Latest Events and News Items.....
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Praise for The Second Coming of the Invisible Empire
The Reviews are Coming In
The Second Coming of the Invisible Empire is myth-bursting and one of the best books on Ku Klux Klans. This insightful study throws light on many hitherto unexplored aspects of the second KKK. Rawlings is a matchless historian and scholar. If you are interested in the Ku Klux Klan, you will not want to miss this highly scholarly and readable book.
The Washington Book Review
May 4, 2016
Everyone interested in the history of the South, Indiana, and their neck of the woods should read this book. Be ready for what you may find. It will surprise you, no doubt.
This just-published work by Dr. William Rawlings on the Second Coming of the Ku Klux Klan was one I read over a week's time. The more I read, the more I read. One of those books. Even though I'm a published scholar on the demography and culture of the South, I learned a great deal by this meticulously researched work. Books like this come in two general types: very well researched and very well written. They usually do not come with both characteristics. This one does. This porridge is "just right," as Goldilocks would have said.
Frank M. Howell, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Sociology
Mississippi State University
March 19, 2016
The Second Coming of the Invisible Empire is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine booksellers in Hardcover, Kindle and Nook Format. (Click on the name to go to the page.) You will find reader reviews on Amazon.com.
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Hear a Podcast Interview on
The Second Coming of the Invisible Empire
Once again, I was honored to be the radio guest of Doug Dahlgren on his weekly interview show, The Prologue. The interview lasts just under an hour, and we discuss my latest book on the Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s era. If you want to know more about what's in the book, click HERE.
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The Next Book is on the Way...
Every serious author realizes that you're only as good as your last book, so writing almost becomes a full time job. I'm pleased to say that as of the end of April 2016 I have finished the first draft of my next book, the one to follow The Second Coming of the Invisible Empire. Every book one writes is different; this new one is no exception. Rather than a single theme, it is a collection of shorter pieces on Georiga and Southern history, some of which are new, and some of which have appeared previously in Georgia Backroads magazine. The working title is The Strange Journey of the Confederate Constitution and Other Stories from Georgia's Historical Past. There are selections from the state's earliest days up through the 1930s. Mercer Press will again be the publisher. The scheduled release date is September 1, 2017.
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A Killing on Ring Jaw Bluff
A Killing on Ring Jaw Bluff is a saga of two inextricably intertwined tales, the infamous Rawlings-Tarbutton murder case of 1925, and the crash of the cotton economy in Georgia (and the South) of the same era. Sound like a strange combination? It's not. From about 1795 until the 1920s, the entire life of many of the southern states was based on the production of cotton. Men became rich. And when it all fell apart, lives were forever changed. It was a fascinating and little known era. But don't take my word for it, read the book.
I think if you ask any author about his or her book, they'll tell you it's great. But, hey, they wrote it! So, read someone else's thoughts. Cllick Here for a review from Goodreads. If you would like to see more, check out the reviews on amazon.com.
For those of you still not certain as to whether or not to get the book, here is a copy of the first chapter to whet your appetite. To read it, click HERE.
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Event Schedule
Upcoming events for the next few months are
listed below. If you or your book or social club
are looking for a speaker, please contact me.
10/6/16 4:30-6:00 PM
Georgia Library Assn.
Author Appreciation Reception
The Classic Center
300 North Thomas Street
Athens, Georgia
10/14/16 11:00 AM
Speaking Engagement
"Books and Brunch" Fundraiser
Gainesville PEO Chapter
Gainesville, Georgia
10/15-16/16
11:00 AM 10/15 Panel Discussion
"Under the Hood of Terror:
Examining the KKK's
Violent History"
Book signing to follow
Southern Festival of Books
Nashville, Tennessee
12/10/16 Details TBA
Mercer Authors Luncheon
InterContinental Buckhead Hotel
Atlanta, Georgia
1/7/17 4:00 PM
Speaking Engagement
Tennille Woman's Club
Tennille Woman's Clubhouse
Tennille, Georgia
2/14/17 Time TBA
Speaking Engagement
Funk Heritage Center
Reinhardt Univesity
Waleska, Georgia
3/2/17 7:00 PM
Speaking Engagement
Lincoln County Historical Society
Lincolnton, Georgia
3/15/17 Details TBA
Speaking Engagement
Leadership Lincoln
Lincolnton, Georgia
3/25-26/17 Details TBA
Featured Author
Dahlonega Literary Festival
Dahlonega, Georgia
6/22/17 Time TBA
Speaking Engagment
"Potosi: The Richest City
in All the World"
Center for Life Enrichment
Highlands, North Carolina
8/17/17 10:00 AM
Speaking Engagement
The PEO Group
BrandenWilde
Augusta, Georgia
8/24/17 Time TBA
Speaking Engagement
"The Lost Cause on the Silver Screen"
Center for Life Enrichment
Highlands, North Carolina
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News and Notes
There is always something happening. Here are the latest odds and ends that may be of interest to you:
New Magazine Article Posted to the Website: The story of Gutzon Borglum and the Lost Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial has been posted on this website. It's a fascinating tale of the ORIGINAL Stone Mountain carving whose cast of characters includes America's greatest sculptor, the Daughters of the Confederacy, the Ku Klux Klan, the US Mint, and many prominent Georgia Citizens of the Day. To read, click Here.
New Magazine Article on the Way: Later this year, Georgia Backroads will carry my new article on the fascist movement in 1930s Georgia. We don't think of our state as being a hotbed of fascism (think Hitler in Germany or Mussolini in Italy), but for a couple of years during the Great Depression, there was a small but dedicated attempt to form an Order of Black Shirts. The piece is titled "White Sheets in Black Shirts," which may give you some hint as to who the "fascists" were--ex-Klansmen, for the most part!
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