The Memphis Kingmaker
Sep 26, 2007
The Memphis Kingmaker
Author: Cecilia A. Hallman & L. Douglass Brown
Publisher: IRG Press
Publication: April 2006
John Henry Thompson grew up in Slabtown, Tennessee and was determined not to stay there. He was born with the fire burning in him to become successful. Luckily he was also born with the sharp intelligence to achieve his goal.
Through determination, knowing the right people, making sure he met the rest of the right people and his overall bulldogged persuasion of others John went on to become the Kingmaker of Memphis, Tennessee. He bought nearly all of Beale Street, restored it to become a successfully running merchant area, and revived the Memphis Blues Baseball team.
He helped put a President in office and overthrew a dictator in Nicaragua. By the time he died he was a billionaire.
Through thick and thin he had a good ol' Southern gal sidekick, Ophelia Hartwell - one of the few people he trusted in life to get the job done.
This is a story of John, Ophelia, several 1946 West Point graduates and how using political influence, money and strong intelligence can make or break towns, political factions and people.
Surrounding it all are wonderful descriptions and memories of the old South.
