Shelby Foote

Shelby Foote was born in the Mississippi Delta in 1916. His family  moved frequently,  because of his father's job,  so he was raised in a number of southern cities.  Eventually, Foote  graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Then he served in the military during World War II.  Before he wrote his narrative history …

The Coming Anniversary of the Civil War

By Stephen Abraham Lincoln was elected President of  the United States one hundred and fifty years ago on November 6, 2010.  What followed Lincoln's election was a bloody civil war that lasted over four years.  Almost as  many books have written about this war as there were casualties on the battlefields ( a slight exaggeration).  And, with …

GSMNP – The Beginning

By Stephen Last month my blog concentrated on resources outlining the culture in the Great Smoky Mountains before the park was established.    This time I will  list items in the libraries' collections  telling about the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A lot of work was done before a national park could be established in …