James L Dickerson

Inside America's Concentration Camps is an investigative history of concentration camps in the U.S. It is based on interviews and extensive research.

At a time when print journalism is rapidly fading away, there is a need for a book about the day-to-day life of a newspaper and magazine writer. This memoir by award-winning writer James L. Dickerson is such a book. In addition to providing exciting stories about investigative reporting and investigative editorial writing (a concept he developed at The Commercial Appeal of Memphis), the book pulls back the newsroom curtain on the many intrigues and scandals that happen behind the scenes at a daily newspaper. Currently celebrating 50 years of journalism, James L. Dickerson is one of the most successful journalists in the South. He has been a staff writer for three Pulitzer Prize-winning newspapers while writing for magazines and authoring more than 30 books on investigative history and investigative biography (one of his investigative biographies Colonel Tom Parker: The Curious Life of Elvis Presley's Eccentric Manager was purchased by Warner Bros. for director Baz Luhrmann for his upcoming Elvis movie starring Tom Hanks). In a fascinating transition from college rock musician to civil rights activist to Vietnam War resister, Dickerson enters the world of investigative journalism. His style of reporting is unique in that he assumes different personas for different interviews, becoming Bogart's Sam Spade (hence the book cover), Johnny Cash and Clark Kent-and he is one of the very few reporters to carry a gun on difficult assignments. For that reason, reading this memoir is like reading a Dashiell Hammett mystery novel.Go on assignment with Dickerson when he investigates the Shah of Iran's sudden appearance in Jackson, Mississippi during the Iran hostage crisis; when he organizes a nude pictorial for Playboy on the "Girls of Country Music"; when he chases after Bill Clinton for a Q&A interview for Playboy; when Omni magazine asks him to investigate historical murder cases; when he interviews the first Marine Corps pilot in history; when he interviews the stars of country, blues and rock music; and when he romances one of the first women to be elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives; and much more as he writes more than 30 investigative books on civil rights, hate crimes, and internment camps, to name just a few.

Chips Moman's genius began in the studio, where he instituted technical innovations that forever changed the recording industry, but it expanded from there with an uncanny ability to recognize hit songs when he heard them as rough demos, and then blossomed with an unsurpassed string of hit records. He rescued Elvis Presley's career with his recordings of "Suspicious Minds" and "In the Ghetto," and he provided Willie Nelson with one of his most memorable signature songs, "Always on My Mind." Not bad for a Georgia country boy who dropped out of school in the eighth grade and hitchhiked to Memphis in search of the American Dream. "I think the Chips Moman story has provided me with the best book I have written since Colonel Tom Parker, which was purchased by Warner Bros. for its Elvis film starring Tom Hanks," says author James L. Dickerson. "I anticipate great interest in a movie based on Moman's story. Small wonder. He has been called the "Steve McQueen of the music business.'" By any measure-sales, multi-genre capability, number of hit records, technical innovation, artistry, etc.-Lincoln "Chips" Moman was the most important record producer in American history. With several hundred hits to his credit in pop, country, rhythm & blues, and rock, both from record production and songwriting, Chips Moman is legendary within the music industry. This biography is the story of his life. Early on, Chips Moman was a co-founder of Memphis's Stax Records, along with Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton. Moman found the location for the studio, organized the recording system, recruited the early talent and produced the legendary soul music record label's first two hits-"Gee Whiz" by Carla Thomas and "Last Night," an instrumental by the Mar-Keys. As a record producer, he rescued Elvis Presley's career with hits such as "Suspicious Minds, "In the Ghetto," and "Kentucky Rain." He produced music icons such as Petula Clark and Dionne Warwick. In rock and pop he is associated with the Gentrys ("Keep on Dancing"), the Box Tops ("The Letter"), Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," Sandy Posey ("Born a Woman" and "Single Girl" ), Paul Revere & The Raiders ("Goin' to Memphis"), Dusty Springfield ("Son of a Preacher Man"), Ringo Starr (an unreleased album which the author listened to and considers among Ringo's best; the album ended up in a celebrated court case); B.J. Thomas ("Hooked on a Feeling," "The Eyes of a New York Woman," and "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Someone Wrong Song." In country music, he produced Willie Nelson's "Always on My Mind" and numerous other albums; he originated the super group the Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kristofferson) and produced two of their three albums; Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard (Pancho & Lefty), plus albums with Tammy Wynette, Gary Stewart, Brenda Lee and others. Moman also recorded a country album, as of now unreleased, with actor Robert Duvall, who got permission from Moman to use him as a model for the character he played in Tender Mercies, a role for which he was awarded an Oscar.

