Tennessee

Stretched between the Great Smoky Mountains and the Mississippi levees, Tennessee history offers a study in contrasts. The heritage of the Volunteer State makes room for both the quiet of a Walland glade and the roar of an Opryland crowd. Grab one of our Tennessee history book titles for a masterclass in variety that includes Piggly Wiggly founder Clarence Saunders, pioneering architect Moses McKissack, Nashville ghost tours, the Knoxville World’s Fair and the best barbecue in Memphis. [View all Tennessee books]
4 products
Notorious Nashville
Notorious Nashville
Murder & Mayhem in Nashville
Murder & Mayhem in Nashville
Murder & Mayhem in East Tennessee
Murder & Mayhem in East Tennessee
Wicked Nashville
Wicked Nashville

Notorious Nashville

9781467141246

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Many people know Nashville for the bright lights and nonstop music, but it also has a history that doesn't make it into the guidebooks. The first public hanging in the city took place in 1802 when Henry Beeler and Samuel Carman were executed for horse theft and larceny. The Briley and Bates families held a deadly feud in Cane Ridge near the turn of the century. Frank and Jesse James returned to Tennessee in the summer of 1877 to lay low after a botched bank robbery. Author Brian Allison recounts these and more stories of infamous crimes and criminals in Nashville.
Notorious Nashville

Murder & Mayhem in Nashville

9781467135733

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Author Brian Allison illustrates the darker shades of Nashville's colorful past.


Nashville is known for its bold, progressive flair, but few are aware of the city's malevolent past. A rowdy red-light district called "Smoky Row" spawned several fatal episodes. A murderous temptress with a penchant for poison once strolled the city streets. Legends range from Andrew Jackson's bar fight with Senator Thomas Hart Benton to the macabre 1938 Marrowbone Creek cabin murders. In 1938, a state penitentiary fugitive escape triggered a tragic gunfight.

Murder & Mayhem in Nashville

Murder & Mayhem in East Tennessee

9781467144704

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East Tennessee is gorgeous country, but the hills and hollers have a dark side. James Earl Ray, who had already assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., created mayhem at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary when he led six other men in a short-lived escape. Several thousand Cherokee Indians from East Tennessee were forced on what would later be called the "Trail of Tears." In the "Hankins Murder" case and in the triple killings in Oliver Springs, chaos and confusion resulted from the wrongful arrest and public accusations of innocent people. Jake and C.H. Butcher brought about bedlam with their banking scandal that at the time was unsurpassed in scope in the nation's history. Author Dewaine A. Speaks details these stories and more.

Murder & Mayhem in East Tennessee

Wicked Nashville

9781625858313

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While known for the twang of its country music, Nashville is also home to a colorful and salacious past. A must-read for Nashville history enthusiasts.

The earliest settlers to lay claim to the land surrounding Nashville brought with them betrayal, murder and thievery.

As the city grew, authorities unsuccessfully attempted to outlaw and remove vice. During the Civil War, the number of soiled doves

in Nashville forced the army to legalize and regulate prostitution. The death of outspoken politician Edward Carmack triggered the state to outlaw booze for nearly thirty years, but that did not stop alcohol from flowing in the city. One local mayor even bragged about his patronage of saloons.

Elizabeth Goetsch dives into Nashville's wicked past and explores some of Music City'smore tantalizing history.

Wicked Nashville