A former prosecutor's hilarious tales of the ne'er-do-wells and knuckleheads he helped bring to justice

A federal prosecutor in Mississippi for over thirty years, John Hailman routinely worked with federal agents, lawyers, judges, and criminals of every type imaginable. Encouraged by the acclaim for his earlier book, From Midnight to Guntown, he has opened even more of the astonishing cases within the over thirty-five boxes full of trial stories he carried into retirement. Hailman gathers colorful exploits of eccentric modern criminals from William Faulkner's Mississippi, where savvy victims often outwit their criminal perpetrators. Characters range from rich but incompetent drug lords and nationwide gun-runners to bumbling Dixie Mafia kidnappers. The book ends with "Fancy Frauds" in which ingenious con men (and women) offer hilarious but surprisingly sophisticated "special deals" on tax-free gold mines in Mexico and bargain (but bogus) Viagra. Chapters include "Guns, Bombs, and Moonshine Whiskey," "Drug Kingpins Have Troubles Too," "Crime Victims Fight Back," "Mere Theft," and "Fancy Frauds." Written to entertain and enlighten, these stories will delight any fan of the true crime genre and anyone who enjoys good writing and the skill of a master storyteller.

A federal prosecutor in Mississippi for over thirty years, John Hailman routinely worked with federal agents, lawyers, judges, and criminals of every type imaginable. Encouraged by the acclaim for his earlier book, From Midnight to Guntown: True Crime Stories from a Federal Prosecutor in Mississippi, he has opened even more of the astonishing cases from the thirty-five boxes full of trial stories he carried into retirement. Hailman gathers colorful exploits of eccentric modern criminals from William Faulkner's Mississippi, where savvy victims often outwit their criminal predators. Characters range from rich but incompetent drug lords and nationwide gun-runners to bumbling Dixie Mafia kidnappers. The book ends with "Fancy Frauds" in which ingenious con men (and women) offer hilarious but surprisingly sophisticated "special deals" on tax-free gold minds in Mexico and bargain (but bogus) Viagra. Chapters include "Guns, Bombs, and Moonshine Whiskey," "Drug Kingpins Have Troubles Too," "Crime Victims Fight Back," "Mere Theft," and "Fancy Frauds." Written to entertain and enlighten, these stories will delight any fan of the true crime genre and anyone who enjoys good writing and the skill of a master storyteller.

In his fifth book, John Hailman recounts the adventures and misadventures he experienced during a lifetime of international travel. From Oman to Indonesia, from sandstorms and food poisoning to gangsters and at least one jealous husband, Hailman explores the cultures and court systems of faraway countries. The international story begins in Paris as a young Hailman, a student at La Sorbonne, experiences the romance and excitement one expects from the City of Lights. Years later Hailman returns to France, to Interpol Headquarters in Lyon where he received his international law certificate from the National School for Magistrates. Traveling the world as a representative for the US Justice Department, Hailman encountered criminals and conspiracies, including a plot in Ossetia, Georgia, to hijack his helicopter and kidnap him. From his time as a prosecutor are tales of three very different Islamic cultures in the colorful societies and legal systems of Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Hailman also travels to the chaotic world of the former Soviet Union where, at the time of his visit, a new world of old countries was trying to rediscover independent pasts. He explores the tiny country of Moldova and the beautiful and picturesque Republic of Georgia, and visits Russia during the brief period democracy was flowering and the nation was experimenting with a new jury trial system. Viewing his adventures through the lens of laws and customs, Hailman is able to give unique insight to the countries he visits. With each new adventure in Foreign Missions of an American Prosecutor, John Hailman shares his passion for travel and his fascination with other cultures.

Take a drive through the Mississippi Delta today and you’ll find a landscape dotted with memorials to major figures and events from the civil rights movement. Perhaps the most chilling are those devoted to the murder of Emmett Till, a tragedy of hate and injustice that became a beacon in the fight for racial equality. The ways this event is remembered have been fraught from the beginning, revealing currents of controversy, patronage, and racism lurking just behind the placid facades of historical markers. In Remembering Emmett Till, Dave Tell gives us five accounts of the commemoration of this infamous crime. In a development no one could have foreseen, Till’s murder—one of the darkest moments in the region’s history—has become an economic driver for the Delta. Historical tourism has transformed seemingly innocuous places like bridges, boat landings, gas stations, and riverbeds into sites of racial politics, reminders of the still-unsettled question of how best to remember the victim of this heinous crime. Tell builds an insightful and persuasive case for how these memorials have altered the Delta’s physical and cultural landscape, drawing potent connections between the dawn of the civil rights era and our own moment of renewed fire for racial justice.

A connoisseur's compendium of a great American's passion for fine wine

The Global Southern Music Issue enhanced eBook includes all the tracks on Traveling Shoes, our special free CD and: The South meets Senegal as hip-hop goes Trans-Atlantic. Hawaiian steel guitar sways the Southern musical landscape. Poet Allen Ginsberg and bluesman James "Son" Thomas trade verses. Aussie Elvis impersonators keep the king alive. A U.K. scholar offers a new perspective on the study of the blues. Music pirates keep alive another tradition of bootlegging in the South. And much more. Southern Cultures is published quarterly (spring, summer, fall, winter) by the University of North Carolina Press. The journal is sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for the Study of the American South.