Chips Moman's genius began in the studio, where he instituted technical innovations that forever changed the recording industry, but it expanded from there with an uncanny ability to recognize hit songs when he heard them as rough demos, and then blossomed with an unsurpassed string of hit records. He rescued Elvis Presley's career with his recordings of "Suspicious Minds" and "In the Ghetto," and he provided Willie Nelson with one of his most memorable signature songs, "Always on My Mind." Not bad for a Georgia country boy who dropped out of school in the eighth grade and hitchhiked to Memphis in search of the American Dream. "I think the Chips Moman story has provided me with the best book I have written since Colonel Tom Parker, which was purchased by Warner Bros. for its Elvis film starring Tom Hanks," says author James L. Dickerson. "I anticipate great interest in a movie based on Moman's story. Small wonder. He has been called the "Steve McQueen of the music business.'" By any measure-sales, multi-genre capability, number of hit records, technical innovation, artistry, etc.-Lincoln "Chips" Moman was the most important record producer in American history. With several hundred hits to his credit in pop, country, rhythm & blues, and rock, both from record production and songwriting, Chips Moman is legendary within the music industry. This biography is the story of his life. Early on, Chips Moman was a co-founder of Memphis's Stax Records, along with Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton. Moman found the location for the studio, organized the recording system, recruited the early talent and produced the legendary soul music record label's first two hits-"Gee Whiz" by Carla Thomas and "Last Night," an instrumental by the Mar-Keys. As a record producer, he rescued Elvis Presley's career with hits such as "Suspicious Minds, "In the Ghetto," and "Kentucky Rain." He produced music icons such as Petula Clark and Dionne Warwick. In rock and pop he is associated with the Gentrys ("Keep on Dancing"), the Box Tops ("The Letter"), Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," Sandy Posey ("Born a Woman" and "Single Girl" ), Paul Revere & The Raiders ("Goin' to Memphis"), Dusty Springfield ("Son of a Preacher Man"), Ringo Starr (an unreleased album which the author listened to and considers among Ringo's best; the album ended up in a celebrated court case); B.J. Thomas ("Hooked on a Feeling," "The Eyes of a New York Woman," and "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song." In country music, he produced Willie Nelson's "Always on My Mind" and numerous other albums; he originated the super group the Highwaymen (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kristofferson) and produced two of their three albums; Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard (Pancho & Lefty), plus albums with Tammy Wynette, Gary Stewart, Brenda Lee and others. Moman also recorded a country album, as of now unreleased, with actor Robert Duvall, who got permission from Moman to use him as a model for the character he played in Tender Mercies, a role for which he was awarded an Oscar.

This is a history of civil rights violations against African Americans in the State of Mississippi.

