My Century in History: Memoirs

by Thomas D. Clark

Overview

When Thomas D. Clark was hired to teach history at the University of Kentucky in 1931, he began a career that would span nearly three-quarters of a century and would profoundly change not only the history department and the university but the entire Commonwealth. His still-definitive History of Kentucky (1937) was one of more than thirty books he would write or edit that dealt with Kentucky, the South, and the American frontier.

In addition to his wide scholarly contributions, Clark devoted his life to the preservation of Kentucky's historical records. He began this crusade by collecting vast stores of Kentucky's military records from the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War. His efforts resulted in the Commonwealth's first archival system and the subsequent creation of the Kentucky Library and Archives, the University of Kentucky Special Collections and Archives, the Kentucky Oral History Commission, the Kentucky History Center (recently named for him), and the University Press of Kentucky.

Born in 1903 on a cotton farm in Louisville, Mississippi, Thomas Dionysius Clark would follow a long and winding path to find his life's passion in the study of history. He dropped out of school after seventh grade to work first at a sawmill and then on a canal dredgeboat before resuming his formal education. Clark's earliest memories—hearing about local lynch-mob violence and witnessing the destruction of virgin forest—are an invaluable window into the national issues of racial injustice and environmental depredation. In many ways, the story of Dr. Clark's life is the story of America in the twentieth century. In My Century in History, Clark offers vivid memories of his journey, both personal and academic, a journey that took him from Mississippi to Kentucky and North Carolina, to leadership of the nation's major historical organizations, and to visiting professorships in Austria, England, Greece, and India, as well as in universities throughout the United States.

An enormously popular public lecturer and teacher, he touched thousands of lives in Kentucky and around the world. With his characteristic wit and insight, Clark now offers his many admirers one final volume of history—his own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813124001
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	08/04/2006
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas D. Clark, professor emeritus of history at the University of Kentucky, is the author of many books on the history of Kentucky and the American South.

Editorial Reviews

This memoir is the best book I have red in the past ten years, perhaps more. For one thing, it is beautifully written. Any student or teacher wishing to see what tight prose can be should read it for that point alone. Here is evidence of a disciplined mind, nothing less—not a word out of place, no stranded sentences.

Indiana Magazine of History

Clark writes with the discipline and precision of a longtime academic, describing his journeys throughout the state in search of obscure records and his methodical collection of and organization of what he found.... A fitting capstone for Clark's lifetime of contributions to the region.

Lexington Herald-Leader

Clark's story is one of a kind, not only in longevity but in his determination to teach and preserve the lessons of history. His is also the story of 20th century America

Kentucky Monthly

The ideal complement to a festschrift in the scholar's autobiography, in which he or she assesses his or her own career and offers well-informed perspectives to future workers in the field. Clark's memoir, My Century in History, fits that bill pretty well.

Ohio Valley History - David Nichols

"Thomas D. Clark was a special person. His memoir is a very special work. It tells a story filled with humor, insight, and remembrance. It brings a smile to the face; it causes us to think; it honors a life well lived. We should feel fortunate that Tom Clark was able to give us one last gift, one last treat, one last history" — James C. Klotter, State Historian of Kentucky

"This is Tom Clark at his best: clear, engaging, insightful, and witty. Anyone interested in the emergence of the profession of history over the last century should read this book." — John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus

"Clark's story, told with the wit and charm for which he is internationally known, is an educational and enjoyable read that reminds the reader how Clark not only recorded and taught history, but lived an extraordinary part of it." — Chevy Chaser

"Clark's story is one of a kind, not only in longevity but in his determination to teach and preserve the lessons of history. His is also the story of 20th century America" — Kentucky Monthly

"Clark writes with the discipline and precision of a longtime academic, describing his journeys throughout the state in search of obscure records and his methodical collection of and organization of what he found.... A fitting capstone for Clark's lifetime of contributions to the region." — Lexington Herald-Leader

"This life story is edifying and provocative.... Combines charm and grit, much as did the life of the gentleman who wrote the pages." — Louisville Courier-Journal

"Filled with anecdotes, humor, and history as only he could relay it.... A pure joy." — Louisville Voice-Tribune

"Tells the story of an American century through the experiences of one of the nation's preeminent historians." — Enterprise (Manchester, Kentucky)

"This memoir is the best book I have red in the past ten years, perhaps more. For one thing, it is beautifully written. Any student or teacher wishing to see what tight prose can be should read it for that point alone. Here is evidence of a disciplined mind, nothing less — not a word out of place, no stranded sentences." — Indiana Magazine of History

"With is characteristic wit and insight, Clark now offers his many admirers one final volume of history — his own." — The Paintsville Herald

"The ideal complement to a festschrift in the scholar's autobiography, in which he or she assesses his or her own career and offers well-informed perspectives to future workers in the field. Clark's memoir, My Century in History, fits that bill pretty well." — David Nichols, Ohio Valley History

From the Publisher

"A community without a sense of history is not a community at all." The history of Kentucky cannot be properly discussed without mentioning the man who spoke these words, Thomas Dionysius Clark (1903-2005.) The accomplishments of Kentucky's historian laureate are almost too numerous to name: He taught at the University of Kentucky for an almost unbelievable 70 years; wrote the definitive history of his adopted home state; and was a driving force in creating The Encyclopedia of Kentucky. In these posthumously published memoirs, Clark shares his deepest reflections on his life and the intellectual discipline he so loved.

Tells the story of an American century through the experiences of one of the nation's preeminent historians.

Kentucky) Enterprise (Manchester

This life story is edifying and provocative.... Combines charm and grit, much as did the life of the gentleman who wrote the pages.

Louisville Courier-Journal

Thomas D. Clark was a special person. His memoir is a very special work. It tells a story filled with humor, insight, and remembrance. It brings a smile to the face; it causes us to think; it honors a life well lived. We should feel fortunate that Tom Clark was able to give us one last gift, one last treat, one last history

State Historian of Kentucky James C. Klotter

Filled with anecdotes, humor, and history as only he could relay it.... A pure joy.

Louisville Voice-Tribune

With is characteristic wit and insight, Clark now offers his many admirers one final volume of history—his own.

The Paintsville Herald

The ideal complement to [Thomas D. Clark of Kentucky: An Uncommon Life in the Commonwealth] is the scholar's autobiography, in which he or she assesses his or her own career and offers well-informed perspectives to future workers in the field. Clark's memoir, My Century in History, fits that bill.

Ohio Valley History

This is Tom Clark at his best: clear, engaging, insightful, and witty. Anyone interested in the emergence of the profession of history over the last century should read this book.

James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus John Hope Franklin

Clark's story, told with the wit and charm for which he is internationally known, is an educational and enjoyable read that reminds the reader how Clark not only recorded and taught history, but lived an extraordinary part of it.

Chevy Chaser