William Link Shares His Book, Righteous Warrior
On UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch, Friday, December 12, at 9:30 PM

Historian William Link’s latest Righteous Warrior examines the life of Senator Jesse Helms, one of the most important American politicians of the late twentieth century, and the important role that he played in the rise of modern conservatism. Born in Monroe, North Carolina, in his early years, Helms worked as a newspaperman, a radio commentator and a magazine editor. Early on, Helms realized the power of television, and, on tiny black and white screens across North Carolina in the 1960s he battled the civil rights movement, campus radicalism, and the sexual revolution.

Link identifies race and sexuality as central issues for Helms, using it at every turn to solidify his base and, in some cases, to mobilize political support. Link reveals how Helms, as a U.S. Senator, became a national conservative leader and spokesman for the revitalized American Right, playing a prominent role in the Reagan Revolution of the 1970s and 1980s and the rising tide of Republicanism of the 1990s.

In an all-new episode of UNC-TV’s local literary series North Carolina Bookwatch with D.G. Martin, premiering Friday, December 12, at 9:30 PM, Link reveals Righteous Warrior, sharing the story of one of the most powerful Americans of the twentieth century and the conservative mark he left on the American political landscape.

William A. Link graduated from Davidson College in 1976 and received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia in 1981. For the next twenty-three years, he taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; the courses he taught included North Carolina History, the history of the American South, twentieth-century Americanhistory. Between 1995 and 1998, he served as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and between 1998 and 2004 as head of the UNCG History Department. In 2004, he moved to the University of Florida to occupy the Richard J. Milbauer chair in history, replacing longtime chairholder Bertram Wyatt-Brown. He currently teaches courses in southern history at Florida, and supervises or co-supervises seven doctoral students. Link’s publications include five books about various topics in the history of the 19th and 20th century South.

Don’t miss D.G. Martin’s engaging interview with celebrated historian William Link on North Carolina Bookwatch, Friday, December 12, at 9:30 PM.

During the 26-week season of North Carolina Bookwatch, guests also include: Frances Mayes (A Year in the World), Rob Christensen (The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics), Robert Morgan (Boone), Eleanora Tate (Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance), Eric Wilson (Against Happiness), Wayne Caldwell (Cataloochee), Theda Perdue (The Cherokee Nation and The Trail of Tears), Bernie Harberts (Too Proud to Ride a Cow), Therese Fowler (Souvenir), Joe Glatthaar (General Lee’s Army), Nortin Hadler (Worried Sick), Anna Hayes (Without Precedent), Jean Anderson (A Love Affair with Southern Cooking), J.D. Rhoades (Breaking Cover), Nancy Peacock (A Broom of One’s Own), Louise Hawes (Black Pearls), Tony Earley (The Blue Star), Anna Rubino (Queen of the Oil Club) , Clyde Edgerton (The Bible Salesman), Sheila Moses (The Baptism), Martin Clark (The Legal Limit) and Cindy H. Ramsey (Boys of the Battleship North Carolina).

For additional information about series guests and airdates, plus links to the Bookwatch blog and online book club, please visit: www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.

Funding for North Carolina Bookwatch is provided by UNC-TV members and by Quail Ridge Books and Music, Raleigh’s independent, full service bookstore, bringing readers and writers together since 1984.

North Carolina Bookwatch is part of UNC-TV’s ongoing commitment to produce programs for and about North Carolina. UNC-TV is the statewide 11-station broadcast network of the University of North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch.

For more information about North Carolina Bookwatch and UNC-TV’s other original productions, please visit our website at www.unctv.org.