Best Memphis Tennessee Travel Books

In Memphis Type History: Signs and Stories From Just Around the Corner, nineteen of these everyday signs are beautifully captured by painter Rebecca Phillips. Examples like the Universal Life Insurance Company, during the time of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, assassination, or the Lorraine Motel for Stax recording artists, or even the great Sam Phillips, whose desire for creative change started Sam Phillips Recording Studio. While interesting, the engineering specs of the Sputnik do not tell anything about the sign's true importance because a sign is a reflection of something more important than itself. In others, like the Chicago Pizza Factory archway, they have been recreated to express something new without forgetting the old. In the pages that follow, an intersection of art, history, and personal stories will allow an atmospheric experience of Memphis through paintings, photography, and personal stories.

Along the way, interactive pop-up features allow you to flip through Elvis's record collection, browse the family photo album, open his refrigerator, and discover other hidden surprises. In her foreword, Elvis's daughter Priscilla shares his pride in the home, describing it as a place "where he felt comfortable, secure and happy"; this intricate, wholly absorbing collectible is sure to make the King's followers feel similarly, giving them a unique opportunity to enjoy Elvis's home from their own living room, jungle room or meditation garden.

Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues will tell you where that legendary deal was supposed to have been made and guide you to all the other hallowed grounds that nourished Mississippi's signature music. A trip through Mississippi blues sites is a pilgrimage every music lover ought to make at least once in a lifetime, to see the juke joints and churches, to visit the birthplaces and graves of blues greats, to walk down the dusty roads and over the levee, to eat some barbecue and greens, to sit on the bank of the Mississippi River, and to hear some down-home blues music. "This localized, detailed, and lively guidebook to blues music in Mississippi recommends following by car 'a rough circle beginning and ending in Memphis' for a comprehensive tour. So perhaps it's time to revisit, and I'm going to let Blues Traveling be my guidebook and excuse to make a trip to these holy sites of Delta blues. Along the way Cheseborough provides details on the towns, homes, and gravesites of famous blues musicians, buildings where they played, radio stations, sites of music festivals, and current clubs and restaurants that feature the music.

Contributors include author Tony Earley, Senator Bill Frist, fashion designers Matt and Carrie Eddmenson, musican Rosanne Cash, chef Tandy Wilson, writer J. Wes Yoder, songwriter Thad Cockrell, among others. Unlike traditional guidebooks that list the same old must-see sights and touristy neighborhoods, this new series, entitled Wildsam Field Guides, gets at the soul of a city.

Contributors include author Tony Earley, Senator Bill Frist, fashion designers Matt and Carrie Eddmenson, musican Rosanne Cash, chef Tandy Wilson, writer J. Wes Yoder, songwriter Thad Cockrell, among others. Unlike traditional guidebooks that list the same old must-see sights and touristy neighborhoods, this new series, entitled Wildsam Field Guides, gets at the soul of a city.

First used as a vital transportation link by Native Americans and later by "kaintucks" and frontiersmen, today the Trace is experienced by more than 13 million visitors a year. 25 Civil War sites 73 antebellum homes 65 museums and art galleries 78 antique shops and malls 72 bed and breakfasts 56 campgrounds 175 restaurants 49 spots for water sports and a whole lot more.