It Happened Today! in Kentucky History: Revised & Updated (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781505300413)

The distinctive art and writing of Robert A. Powell has long been acclaimed as a dynamic force in capturing and depicting vibrant images of Kentucky's remarkable history and heritage. His track record includes 35 published books, plus hundreds of art prints, sketchbook calendars, and articles about Kentucky subjects. A native Kentuckian Robert A. Powell grew up in the Appalachian foothills of Powell County and the Bluegrass country in Fayette County. His love for Kentucky's heritage and history has taken him to all 120 counties - to research, photograph and sketch. RAP is an author, historian, teacher, photographer, speaker and artist. After graduating from Bryan Station High School in Lexington, he earned his BA degree at Kentucky Wesleyan, and pursued graduate studies in communications at UK and Western. Powell worked as a journalist for the Clay City Times, Lexington Herald-Leader, and Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. He taught journalism, art and English at high schools in both Kentucky and Florida, and served as a public relations specialist for the Kentucky Department of Education, the U. S. Office of Education, and Appalachian Regional Hospitals. Robert A. Powell was selected as one of the original Kentucky Heritage Artists in 1972, and was named Author of the Year by the Kentucky School Librarians in 1985. He has received many honors and citations from various groups across the state. Powell's most popular books include THIS IS KENTUCKY, his first book (1974). Some of his other more popular works include Kentucky Governors, Kentucky's Covered Bridges, Sketches of Kentucky and a miniature book, Kentucky Sketchbook. In 1977 he created a Kentucky history textbook for middle school students, and with his daughter Karen, developed one for 4th graders (Frontier Kentucky) two years later. True Kentucky Legends, released in 2002, reveals the exciting true story behind 14 of the most prevalent Kentucky legends in American folklore. Proclaimed by the Lexington Herald-Leader as "quite likely the most influential popular chronicler of Kentucky in recent years" Powell's newest book Lexington-Fayette County Sketchbook, is "like a pocket portfolio" depicting a series of landmarks in the central Kentucky Bluegrass that say "Lexington" to him. The illustrations by Powell in his unique pen-ink style show why his work is so popular.