Zachary J. Lechner, Ph.D.

Zachary holds a Ph.D. in history from Temple University. He's the author of a number of published articles and the recent book, The South of the Mind: American Imaginings of White Southernness, 1960-1980 (UGA Press, 2018), a crossover academic title. This book includes discussions of the political and cultural meaning of a number of popular culture works, including The Andy Griffith Show, In the Heat of the Night, Deliverance, sixties-era country rock music, and 1970s southern rock.
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Biographer Kai Bird Shows Former US President Jimmy Carter as a Man Ahead of His Times

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Biographer Kai Bird Shows Former US President Jimmy Carter as a Man Ahead of His Times

Kai Bird’s biography argues that former US President Jimmy Carter was a prophet of uncomfortable truths who urged America to reevaluate its myths and thorniest problems.

‘Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President’ Portrays an Over-Simplified Man

‘Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President’ Portrays an Over-Simplified Man

The nostalgic, feel-good documentary, ‘Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President’, explores Carter’s connections to the music world but misses a lot about this not-so-simple man.

‘Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom’ Is as Monumental as the Man It Chronicles

‘Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom’ Is as Monumental as the Man It Chronicles

Noted historian David W. Blight offers readers the fullest portrait of Frederick Douglass yet in this "biography of a voice".

‘Garage’: A Visually and Intellectually Rich Study of a Seemingly Blank Space

‘Garage’: A Visually and Intellectually Rich Study of a Seemingly Blank Space

Olivia Erlanger and Luis Ortega Govela's Garage challenges the beguiling, energizing, and yet limiting power of the garage in America as a symbol of escape and reinvention.

Buzzcocks’ ‘Love Bites’ Is an Uneven, But Worthwhile, Listen

Buzzcocks’ ‘Love Bites’ Is an Uneven, But Worthwhile, Listen

Although the Buzzcocks were a singles band, their overlooked second album, Love Bites (1978), is still a solid effort, and it sounds better than ever on this reissue.

‘Fault Lines’ Traces the Roots of Today’s Polarized America

‘Fault Lines’ Traces the Roots of Today’s Polarized America

Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer show that the deep divisions currently roiling America have been long in the making in their work, Fault Lines.