The vivid history of Beale Street―a lost world of swaggering musicians; glamorous madams; and ruthless politicians―and the battle for the soul of Memphis.Following the Civil War; Beale Street in Memphis; Tennessee; thrived as a cauldron of sex and song; violence and passion. But out of this turmoil emerged a center of black progress; optimism; and cultural ferment. Preston Lauterbach tells this vivid; fascinating story through the multigenerational saga of a family whose ambition; race pride; and moral complexity indelibly shaped the city that would loom so large in American life.Robert Church; who would become “the South’s first black millionaire;†was a mulatto slave owned by his white father. Having survived a deadly race riot in 1866; Church constructed an empire of vice in the booming river town. He made a fortune with saloons; gambling; and―shockingly―white prostitution. But he also nurtured the militant journalism of Ida B. Wells and helped revolutionize American music through the work of composer W.C. Handy; the man who claimed to have invented the blues.In the face of Jim Crow; the Church fortune helped fashion the most powerful black political organization of the early twentieth century. Robert and his son; Bob Jr.; bought and sold property; founded a bank; and created a park and auditorium for their people finer than the places whites had forbidden them to attend.However; the Church family operated through a tense arrangement with the Democrat machine run by the notorious E. H. “Boss†Crump; who stole elections and controlled city hall. The battle between this black dynasty and the white political machine would define the future of Memphis.Brilliantly researched and swiftly plotted; Beale Street Dynasty offers a captivating account of one of America’s iconic cities―by one of our most talented narrative historians. 22 photographs; map
#197278 in Books Felipe Fernandez Armesto 2007-10-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.30 x 1.00 x 7.10l; 1.64 #File Name: 0393330915464 pagesPathfinders A Global History of Exploration
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. 3 issues for me but still very well written and do recommendBy MARWhile this is mostly a good book with a very broad sweep I have several disagreements with some of the conclusions of the author. Three to be exact. First; he dismisses Sir Francis Drake as an insignificant explorer. While I recognize Drake's primary historical importance lies outside of his explorations; he did discover Drake's Straight and explored the west coast of North America and left invaluable information about the Native Peoples of northern California. Secondly; the Lewis and Clark Expedition he judges a failure. Despite their mapping of the Missouri River; their cataloging of over 170 species of plants and animals and their numerous contacts (mostly friendly) with many Native peoples and for some of them little else is known as they would be wiped out within a few years by smallpox or war. Third; he would prefer that we not spend the few billions of dollars every year on Space Exploration when we could more usefully use that money for better purposes. I for one would rather we didn't spend so much money on weapons in the world - which is several orders of magnitude higher than what is spent to explore the solar system. In all you will gain something from this book. And I do not have to agree with any author 100% and don't expect them to share all my opinions. Only saying that these 3 things were very glaring issues that I at least have about this book. Very well written and still recommended.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Needs MapsBy Walter A. MiziaThe book presented many interesting views on why exploration happened as it did; geography; sea currents; wind and weather patterns; advancing technology; and human traits. It opened new ways of looking at exploration for me. The problem with this book is the lack of clear maps. The maps in the book are vague; hard to read; and require the reader to know ancient names of places referred to in the text. The book is worthwhile; but I recommend that the reader have an atlas on hand.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great history bookBy D.O.B.Great history book. There is definitely a bias toward the European history of exploration; but the reasons for that are fairly apparent and addressed in the book.
