Away Down South: A History of Southern Identity

Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

"Cobb takes over 200 years of southern intellectualism and condenses it into a readable history of southern history.... An accessible, wide-ranging picture of southern identity, useful for students, professionals, and those generally interested in how the South sees itself."--Matthew L. Downs, Southern Historian

"The inhabitants of Away Down South come at us thick and fast, benighted and bemused, roaring down some unpaved back-country road, pedal to the metal. If this sounds like a breathless rendition of Southern history by an academic who loves to name names, it certainly is. Still, no one remotely interested in the South will be able to resist this book, and readers are bound to learn from Cobb's enormous erudition."--Ira Berlin, The Washington Post Book World

"In this riveting read, Cobb charts the twisting, shifting history of Southern identity and how folks, Southern and non-Southern, have thought about the region.... Hopefully, he has a sequel planned."--Publishers Weekly

"If South-gazing is your bag, Away Down South is your book.... With C. Vann Woodward's death, Cobb is perhaps our best historical interpreter of the South and this may be his best book, better even than his fine book about the Mississippi Delta.... Not only has he done his homework, he has reflected deeply and the result is mature (as in good wine), mellow, stylish and tasty."--Edwin M. Yoder Jr., Weekly Standard

"In this comprehensive, thoughtful, and utterly fascinating account, Cobb stalks the elusive mind--or rather minds--of the South. I don't use the word 'masterpiece' often, but it's the right word here." --John Shelton Reed, author of My Tears Spoiled My Aim: And Other Reflections on Southern Culture

"A special treasure for all of us who have loved, studied, and tried to understand the South, a wonderfully complicated part of our country which--despite the changes chronicled in Jim Cobb's fine work--still more than any other region, thinks of itself as being different and special. Away Down South provides not only context and perspective but Cobb's own unique and powerful insights into the South's inherent contradictions." --Hamilton Jordan

"If you want to know what makes the South tick, you might well look to James C. Cobb for insight. For that matter, if you want to understand the inner workings of the contemporary United States, Away Down South would be a good place to start." --John Egerton, author of The Americanization of Dixie: The Southernization of America

"A tour de force from one of the South's premier historians. James Cobb shows, with characteristic wity and acuity, how a distinctive regional identity from the time of Jamestown to the Iraq war depended not just on how white and black southerners thought of themselves, but also on what others thought of Dixie." --Anthony J. Badger, author of The New Deal: The Depression Years 1933- 1940 and co-author of Race in the American South

"Away Down South exemplifies the many bonds that connect Southern history and American Studies.... Cobb combines skillful literary interpretation with analysis of social structure, and unites a deeply felt commitment to social and racial justice with rigorous standards of scholarship. He ends with a forceful argument against the use of history in identity politics and vice versa, the immense value of which separation his own book serves to illustrate."--Matthew Mancini, American Studies