Synopses & Reviews
Kentucky Curiosities is your round-trip ticket to the wildest, wackiest, most outrageous people, places, and things the Bluegrass State has to offer. Best-selling author Vince Staten and journalist Liz Baldi have combed Kentucky for one-of-a-kind gems that make their home state truly unique.You'll pucker up to a pig, witness the creation of the world's largest ham biscuit (all 4,000 pounds of it), and cheer on the underpig at the Trigg County Country Ham Festival.You'll explore the world's largest cave system, purchase your very own 5-foot tall cement rooster, and take in a saloon show at Cave City, a.k.a. Tacky Town, USA.Whether you were born and raised in Kentucky or are a recent transplant, Staten and Baldi's home-grown humor will have you laughing out loud as they introduce you to the neighbors you never knew you had and take you to places you never knew existed - right in your own backyard. (5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 224 pages, b&w photos)Vince Staten is a syndicated columnist and author of eleven books. He has appeared on numerous television shows and also teaches and lectures when not greeting customers at Vince Staten's Old Time Barbecue in Prospect, Kentucky.Liz Baldi is a journalist who has written for Kentucky Monthly and other publications.
Synopsis
One day a year Kentucky is the most famous state in the union. That's Kentucky Derby Day, the first Saturday in May when the annual Kentucky Derby is run at Churchill Downs. On that day, Kentucky is the home to fast horses, beautiful women, and great whiskey. For the other 364 days it is home to fast women, beautiful horses, and people recovering from too much whiskey.
This duality -- hey, we're important today; but tomorrow we're nothing -- is a perfect reflection of a state of great contrasts.
Kentucky is the home of the most famous people in the world, Muhammad Ali. It is also the home of the most infamous, Charles Manson (his boyhood home is in Ashland --unmarked, of course).
Novelist Robert Penn Warren was a Kentuckian, as was gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
Illinois may have Land of Lincoln on its license plates, but Kentucky was where Honest Abe was born. He just moved away rather quickly.
These contrasts extend down to our counties: you can't buy a drink in Bourbon County (it's against the law to sell alchohol there) but you can in Christian County.
Kentucky is one giant curiosity.
Synopsis
Did you know that it is illegal to sell alcohol in Bourbon County, but drinkers are free to down a few in Christian County? This and much more essential Kentucky know-how awaits within the pages of this humorous guide. Hundreds of stories are accompanied by addresses and phone numbers for the brave, so you yourself can meet the woman who collects pictures of swirling toilet seats, visit the store that sells more Florida souvenirs than any gift shop not in Florida, and race an outhouse on wheels during the Great Outhouse Blowout!
About the Author
A syndicated columnist and author of ten books, including
Unauthorized America: A Travel Guide to the Places the Chamber of Commerce Won't Tell You About (HarperCollins),
Vince Staten has appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman," "Dateline NBC," "Today on NBC," and NPR's "Morning Edition." His varied career encompasses writing, lecturing, teaching, and co-owning Vince Staten's Old Time Barbecue in downtown Prospect, Kentucky.
Reporter Liz Baldi has written for Kentucky Monthly and other publications. She now lives in Texas.