Terrence Malick is the most enigmatic film director currently working. Since the early seventies, his work has won top prizes at film festivals worldwide and brought him wide recognition as the cinematic equivalent of a poet. His life is shrouded in mystery, leaving audiences with rumors, few established facts, and virtual silence from the filmmaker himself following his last published interview in 1979. This has done nothing to dim the luminous quality of his films, from Badlands (1973) and Days of Heaven (1978), to later works such as The Thin Red Line (1998), The Tree of Life (2011), and A Hidden Life (2019).The Magic Hours: The Life and Films of Terrence Malick is the first true biography of this visionary filmmaker. Through interviews and in-depth research, John Bleasdale reveals the autobiographical grounding of many of Malick's greatest films as well as the development of an experimental form of filmmaking that constantly expands the language of cinema. It is the essential account for anyone wishing to understand Malick and his work.

Certain cocktails carry societal connotations and cultural meaning. Some drinks are regional symbols such as the mint julep, which is inextricably tied to the Kentucky Derby. Classic drinks like the old fashioned or the Manhattan tend to denote a more sophisticated or refined palate, whereas wine coolers and tropical cocktails are often associated with new or inexperienced drinkers. Enter the whiskey sour. A cocktail from the sour family, the iconic drink is usually made with bourbon whiskey, lemon juice, and sugar. While its ingredients seem strikingly similar to an old fashioned, the whiskey sour's reputation is far less revered, and in certain circles, maligned for its sweetness.The Whiskey Sour elevates the reputation of the classic cocktail by exploring its rich history— starting in the 1600s with punch, the predecessor to sours, and bringing the reader through to the twentieth century when the whiskey sour was well-established. Seasoned mixologists and new cocktail enthusiasts will be educated about the development of the traditional recipe and encouraged to make their own creations by incorporating modern riffs, syrup additions, and fun enhancements. Part historical narrative, part recipe book, this friendly and approachable guide challenges the stigma surrounding the cocktail as a drink for unrefined tastes and illustrates the elegant, romantic, and complex facets of the whiskey sour—a perfectly sweet, tart, and balanced cocktail.

The Holliman sisters have voices like angels. In 1972, when their father, Garland, hears the girls' beautiful harmonies, he decides to start a family gospel group with his wife Big Jean and four teenage children: the twins, Jeannie and Junior, and their younger sisters, Debbie and Patty. The Gospelettes become a popular act, traveling throughout Kentucky and the surrounding states spreading the gospel in song. But as society outgrows their way of life, changes are encroaching even on their small town and the sheltered Holliman children.The Evolution of the Gospelettes follows the family and their transformation from old-time gospel singers in the 1970s to performers on a televangelist program in the 1980s to founding members of a megachurch in the 1990s. As the new millennium approaches, Jeannie, whose beliefs have evolved and irreversibly departed from her family's, fears what will happen the more entrenched they become in fundamentalist thinking and finds herself in a fight to save the people she loves from self-destruction.This debut novel is a compelling exploration of family ties and rifts, faith and doubt, and holiness and hypocrisy in a changing world.

In 1972, Reggie Warford was a sinewy, lightning-fast, sharp-shooting leftie who was in high demand by such renowned coaches as Bobby Knight at Indiana and Digger Phelps at Notre Drame. When the prolific player was signed by Joe B. Hall at the University Kentucky, he would ultimately become an inspirational scoring force on the team and the first Black basketball player to graduate from the university—instrumental in helping to break the color barriers for generations of students who followed. Scott Brown tells the remarkable story of this trailblazing player and the barriers he broke at Kentucky. Despite a heart condition and health issues that plagued him and eventually claimed his life, his body and spirit exuded a commitment to the game he loved: basketball.From growing up during the Civil Rights era, relating his courage in remaining seated during the singing of "My Old Kentucky Home" (a protest that led to the eventual rewrite of the lyrics), recollections of his seminal games, including the contest against Indiana during which Bobby Knight hit Joe B. Hall, and the Final Four match against UCLA, this is a wide-ranging look at Warford's life and career. The sports legend speaks honestly regarding his college coaching career that was torpedoed by agendas and dubious claims, his life experiences with Muhammad Ali, Larry Bird, and the Harlem Globetrotters, to working with youth at a juvenile detention center and winning a libel suit before the US Supreme Court.Throughout the highs and lows of his life, Warford's mantra "it was all worth it" exudes hope, optimism, and an unwavering determination. More than just a biography, this is an incredible story of inspiration, strength, resilience, and resolve—a testament to a world-class athlete, coach, teacher, mentor, and basketball legend.

