My Century in History: Memoirs - Hardcover

Clark, Thomas D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813124018 ISBN 13: 9780813124018

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky, 2006

Synopsis

When Thomas D. Clark was hired to teach history at the University of Kentucky in 1931, he began a career that would span nearly three-quarters of a century and would profoundly change not only the history department and the university but the entire Commonwealth. His still-definitive History of Kentucky (1937) was one of more than thirty books he would write or edit that dealt with Kentucky, the South, and the American frontier.

In addition to his wide scholarly contributions, Clark devoted his life to the preservation of Kentucky's historical records. He began this crusade by collecting vast stores of Kentucky's military records from the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War. His efforts resulted in the Commonwealth's first archival system and the subsequent creation of the Kentucky Library and Archives, the University of Kentucky Special Collections and Archives, the Kentucky Oral History Commission, the Kentucky History Center (recently named for him), and the University Press of Kentucky.

Born in 1903 on a cotton farm in Louisville, Mississippi, Thomas Dionysius Clark would follow a long and winding path to find his life's passion in the study of history. He dropped out of school after seventh grade to work first at a sawmill and then on a canal dredgeboat before resuming his formal education. Clark's earliest memories―hearing about local lynch-mob violence and witnessing the destruction of virgin forest―are an invaluable window into the national issues of racial injustice and environmental depredation. In many ways, the story of Dr. Clark's life is the story of America in the twentieth century. In My Century in History, Clark offers vivid memories of his journey, both personal and academic, a journey that took him from Mississippi to Kentucky and North Carolina, to leadership of the nation's major historical organizations, and to visiting professorships in Austria, England, Greece, and India, as well as in universities throughout the United States.

An enormously popular public lecturer and teacher, he touched thousands of lives in Kentucky and around the world. With his characteristic wit and insight, Clark now offers his many admirers one final volume of history―his own.

About this title

About the Author:

Thomas D. Clark (1903-2005) was appointed Kentucky Historian Laureate for life in 1990 by the Kentucky General Assembly. He was author or editor of thirty-two books, publishing his last, The People's House: Governor's Mansions of Kentucky, at the age of ninety-nine. James C. Klotter, State Historian of Kentucky and professor of history at Georgetown College, is the author and editor of several books.

Review:

"Thomas D. Clark was a special person. His memoir is a very special work. It tells a story filled with humor, insight, and remembrance. It brings a smile to the face; it causes us to think; it honors a life well lived. We should feel fortunate that Tom Clark was able to give us one last gift, one last treat, one last history"―James C. Klotter, State Historian of Kentucky

"This is Tom Clark at his best: clear, engaging, insightful, and witty. Anyone interested in the emergence of the profession of history over the last century should read this book."―John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus

"Clark's story, told with the wit and charm for which he is internationally known, is an educational and enjoyable read that reminds the reader how Clark not only recorded and taught history, but lived an extraordinary part of it."―Chevy Chaser

"Clark's story is one of a kind, not only in longevity but in his determination to teach and preserve the lessons of history. His is also the story of 20th century America"―Kentucky Monthly

"Clark writes with the discipline and precision of a longtime academic, describing his journeys throughout the state in search of obscure records and his methodical collection of and organization of what he found. . . . A fitting capstone for Clark's lifetime of contributions to the region."―Lexington Herald-Leader

"This life story is edifying and provocative. . . . Combines charm and grit, much as did the life of the gentleman who wrote the pages."―Louisville Courier-Journal

"Filled with anecdotes, humor, and history as only he could relay it. . . . A pure joy."―Louisville Voice-Tribune

"Tells the story of an American century through the experiences of one of the nation's preeminent historians."―Enterprise (Manchester, Kentucky)

"This memoir is the best book I have red in the past ten years, perhaps more. For one thing, it is beautifully written. Any student or teacher wishing to see what tight prose can be should read it for that point alone. Here is evidence of a disciplined mind, nothing less―not a word out of place, no stranded sentences."―Indiana Magazine of History

"With is characteristic wit and insight, Clark now offers his many admirers one final volume of history―his own."―The Paintsville Herald

"The ideal complement to a festschrift in the scholar's autobiography, in which he or she assesses his or her own career and offers well-informed perspectives to future workers in the field. Clark's memoir, My Century in History, fits that bill pretty well."―David Nichols, Ohio Valley History

"The ideal complement to [Thomas D. Clark of Kentucky: An Uncommon Life in the Commonwealth] is the scholar's autobiography, in which he or she assesses his or her own career and offers well-informed perspectives to future workers in the field. Clark's memoir, My Century in History, fits that bill."―Ohio Valley History

About this edition

• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0813124018
• ISBN 13: 9780813124018
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 448