Tennessee Books

A highly technical, comprehensive review of the geology of the Carolinas, this book is not an easy read, nor should one expect it to be. Prepare by having a good glossary available, and perhaps a good basic text in geology as well. Then brace yourself - the geology is extraordinarily complex. These authors provide good insight.

Amanda Wingfield, the matriarch of "The Glass Menagerie," always tells her daughter, Laura, that she should look nice and pretty for gentleman callers, even though Laura has never had any callers at their St. Louis apartment. Laura, who limps because of a slight physical deformity, would rather spend her time playing with the animals in her glass menagerie and listening to old phonograph records instead of learning shorthand and typing so she can be employable. When she learns Laura has only been pretending to go to secretarial school, Amanda decides Laura must have a real gentleman caller and insists her son Tom, who works at a shoe factory, find one immediately. After a few days, Tom tells Amanda he has invited a young man named Jim O'Connor home for dinner and at long last Laura will have her first gentleman caller.

The night of the dinner Amanda does every thing she can to make sure Laura looks more attractive. However, when Laura realizes that the Jim O'Connor who is visiting is possibly the same Jim on whom she had a crush in high school, she does not want to go through with the dinner. Although she has to be excused from the dinner because she has made herself physically ill, Laura is able to impress Jim with her quiet charm when the two of them keep company in the living room and she finally loses some of her shyness. When Jim gives Laura her first kiss, it looks as if Amanda's plans for Laura's happiness might actually come true. But no one has ever accused Tennessee Williams of being a romantic.

"The Glass Menagerie" was the first big success in the long and storied career of playwright Tennessee Williams. Written in 1944, the drama consists of reworked material from one of Williams' short stories, "Portrait of a Girl in Glass," and his screenplay, "The Gentleman Caller." In many ways it is an atypical drama from Williams, with the character of Tom (a role I will confess to playing on stage) serving as a narrator who breaks the "fourth wall" and addresses the audience, which evinces Williams' affinity for Eugene O'Neill (e.g., "The Emperor Jones") at this point in his career. Tom tells the audience that this play offers truth dressed up as illusion, and in his stage directions (which are usually not taken full advantage of in the various performances I have seen because what was cutting edge in 1944 is overly quaint today) he uses not only monologues but also music and projections to enhance the memories on display. Williams also explicitly tells his audience that the gentleman call is the symbol of "the expects something that we live for."

This "memory play" tells of a family trapped in destructive patterns. After being abandoned by her husband, Amanda Wingfield, a woman of the Great Depression, has become trapped between worlds of illusion and reality. She says she wants what is best for her children, but seems incapable of acknowledging what that would be or actually providing it for them. Tom, tired of only watching adventure at the movies, is determined to break away from his dominating mother, but stays only for the sake of his sister. Laura may not be the glamorous belle of the ball her mothers wants, but she has her own inner charm and when confronted with Jim, a visitor from the normal world, there is the chance that she will finally claim her life as her own. This is a poignant drama on the importance of love and it represents a memory of not only family but also of loss.

Amanda Wingfield, the matriarch of "The Glass Menagerie," always tells her daughter, Laura, that she should look nice and pretty for gentleman callers, even though Laura has never had any callers at their St. Louis apartment. Laura, who limps because of a slight physical deformity, would rather spend her time playing with the animals in her glass menagerie and listening to old phonograph records instead of learning shorthand and typing so she can be employable. When she learns Laura has only been pretending to go to secretarial school, Amanda decides Laura must have a real gentleman caller and insists her son Tom, who works at a shoe factory, find one immediately. After a few days, Tom tells Amanda he has invited a young man named Jim O'Connor home for dinner and at long last Laura will have her first gentleman caller.

The night of the dinner Amanda does every thing she can to make sure Laura looks more attractive. However, when Laura realizes that the Jim O'Connor who is visiting is possibly the same Jim on whom she had a crush in high school, she does not want to go through with the dinner. Although she has to be excused from the dinner because she has made herself physically ill, Laura is able to impress Jim with her quiet charm when the two of them keep company in the living room and she finally loses some of her shyness. When Jim gives Laura her first kiss, it looks as if Amanda's plans for Laura's happiness might actually come true. But no one has ever accused Tennessee Williams of being a romantic.

