Encyclopedia of Southern Culture

Right off the bat, you should know that this book is gigantic and can be cumbersome. (The book is a good 4 inches thick). I also expected to receive a colorful cover on the book like the one that is pictured, but got a plain grayish-green cover instead. Just be aware that you might not get the book that is pictured. Also the book is a LITERAL encyclopedia with a topic and a description next to it, like in the old Encyclopedia Britannica. I have other books that call themselves "encyclopedias" but their format is looser and more conversational in tone, and therefore seem more accessible to me. But, that being said, the entries I have read so far are fascinating and quite informative about the South! I purchased the book as a kind of writer's aid, and I believe it will work very well in that regard. Although I can't help but be a little disappointed by the way this book is formatted, I will certainly give it a chance. It's going to take me a long time to get through it, but I'm very sure I will enjoy the journey, as I love everything about the South!

I have been reading and looking things up in this huge 1600 page book since it first came out more than 20 years ago. I moved to Florida 50 years ago back when North Florida was still southern. This book is a must for anyone who wants to understand the distinctive culture of the South.For example, when I first moved to Jacksonville in 1960, I remember hearing about "having an RC and a Moon Pie" for lunch. The encyclopedia will tell you all about that. Ralph McGill was the editor of the Atlanta Constitution 50 years ago and hated by many white southerners. This big book will tell you why.Everything gets covered, from the "Lost Cause" to the epic literature of the South including William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Tom Wolfe and others. Music is not shorted, either, from the original blackface minstrel shows to the Grand Ole Opry; it's all there for your edification and enjoyment.It's a pricey book, but I got a deal by purchasing a used one at Amazon.

I have read extensively in all sections of this book, and I find it superbly organized and very thorough. But you can't always trust it. Only an out-of-touch academic would describe Junior Johnson as a "sports car driver" (which is about like calling James Brown a "crooner"), and the editor himself describes Bear Bryant--the next-to-last SEC coach to have black players--as one of the Deep South's first coaches to recruit black athletes. Lapses like this make me wonder what inaccuracies and follies lie elsewhere in this huge book. Where else have the writers and editors bought into popular myths or somehow "known the words but not the music"?

The seller sent me the a version of this book with the wrong cover. The book is fine but it’s not what I ordered!

Recently relocated in the deep south, much is foreign to me. This encyclopedia touches on everything southern and is most enlightening.Fascinating reading.

Excellent reference book, although a little elderly now.

Arrived on time. As described.

Very good reading . Have bought 3 as gifts .

a bargain at the price, a fund of knowledge which I can-return to again and again.book in excellent condition,cant fault it.