An Amazon Editors’ Pick
“Roots Heart Soul: The Story, Celebration, and Recipes of Afro Cuisine in America”
Chef Todd Richards, the James Beard Award–winning author of Soul, is your guide to exploring West African diaspora cooking in the Americas, spanning history from the slave trade through the Great Migration, with more than 100 mouthwatering recipes and illuminating narratives.
The Life of Bill Baggs
Watch the Emmy Award-winning documentary, “The Life of Bill Baggs,” based upon the biography “A Nervous Man Shouldn’t Be Here in the First Place.”
A Nervous Man Shouldn't Be Here in the First Place: The Life of Bill Baggs traces writer Amy Paige Condon’s nearly 13-year journey to tell the story of one of the most influential newspaper editors of the mid-20th century. The story captures the history of Miami, the community’s geopolitical importance, and the loss of one of its greatest champions. As seen on WLRN.
Produced by Theo Long
Directed and Edited by Pat and Anne Longstreth
“A Nervous Man Shouldn’t Be Here in the First Place” is Now Available in Paperback
“This is not a simple life, my friend, and there are no simple answers.” The late editor of the late Miami News, Bill Baggs, stamped these words on plain white postcards and sent them to readers who sent him hate mail—a frequent occurrence, as Baggs, a white editor of a prominent Southern newspaper, championed unpopular ideas in his front-page columns, such as protecting the environment, desegregating public schools, and peace in Vietnam.
In this first biography of this influential editor, Amy Paige Condon retraces how an orphaned boy from rural Colquitt, Georgia, bore witness and impacted some of the twentieth century’s most earth-shifting events: World War II, the civil rights movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War.
AvailableNow
“This book did something that a biography has never done for me: forced me to stay up into the wee hours saying "just one more chapter." It spotlights history that has been unloved and forgotten. More importantly, it spotlights a man who impacted our lives and the way we understand journalism. It made me realize that we sorely need a Bill Baggs sharing what he knows and what he believes. I'm now jealous of my parents' generation for having him around.”
Eric Smith, 5-star Amazon Review
“When a book keeps you riveted into the wee hours of the morning, and then brings tears to your eyes when it ends, you can be pretty sure it’s a winner.”
- Carol McCabe Booker, author of Alone Atop the Hill, about A Nervous Man Shouldn’t Be Here in the First Place
