52/52: Merle Haggard’s Okie From Muskogee, by Rachel Lee Rubin

Convinced that Haggard was a hopelessly conservative lout due to this album’s title track? This terrific look at country music will change your mind. It — and the Cocaine and Rhinestones podcast on Haggard — are convincing that “Okie” is satire and that Haggard is much more nuanced, and leftist, than his reputation suggests.

Book: 5 of 52