Katherine Summer had everything in life that she wanted--a loving husband, a beautiful daughter, an incredible island home in the Thousand Island region of the St. Lawrence River, an incredibly bright cocker spaniel named Bessie, and a wildly successful career as a landscape artist.All that changed in an instant, when a boating accident seemingly took the lives of her husband and daughter, leaving Katherine alone and heartbroken on the idyllic island that previously had provided her with so much joy and inspiration.Love on the Rocks takes place in the picturesque, castle-populated Thousand Islands region of Ontario/New York State. It follows Katherine through the process of sorting out her emotions as she overcomes her grief and seeks a meaningful new relationship, only to discover that the path to happiness requires her to choose between two men--an American psychologist who may lose his license because of his love for her, and a millionaire, "bad boy" Member of the Canadian Parliament being groomed for prime minister, who dazzles her with his charm.A focal point of the story occurs when Prince Harry and his wife make a cameo at a banquet and dazzle the guests with previously unknown talents.The choices that Katherine makes as she attempts to build a new life, while pursued by the police of both countries for failing to testify against the psychologist, will take the reader on a roller-coaster of emotions as she navigates the treacherous rocks of romance, unable to decide on a future that will not leave everyone involved shipwrecked by love lost. The surprise ending will take your breath away.

Included in this book are photographs, poetry, and narrative anecdotes looking back on the author's 40-year (and still counting) career as a journalist, photo-journalist, and author while working for three Pulitzer Prize winning newspapers in the South. Dickerson is known for seeking interaction with his photographic subjects.Featured in this book are portraits of ordinary people who have distinguished themselves in various ways, such as Lt. Col. Sarah Deal, the first female pilot for the U.S. Marines Corps (she was attending air traffic school at the U.S. naval base in Millington, north of Memphis, when the defense secretary announced that pilot training would be offered to women in the U.S. Marine Corps.) . . . an old warrior who got to fly a B-17 bomber again after more than three decades . . . the midwife birth of a Mississippi Delta baby . . . the Ghost of Annandale, a spine tingling story associated with the Chapel of the Cross, one of the most historic churches in Mississippi . . . and a look Back at Trader Jon's, Pensacola, Florida's most famous strip joint/safe haven for Navy fighter pilots and Broadway playwrights and British princes--along with entertainment celebrities such as Waylon Jennings, Ringo Starr, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the Bangles, Marshall Chapman, B.B. King, Suzy Bogguss, Rosanne Cash, Marty Stuart, rock 'n' roll legend Carl Perkins, Jimi Jamison of the rock group Survivor, Rolling Stone Ron Wood, hit songwriter and recording artist Deborah Allen, Faith Hill, Leon Redbone, teen star Tiffany, Lynn Anderson, R&B legend Bobby Womack, Shelby Lynne, Holly Dunn, Paulette Carlson legendary record producer Chips Moman, Elvis Presley's first guitarist and co-inventor of rock 'n' roll, legendary guitarist Scotty Moore, a poem about a female Mississippi surgeon who operates in the nude (no nudity involved iln the book) . . . Mississippi author Willie Morris (North Toward Home and My Dog Skip) and others.Roughly 1/3 of the images in the book relate to Mississippi, 1/3 relate to Memphis, and 1/3 relate to Nashville.

Although her mother, Naomi, and older sister, Wynonna, rose to fame as the country music duo the Judds, Ashley Judd took her own road to stardom, becoming one of Hollywood's most successful actresses. Discover the inside story of the actress who has starred in movies such as "Heat," "Kiss the Girls," "High Crimes" and "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." Journey wilth her as she makes the transition from actress to social activist, addressing the General assembly of the United Nations on matters of the greatest importance. Learn the horror and disgust she felt when she learned her movie career had been crippled by a Hollywood mogul who orchestrated a smear campaign against her because she would not have sex with him.

