A member of MTSU’s campus community shared his expertise at one of the South’s premier literary events: the 2017 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville.

Dr. Carter F. Smith, a lecturer in the Department of Criminal Justice at MTSU, discussed his book “Gangs and the Military: Gangsters, Bikers and Terrorists with Military Training” Oct. 14 at the Nashville Public Library.

Dr. Carter Smith

Subtitled “Gangsters, Bikers and Terrorists with Military Training,” the book is based on personal experiences, historical documents, government reports and current events.

Smith’s book is based on personal experiences, historical documents, government reports and current events. In addition to historical connections in the area, such as the land pirates who traveled the Natchez Trace after the Revolutionary War, Smith chronicles other stories of national interest.

Smith was in the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, commonly called CID, for more than 22 years, serving 15 years at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He identified the growing problem of street gangs and military connections in the early 1990s and later started the Army’s first gang and extremist investigations team.

The Southern Festival of Books has been held on the second full weekend in October since 1989. Dubbed “A Celebration of the Written Word,” it was one of the first book festivals of its kind and enables authors and readers to connect with each other. The three-day event, sponsored by Humanities Tennessee, is always free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Smith at 615-898-2630 or carter.smith@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)