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Kentucky Bluegrass Country by R. Gerald Alvey Horse breeding, the cultures of tobacco and bourbon, the forms of architecture, the codes of the hunt, the traditions of gambling and dueling, convivial celebrations, regional foodways-all of these are ingredients in the folklife of the Inner Bluegrass Region that is the focus of this fascinating book. R. Gerald Alvey (retired) was a professor of folklore and English at the University of Kentucky.

In Kentucky: Historic Houses and Horse Farms, pre-eminent architectural and interiors photographer Pieter Estersohn guides us through Bluegrass Country, the legendary landscape around Lexington, Kentucky. The wealthiest town west of the Alleghenies prior to the Civil War, Lexington has a rich architectural and cultural history that is manifest in the elegant houses within and around the center. Equally compelling is the equestrian heritage that has made Lexington the “Horse Capital of the World.” Among the properties presented are Ashland, an Italian-inspired villa built for distinguished statesman and orator Henry Clay; Pope Villa, one of only two extant residences by Benjamin Latrobe, the architect of the U.S. Capitol; Waveland, a completely intact Greek Revival estate from the 1830s; and Pleasant Hill, the largest restored Shaker community in the country. Dramatic aerial photographs celebrate the rolling landscape and expansive horse farms, including Gainesway Farm, a 1,500 acre site that has produced an impressive roster of legendary Throughbreds. Kentucky is a multifaceted and compelling portrait of a unique part of our country that combines a reverence for history and Southern traditions of hospitality and generosity with a vital present.

Kentucky Country is a lively tour of the state's indigenous music, from the days of string bands through hillbilly, western swing, gospel, bluegrass, and honkey-tonk to through the Nashville Sound and beyond. Through personal interviews with many of the living legends of Kentucky music, Charles K. Wolfe illuminates a fascinating and important area of American culture. The list of country music stars who hail from Kentucky is a long and glittering one. Red Foley, Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn, Tom T. Hall, the Judds, Dwight Yaokum, Billy Ray Cyrus, Ricky Skaggs, John Michael Montgomery, and Keith Whitely—all these and many others have called Kentucky home. Kentucky Country is the story of these stars and dozens more. It is also the story of many Kentucky musicians whose contributions have been little known or appreciated, and of those collectors, promoters, and entrepreneurs who have worked behind the scenes to bring Kentucky music to national attention.

A history of the city located in the heart of central Kentucky Bluegrass country traces Lexington's long, proud past which reaches far back before the “Horse Capital of the World” reared its first thoroughbred, claiming the first college, newspaper, and millionaire west of the Alleghenies--among many other firsts. Original.