A blistering critique of America's assembly-line approach to criminal justice' and the shameful practice at its core: the plea bargain. Most Americans believe that the jury trial is the backbone of our criminal justice system. But in fact, the vast majority of cases never make it to trial: almost all criminal convictions are the result […]
Non-Fiction
In Phyllis George: Shattering the Ceiling authors Lenny Shulman and Paul Volponi trace George's evolution from Miss America to professional broadcaster, to arts advocate, author, philanthropist, and also as First Lady of Kentucky who was instrumental in getting her husband, John Y. Brown Jr., elected Governor of that state. George's life was defined by her […]
In My Old Kentucky Home, Emily Bingham explores the long, strange journey of what has come to be seen by some as an American anthem, an integral part of our folklore, culture, customs, foundation, a living symbol of a “happy past.” But “My Old Kentucky Home” was never just a song. It was always a […]
A collection of empowering stories and captivating photos, My Beautiful Black Hair celebrates an aspect of Black femininity—natural hair—and embraces it as a central part of Black womanhood. My Beautiful Black Hair is a book about Black women embracing their natural hair. One hundred and one Black women share their stories of learning to love […]
Between 1820 and 1913, approximately 16,000 black people left the United States to start new lives in Liberia, Africa, in what was at the time the largest out-migration in US history. When Tolbert Major, a former Kentucky slave and single father, was offered his own chance for freedom, he accepted. He, several family members, and […]
In 130 ink-and-watercolor drawings, the story of one year on a family farm in Kentucky unfolds in captured moments of daily life: Donahue’s husband chopping wood, a cow sniffing her head, her daughter tending to goats after a hard day at school.
When Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew retired from racing in 1978 to stand at stud at Spendthrift Farm, no one could be certain he would be a successful sire. But just four years later, his dark bay daughter Landaluce won the Hollywood Lassie Stakes by twenty-one lengths—a margin of victory that remains the largest ever […]
Kentucky’s first senator, John Brown, is almost unknown in the nation and in Kentucky. He was a son of colonial Virginia and a father of Kentucky statehood, but historians have often minimized his contribution, slurred him as a “Spanish conspirator,” or deliberately excluded him from the historiography. He was the only Kentuckian active in national […]
For more than a century, the University of Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team has built a winning tradition that feeds the Big Blue Nation. The history of the winningest program in college basketball is peppered with unforgettable moments and personalities.
It has been said that only eight percent of people ever achieve their goals. These people are exceptional — they are the pioneers, trailblazers and trendsetters that define each generation. They are true innovators who introduce new enhancements, ideas, and methods to continually raise the bar for the products and activities that define the American […]
Hatton, the last name of our ticket scalping protagonist, hangs on a blue banner in the rafters at University of Kentucky's Rupp Arena. Terry Hatton, the son of UK basketball legend Vernon Hatton, believes in the business of family fun. After navigating an international criminal underworld, while raising his family in the Mormon Church, Terry […]
The stories and accounts of Kentucky basketball's players, iconic coaches, and epic games have been told and retold, but lesser known are the stories of the arenas and venues that have been home to the Wildcats—buildings that have witnessed the sights, sounds, and shared spirit of the Big Blue Nation for over a century.