The most accurate book on WWII bomber crews in a long time. A must read for any serious WWII buff.

This is one of the best books on the Memphis Belle that I have ever read. It has a great format and can fulfill any thirst for knowledge about the Memphis Belle.

I found the book to be an eye opening, clear view of racially segregated voting patterns. It also gave an insider's view of the difficulties minorities face when mounting competitive political campaigns. The book is a must read for anyone with political aspirations at any level. It also serves as a primer for young African-American voters. Anyone who thinks that "my vote doesn't count", will realize the importance of every vote cast. The book also proves that hard work and strong ideals, must aslo be accompanied by dogged determination. For a collegiate level text, it was a very enjoyable read.

Race, Power, and Political Emergence in Memphis is a thought-provoking analysis of race relations in the South. It is also one of few books which informs readers about the unique politics of Memphis. However, the book discusses politics in other urban cities as well and thus provides a framework by which Memphis politics can be analyzed in relation to politics in other U.S. cities. It is an excellent book and is very well-written.

This is a fascinating book, with an amazingly developed protaganist. Olivia Dale is a complex and intense character who will stop at nothing to get the story. A crime reporter in Memphis, Olivia comes upon the case of a dead young woman who looks like her, is her age, and for all intents and purposes, could just as easily have been her or any other young woman in the city. Wanting to get to the bottom of what happened, how, why and by whom, Olivia begins living as the victim might have. She tries to piece the puzzle together by recreating the victim's life and experiences. We watch this woman transform as a person and reporter, and learn a great deal about herself. What are human boundaries, and how far are we willing to extend them in different circumstances? A highly recommended, page turning, thriller.

Body of a Girl is so wonderful I can only urge you to order it and read it as soon as possible. Allison Avery is the perfect 'girl.' Beloved by friends and family. Her murder opens up her life... a secret life that may have led to her brutal murder. Olivia Dale is a young reporter who covers the story for her Memphis newspaper. Olivia bears a resemblance to Allison and soon the murdered girl's family and friends open up to her, giving her insight into Allisons life. Olivia is drawn into this shadowy and dangerous world, fascinated by the wild side hidden inside her. Leah Stewart is a wonderful writer . I never thought anyone could hold a candle to Ruth Rendell, but here she is! This book is what a crime novel should be...literate, insightful and most importantly, great fun to read. I look forward to the next book!

I loved this book. It has wonderful writing, strong pace, and a fascinating main character -- a reporter who risks herself to get the story of her life, about a young murder victim who looks like her.

She penetrates the dead woman's world and dresses like her and goes to the nightclubs where she went and interviews her family and friends as she digs up the dirt. The character and personality of the dead woman haunt the narrative. Her fascination with this crime victim is the engine that drives the story. The dead woman's presence is riveting.

This is not your typical hard-boiled mystery, thank heaven. It reads like a mainstream or even literary novel and comes closer to "The Secret History" that to the genre stuff of Robert B. Parker. It swept me up in its world. As a writer myself, I had very few nitpicks, which is unusual. I recommend it highly.

Of all the books I have read about the King of Rock and Roll
"Elvis Aaron Presley Revelations from the Memphis Mafia" is by far the best. Alanna Nash has created a setting, that while reading the book, I felt as if I were in the very same room listening to Billy Smith, Marty Lacker and Lamar Fike talk about their lives with Elvis Presley. If your a true Elvis fan, don't let anything change your mind about reading this book, you'll be happy you did.

If you love music, this book is for you. If you love the South, get it and read it. If you desire harmony, Elvis was a pioneer in blending black and white culture into a winner. Encouraged to read this book by a friend, from Wisconsin of all places, I was astounded at the honest detail of not only the personal history of an icon, but an inside look at the music and publishing industry that has helped shape our nation. Based on interviews over a three year period, Alanna Nash recreates the world of the Memphis Mafia, Elvis' closest friends over his 30+ year music career. It is like sitting in a room listening to a converstation between three of his closest confidants discussing his life with all of the subplots. A wonderful book. Why in the world is it out of print????

