The lives of notorious bad guys, perpetrators of mischief, visionary--if misunderstood--thinkers, and other colorful antiheroes, jerks, and evil doers from history all get their due in the short essays featured in these enlightening, informative, books. Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Georgia History features 15 short biographies of nefarious characters, from wicked pirate Edward Teach to John Gatewood, a ruthless Confederate guerilla fighter during the Civil War.

This true crime history reveals Atlanta’s frontier brothels, daredevil bootleggers, killer politicians, Reconstruction Era rogues, and much more. Over the centuries, Atlanta has seen its share of sordid and salacious stories. Wealthy felons once hosted elaborate parties inside the federal penitentiary. Billionaire bootleggers and murderous socialites practiced corruption that reached all the way to the White House. The city’s fast and fearless drivers, complete with glamorous reputations and criminal careers, gave rise to auto racing. In Wicked Atlanta, author and local historian Laurel-Ann Dooley digs up some of the most shocking and fascinating true tales from Atlanta’s infamous history. She reveals a colorful past of murder, kidnapping, bribery, wives hiring hit men and all sorts of criminal debauchery.

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Publisher description

This fascinating book is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. It is a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins. While most people in the United States today have no British ancestors, they have assimilated regional cultures which were created by British colonists, even while preserving ethnic identities at the same time. In this sense, nearly all Americans are "Albion's Seed," no matter what their ethnicity may be. The concluding section of this remarkable book explores the ways that regional cultures have continued to dominate national politics from 1789 to 1988, and still help to shape attitudes toward education, government, gender, and violence, on which differences between American regions are greater than between European nations.

This concise yet lively textbook explores the history and significance of American popular music from Tin Pan Alley to Public Enemy. Ethnomusicologist Eric Charry provides a strong foundation for understanding how music, the music industry, and American culture intersect. His innovative teaching style presents the material in a dynamic format suitable for general education courses in music. The book is organized around a series of timelines, tables, and figures, providing fresh perspectives on the social and cultural importance of the music. Charry lays out key contemporary theoretical issues, covers the technical foundations of the music industry, and provides a capsule history of who did what when, with particular emphasis on the rapid emergence of distinct genres and subgenres. The book’s figures distill the history and provide new insight into understanding trends. Over a thousand artists, albums, and songs are covered, such as Muddy Waters, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, the Velvet Underground, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Madonna, Talking Heads, and many more.

Includes DeSoto memorials, Georgia's state seals, and the first steamboat patent.