Only in Old Kentucky: Historic True Tales of Cultural Ingenuity

by Marshall Myers

Tracing Kentucky's unusual history through its early days as the rough-and-tumble frontier and its settling down and growing up in dozens of directions, Only in Old Kentucky" offers a series of novel and fascinating stories of bygone days from Cadiz to Versailles. Kentucky's saltpeter reserves take a backseat to coal mining today but played a critical role in the military engagements of yesteryear. Devil John Wright morphed from a Civil War soldier to a circus performer to a legend. Dueling so shaped the early commonwealth that to this day, officials must take an oath promising to refrain from doing so. Join historian and professor Marshall Myers as he tracks down Kentucky's hidden oddities and curiosities, reviving and celebrating the most bizarre and captivating stories Kentucky history has to offer."

Genres: Nonfiction, History

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 2014

Reviews

[Paul Lunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marshall Myers' "Only in Old Kentucky: Historic True Tales of Cultural Ingenuity" takes a look at 16 things that make Kentucky what it is. Each chapter focuses briefly on the topic at hand from dueling to Henry Clay to farming. The book is a good way for anyone with a passing interest in Kentucky (or as a resident) to get an abbreviated version of things that make the state what it is as well as how it got through some of its more "creative" history.