Short Takes

The Lexington Herald Leader talks to Erik Reece and James Krupa about their new book, THE EMBATTLED WILDERNESS, which columnist Tom Eblen calls "engaging." Erik Reece will sign copies of the book at Carmichael's Bookstore in Louisville, KY next Wednesday (5/22).

The authors of NORTH CAROLINA'S AMAZING COAST will launch their book at a program at Duck's Cottage Downtown Books in Manteo, NC next Tuesday (5/21). For more on the book and the launch, check out this press release from the NC Sea Grant. Co-author Terri Kirby-Hathaway also discusses the book in an interview with News 14 Carolina. Watch the video here.

OLD LOUISVILLE author David Domine and photographers Franklin and Esther Schmidt appeared on WHAS 11 last week. Missed the interview? Catch it below or here.



A story about our 75th anniversary appeared on the front-page of the Athens Banner-Herald. "'The press has a very strong reputation for publishing serious but accessible history, and that brand extends to our other disciplines as well,' said UGA Press director Lisa Bayer."

Savannah Morning News interviews Paul Pressly about his new book, ON THE RIM OF THE CARIBBEAN.

“Most historians stand on the Georgia coast and look west,” Pressly said. “I decided to take a new perspective and I looked east and south.”

Pressly uncovered something no other historians had ever written about.

“I asked the question, ‘How did an economic backwater like Colonial Georgia become an economic success?” Pressly said. “My research showed Colonial Georgia wasn’t just a fledging province, but an active force in overseas trade in the British Atlantic and the Caribbean.”

“Georgia’s role in the Atlantic has always been overlooked,” Pressly explained. “The colony was viewed as an extension of the Carolinas, so I had to ask myself, ‘How did Georgia develop a sense of identity?’”

The Daily Tribune interviews Joe Cook about his new book, ETOWAH RIVER USER'S GUIDE.

“It’s a great place to visit and the guidebook is a way to try to promote use of the river and hopefully then they become stewards of the river.”

Cook will also be talking about his book and signing copies at the Georgia Center for the Book next Tuesday (5/21) at 7:15pm as part of the Decatur Arts Festival.

Jane Gerhard, author of THE DINNER PARTY, is interviewed for the Popaganda podcast for Bitch media. Listen to the interview here.

 David Correia will be signing copies of his book, PROPERTIES OF VIOLENCE, at Page One Bookstore in Albuquerque, NM this Sunday (5/19) at 2:30pm.

Susan Puckett, author of EAT DRINK DELTA, will be speaking at the Georgia Center for the Book next Wednesday (5/22) as part of the Decatur Arts Festival. The event will be at 7:15pm in the Decatur Library Auditorium, and she will be joined by Atlanta Journal-Constitution dining critic John Kessler for an engaging talk.

Play Ball: Baseball in Atlanta

“Before the Braves, the Crackers were our team.”—President Jimmy Carter

Today we have a guest post by award-winning journalist Tim Darnell.


With the recent Hollywood blockbuster film “42,” it’s easy to forget that, 64 years ago, another racial barrier was smashed in Atlanta.

Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey’s Brooklyn Dodgers came to Atlanta in April 1949 to play a three-game exhibition series against the Atlanta Crackers. Rickey, the owner and GM of the Dodgers, and Earl Mann, owner and GM of the Crackers, were close friends, and both arranged the contest.

If the games went off, it would mark the first time in Atlanta history that blacks and whites would compete against each other in a professional sporting contest. The Ku Klux Klan, however, had other ideas.

Here’s an excerpt from THE CRACKERS: EARLY DAYS OF ATLANTA BASEBALL, that describes the event:

“The Klan’s Grand Dragon called Dad, threatening him if Robinson played here,” recalls Oreon Mann. “My father rarely ever angry, but, Lord, when he did … Well, after telling this Grand Dragon where to go, he called (then-police chief) Herbert Jenkins.

“The Klan called later again at the park, and Jenkins happened to be standing there when the call came in. Dad told the Grand Dragon that he was going to put Jenkins on the line, and told him to repeat his threats to the Atlanta police chief.

“We never heard from that Grand Dragon again.”


