The Mayoral Reader
Hizzoner's tastes run to history and biography
by Scott McNutt
After an unprecedented 16 years, four-term Mayor Victor Ashe will find himself term-limited out of office this winter. Metro Pulse caught his honor for few minutes between phone calls and meetings, hoping to learn what reading subject matter might divert his no-longer mayoral attention after his term ends. But the mayor demurred, saying he has "a few projects" that will occupy his time.
So we settled for asking a few other reading-related questions:
Metro Pulse: What are you reading this summer?
Mayor Ashe: Here are the books I'm reading:
John Paul Jones, by Evan Thomas, the Kennedy biography An Unfinished Life, by Robert Dallek, and Martin Gilbert's The Righteous, about the Gentiles who helped Jews during the holocaust.
And if I finish them this summer, I'll be doing well.
MP: Are those typical of your reading tastes?
Ashe: I read mostly histories and biographies. But I read other types of books. I like Wilbur Smith for relaxation. I'll read Clive Cussler, John Gresham...
MP: Is there any one book that has inspired you during your terms?
Ashe: You mean inspired me as mayor? Just one book? Well...some books that were memorable in the last few years: Taylor Branch's book on the Civil Rights Movement [Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963], David McCullough's John Adams...Robert Caro's book on Lyndon Johnson [Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson], which is as much a history of the Senate as it is a biography of Johnson.
MP: Have you read any books that have been a waste of time?
Ashe: Certainly. [Smiles.] I always put those in the book sale at the library. Of course, I do that with many of the ones I like too...
MP: What is the most influential book you've read?
Ashe: The most influential? Well, the Bible, of course. I first read it when I was 8 or 9. That's spiritual inspiration. Do you mean a book that I return to over and over? One of my favorite books is TheCount of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I've read that four or five times. I've seen the movie—several different movie versions—many times. It's been 10 years or more since I last read it. I haven't read it for the last time.
MP: Anything you want to say about reading in general?
Ashe: I hope [County Mayor] Mike Ragsdale is successful in building a new library downtown. The current building is no longer adequate. It should be built on the scale of the one in Nashville. That is what a public building ought to be. Don't cut corners, don't do a cookie-cutter design. It should be well-designed for public use.
June 26, 2003 * Vol. 13, No. 26
© 2003 Metro Pulse
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The Mayoral Reader