If you never read another "Elvis" book,read this one!It is a monumental work.I read it in two days,while on vacation.The paperback version is over 900 pages.It is so riveting,one simply can't put it down.The book isn't written in typical biographical style.It is based on interviews with three members of the "Memphis Mafia." The reader feels as if he were in the room with them,as they reminisce about their lives with the King.I have gone back to the book,many times.This is without a doubt,the definitive book,on Elvis Aaron Presley!If you don't have it,get it.I guarantee,you will not be disappointed.This reader has read more than his share of Elvis tomes,and this one is the penultimate!

It is hard to believe that an investigative reporter that had done much real life investigating could picture a bailbondsman/bounty hunter as a co-hero rather than a real (low) life bloodsucker. It may fit, however, a "yellow dog" writer that blames all bias on "R's" and omits the likes of Robert Byrd, Lester Maddox, Jesse Jackson, etc.
If you enjoy plastic construction of unbelievable characters that are fit into an unlikely stream of events in a weak plot, this is just the novel for you.

This mystery contains a nice complex mix of characters and
locales. The "detective" is a minor staffer at a major southern
university who is researching early blues performers, and one
of his friends and benefactors asks him to try to find her brother, who, a blues man himself, disappeared about 30 years
before. Since he has been gone so long, he is presumed dead,
but as Nick, the searcher, looks into that disappearance, he is
surprised, under unpleasant circumstances, to learn that others
are also looking for the same 30-year-missing man.
His search brings Nick into contact with other blues performers,
gamblers, politicians, and some unsavory characters in the employ of the "Dixie Mafia."
As the search goes deepr, and becomes more complex, the action
heats up, and the violence becomes more pronounced.
Rather puzzling, though, is Nick's love for the "Old South,"
which couldn't have been that good for many people, especially
the old-time musicians he listens to and admires, because of
racial segregation, but he conforts himself with thoughts and
visions of the "Old South," while he continues his search for
the present missing brother.
His search uncovers many unpleasant truths about both the past
and the present, and he is only able to keep alive due to luck
and the "help of a few friends."
The reader will be engaged by the need to follow 30 years of
southern social and music history, while Nick fights some of
the nastiest psychopaths in print today.
Interesting reading.

Whether one is a dyed-in-the-wool Southern liberal like me or a conservative like my fellow reviewer from Savannah (see below), this book resonates. One should not let one's personal politics get in the way of recognizing that Atkins is one of the best thriller writers of his generation. Actually, if he continues to improve, he'll be one of the best writers of his generation, regardless of genre. To insinuate that he employs a "plastic construction of unbelievable characters" is absolutely ludicrous. The plot of Dark End of the Street is nuanced, its characters completely based in reality and richly realized.
Here in Mississippi, my friends at all ends of the political spectrum loved this book for its ability to bring our home to life, in all its wounded glory. In Dark End of the Street, I see the abiding love all Southerners, black or white, have for this region as well as the deep-rooted shame of slavery and racial oppression that still permeates the landscape.
Many people will never understand the dichotomy of the modern South. Ace Atkins does.
READ THIS BOOK.

This is a fairly good book but nothing like Orders to Kill by William Pepper which is much more detailed and conclusive in it's arguments. Thinking about it I guess these guys probably re-released to cash in on the time, effort and money that Pepper spent on the the case. Still it is much better than Posner so...

It was on this very day,33 years ago,that civil rights leader Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis. It was,obviously,an awful moment for America back then...but it's something people should never forget & something people should forever scrutinize,because there are some very strange things surrounding this particular murder,...

At first delvings,though,the King-Assassination-Case can very much seem totally undecipherable. If this is the case,all you need do is devour some really good books on the subject.