"Affrilachia," a term first coined in 1991 by Kentucky poet Frank X Walker, refers to the cultural contributions of African Americans who live in Appalachia, a largely mountainous region stretching over thirteen states from Mississippi to New York. Although Black Americans have greatly influenced the popular culture landscape in this region, their stories, trials, and triumphs are often undocumented because Appalachia is perceived as wholly white.In this stunning visual history, photographer and curator Chris Aluka Berry gives voice to the broad spectrum of African Americans who have lived in the Appalachian region over the centuries. Berry, who spent six years in western North Carolina, northeast Georgia, and eastern Tennessee, immersed himself in the communities and lives of Black Appalachians to present the diversity and commonalities of the proud people in the region. His intimate and revealing photographs capture Arican Americans in various settings—churches, homes, revival services, family gatherings, and homegoing celebrations.Completing this comprehensive collection are powerful narratives from the people who inhabit these places, and contributions from Appalachian writers Kelly Navies and Maia Surdam, whose poignant and powerful poems and essays offer historical perspective and broaden the book's archival importance.The first book of its kind, Affrilachia: Testimonies is an inspired historical artifact that honors, represents, and celebrates the proud people of color whose history and existence has greatly contributed to the broad tapestry of Appalachia.

The hills of the Appalachia region hold secrets—dark, deep, varied, and mysterious. These secrets are often told in the form of eerie, thrilling, and creepy folk tales that reveal strange sightings, curious oddities, and commonly serve as cautionary tales for eager and curious ears. These spine-tingling stories have been told and retold by family members, neighbors, and "hillfolk" for generations. Haint Country: Dark Folktales from the Hills and Hollers is a collection of weird, otherworldly, and supernatural phenomenon in Eastern Kentucky—tales that have been recorded and documented for the first time. Collected and adapted by Matthew Sparks and Olivia Sizemore, the anthology explores stories of ghosts or "haints," strange creatures or "boogers," haunted locations or "stained earth," uncanny happenings or "high strangeness," and humorous Appalachian ghost stories. Contemporary yarns of black panthers, demons, and sightings of ghostly coal miners are narrated in the first person, reflecting the style and dialect of the collected oral history. Though comprised of a mixture of claimed accounts and fabricated lore, the locations and people woven throughout are very real. Complemented with evocative watercolor illustrations by Olivia Sizemore (who was inspired by the work of Stephen Gammell) and a compendium that provides additional context, Haint Country is a thrilling and bone-chilling excursion to the spooky corner of Appalachia.

On Christmas Eve in 1859, sixty-five prominent armed white men rode into the small Kentucky town of Berea and forced the townspeople to close its integrated one-room schoolhouse. The mob perceived the school as a threat to white supremacy and the racial order. Abolitionist John Gregg Fee established the school for the expressed purpose of providing education to anyone eager to learn, regardless of their race—a notion that horrified those convinced of the sanctity of white supremacy. The mob succeeded in evicting thirty-six community members, including Fee's family, but Fee and the others returned to Berea in 1864 and reestablished the school as Berea College—an institution committed to providing education to Appalachia's most vulnerable populations. In Lessons from the Foothills, Gretchen Dykstra profiles modern Berea College, considered the moral compass of the commonwealth, and its rich and beloved history. This book is the first to focus solely on the principles and practices that guide the college: the eight Great Commitments, which individually and holistically provide clear aspirations for the college and its community. Like the institution itself, Dykstra's portrait is structured around these principles; each chapter functions as a deep dive into the history, practice, and significance of each Great Commitment, from providing opportunity for the most marginalized, to its high academic standards, to its commitment to the entire region. One of the Great Commitments states that the college will "provide an educational opportunity for students of all races, primarily from Appalachia, who have great promise and limited economic resources." The college has fulfilled this commitment by eliminating tuition—one of the primary barriers between people living below the poverty line and a college education—and providing jobs for students to assist with living expenses. Including interviews with a range of members from the Berea community, alumni, students, faculty, and staff, Lessons from the Foothills is an engaging and illuminating profile of a unique and historic institution and its enduring commitment to nurture and support academic excellence and service among its students.

Louis "Pete" Rogers Browning, the original "Louisville Slugger" for whom the famous baseball bat was named, was one of the greatest baseball players of the nineteenth century. Yet his prowess and talent were often overshadowed by his drunken exploits and endless eccentricities—on and off the field. Over his thirteen-year career he won three batting titles, finished in the top three nine times, and was one of the greatest hitters of the premodern era. To this day, his.341 lifetime batting average remains in the MLB's top five for right-handed hitters. He acquired other nicknames such as the Gladiator and Prince of Bourbon, and when Browning was "stolen" from Louisville by Pittsburgh recruiters, the team became known as the Pittsburgh Pirates. He attributed his great abilities to many quirky and colorful habits. He drank tabasco sauce and washed his eyes with buttermilk, claiming that both improved his ability to hit. He named his bats after biblical characters and meticulously took care of them until they exhausted the number of hits he believed each possessed. Browning bolstered his wild claims with entertaining storytelling and unconventional behavior, such as standing on one foot in the field and refusing to slide to base. The newspapers reported on and embellished Browning's own idiosyncrasies, making him a legend.Tim Newby addresses the myths surrounding the larger-than-life figure, uncovers the thin line between fact and fiction, and presents an extensive account of Browning—the man, and the record-setting ball player.

