Two events make the history of Norfolk in the 1950s remarkable: the voracity of its attack upon urban blight, and the ferocity of its resistance to school desegregation. One of the first cities in the nation to initiate large-scale redevelopment efforts, Norfolk was the chief battleground for court-ordered school desegregation. The author shows how Southern cities used their powers of redevelopment, city planning, and school administration to resist and delay school desegregation. He notes that this occurred in three distinct phases. These findings present a breakthrough in urban studies and school desegregation research. The author establishes that the history of school desegregation began much earlier than commonly thought, with almost a decade of planning, redevelopment, and urban renewal initiatives; and that school boards and administrators were only minor actors in a cast that included mayors, city councils, state legislators, planning commissioners, redevelopment authorities, and other public officials.

Even though Leo Fender never learned how to play a guitar, he was the first to make the electric solidbody guitar a commercial success. Despite his low-key style and conservative roots, his radical designs for guitars and amplifiers altered popular music forever. Much has been published about the Fender Electric Instrument Co., but Leo always wanted its story to be told "just the way it happened". Now, Forrest White, his friend and only general manager, offers a behind-the-scenes look at this company. In his down-to-earth style, White traces the company's entire history, from Leo's beginnings as a radio repairman up to the eventual sale of Fender to CBS and beyond. In between are stories about the development of the Telecaster, Precision Bass and Stratocaster, as well as insights into Leo Fender's unique personality. Fender: The Inside Story is packed with more than 100 historic photos and illustrations; instrument diagrams and specifications; and anecdotes about artists such as Merle Travis, Bob Wills, Speedy West, and Tex Ritter. Here is the book that sets the record straight and dispels the myths about the Fender Electric Instrument Co., a company that forever changed the look, sound, and personality of American music.