Hidden History of Memphis (Tennessee)

Hidden History

by G. Wayne Dowdy

Discover the little known and unknown rich heritage of Memphis, TN. Step inside the fascinating annals of the Bluff City's history and discover the Memphis that only few know. G. Wayne Dowdy, longtime archivist for the Memphis Public Library, examines the history and culture of the Mid-South during its most important decades. Well-known faces like Clarence Saunders, Elvis Presley and W.C. Handy are joined by some of the more obscure characters from the past, like the Memphis gangster who inspired one of William Faulkner's most famous novels, the local Boy Scout who captured German spies during World War I, the Memphis radio station that pioneered wireless broadcasting and so many more. Also included are the previously unpublished private papers and correspondence of former mayor E.H. Crump, giving us new insight and a front-row seat to the machine that shaped Tennessee politics in the twentieth century.

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2010

About the author

G. Wayne Dowdy is the agency manager of the Memphis Public Library and Information Center's history department and Memphis and Shelby County Room. He holds a Master's Degree in history from the University of Arkansas, is a certified archives manager and is a member of the Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board. He is the author of Mayor Crump don't like it: Machine Politics in Memphis; Hidden History of Memphis; Crusades for Freedom: Memphis and the Political Transformation of the American South, a Brief History of Memphis and On This Day in Memphis History. Dowdy has served as a consultant for the NBC-TV series who do you think you are? and the PBS series History Detectives: Special Investigation. The host of the WYPL-TV program the Memphis Room, Dowdy has appeared on C-Span, NOS Dutch Public Radio and the documentaries Overton Park: a Century of Change, Memphis memoirs: Downtown and Citizens not Subjects: Reawakening Democracy in Memphis.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of short historical narratives combine to make this a quick an fascinating read, particularly for a lifelong Memphian like myself. Check out Mr Dowdy's other excellent scholarship on the Crump machine that ran Memphis politics for nearly half a century.

[shari lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important information about Memphis

Many facts appear in a positive manner that could easily be overlooked or forgotten about the colorful and varied development of this city

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just okay. Enjoyed the chapters on the Boy Scout who helped catch a German spy during WWII and the building of the public library, but there wasn't much about music and important historic buildings. Most of the book was related to Crump's years as mayor and political machine.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting tidbits of history about Memphis.