Memphis in the Jazz Age

The Jazz Age was a boom time in the Bluff City. Murder was rampant, and politics were rough-and-tumble. First, Mayor Rowlett Paine and Boss E.H. Crump joined forces to fight the local Ku Klux Klan (and nearly lost). Then they turned on each other, and the political battle ensued. Other colorful characters weaving in and out of the story include Black political leader "Bob" Church, millionaire Clarence Saunders, Governor Austin Peay, evangelist Billy Sunday and even William Jennings Bryan. The city went on a building spree and a bootleg booze binge even as cotton prices plummeted. The Great Flood of 1927 added more strife with the addition of local refugees. Author Robert Lanier details these fascinating stories and more.