The winner of the 2006 IPPY Award for best non-fiction book from the South (presented by the Independent Publishers Association), the Mojo Triangle tells the true story--at long last--of the birth of the blues, rock 'n' roll, country and jazz!Draw a straight line from New Orleans to Nashville, then over to Memphis and back down to New Orleans, following the curves of the Mississippi River, and you have the Mojo Triangle, a phrase coined by the author in the early 2000's."So much of what has been written about the music of the South is untrue," says Dickerson. "I wanted to set the record straight and put the development of the music in perspective. The Mojo Triangle is a land area in which all of America's original roots music was created: country, blues, jazz, and rock 'n' roll. How did this music come about? What is there about the Mojo Triangle that has contributed to the creation of so much original music?"The book points out that although the music itself was created in the geographical area defined by the Mojo Triangle, the two portals through which the various musical components entered and then morphed into the finished products were Natchez, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee, with the Natchez Trace serving as the main artery. Based on interviews with the recording artists, musicians, producers and songwriters who created and performed the music, it traces the development of the music from the early 1800s up to the present day.There is probably no author in history who has interviewed as many music legends and musicians as the author--and the reader benefits from that experience in a big way. Among the music legends who participate are: Al Green, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Carl Perkins, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Chet Atkins, Ike Turner, Jack Clement, Marty Stuart, Mose Allison, Rita Coolidge, Roy Orbison, Scotty Moore, Tammy Wynette, Vince Gill, Waylon Jennings, Garth Brooks, Chips Moman, Billy Sherrill, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Jimme Vaughan, Willie Mitchell, Booker T. & the MGs, Bobby Womack, Estelle Axton, Dave Edmunds, Pinetop Perkins, Bobbie Gentry, and the list goes on and on.This incredible book, which contains rare photographs, some of which were taken by the author himself, not only allows the music greats themselves to express themselves about the music they made famous, it explains for the first time the development of America's music.

For over one hundred years, Memphis, Tennessee, has been the center of musical innovation for American popular music. From W. C. Handy to Alberta Hunter and Lil Hardin Armstrong, in the early years, to B. B. King in the late 1940s, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis in the 1950s, to Otis Redding, Booker T. and the MGs, and Al Green in the 1960s and early 1970s, Memphis music sizzled with a level of creativity unrivaled in the history of American music.For five decades of the city's marvelous music history, author James L. Dickerson was at ground zero, first as a high school rock musician and then as a student rhythm and blues musician at the University of Mississippi, where his band made history by becoming the first all-white musical group to perform at a black Memphis nightclub, and finally as a Memphis journalist, magazine publisher, and radio syndication owner, who had unparalleled access to many of the music greats of the latter half of the century.Memphis Going Down is told in the words of the record producers, performers, and songwriters themselves as they reflect on their lives and music and its impact on popular culture. You'll hear legendary record producers such as Chips Moman, Willie Mitchell, Sam Phillips, and Jim Stewart talk about the ups and downs of the industry. And you'll hear the artists themselves: Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Al Green, Bobby Womack, B. B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Rufus Thomas, members of the Box Tops, and the Fabulous Thunderbirds go one-on-one with the author in an effort to understand the mysteries of Memphis music.

When Dixie's Dirty Secret was first published in 1998, it was the first book to ever expose the super-secret Mississippi Sovereignty Commission and the involvement of the government, the right-wing news media, and organized crime in combating the civil rights movement. This newly published edition, with nearly 20 years of new information, is a revised, greatly expanded analysis of that era that demonstrates how white resistance to racial integration in the South transformed the Republican Party into a right-wing reflection of Old Confederacy values. In the United States, the Republican Party's "Southern Strategy" is now in full bloom, a reincarnation of Old Confederacy values that are based on states' rights, foreign isolation and the demonization of blacks. Dixie's Dirty Secret traces the moral and political disintegration of the Republican Party, beginning with a 1955 secret gathering in Memphis, Tennessee, and continuing to the present day transformation of the Republican Party into one that has adopted white identity as its major platform, in the process losing the respect of both the majority of Americans and the international community. Inspired by Mississippi's refusal to ratify the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery until 1995, GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump opened campaign headquarters in Mississippi to learn how the state has "handled" its blacks. Was the idea to take the Mississippi Plan nationwide? In this book, learn how the state's white leadership, has blocked blacks from being elected to statewide offices for 138 years, how they have used the winner-take-all provision of the Electoral College to nullify black votes for president, and how through legal and social pressures they have created reservations for blacks similar to the ones created in another century for Native Americans. Mississippi has more black elected officials than any other state, but none of them are empowered to govern beyond their reservations. Dixie's Dirty Secret exposes the longest running political gambit in American history and paints a frightful picture of the future of the United States if the current trend in politics continues. How did the populist Democratic Party lose its blue collar and Southern base? How did the elitist, stiff-upper-lip Republican Party become a vehicle for racism and right-wing political anarchy?

