Books

When it opened in 1927, Sears Crosstown, now Crosstown Concourse, was the southeastern regional warehouse and distribution center for the Sears Catalogue mail-order empire. Each day, more than forty-five thousand orders were processed by more than 1,500 workers. As a result, Sears Crosstown became known locally as “the Wish Building.” For more than half a century, the iconic building and its surrounding neighborhood flourished until the decline of Sears in the 1980s. For decades, the once dynamic destination for commerce was vacant and shuttered. Then a unique group of Memphians emerged to resurrect Sears Crosstown with a plan most thought was impossible. In his latest book, Bill tells the story of “the Wish Building”—its past, present and future.
Click here to order your copy! »On August 18, 1920, thirty-year-old Tennessee State Representative Joseph Hanover walked through the lobby of The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville to be greeted by cheers and jeers. Joe Hanover had become the nation’s leading male voice in the fight for woman suffrage. The most powerful forces in Tennessee opposed him. But Joe Hanover, a Polish immigrant, was not going to back away from the fight. He asked, “Why can’t Mother vote?” And then he set about to take care of the unfinished business of Democracy.
In his latest book, Bill tells the inspirational story of this unsung hero of woman suffrage.
Available December 23, 2019. To order email Bill at Whaltom@comcast.net or Jacque Hillman, Publisher, hillhelengroup@gmail.com, or call 731-394-2894. Mailed orders: $28 includes shipping.
The book will also be available at Burke’s Books and Novel Memphis, and online at Amazon.com and other booksellers.
Read More »In his latest book, Bill has teamed up with a brilliant young writer—Amanda Swanson—to tell the story of a game-changing lawsuit, Victoria Cape v. the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.
Read More »Bill Haltom’s definitive guide to the quintessential Southern fabric covers all things seersucker. From the origins and history of the seersucker suit to the many different ways, places, and reasons people wear it, Milk & Sugar has it all.
Read More »A tribute to the late Senator Howard Baker, a great leader whose civility brought adversaries together to find solutions to our nation's problems. In the current political environment, civility is going the way of the dinosaur, as many of our leaders argue for the sake of argument and accuse for the sake of advantage. Consequently, public governance has become dysfunctional. Senator Baker's civil life remains a model of what our leaders could accomplish by always reminding themselves that the other fellow may be right!
Read More »Bill's Christmas book is the perfect stocking stuffer for Dad! While batteries are not included, no assembly is required, and it will last longer than a fruitcake!
Read More »Guild Bindery Press, 1996) –Bill’s tribute to a vanishing breed, old-fashioned dads, made the Oxford American’s Southern Bestsellers list. Although written in the last century, it still makes a great Father’s Day gift.
Read More »(TBA Press, 2005)—“After fierce debate, the Tennessee Supreme Court in a split decision declined to make this book binding precedent. Nevertheless, the Court unanimously held that as a matter of law this book is funny.”—Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota, III, Tennessee Supreme Court, in a landmark decision.
Read More »(TBA Press, 2000)—Los Angeles District Attorney Hamilton Burger had the longest losing streak in the history of American jurisprudence. He lost one nationally-televised jury trial each week to Perry Mason for ten consecutive years. Nevertheless, he is Bill’s hero! In 2000, this book won the “Luminary Award” presented by the National Association of Bar Executives as the outstanding bar association publication of the year.
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