Mark Lane's "Murder In Memphis" is one of these books; expertly studied & addictively written with a smart sense of exploration. "Murder In Memphis" will astonish you. The interviews,the de-classified FBI documents,the end result-revelations of a Congress investigation into the matter,all pointing,basically,to a possible/probable Conspiracy involving the highest fractions of the U.S government,the top levels of American intelligence,& the deepest reaches of organized crime~(All seductively intertwined with each other). For me,One of the best pieces of information is the one concerning Myron Billit,a old gaffer for the Mafia,who claims that in early 1968 he drove two senior mob figures,Sam Giancana & John Roselli,to a meeting with federal agents at a motel in upstate New York. Billit says that at the meeting,the Mafia leaders were offered a million dollar contract to kill Martin Luther King-(Since Myron gave this info on his death-bed,it seems unlikely to be false).

Mark Lane has constructed a mindblowing book. Fascinating reading,well worth the investment. A publication i shall always appreciate.

As it is a particular field of interest to me, I have probably read more about the trilogy of 1960's assassinations than most. Most conspiracy theories, however, involve a certain suspension of disbelief, and the reader, as investigator, must decide what they believe or not. Not so in Mark Lane and Dick Gregory's Murder in Memphis; without pointedly trying to be, their simple stating of the facts is the single most damning, disturbing, and convincing indictment of the FBI and others involved that I have ever read. Brilliantly written, the book is also meticulously researched; every source used is clearly identified and the reader gets the impression they could independently verify every statement made with relative ease. A non-stop page-turner from beginning to end; it is a must read for anyone who enjoys non-fiction.

Geoffrey Martin gives an overview of 15 years of archeological digs and restorations in the Saqqara (Memphis necropolis) area. His descriptions are accessible and include enough background material on the age without it becoming a distraction. The book gives an excellent view of the work being done by modern archeologists, and often hints at the large amounts of research that go on outside of the field season.

I hope a future work will describe the work being done since this book was written.

G.T. Martin takes the readers on a fascinating expedition in the Saqqara area, in search of the lost tombs of general Horemheb and chancellor Maya, two of the most powerfull men during the reign of Tutankhamun. The author discusses the re-discovery, structure and decoration of the tomb of the two dignitaries, as well as the tombs of the Tias, relatives of Ramesses II.

In Memphis, engaged couple Julie Morrison and Steve Land go to the fanciest restaurant in town accompanied by his parents. To her chagrin, a blast from the past, attorney Zach McRae is also there. Zach is in town defending a teen in a capital punishment case. Zach asks Julie where she has been for the last eight years and realizes she has lied to her fiancé about her background hiding that she fled Baxter, Ohio and an ugly family situation.

Zach informs Julie that her mother and stepfather are going to be arrested for stealing money leaving her half-brother thirteen years old Peter in trouble. When Zach becomes despondent over losing his case, Julie offers solace, but that soon turns into lovemaking. Julie breaks off her engagement and returns to her hometown to care for her disturbed sibling. Zach also comes home to regain his equilibrium following the harrowing trial and to deal with his biological father who murdered his mother having been freed from prison. Though neither wants this, Zach and Julie fall in love, but the baggage each carry may prove to powerful for a lasting relationship.

The two lead protagonists and his adopted family keep this engaging somewhat maudlin contemporary romance crisply moving forward. Zach is a dedicated individual who displays how emotional draining a capital punishment case can be on a lawyer. To escape her past, Julie builds a house of cards that collapses rather quickly. This angst-laden duo is bad for each other except Teresa Hill demonstrates that love can overcome many negatives if the individuals make the effort as this pair does.

Harriet Klausner

A well written and researched book of Memphis Jewish history especially if you live in or around Memphis and the Mid-South.The book sometimes gets out of chronological order as far history dates are concerned but it is still interesting and easy reading.There are a few typos but they don't interrupt the story line.All in all if you are from this area,as I am, you will find many names and places that have significant meaning.

It's been a while since I've read this book but it was wonderful. James Conaway's story of growing up in midtown Memphis in post WWII is detailed with all the experiences a boy would have in my adopted hometown. This book should be read by anyone who loves Memphis.