Arkansas is a complex place—part Old South, part Old West, and part traditional hill country—and has shared an amazing array of people and products with the world over the years. Even so, much of what makes Arkansas so special remains largely unrecognized. To help right this wrong, Butler Center Books has just released Arkansas Backstories: Quirks, Characters, and Curiosities of The Natural State by former state tourism director Joe David Rice. The book highlights the lesser-known aspects of America’s twenty-fifth state. The short essays in Arkansas Backstories offer surprises for even the most dedicated and devoted students of the state. How many readers, for instance, realize that the first African American presidential candidate was from Arkansas? Or that an Arkansan candidate formally challenged John F. Kennedy for the Democratic Party’s nomination in 1960? Or that there’s good evidence that Abraham Lincoln lived for a time in northeast Arkansas, chopping wood for a plantation owner? Few readers may be aware of the connections between Arkansas and the Texas fight for independence. Or the ties between organized crime and Hot Springs. Or the fact that the state came very close to having a huge national park in the heart of the Ouachitas. Or that the world’s first international UFO conference was held in Fort Smith. These and other captivating topics are what make Arkansas Backstories an essential addition to every coffee table in the state. The book will delight any and all interested in Arkansas—one of the country’s most fascinating states. A companion to this book— Arkansas Backstories Volume II—will be published by Butler Center Books in the spring of 2019. Joe David Rice, born in Paragould and reared in Jonesboro, is a well-known and respected resource on all things Arkansas. An accomplished promoter of the state, Rice served as Arkansas’s tourism director for thirty years, working under five governors. He enjoys exploring the Arkansas countryside, be it by foot, canoe, or car, and unearthing the lesser--known tidbits that make the Natural State so special. The book is available at bookstores, including River Market Books & Gifts on the Main Library campus in Little Rock; in the Butler Center Galleries in the Roberts Library on the Main Library campus; from online retailers; and through the University of Arkansas Press (via University of Chicago Press) at (800) 621-2736. Butler Center Books is the publishing division of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System.
To see a complete list of Butler Center Books, visit www.butlercenter.org/publication.