Hollywood superstar Nicole Kidman, a breathtaking beauty and versatile performer, is ranked by most movie insiders as one of the top actresses of her generation. But, for years, her professional success was offset by her mother's battle with breast cancer and a shattering divorce from Tom Cruise, with whom she had adopted two children.The divorce turned her world upside down. She eventually landed on her feet, but the years in between were chaotic and marked by poor relationship and career choices.Born in Hawaii and raised in Australia, Nicole was an awkward child who did not blossom until her teen years. Supported by activist parents (her father is a well-known psychologist in Australia) she quickly became an award-winning ing nue in Australia. Her role in the acclaimed thriller Dead Calm grabbed the attention of moviegoers as well as that of Tom Cruise, who asked her to audition for his upcoming film, Days of Thunder.By the 1990s, Tom and Nicole had married and Nicole was appearing in one movie after another. Her breakthrough role came in 1995 with To Die For, in which she played the role of a television weathergirl who kills her husband. Several releases later she co-starred with Tom in the sexual psychodrama, Eyes Wide Shut, directed by the legendary film director Stanley Kubrick. The film generated a firestorm of publicity, primarily because of its graphic sexual content. With shocking insight, this book takes you behind the scenes while the movie was being made.For two of her recent films, Paperboy and Fur, Nicole returned to two of her favorite themes--infidelity and sexual exhibitionism. Both films brought comparisons to two cutting-edge relationship stories, To Die For and Eyes Wide Shut. After a string of disastrous relationships, including romances with rapper Q-Tip and musician Lenny Kravitz-she fell in love with country star Keith Urban and they married in 2006 after a courtship of about a year. She had a child with Keith and then had a second daughter with the help of a surrogate mother. Today they live in Nashville, Tennessee, far away from the glitter of Hollywood.

Along with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, Lillian "Lil" Hardin (1898-1971) was arguably the third most crucial figure in the creation of popular jazz, but today her important contributions are largely unknown today because of past and present hostility of male jazz critics.Today's "MeToo" generation should embrace Lil Armstrong for the pioneer that she was. No other genre of American music has been quite so inhospitable to women as jazz, which makes it perfect timing for the reprint edition of this important book. Publishers hope to soon see this book in development for a motion picture.Born in Memphis, with strong roots in Mississippi, Lil was, by her early twenties the most sought-after jazz pianist in Chicago, playing first with Freddie Keppard's watershed Creole Jazz Band and later with King Oliver's world-famous Creole Jazz Band. She was already well established in Chicago as a pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader before she met and married Louis Armstrong (1898-1971) in 1924.Beyond her musical contributions to Louis as a songwriter, arranger, and pianist, Lil launched, guided and promoted his solo career. Her tireless efforts and musical craftsmanship (she was the only one in Louis's band who could read music) made possible his now legendary Hot Fives and Hot Sevens recordings. Later, after Louis divorced her in 1938, she established her own successful solo career. In 1931, in Harlem, she spearheaded the first all-female jazz band. It is a distinction that makes her the perfect role model for today's "Me Too" generation. Over the years, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee and others recorded her songs.Music writer and investigative journalist James L. Dickerson chronicles Lil's many musical achievements, which are all the more remarkable when one considers the patriarchal resistance that women in all professions--jazz included--confronted in twentieth-century America.