When people think of Kentucky, three things usually come to mind: bourbon, Colonel Sanders's secret chicken recipe, and the glamorous Kentucky Derby. Add college basketball to that list, and you have yourself a superfecta. Looking beyond these time-honored traditions, however, visitors will find in Kentucky a diverse patchwork of faces and places, each as unique as the state's geography. Kentucky, Y'all: A Celebration of the People and Culture of the Bluegrass State is an entertaining and informative compilation of the state's favorite oddities, cultural quirks, traditions, and rites of passage. Authors and proud Kentuckians Blair Thomas Hess and Cameron M. Ludwick share the best stories from their experiences as writers, travelers, and residents in this ode to the Commonwealth. From the iconic to the obscure, the book reveals vital knowledge that every Kentuckian—whether by birth, residence, or simply in mind and heart—should know. What is beer cheese? Who was Bill Monroe? Where can you get a hemp hot dog? Readers are introduced to the brilliant minds behind the Louisville Slugger, the Bowie Knife, and pioneering work in genetics. The book also includes a handy list of dos and don'ts of tailgating, a Kentucky sayings glossary, and bucket lists of things to do, drink, read, and eat.Featuring hand-drawn illustrations that represent life, fashion, and entertainment in the Commonwealth, Kentucky, Y'all is an insightful and exuberant guide to the Bluegrass State—for Kentucky natives and visitors alike.

In sports, not all the long shots who succeed are athletes. In 1984, Tom Hammond, a forty-year-old sportscaster who had primarily worked in Kentucky and the Southeast, got an unlikely opportunity to appear on the NBC Sports telecast of the inaugural Breeders' Cup. Assigned to report from the stall area on what was supposed to be a single broadcast, Hammond performed so well that an NBC executive offered him a chance to call NFL games on the spot. That broadcast launched Hammond's thirty-four-year career with NBC Sports and his rise to the top levels of American television sportscasting. Along with cowriter Mark Story, Hammond pulls back the curtain on how a Kentucky native who started out reading horse racing results on Lexington radio went on to broadcast from thirteen Olympic Games.While covering Thoroughbred racing for NBC, Hammond broadcast sixteen Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes races and eleven runnings of the Belmont Stakes, including American Pharoah's historic 2015 Triple Crown victory. Hammond offers glimpses into his time as the play-by-play voice for Notre Dame football, calling NBA and NFL games, and his long-running stint announcing Southeastern Conference men's basketball for the league's syndicated TV package. Races, Games, and Olympic Dreams is an intimate and gripping look at Hammond's experiences, including his coverage of Olympic track and field, figure skating, speed skating, ice dancing, diving, and basketball events. Hammond worked with broadcasting luminaries such as Dick Enberg, Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, and Bill Walton, and encountered world-class athletes like Allyson Felix, Michael Jordan, Sarah Hughes, and Peyton Manning. Although his career has spanned the nation and the world, Hammond's roots have always remained firmly planted in the Bluegrass State.

In Black Officer, White Navy, Lieutenant Commander Reuben Keith Green shares a compelling and enthralling account of how, as a Black man in the post–Vietnam War era, he navigated his unique career path from high school dropout to unrestricted line officer in the US Navy. Weaving history with personal narrative, Green's engaging, raw, and insightful storytelling style provides an insider's analysis of what was happening within the navy, ultimately exposing systemic racism throughout the US military. Using the "power of the pen," he offers uninhibited accounts of sometimes life-threatening confrontations that resulted from personal and institutional racial bias, describing what it was like to "sail second class" in the navy. Green, who retired as a decorated surface-warfare officer in the mid-1990s, presents an eye-opening account of the challenges, discrimination, and resistance he faced while serving in the military. Through it all, Green's characteristic sense of humor and honesty shine as he tells one hell of a sea story.

