Rowdy Memphis

by John Branston

On October 16, 1954, E. H. Crump, the political boss of Memphis and a force in Southern politics for nearly half a century, died at his home in Memphis. He left a place known as "America's Cleanest City," "America's Quietest City," the capital of Mississippi, and the safest city in the South. To Crump's critics, Memphis was also known as America's least democratic city. Crump's brand of order was already breaking down at the time of his death. That year the U.S. Supreme Court desegregated public schools in Brown v. Board of Education and Elvis Presley cut his first record at Sun Studio in Memphis. The next 50 years in Memphis would belong to the children and lawyers who fulfilled the promise of desegregation, rebels and gamblers, brawlers and killers, hard-nosed politicians and prosecutors, suburban and downtown developers, business visionaries, and the activists who stopped an interstate highway. This is their story.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2004

Reviews

[Michael Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably of interest to a limited readership, this book badly needs a copy editor -- most of the apostrophes are backward, to name just one problem -- but most of all, it shows the typical left-collectivist slant of the typical "news" reporter, especially one who turned columnist.
As a former Tennessean, I picked up this book with some expectation of learning more about Memphis and its political history.
And by golly I did.
So I appreciate that part, but Branston's own bias intrudes too often for me to praise this book much.
There are interesting moments, as for example this passage in his story about Willie Herenton: "I once referred to the mayor as stubborn in a story, and he strenuously objected that the term was condescending and racist. A few years later, I heard him use it to describe himself, but I guess that's different."
I appreciated his admitting that early on, as a Southern reporter, he learned that the surest way to get a story on the national wire was to write about the Ku Klux Klan.
I don't think he realized how he was merely proving the bias of the national "news" media, but he was and, of course, he shared that bias.
Apparently he's still around and still writing, for an alternative paper called the Memphis Flyer.

[Ann Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great info---a must read for any life-long Memphians.
Each entry is a story unto itself and many names are recognizable from times gone-by even by this adopted resident.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Branston's Rowdy Memphis provides critical insights into the history of Memphis after the death of E.H. "Boss" Crump. A collection of short essays and articles, it is enlightening, tightly written and very accessible.