In 'The Hermitage, Home of General Andrew Jackson,' Mary C. Dorris delves into the historical significance and architectural beauty of General Andrew Jackson's estate. Dorris expertly weaves together historical facts and personal anecdotes to provide a comprehensive look at the life and times of one of America's most controversial figures. The book is written in a captivating narrative style, making it accessible to both history enthusiasts and casual readers alike. Dorris meticulously describes the layout of The Hermitage, exploring the gardens, outbuildings, and iconic mansion that tell the story of Jackson's rise to power and his lasting legacy. The literary context of the book is rooted in the rich tradition of American historical writing, offering a unique perspective on the life of a founding father. Mary C. Dorris brings a fresh and insightful approach to understanding the complexities of General Jackson's character and the historical significance of his estate. Her meticulous research and engaging writing style make 'The Hermitage, Home of General Andrew Jackson' a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the life and legacy of this influential American leader.

In 1955, Evvie McDougal was 11 years old, and lived in a charming little village in West Virginia. The beautiful tree lined streets and old Victorian homes made it seem like a story book town. But all is not well beneath the surface. Evvies family home is hiding many terrifying secrets, some of which are quite deadly. Evvie has some special inherited gifts that made her the target of a serial killer. Even when she wakes up in a pitch black room with her hands bound and her face covered in blood she is still determined to unmask the killer.

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Born in New Orleans before migrating to Chicago, Mahalia Jackson (1911-72) is undoubtedly the most widely known black gospel singer, having achieved fame among African American communities in the 1940s then finding a wide audience among non-black U.S. and international audiences after she signed with major label Columbia Records in 1954. The newest entry in OUP's celebrated Readers on American Musicians series,ÂThe Mahalia Jackson ReaderÂplaces Jackson's musical performances and their reception against key changes in 20th-century America, changes that include transformations of the recorded music industry, the increasing visibility of the civil rights movement, a florescence of Cold War-era religiosity, and an explosion of popularity of black gospel music itself. Jackson's career combines parallel tracks as a black church singer and as a national pop celebrity, and makes her one of the most complex and important black artists of the postwar decades. Gospel is a particularly challenging genre to study because of the paucity of sources. BecauseÂof Jackson's celebrity, there is more substantial coverage of her life and work than other gospel artists, but Jackson scholarship is still largely dependent on trade biographies from the 1970s for source material. For this reader, Mark Burford has gone beyond the standard biographies and has drawn from extensive archival research, including in the volume interview transcripts and the largely-untouched papers of Jackson's associate Bill Russell, who kept a journal tracking Jackson's activities from 1951 to 1955. The new sources - in particular Russell's notes - uniquely enable an assessment of the reciprocal relationship between the two careers Jackson pursued, essentially simultaneously: as an in-demand church singer in Chicago, and as a media star for a major network and recording label.