Library to Host McCracken Poston Jr., Author of “Zenith Man”

On Oct. 4, 1997, Alvin Ridley called 911 to report that his wife had passed out. In answer to the dispatcher’s question, he responded that he didn’t think she was breathing. First responders arrived to find a dead woman in bed. Although Ridley was well known around town in Ringgold, Georgia, as a conspiracy-minded and litigious former TV repairman, no one knew he had a wife. Months later, he would be arrested for her murder.

McCracken Poston, Jr., author of “Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom,” will speak about the story at the library on September 9 at 6:30 p.m. The book tells the tale of the murder trial and of Ridley’s unlikely friendship with his young attorney.

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution called the book “a highly engaging read that combines the best parts of hard-boiled true crime with a host of colorful characters, a small-town Southern setting, and Poston’s natural gift for gab.” Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham described the book as having “… the kinds of twists and turns that will make readers think it’s great fiction – except it all happened.”

The library will have copies of “Zenith Man” available for sale and autographing.

Editor’s Note:
To learn more, listen to this book review from Georgia Public Radio:

The author is also featured on the Number 1 podcast in Apple Podcasts at the moment. Noble revisits the story of the Tri-State Crematorium in Noble, Georgia, a 45-minute drive from Mentone. In 2002, investigators found 339 bodies decaying in and around the site. Poston served as the defense attorney for the crematorium’s operator. Listen to this Georgia Public Radio interview with the reporter and podcast host.