Review_NONFICTION
54 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ MARCH 2, 2020
Review_NONFICTION
Skógar, home to 21 people and to Iceland’s
largest museum outside of Reykjavík.
The institutions visited range from collec-
tions of mundane artifacts from Iceland’s
once-thriving herring industry to the
most unlikely of museums, the Icelandic
Phallological Museum, a “kind of mammal-
phallus Noah’s Ark.” Greene turns what
easily could have become a mere cabinet of
curiosities into a thoughtful and complex
work. Insightful meditations on the nature
of collecting and writers’ role as organizers
and curators of their own work complement
passages on Icelandic history, and all add
color and context to the museums
described. Almost as hard to classify as it
would be not to enjoy, Greene’s expertly
assembled blend of travel writing, history,
museum studies, and memoir proves as
memorable as any museum exhibition.
(May)On Account of Race:
The Supreme Court, White
Supremacy, and the Ravaging of
African American Voting Rights
Lawrence Goldstone. Counterpoint, $26
(288p) ISBN 978-1-64009-392-8
The 1965 Voting Rights Act guaran-
teeing African-Americans “equal access to
the ballot” was necessitated by post–Civil
War U.S. Supreme Court decisions that
allowed “white supremacist” state govern-
ments in the South to deny blacks their
constitutional rights, according to this
lucid legal history. Novelist and historian
Goldstone (Stolen Justice) critiques the
“sham neutrality” of Supreme Court justices
in the 1873 Slaughter-House Cases decision
undermining the “privileges and immu-
nities” clause of the 14th Amendment;
United States v. Reese (1874), which weak-
ened federal protections for black voting
rights; and a series of turn-of-the-century
cases upholding state laws that required
voters to pass literacy tests and pay poll
taxes. Due to these and other rulings,
African-Americans were unable to prevent
state legislatures from passing Jim Crow
laws throughout the South. Though the
Voting Rights Act “has been widely
considered the single most effective piece of
civil rights legislation,” Goldstone writes,
the court ruled one of its key provisions
unconstitutional in Shelby County, Alabama
v. Holder (2013). He sketches the contours
and ramifications of each case skillfully,Why this book now?
Well, me and Patsy [Lynn’s daughter,
Patsy Lynn Russell] got to talking
about it, and we decided we should do
it. Me and Patsy [Cline] bonded as
sisters. I miss her, and as the years
have passed, I haven’t stopped loving
her or talking to her. She changed my
life forever. I want folks to know how
good Patsy was—
at music, at
business, and at
being a friend.This is your
fourth book.
What was it like
writing this one?
Coal Miner’s
Daughter was the
hardest book to
write, because it
was all about me
and my life. This
was one easier,
because it was all
about Patsy and
me and our run-
ning around together and about all
the things we went through together.What is your favorite memory of Patsy?
She was a great cook. There was
nothing she couldn’t do. God got a
good one when she left us. I think my
funniest memories of me and her are
just of us riding around in the car
talking girl talk.How did Patsy influence you?
She helped bring me up in the business
and taught me a lot about how to run
my business. I felt she was watchingover me, and I still feel that way. I
know she is, because sometimes when
I’m getting ready to do a show and my
knees start to shake, I’ll look up and
see Patsy. She’ll tell me, “You’ve got
this.” My life without her would have
been a lot emptier.If she had lived, what do you think her
music would be
like today?
I think she’d be
doing pop music
with a little
country flavor.
She’d have a lot of
hits. Turn her
loose and she
could sing any-
thing.What was her
greatest contribu-
tion to music?
She made a great
contribution to
all kinds of music,
not just in
Nashville. Willie Nelson, who gave
her the song “Crazy,” knew what kind
of talent she was. She loved to be a
friend with the guys because she got
along better with them than she did
with the women, though she got
along with them, too. Patsy was well-
liked by everyone.What would you like readers to take
from your book?
I hope they have a friend like I had; if
they don’t have one, they need to get a
friend like the one I had in Patsy.
—Henry Carrigan Jr.[Q&A]
PW Talks with Loretta Lynn
Remembering Patsy Cline
In Me & Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust (Grand Central, Apr.; reviewed on
p. 56), Lynn recalls her friendship with country singer Patsy Cline.© coal miner’s daughter museum
Lynn (l.) with her daughter Patsy Lynn Russell