Good evening and welcome to another edition of Inside the Cover.

We certainly hope to make good usage of your tim and benefit your reading life.

There is so much to say and so little time.

So let's get started.

It is now time to go inside the cover.

Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN and a contributing writer to The Atlantic magazine.

Thompson is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where he started his sports writing career covering Missouri sports and writing as a columnist for the School of Journalism Columbia Missourian, a daily newspaper which serves as a laboratory experience for students.

Pappyland was copyrighted in 2020, and this was my introduction to Thompson's writing.

As someone who admire those who have a way with words and as someone who appreciates a nice bourbon on occasion, I really enjoyed the book and Thompson's literary efforts in regards thereto.

The book is about Julien Van Winkle III, the third generation head of the Pappy Va Winkle Bourbon family business, focusing on legacy, family and tradition through the lens of a coveted bourbon.

However, it is so much more.

It is about American history and how taxation, agriculture, and a number of circumstances made Kentucky the epicenter of making fine bourbon.

It is also a candid and intimate look at Thompson's life as he share stories of his youth, his family, the efforts of he and his wife Sonia to become parents, and the challenging path he walked while working to become a journalist and writer.

Earlier this year we produced an enhanced edition of Inside the Cover, where I shared my reading choices and experiences.

I discussed a number of books and authors in that program, but one of those books wa The Barn, Thompson's 2024 book, subtitled The Secret History of a murder in Mississippi.

I said at that time that we might shine more light on this book, an that is my intent this evening.

I finished this book on March 31st, 2025, and it was an important and impactful read.

It was also another treasure little free public library find.

In this book, Thompso tells the sad and tragic story of Emmett Till, the young 14 year old boy from Chicago who was tortured and murdere in Money, Mississippi, in 1955.

Thompson's famil farm is 23 miles from the barn where the heinous crime took place.

And I think this geographical connection gives his words great meaning, credence and value.

I learned so very much from this book, and it gave me so much to think about, to ponder, to reflect, to weep.

My copy is heavily underlined with words from Thompson's research, perspectives and knowledge.

This book is about racism and the powerful and unfortunate impact and influence that this palpabl and monstrous creature of hate has had and continues to have upon our country.

As Thompson writes: ‘This book is my attempt to go beyond what is known and explore the unknown registers of a killing that, when seen clearly illuminate the true history of our country.

The covering up of Till's murder was not something that was perpetrated by a few bad apples.

It couldn't have been.

The erasure was a collective effort, one that continues to this day.

This isn't comfortable history to face.

The more I looked at the story of the barn and came to understan the forces that moved everyone involved into the Mississippi Delta in 1955, the more I understood that the tragedy of humankind isn't that sometimes a few depraved individuals do what the rest of us could never do.

Its that the rest of us hid those hateful things from view, never learning a lesson that hate grows stronger and more resistan when it is pushed underground.

Tonight we have featured two books written by Wright Thompson.

Goodnight and see you next time.

Until then, keep reading, keep thinking and live well with books.