New Releases

The rape and murder of eight-year-old Cary Ann Medlin on September 1, 1979 shook Tennessee to the core. The particular cruelty and viciousness associated with the murder shocked and disgusted the citizens of the Volunteer State. The citizens of the state demanded justice. To the vast majority of Tennesseans, justice meant executing the murderer – and the quicker the better. Ultimate Penalty: Executing Robert Glen Coe is the true story of the events from the murder of Cary Ann Medlin on September 1, 1979 until the execution of Robert Glen Coe more than twenty years after he confessed to ...

Nestled in the hills of eastern Macon County, Tennessee and situated in a peaceful valley on the banks of Salt Lick Creek, one can find quiet and unassuming Red Boiling Springs. For most of a century it was a leading resort town. Thousands of people, some of them famous, vacationed there, and some, including a former Governor, died there. This volume covers events at the Red Boiling Springs resort and spa until the end of 1899.

Murder, Mayhem, and Moonshine relates 75 true crime stories from Macon County, Tennessee between 1879 and 1939. These stories run the gamut of crime. Some are tragic, some bizarre, some grotesque, and some are a little humorous. Although all of the alleged crimes mentioned here took place decades ago, many of them detail the types of crimes that remain common today across the United States and the world. Besides murder, there are stories about child abduction, rape, bullying, domestic violence, racial problems, drunk driving, confidence games, and others.

After decades of acrimony and dispute, in 1861, America erupted into a Civil War that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of citizens, and billions of dollars in damages. This book presents the reader a series of short snippets dealing with the Confederate efforts to win the war. Additionally, it includes some 120 photos and images – many of them rare – and relates very brief accounts of some of the more important battles. There is also a recounting of the more than 100 Confederate Generals killed, or who otherwise died during the conflict – including one murdered by a jealous ...

Historian Bennett Parten provides a groundbreaking account of Sherman’s March to the Sea—the critical Civil War campaign that destroyed the Confederacy—told for the first time from the perspective of the tens of thousands of enslaved people who fled to the Union lines and transformed Sherman’s march into the biggest liberation event in American history.

Lydia Hamilton Smith (1813-1884) was a prominent mixed-race businesswoman in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the longtime housekeeper, life companion, and collaborator of the state’s abolitionist congressman Thaddeus Stevens. In his biography of this remarkable woman, Mark Kelley reveals how Smith served the cause of abolition, managed Stevens’s household, acquired property, and crossed racialized social boundaries.

This trivia book takes you on an exciting journey through the history, culture, and iconic landmarks that make Texas truly exceptional.

Hanging the Macon County Witch is a true story. The hanging outlined in this book really took place in Lafayette, Tennessee in the late spring of 1845. This bizarre story follows a slave woman named Lize – who claims to be a witch by the way – from the time Wilson Meador purchased her, until the Macon County Sheriff hanged her. This story has several weird twists and turns, including Lize trading her own head to a local doctor for ginger cakes and hard cider. Truth is stranger than fiction and this true story is as strange as they come!

Some people are bigger than life – they just are. Sidney Johnston Catts, Florida’s 22nd Governor was one of those people. In 1917, Catt became the first Governor of Florida since 1877 (during the period of Reconstruction) to represent a party other than the Democratic Party. As of this date, Catts remains the only person ever elected to a statewide office on the Prohibition ticket. However, Catts was more than just a “third-party” leader.Florida, as was the rest of America, was in turmoil for decades after the end of the Civil War. Racism, anti-foreignism, and anti-Catholicism were ...

This book is about the resort at Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee from 1900 to 1945. Also, there are articles about its many famous visitors including a Speaker of the US House, and a jazz legend. It also explores the search for mythical gold and silver mines there and an archeologist’s efforts to prove that Neanderthal man inhabited nearby caves. There are many other items mentioned as well.