A New History of Kentucky


Book Description

The first comprehensive history of the state since the publication of Thomas D. Clark's landmark History of Kentucky over sixty years ago. A New History of Kentucky brings the Commonwealth to life, from Pikeville to the Purchase, from Covington to Corbin, this account reveals Kentucky's many faces and deep traditions. Lowell Harrison, professor emeritus of history at Western Kentucky University, is the author of many books, including George Rogers Clark and the War in the West, The Civil War in Kentucky, Kentucky's Road to Statehood, Lincoln of Kentucky, and Kentucky's Governors.




The Fall of Kentucky's Rock


Book Description

This in-depth study offers a new examination of a region that is often overlooked in political histories of the Bluegrass State. George G. Humphreys traces the arc of politics and the economy in western Kentucky from avid support of the Democratic Party to its present-day Republican identity. He demonstrates that, despite its relative geographic isolation, the region west of the eastern boundary of Hancock, Ohio, Butler, Warren, and Simpson Counties to the Mississippi River played significant roles in state and national politics during the New Deal and postwar eras. Drawing on extensive archival research and oral history interviews, Humphreys explores the area's political transformation from a solid Democratic voting bloc to a conservative stronghold by examining how developments such as advances in agriculture, the diversification of the economy, and the civil rights movement affected the region. Addressing notable deficiencies in the existing literature, this impressively researched study will leave readers with a deeper understanding of post-1945 Kentucky politics.
















Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky


Book Description

Since Kentucky is situated at a biological crossroads in eastern North America, citizens and visitors to this beautiful state are likely to be greeted by an astonishing variety of wildflowers. This non-technical guide—featuring more than five hundred dazzling full-color photographs by award-winning photographer Thomas G. Barnes—is the state's indispensable guide to the most common species in the Commonwealth. With this book, readers will learn to identify and appreciate Kentucky wildflowers and ferns by matching photographs and leaf line drawings to the more than six hundred and fifty species of flowers covered in the book. Extremely practical and simple to use, the guide's color photographs and line drawings appear with plant descriptions for easy identification, and plants are grouped by flower color and blooming season. Each species listing includes the plant's common and scientific name, plant family, habitat, frequency, and distribution throughout Kentucky, with similar species listed in the notes. There is no other volume that covers the flora of Kentucky with such ease of identification. The first new statewide guide to appear in thirty years, with its combination of high quality photographs, illustrations, portability, and easy organization of information, Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky is an essential addition to the library or field pack of the wildflower enthusiast, naturalist, and anyone else who loves the outdoors.







The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia


Book Description

The story of African Americans in Kentucky is as diverse and vibrant as the state's general history. The work of more than 150 writers, The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia is an essential guide to the black experience in the Commonwealth. The encyclopedia includes biographical sketches of politicians and community leaders as well as pioneers in art, science, and industry. Kentucky's impact on the national scene is registered in an array of notable figures, such as writers William Wells Brown and bell hooks, reformers Bessie Lucas Allen and Shelby Lanier Jr., sports icons Muhammad Ali and Isaac Murphy, civil rights leaders Whitney Young Jr. and Georgia Powers, and entertainers Ernest Hogan, Helen Humes, and the Nappy Roots. Featuring entries on the individuals, events, places, organizations, movements, and institutions that have shaped the state's history since its origins, the volume also includes topical essays on the civil rights movement, Eastern Kentucky coalfields, business, education, and women. For researchers, students, and all who cherish local history, The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia is an indispensable reference that highlights the diversity of the state's culture and history.




Kentucky's Last Cavalier


Book Description

"As this biography shows, Preston was Kentucky's last cavalier, the beau ideal of the Old South, a dashing defender of the old aristocracy both in the political realm and on the battlefield. His is a multidimensional story of power and privilege, family connections and gender roles, public service and proslavery politics. As Kentucky state historian James C. Klotter declares in the foreword, Preston's life "reveals much about his entire generation and his world.""--BOOK JACKET.