To the Chandler family in 1950's Black Oak, Arkansas, the cotton season means hard work, an influx of temporary workers -- and a host of complications. Hank Spruill, one of the hired hands has a violent temper that has gotten him into trouble with the law. Tally, his sister, is smitten with Cowboy, a Mexican laborer Hank despises. And with all the turmoil, 7-year-old Luke Chandler has seen a lot more than most kids his age.

"It is 1999, and someone is slaughtering young black women in Burdon County, Arkansas. But no one wants to admit it, not in the Dirty South. In an Arkansas jail cell sits a former NYPD detective, stricken by grief. He is mourning the death of his wife and child, and searching in vain for their killer. He cares only for his own lost family. But that is about to change. Witness the becoming of Charlie Parker."--

"Growing up gifted and poor in small-town Arkansas, Monica and Darci became fast friends. The girls bonded over a shared love of reading and learning, even as they navigated the challenges of their declining town and tumultuous family lives--broken marriages, alcohol abuse, and shuttered stores and factories. They pored over the giant map in their middle school classroom, tracing their fingers over the world that awaited them, vowing to escape. In...

"A coffee war is brewing in Maple Falls, where Anita and Tanner are serving up plenty of steam to keep the town buzzing"-- Tanner Castillo's place behind the counter at the Sunshine Diner is a fixture in the small town of Maple Falls, Arkansas. After years of saving every penny, he has purchased the diner and make the necessary renovations to bring it into the 21st century. Anita Bedford has always been happy to work as a waitress at the diner, especially...

The Smithsonian guides to natural America.