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olicooper's review against another edition
1.0
I found this book mediocre at best. If you read other reviews, you might think this book is "compelling." Unfortunately I do not find words of wisdom and other important tidbits from Tracy Thompson's grandmother --to be compelling. She spent too much time bringing me back to her time in the south instead of objectively exploring the South.
pbobrit's review against another edition
4.0
Read a review of this book in the newspaper and was immediately interested. I was not disappointed. Thompson explores the modern connotations of what it means to be Southern, where these notions come from, paying equal weight to both the bad (very often talked about) and the good (less well documented). The author and her family are from the South, although the author moved away. The portrayal is fair and also raises so interesting questions about weather things like Big Agriculture are destroying all that is good in Southern culture. Anyone interested in this area of study should definitely pick up a copy of the book. Well worth a read.
grahamiam's review against another edition
4.0
This is really what an academic book should be. Sources are easy to find but not obtrusive. The argument is made without being repetitive and without insisting on using academese. The writing is positively poetic sometimes, especially in describing the food. She does do that annoying thing where she insists part of her argument is unique, but it's not a forceful insistence like it is in so many academic works.
The only two things that kept me from giving this five stars were a) that anyone who wants to read a book like this would already know at least ~20% of the info presented and b) I'm just not sure about the choice to only give an in-depth picture of Atlanta when the book is so short and could easily have a similar portrayal of another, different southern city (or two).
The only two things that kept me from giving this five stars were a) that anyone who wants to read a book like this would already know at least ~20% of the info presented and b) I'm just not sure about the choice to only give an in-depth picture of Atlanta when the book is so short and could easily have a similar portrayal of another, different southern city (or two).
lindseyo's review against another edition
4.0
Fantastic conversation starter for modern Southerners and one that I'm constantly recommending.
archifydd's review against another edition
5.0
I am going to start carrying copies of this in my purse, so I can silently hand them to anyone who tries to tell me about the South.
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