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Author Event! "The Saga of Kinnie Wagner," by Larry Massey

Event Type: Adults
Age Group(s): Adults
Date: 3/15/2018
Start Time: 7:00 PM
End Time: 8:30 PM
Description:
 Local author Larry L. Massey will discuss his latest book, The Saga of Kinnie Wagner, The South’s Most Notorious Gunman, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 15, at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon, Metairie.

This event is free of charge and is open to the public. There is no registration.

Massey’s book describes the life of the outlaw, from his birth in Virginia in 1903 to his death in a Mississippi prison in 1958. Sharpshooter, circus star, and convicted felon Kinnie Wagner lived no ordinary life. From a family of seven brothers and seven sisters, a father who tended fields, and a disciplinary mother, Wagner fled home many times.

Bootlegging, larceny, and murder followed; Wagner left five bodies in his wake and was a four-time fugitive before being captured and returned to prison for good. As his health declined, Wagner engaged writer Claude Gentry to tell his biography the way he wanted it to be told. This account has remained the accepted truth on Wagner’s story¯until now.

Author Larry Massey sheds new light on the gunman who is often romanticized yet not fully understood and brings forward the most comprehensive biography of Kinnie Wagner to date. Having researched hundreds of published materials produced during and after Wagner’s life by people involved in his story, Massey tells the tale as it unfolds in those publications. Was Wagner really a murderer, or was he a victim of circumstance as many have believed?

Author and scientist Larry L. Massey spends the majority of his time researching and writing about Southern outlaws. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in biology from Auburn University, and both his masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi. He works full-time as an operations research analyst in the Science Planning and Coordination Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He is a native of Alabama.

For more information about this event, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.

Library: East Bank Regional Library    Map
Location: Jefferson & Napoleon Rooms
Contact: Chris Smith
Contact Number: 504-889-8143
Presenter: Chris Smith