G. Wayne Dowdy Hidden History of Memphis

Annotation

A tour of the Tennessee city filled with famous faces, fascinating trivia, and forgotten loreplus a former mayor's previously unpublished private papers. Step inside the fascinating annals of the Bluff Citys history and discover the Memphis that only few know. G. Wayne Dowdy, longtime archivist for the Memphis Public Library, examines the history and culture of the Mid-South during its most important decades. Well-known faces like Clarence Saunders, Elvis Presley, and W.C. Handy are joined by some of the more obscure characters from the past, like the Memphis gangster who inspired one of William Faulkners most famous novels; the local Boy Scout who captured German spies during World War I; the Memphis radio station that pioneered wireless broadcasting; and so many more. Also included are the previously unpublished private papers and correspondence of former mayor E.H. Crump, giving us new insight and a front-row seat to the machine that shaped Tennessee politics in the twentieth century. Includes photos