SOON TO BE MADE INTO A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE Based on unprecedented, original research and interviews with insiders, this authoritative biography of Colonel Tom Parker (1909-1997), Elvis Presley's lifelong manager, includes new revelations and insights into the music industry's most notorious and mysterious manager. Investigative journalist and music writer James L. Dickerson looks at topics such as Parker's illegal entry into the United States, his work as a carny with Royal American Shows, and his management of country singer Eddy Arnold, his partnership with Hank Snow, and how he manipulated Elvis Presley and his family to seize control of the singer's career.The book examines Parker's greed, his indebtedness to behind-the-scenes players in Las Vegas, his gambling addiction, and his fear of deportation played a role in ruining Elvis's career. Because Colonel Parker was always there with Elvis, gazing ominously over his shoulder, the book presents behind-the-scenes glimpses of the entertainer's career that you will read nowhere else, thanks in part to the author's personal and professional relationship with Elvis's first guitarist, Scotty Moore, with whom the author wrote two revealing books.Based on unprecedented, original research and interviews with insiders, this authoritative biography of Colonel Tom Parker (1909-1997), Elvis Presley's lifelong manager, includes new revelations and insights into the music industry's most notorious and mysterious manager. Investigative journalist and music writer James L. Dickerson looks at topics such as Parker's illegal entry into the United States, his work as a carny with Royal American Shows, and his management of country singer Eddy Arnold, his partnership with Hank Snow, and how he manipulated Elvis Presley and his family to seize control of the singer's career.

Jim Ingram is to the FBI what Elliot Ness was to the Treasury Department-a larger-than-life symbol of American justice, a Klan-busting crime fighter who was involved with some of the highest profile FBI cases of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In his memoir Ingram provides insider information about those cases.Jim Ingram was the primary source in journalist Jack Nelson's 1993 bestselling book, "Terror in the Night: The Klan's Campaign Against the Jews," which focused on the FBI's infiltration of the Klan in an effort to protect Mississippi Jews. Jim Ingram passed away in August 2009 of cancer, but worked on this memoir with co-author James L. Dickerson right up until his death. Following his death, the FBI supplied Dickerson with more than 1,400 pages of previously classified documents. Interestingly, after nearly 30 years with the FBI, Ingram was brought out of retirement in the 2000s as a cold-case investigator of Mississippi civil rights-era murders, casting him into his fifth decade of crime fighting. In this memoir, Jim Ingram provides insider information on the above high-profile cases and others, along with a personal perspective on his nearly 30-year career of law enforcement. During that career, he headed up the FBI offices in New York and Chicago, and was in charge of the violent crimes civil rights desk in Mississippi in the 1960s, and served in the 1970s as deputy assistant FBI director in Washington, DC. In the later years of his career, he became the FBI's top expert on terrorism. This book discloses, for the first time, how he secretly trained U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force personnel on terrorism.After his retirement from the FBI, Ingram served as Public Safety Commissioner for the State of Mississippi, which put him in charge of the Highway Patrol.had been heavily infiltrated by the KKK while he was head of the civil rights desk in Mississippi. Appointed by Governor Kirk Fordice, a conservative Republican with a penchant for abrasiveness, Ingram became good friends with the man despite their political differences. Ingram's memories of the governor's tempestuous marital conflicts add spice to a book that revolves around the major crimes of the past century.

Screening applicants for adoption or foster homes has life-altering consequences for the children involved, yet there are incredibly few programs available to train screeners. The educational system that certifies thousands of social workers each year does not understand the specialized training required to screen adoptive and foster parents; social work schools provide minimal interview training and what training they do provide focuses on therapeutic interview techniques rather than screening skills. There is a clear need for a book like Adoptive and Foster Parent Screening, one that can be incorporated into course requirements and used by working social workers and psychologists involved with adoption and foster parent screening. Adoptive and Foster Parent Screening, written by a former social worker, who has placed hundreds of children into adoptive and foster homes, and a clinical psychologist, meshes the best of psychology and social work experience into a definitive guide for screening adoption and foster home applicants. The book provides information on:evaluating aberrant behavior and unhealthy parenting attitudesinterview techniquespsychological testing.Adoptive and Foster Parent Screening is based on case histories, research data, and interpretive analysis. The book is written in an accessible style free of technical language, thus making it appropriate for college-level students and professionals who don't have time to sift through empirical data to obtain accessible information that they can adapt to their profession.