"The Glass Menagerie" was the first big success in the long and storied career of playwright Tennessee Williams. Written in 1944, the drama consists of reworked material from one of Williams' short stories, "Portrait of a Girl in Glass," and his screenplay, "The Gentleman Caller." In many ways it is an atypical drama from Williams, with the character of Tom (a role I will confess to playing on stage) serving as a narrator who breaks the "fourth wall" and addresses the audience, which evinces Williams' affinity for Eugene O'Neill (e.g., "The Emperor Jones") at this point in his career. Tom tells the audience that this play offers truth dressed up as illusion, and in his stage directions (which are usually not taken full advantage of in the various performances I have seen because what was cutting edge in 1944 is overly quaint today) he uses not only monologues but also music and projections to enhance the memories on display. Williams also explicitly tells his audience that the gentleman call is the symbol of "the expects something that we live for."

This "memory play" tells of a family trapped in destructive patterns. After being abandoned by her husband, Amanda Wingfield, a woman of the Great Depression, has become trapped between worlds of illusion and reality. She says she wants what is best for her children, but seems incapable of acknowledging what that would be or actually providing it for them. Tom, tired of only watching adventure at the movies, is determined to break away from his dominating mother, but stays only for the sake of his sister. Laura may not be the glamorous belle of the ball her mothers wants, but she has her own inner charm and when confronted with Jim, a visitor from the normal world, there is the chance that she will finally claim her life as her own. This is a poignant drama on the importance of love and it represents a memory of not only family but also of loss.

I wish I had read this play earlier. It really is a great story. I say it is mysterious because it is told from the memory of one of the characters. Laura, a crippled girl who has dropped out of school, spends all her time playing with small animals made of glass (i.e., the glass menagerie). She has never had a boyfriend, but one day her brother Tom brings home a man from his work. It turns out that in high school Laura had a crush on this man, who went to school with her. It takes some thinking, but it is a wonderful work. See for yourself--find a copy of this somewhere. It can be read in no time at all.

Ever wish you lived in the 1800's , the good ol' days, the simple times when life was once not as complicated as it is today. If so or if you are just curious about what life and the world may have been like ,this book is a must. A great book for all readers who love small towns everywhere. Two years of a small town's history from the 1830's lay dormant in the attic of an old historic home for untold years only to be discovered and brought alive over 150 years later by the author, Rita Frost Lynch. The book provides delightful accounts of the way life was both locally and internationally during that era but it also revealed life was not all that uncomplicated as some may think and the good ol' days certainly were not good for all. Slavery is once again refreshed in our minds as we read accounts of sales going on around town and we are reminded it was not all that long ago when all people were not allowed basic freedoms or even simple dignity. A part of history never to be forgotten but also, never to be repeated. I highly recommend this book to all.

Cy & Jeannie Martin give you a crash course in the history and practice of gold mining in the western U.S. (including Alaska), Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. Sections of the book include: Chronology of Gold in America; How to Pan for Gold; Tales of Gold Rushes; Directory of Old Mining Camps; Glossary; and a Selected Bibliography. Numerous B& W photos and drawings are included. 160 pages.

Bud Phillips has done an excellent job in this history of the first 150 years of Bristol.

For the first time readers are able to read about a serious and complex subject and actually understand what the authors are trying to explain. Government and Politics in Tennessee sounds like a topic created only to cure insomnia, yet the authors (mainly author Billy Stair, former senior policy advisor to Governor Ned McWherter) are able to create a fun atmosphere filled with interesting personal experiences (visiting a high school in rural Tennessee and arriving by helicoptor)and little known yet fascinating facts. This book serves as an exceptional look into the world of Tennesse politics and should be read by anyone with an ounce of intrest in the subject, for it will surely intensify your appetite for all things Tennessee.

Everyone has heard of this trial. However, until I heard this rendition of the trial and play I wasn't as interested. This play sheds new light on it and makes it so much more interesting and actually brought it to life for me.

I am from greeneville,tn, but moved away over 25 years ago. I purchased the book on a whim and was amazed at the memories it brought back. When I first got the book I randomly opened it an there was a picture of my grandmother as a child with her parents and siblings. It is an amazing collection of pictures.The pictures paint a beautiful picture of a simpler time in a small town.