Bourbonville 1917-1927 or so). Affair of Honor takes place
in the mid-1950s and after (saying when might give away some of
the plot)--characters, children and grandchildren of characters
from the other two novels appear here. In many ways this is the
richest and most tapestried of the three books. As with the
books of Ferrol Sams and T.R. Pearson, this is one you look
forward to rereading a year from now.

From the first paragraph of "An Affair of Honor," you know you are in the hands of a master. The people who live in it, the dazzling structure that compells you from page to page, and the challenging and exciting intelligence author Richard Marius brought to the issues covered in the novel remind us of why we read fiction.

Richard Marius died in 1999, and it seemed that there would be ever again be anything by him to experience. His 1993 "After the War" is one of the five best novels I have ever read in a lifetime of book-loving. I envy anyone who gets to sit down with it for the first time.

Marius wrote about the imaginary town of Bourbonville, Tennessee. While "After the War" dealt with post World War I, "An Affair of Honor" is placed in the decade after World War II.

Twenty-year-old Charles Alexander leaves work late one night and witnesses a man he knows killing two people, one of them the man's own wife. Hope Kirby sees Charles and puts the muzzle of the gun to the boy's forehead. But he does not kill him. He lets Charles go after the terrified divinity student promises not to tell anyone what he has seen. The sheriff knows Charles would have been near the place of the killings at the time they happened, and the shattered young man cannot withold the truth.

Should he have lied? Charles, who has lost his faith and is wracked by the loss of his own innocence is not sure. Blurting out the truth to the sheriff came from someplace so deep, so organic, that it could not be held back. Yet, his heart goes out to Hope Kirby, a war hero from the back hills, and he knows that he broke the promise that saved his life.

Questions of truth, faith, promises, war, and madness dog all the characters in the book, who must work them out in order to go on. So confident was Marius in his characters and the compelling questions he raised that he dared to put Hope's trial in the middle of the book, if for no other reason than to show us that it was not the climax of the story at all. "An Affair of Honor" is impossible to stop reading, and then hard to stop thinking about. A brilliant novel and a fine end to an exemplary writing career.

The Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders Series appears to be underappreciated. The series is excellent and all of the books I have seen from it are first-rate; I currently own 4 books and have leafed through many others. They also represent the only book-length accounts of some battles.

The Battle of Cloyds Mountain is a great example of the quality of the series. It details the events of a relatively small campaign that occurred in the western portion of Virginia during the spring of 1864. The campaign was launched by the Union with the goals of destroying part of the Virginia and Tennessee railroad and the Confederate saltworks at Saltville. The main battle of the campaign took place near Cloyds Mountain. The result was a Union victory with 688 Federal casualties and 538 Confederate casualties.

The book is very well written and easy to follow. McManus provides a balanced treatment to both sides and clearly presents the events seemingly without bias. 7 maps are provided which are of very high quality. I strongly recommend this book to Civil War buffs. This is likely to be the only account of this campaign to be written for the foreseeable future.

Howard McManus discovered and researched this forgotten Southwest Virginia battlefield. Before his research, even the location of the battlefield was unknown. This interesting battle deserves more attention than it has gotten. Not only is McManus a thorough researcher, he can write also.

A terrific account of a very often overlooked Civil War battle. Quite detailed but still manages to be a good read.