Book description
The long journey of an American song, passed down from generation to generation, bridging a nation’s fraught disconnect between history and warped illusion, revealing the country's ever evolving self.
MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME, from its enormous success in the early 1850s, written by a white man, considered the father of…
Why read it?
1 author picked My Old Kentucky Home as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
It is a ritual in Kentucky to sing “My Old Kentucky Home” every year at the Kentucky Derby. I just never knew how fraught and controversial that seemingly harmless ritual was before reading this book.
Bingham traces the song back through its genesis in Stephen Foster’s pen, its career as a staple of blackface minstrelsy, the campaign of balderdash and hoopla that led to the “My Old Kentucky Home” state park, and the racial controversies that have surrounded the song since the 1920s.
Amid all these controversies, white people have routinely insisted that it’s “just a song”; by uncovering its…
If you love My Old Kentucky Home...
Aggressor
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Want books like My Old Kentucky Home?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like My Old Kentucky Home.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,397
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like My Old Kentucky Home, you might also like...
New Rock New Rules
The epic saga continues. Jarnland is in a frenzy of excitement. After the eccentric demise of Old King Wyllard, his co-Majesty, young Queen Esmeralda, announces a Royal Tournament to celebrate the return of our heroes from their perilous quest. The Main Event will be a duel between the legendary warrior…
Almost Home
Almost Home is a fictional retelling of the last great tragedy of the Civil War.
In late April 1865, almost 2,000 newly freed Union prisoners of war are packed onto the steamer Sultana, in poor repair and with a listed capacity of 376 passengers. Among them are four Indiana soldiers…