During the chaotic evacuation of the United States from Afghanistan in 2021, a group of Congress members who were also military veterans of the War on Terror leapt into action to assist vulnerable people in Afghanistan who had aided the American war effort. This cohort of legislators and their staffs on Capitol Hill created hotlines and worked 24-hour shifts in an intense effort to save lives, often coordinating between government agencies, informal networks of veterans' groups, and contacts on the ground in Kabul. In the process, many veteran lawmakers also became vocal critics of presidential management of the crisis and said they felt a moral obligation to act. In Staying in the Fight: How War on Terror Veterans in Congress Are Shaping U.S. Defense Policy, author Jeffrey S. Lantis shines a spotlight on this cohort of legislators and their unique position in the American government. By using exclusive interview data, archival sources, statistics, process -tracing, and comparative case methodology, Lantis illustrates ways that policy interventions and activism by veterans on both sides of the aisle haves shaped America's involvement in conflicts from Afghanistan to Ukraine. The first study of its kind to focus on this new generation of military veterans and their role in foreign and security policy decision-making, Staying in the Fight speaks directly to debates in civil-military relations, veterans' studies, and research on congressional foreign policy advocacy.

Located approximately forty miles northwest of Philadelphia, the working-class borough of Pottstown does not immediately come to mind as an influential site of the Black Freedom Struggle. Yet this small town in Pennsylvania served as a significant hub of interracial civil rights activism with regional as well as national impact. In The Jim Crow North: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Matthew George Washington adds another interpretive perspective to historiography by using both the "freedom North" and the "long civil rights movement" theoretical models to frame the borough's unique history. Primary documents, including newspaper accounts, census records, oral histories, and correspondence present a vivid account of a rapidly changing town, from the dawn of its civil rights movement during World War II to the revitalization of its NAACP branch in the early 1950s and its activism throughout the 1960s. Placing special emphasis on the demographic nature of the movement, Washington explores how interracial collaboration among the working class made up the movement's critical base—and how, through it all, Black activists remained front and center.This critical examination of Pottstown illuminates the struggle for African American civil rights in one of the long-ignored urban spaces of the North, providing a rich and in-depth portrait of the Black Freedom Struggle of postwar America.

In a span of minutes, the lives of four members of Brickton Community College change forever when an active shooter enters the campus and opens fire. Running on adrenaline and fear, the group—a crew of students and their teacher—subdues the perpetrator in a violent frenzy that leads to the man's death. Reeling from the shock of their collective actions, the group is thrown into turmoil when they realize that the person they have killed is someone they all knew. Narrated in alternating voices and set against the backdrop of an economically depressed Appalachian town, Laura Leigh Morris's The Stone Catchers explores the immeasurable pain and loss felt by the survivors of a school shooting. Forced to process the horror of the event, mourn, and to reconcile themselves to their newfound recognition as local heroes, the survivors grapple with the losses suffered by their community and their own actions. In the process they come face to face with the unquantifiable cost gun violence takes on not only the survivors, but the families, friends, and futures of a community fractured by tragedy.

With rich soils, thousands of creeks, and thirteen major river basins, the state of Kentucky is abundant with wild edibles that not only are delicious but also can be useful for medicinal purposes. Various species of wildflowers such as spring beauty, edible fungi like chanterelles, and tree crops such as hickory nuts may be foraged and pickled, steamed, candied, or stir-fried to create an enticing, healthy, and substantial meal. Foraging Kentucky is an expansive beginners' guide to safely and ethically foraging in the state. The species covered in the book are divided into three categories: herbaceous plants, fungi, and woody plants. Author, forager, and environmental educator George Barnett shares his extensive knowledge on the proper identification of the featured species, where and when they grow, and how to harvest and prepare them for consumption. Complete with high-definition color photographs, recipes, and short history lessons, this guide is chock-full of crucial information for readers who want to forge an enlightening relationship with the delectable foods naturally available in Kentucky's great outdoors.

In the early days of the Great Depression, the search for steady work drove hundreds of migrant laborers - many of whom were African American - from all over Appalachia to a rural area near Fayetteville, West Virginia. Union Carbide Corporation had begun construction on a three-mile tunnel to divert the New River, and many hands were needed. Toiling for five years in confined spaces with poor ventilation, no means of dust control, and limited use of personal breathing protection, the workers were repeatedly exposed to pure silica dust. Many developed silicosis, an incurable and debilitating lung disease that is estimated to have caused the deaths of nearly 800 workers, two-thirds of whom were Black. Soon after, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Labor classified silicosis as an occupational hazard. Despite the disaster's impact, information about its severity was largely suppressed; a decision that ensured the event faded quickly from public memory. Aside from a small plaque at Hawks Nest State Park, which inaccurately admits to only 109 victims, there is little to mark the site of the worst industrial accident to date in the United States.In Appalachian Ghost: A Photographic Reimagining of the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster, author Raymond Thompson Jr. explores the possibilities of that tragedy by reviving the faces and spaces of Hawks Nest. Using primary source materials to re-create the workers' experiences in photographs, Thompson recontextualizes archival images to present a counter-archive that positions the Black experience at Hawks Nest within the larger story of the American labor landscape. His photographs and poetry give voice to the silenced, resisting revisionist narratives that often ignore the sacrifices of African Americans and erase their instrumental role in the development of America's infrastructure.