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An irreverent, information-packed, grand tour of the South in brisk, witty entries on the region’s history, folklore, obsessions, contradictions, and peculiarities
In 1001 short, eminently readable paragraphs, John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed illuminate the people, places, myths, habits, history, and folklore that have made the South the nation’s most distinctive region. Idiosyncratic, cheeky, and informative, 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the South ranges from Stonewall Jackson to Mahalia Jackson, from William Byrd to “Free Bird,” from barbecue to Baptists to Bourbon Street.
Equal parts cultural history, reference book, bedside companion, and affectionate argument, this is a South populated by revival preachers and racecar drivers, Delta bluesmen and debutantes, fire ants and political demagogues, beauty queens and snake handlers. First published to wide acclaim in 1996, and now thoroughly revised and updated, 1001 Things Everyone Should Know about the South combines deep knowledge with dry humor and an insider’s feel for the region’s paradoxes, absurdities, and enduring appeal.
Read this book straight through or open it anywhere. Either way, you’ll come away knowing more about the South—and laughing far more than you expected.
“I’ve been telling people I wouldn’t give a blurb to another book if my Mama wrote it. But if Mama had written this one, I’d have to rethink my policy. It’s that good.”—Roy Blount Jr.
“This book should be placed in every baby’s cradle. It is that necessary. The Reeds cast an unflinching eye upon the South, emerging with a lively, wickedly funny evaluation of why we do the things we do. From hookworm to Huey Long, they cover all our hallowed grounds. Friends and family of mine will find 1001 Things in their Christmas stockings.”—Kaye Gibbons
“An informative encyclopedia that is also side-splittingly funny. . . . Every page is a treat.”—Florence King
“A smorgasbord of people, places, foods, and foibles that make the South the most delectable region of the country. John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed have cooked up a feast.”—Nathalie Dupree
“1001 Things should catapult John and Dale Reed right up there with Elijah Craig and Lem Motlow as distillers of things Southern. This is your basic cultural pony, a quick and easy self-guided tour through Dixie, the best and worst of it, in three hundred pages of prose as smooth and mellow as if it had been filtered through charcoal.”—John Egerton
“This book is pure pleasure. It is accurate down to the last detail. It is funny when it ought to be (a lot of the time) and keeps a serious demeanor when that is appropriate. The entries are precise; the wonderful illustrations are nicely evocative. All it needs is a soundtrack.”—George Garrett
“The one indispensable book about the South. Funny, fun to read, and absolutely accurate . . . a must. Even if you think you already know everything about the South, you don’t. Read this and you’ll see.”—Lee Smith