Nashville: An American Self Portrait captures the essence of the city at a pivotal time in its history. The year 2000 was a period of signal events: a presidential primary season with two Nashvillians seeking the nomination, a fall run for the White House that Democrat Al Gore won at the ballot box yet lost in the electoral college, the 75th anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry, a farewell crusade by the Reverend Billy Graham, the 22nd decennial census of the nation s (and Nashville s) population, revealing a striking new profile of the city, a dramatic shift from home-owned to outsider-owned financial and commercial institutions, the near-collapse of the state s lawmaking authority in the final years of the old century, and the contrasting rise of Metro government in the same decade, and a stunning Super Bowl season for the brand new, Nashville-based Tennessee Titans. Created by more than 100 Nashvillians and others with a connection to the city writers, editors, photographers, and artists Nashville brings into sharp focus the principal players and episodes of modern politics, religion, economics, and popular culture in this quaint and thriving pocket of the American heartland.