Fred Thompson has enjoyed a remarkable career in Hollywood and politics, but when he sat down to write a memoir about how he got to be the person he is, he discovered that his best stories all seemed to come out of the years he spent growing up in and around his hometown of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. It was a small town but not the smallest—after all, it was the county seat and it did have a courthouse, a couple of movie theaters, and its own Davy Crockett statue. For truly small, you had to travel to nearby Summertown, where the regular Sunday dinner was possum and chocolate gravy. But Lawrenceburg is where Fred got to be a kid, get in his share of trouble and scrapes, get to know folks he didn’t realize were so colorful at the time but sure does now, get married, have a few kids, become a man, and start his career as a country lawyer (pretty much in that order). And as Fred tells it, getting that law degree was something of a surprise for him, since in school he’d been less than stellar as a scholar. “Teaching Latin to someone like me,” he says, “was like trying to teach a pig to dance. It’s a waste of the teacher’s time and it irritates the pig.” In these reflections, as hilarious as they are honest and warm, Fred touches on the influences—family, hometown neighbors and teachers, team sports, jobs, romances, and personal crises—that molded his character, his politics, and the way he looks at life today. We get to know the unforgettable characters who congregated at the Blue Ribbon Café, like the rotund gentleman called “Shorty” whose claim to fame was his ability to quickly suck in his stomach and cause his pants to fall to the floor. Or Fred’s Grandma Thompson, who became an early TV adopter for the sole purpose of watching “Wrestling from Hollywood” and who once had a “gourder” removed from her neck and subsequently walked around town with it in a handkerchief showing it to folks. One day Fred and an accomplice placed small explosive Fourth of July “cracker balls” under the four legs of their teacher’s chair. Mrs. Garner sat down and, despite the racket, didn’t flinch so much as a muscle—but Fred felt a twinge of the one emotion he hated most—shame. Fred idolized Coach Staggs from his high school football days, even though he was “like Captain Ahab without the humor” and didn’t like smart alecks, comics, or individualists, which put the young Fred at a disadvantage. More than anyone else from those days though, Fred remembers his mom and dad, who taught him that kids are shaped most of all by the love and support they can take for granted. Teaching the Pig to Dance will delight everyone who admires Fred Thompson for his contributions to politics or for his work in movies and on TV, along with all those who just love to hear rollicking but unforgettable stories about growing up in a place where, as one of the local old timers put it, “We weren’t big enough to have a town drunk, so a few of us had to take turns.”

At head of title: 106th Congress, 2d session. Committee print.

At head of the title: 106th Congress, 2d session. Committee print.

Hot chocolate is not just for kids anymore. The gourmet chocolate market is growing, and Americans are swapping their cocoa mix for real hot chocolate. Made from high-quality bar chocolate instead of a sugary powder, it is the ultimate indulgence. Hot chocolate is featured on the menus of trendy coffeehouses and upscale restaurants everywhere, and with Hot Chocolate anyone can make this gourmet beverage at home. Featuring stylish 4-color design and beautiful photos, this is the perfect gift for any chocolate lover.

Side dishes are the very heart and soul of southern cuisine. So proclaims Fred Thompson in this heartfelt love letter to the marvelous foods on the side of the plate. From traditional, like Pableaux's Red Beans and Rice, to contemporary, like Scuppernong-Glazed Carrots, Thompson's 250 recipes recommend the virtues of the utterly simple and the totally unexpected. Fred Thompson's Southern Sides celebrates the sheer joy of cooking and eating these old and new classic dishes. Exploring the importance of side dishes in the cuisine of the American South, Thompson suggests that if you look closely enough, you can find a historical tale of family, culture, and ethnicity in one awesome recipe after another. Twelve richly illustrated chapters feature a full array of produce, grains and beans, fish and meats, and more. The recipes are enhanced by Thompson's amusing observations, tales of southern living and eating, and straightforward cooking tips. Thompson also provides menus for special occasions throughout the year--for Thanksgiving, you may want to include Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Sage, Sorghum, and Black Walnuts.

"Teaching Latin to someone like me in high school was somewhat like trying to teach a pig to dance. It's a waste of the teacher's time and it irritates the pig." "My daddy always said that a man who walks around with a smile on his face all the time can't possibly know what's going on." "I heard Senator Sam Irvin of Watergate fame say something that stayed with me: 'If you can paint a really good picture of a cow, you don't have to write the word "cow" under it.'" "Minor surgery is surgery that someone else is having." "They say that God protects drunks and children. I would add young morons to that list." Book jacket.

Bourbon’s popularity derives from its folklore nearly as much as from its flavor. Fred Thompson is a food writer who adores this venerable drink, and his Bourbon: 50 Rousing Recipes for a Classic American Spirit lays it all out—the history, the legends, the recipes, plus helpful tips and tricks, all accompanied by stunning four-color photos. Recipes include classics (Manhattan, Ward 8), new favorites (Lynchburg Lemonade, Bourbon Chocolate Martini), hot or cool concoctions (Hot Chocolate “Nog,� Lemon Cooler), and drinks for a crowd (Whiskey Sour Punch, Mint Julep Sparkler). There’s even a chapter featuring delicious ways to cook with bourbon, with dishes such as Salmon with Bourbon Glaze and Fred’s Bourbon Balls. Straight up, mixed in a cocktail, poured in a punch, or whipped into a recipe—however you enjoy it, bourbon is an old favorite that’s new again.

Fred Thompson begins with a comprehensive chapter on the basics, describing every type of crab available, how to buy it, how to clean it, and how to cook it and crack it. Then comes all the glorious recipes you could ever want to make with crab.

When Fred Thompson made his brief run for president in 2007, his experience as minority counsel for the Senate Watergate Committee, back in the early 1970s, was suddenly in the limelight again. If you never quite understood what all the fuss was about, this young lawyer's, blow by blow, personal account of what he saw from the inside out, might just turn some lights on for you. He writes in the same, down-home folksy way that he talks.