Learn more about this historic event in Atlanta history in Tim Darnell's THE CRACKERS: EARLY DAYS OF ATLANTA BASEBALL. Beginning in an era before traffic jams, air-conditioning, and Atlanta’s ascension to international fame, Tim Darnell chronicles the emergence of amateur and minor-league baseball in various forms in Atlanta from just after the Civil War through the rise of the Crackers (1901–65). THE CRACKERS is a light-hearted, fun, and engrossing history of a time, a people, and one very special centerfield magnolia tree whose stories are legend to this day.

“There has always been something very magical about the early days of minor-league baseball, and Darnell makes that magic come alive.”—Jim Huber, CNN/Sports Illustrated

Tim Darnell has written for numerous Atlanta sports and political publications. He is also the author of 101 Atlanta Sports Legends and The Georgia Tech Trivia Book.

Short Takes

KPFA's "Against the Grain" recently interviewed Rashad Shabazz, assistant professor of geography at the University of Vermont and contributor to BEYOND WALLS AND CAGES. The interview can be listened to here. Shabazz contends that "prisons are in fact porous in a way that threatens the lives of many people living in poor neighborhoods and communities of color."

La Jicarita reviews David Correia's PROPERTIES OF VIOLENCE: "Correia'sremarkable book is not just about New Mexico, not just about land grants. PROPERTIES OF VIOLENCE presents a way of conceiving of property as a mobile, fungible, plastic set of social relations."

TURN ME LOOSE author Frank X Walker was inducted as Kentucky's poet laureate on April 24. At the ceremony, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear spoke highly of Walker and his work: "He helps you recognize things about yourself, including things you'd rather not embrace. And he does this in the context of Kentucky's complex history." For more on the induction ceremony, check out WFPL 89.3's coverage of the event.

Poet Kyle Dargan was a guest on a recent episode of Bill Moyers and Company. Watch the interview here. Dargan is the author of three UGA Press books: THE LISTENING, BOUQUET OF HUNGERS, and LOGORRHEA DEMENTIA.

Robert Cornwall reviews THE FAITHS OF THE POSTWAR PRESIDENTS on his blog, Ponderings on a Faith Journey. He calls the book "excellent" and "fascinating" and describes Holmes as the perfect guide for understanding the complex relationship of faith and political office.

The Louisville Courier-Journal calls OLD LOUISVILLE "a joyous celebration . . . of breathtaking beauty." For more on OLD LOUISVILLE, be sure to stop by Barnes & Noble on South Hurstbourne Pkwy on Friday, May 10 at 6:00pm for a book signing with author David Dominé and photographers Franklin and Esther Schmidt. More information here.

The newly released ETOWAH RIVER USER'S GUIDE is making its debut at the Coosa River Basin Initiative's WATERFEST event happening this Friday and Saturday (May 3 & 4). CRBI Executive Director and Riverkeeper, Joe Cook, is the author of the book and will be signing copies at the event. Be sure to find a moment during the many activities to pickup a copy! (It's printed on waterproof paper, so you can take it with you while you paddle.) The Rome News-Tribune has more information about WATERFEST and the ETOWAH RIVER USER'S GUIDE.

Friends and fans of TURN ME LOOSE author Frank X Walker created a tribute video for him, in celebration of his inauguration as Kentucky's new poet laureate. Check out the heartwarming and entertaining video here.

Several of our books have recently won awards. Here's a list of some of the recent winners:
- Congratulations to Benjamin Houston! His book, THE NASHVILLE WAY, won the Tennessee  History Book Award, sponsored by the Tennessee Library Association and the Tennessee Historical Commission. (We last won the award in 2004 with the book BEFORE SCOPES by Charles A. Israel.) THE NASHVILLE WAY also won the British Association of American Studies' Arthur Miller Centre First Book Prize.
- Congratulations to Julie Armstrong! Her book, MARY TURNER AND THE MEMORY OF LYNCHING, won Honorable Mention for the Society for the Study of Southern Literature's 2012 C. Hugh Holman Award.
- Congratulations to Drew A. Swanson! His book, REMAKING WORMSLOE PLANTATION, won Georgia Historical Society’s 2013 Malcolm Bell, Jr., and Muriel Barrow Bell Award for the best book in Georgia history published in 2012. (John Inscoe's WRITING THE SOUTH THROUGH THE SELF was last year's recipient.)
- Congratulations to Ren and Helen Davis! Their book, ATLANTA'S OAKLAND CEMETERY, won Georgia Historical Society’s 2013 Lilla M. Hawes Award for the best book in Georgia local or county history published in 2012.