About the Book:

When Louis Gatewood Galbraith passed away in 2012, a flood of tributes merely scratched the surface of this "colorful" and controversial figure. Throughout his life and political career, regional and national media outlets focused on the policy ideas and public acts that made Gatewood a cultural fixture: public demonstrations, an affinity for recreational drug use, unfiltered language, and recurring political campaigns. Best known as an advocate for the legalization of cannabis, second amendment rights, and smaller government, it's now quite easy to imagine this once quixotic platform finding traction in contemporary Kentucky politics. In Gatewood: Kentucky's Uncommon Man, Matthew Strandmark weaves together personal stories, public records, and oral history interviews completed at the Louie B. Nunn Center to provide a comprehensive overview of the life and career of an eccentric and fascinating figure. From a childhood in Carlisle, Kentucky, replete with physical ailments to a young adulthood spent at the fringes of Lexington society, the opening chapters of Gatewood's life were vital in developing the values that came to define his later political career: namely, a passion for rural communities and a low tolerance for bullies.

About the Author:

Matthew Strandmark is the education archivist at the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center. Since earning his Master of Library Science and Master of Arts in History at Indiana University, Bloomington, he also worked at Emory University's Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library