You Should Read: Renau

Lynn Renau is one of Louisville’s favorite local writers, and if you are a lover of history, horses, or Kentucky—or all three—then her books need to be on your reading list. Lynn has worked as a historian, museum curator and lecturer. She has curated at the Filson Historical Society, and at the Kentucky Derby Museum, where she spent a lot of time researching the race's history. She was once told by an executive of Churchill Downs, "You can do all the research you want, but no woman is ever going to write a history of our racetrack!" She proved him wrong when she published her book Racing Around Kentucky.

Her wonderful history of Kentucky racing, Jockeys, Belles and Bluegrass Kings, touches upon some of the lesser-known stories of the Sport of Kings, and gives an interesting picture of the time when African-American jockeys and trainers dominated the sport.

Although mostly known for her historical non-fictional work, Ms. Renau has also written a fictional account of a no-good Arabian horse, Freebee the Story of a Good-for-Nothing Horse, which is a delight.

But, our favorite from among Lynn’s works, has to be So Close From Home: The Legacy of Brownsboro Road. This history of eastern Jefferson County begins when, in 1774, Virginia surveyors divided that part of the County into 1000-acre tracts for speculators who bought up land rights which King George III's government had awarded to French and Indian War veterans. Shortly thereafter, George Rogers Clark's family began to develop that land. A decade later, John Herr and George Rudy, blacksmiths and farmers from Pennsylvania, settled here as well. This is the definitive story of Louisville’s earliest settlers, with unvarnished details about slavery, Indian raids, and the numerous hardships faced by our ancestors. Its 512 pages will turn quickly.

“You Should Read” is a weekly iLocal News series, reviewing not only the latest books by local writers, but also reminding readers that some of the best books in print have been around for a long time. As Mark Twain said, “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”

Books are wonderful things. Whether you are lying on the beach, or curled up in your favorite chair in front of a fire on a frosty day, a good book to read will fill your day with enjoyment. It doesn’t matter if your book is a leather-bound treasure, an inexpensive paperback, an electronic Ebook or Kindle, or an audiobook playing on your car radio. Books excite, inform, move the soul, and stimulate the senses. Reading expands your world, and makes you a more interesting person.

As Groucho Marx once said, “Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”