The New Mind of the South PDF
Preview The New Mind of the South
S Simon & SchuSter eG D alley iSclaimer Do not quote for publication until verified with the finished book. This advance, uncorrected reader’s proof is the property of Simon & Schuster. It is being made available for promotional purposes and review by the recipient and may not be used for any other purpose or transferred to any third party. Simon & Schuster reserves the right to terminate availability of the proof at any time. Any duplication, sale or distribution to the public is a violation of the law. This file will no longer be accessible upon publication of this book. For more information on Simon & Schuster’s eGalley program, please visit www.galleygrab.com. EGalley Disclaimer REV 1P.indd 1 10/16/09 3:27 PM This ground-breaking, thought-provoking exploration upends stereotypes and fallacies to reveal the true heart of the South today—a region still misunderstood by outsiders and even by its own society. Many observers say that “the South” has disappeared. Tracy Thompson, a Georgia native, asserts that it has merely drawn on its oldest tradition: an ability to adapt and transform itself. Thompson spent four years traveling throughout the region and discovered a South both amazingly similar and radically different from the land she knew as a child. African Americans who left en masse for much of the twentieth century are returning in huge numbers, drawn back by a mix of ambition, family ties, and cultural memory. Though Southerners remain more churchgoing than other Americans, the evangelical Protestantism that defined Southern culture up through the 1960s has been torn by bitter ideological schisms. The new South is ahead of others in absorbing waves of Latino immigrants, in rediscovering its agrarian traditions, in seeking racial reconciliation, and in reinventing what it means to have roots in an increasingly rootless global culture. Drawing on mountains of data, interviews, and a whole new set of historic archives, Thompson paints a heartening, often surprising picture of a region filled with promise and paradoxes—one that is laying a path for the rest of the nation to follow. Advance praise for The New Mind of the South: “The more that's written about the American South—as a region and as a mindset—the more confused people seem to be. Tracy Thompson helps clear up the myths and the outdated stereotypes. She correctly portrays the South and its people not as stubborn but as always changing. This is a knowing and sensitive book.” —Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin Tracy Thompson is a reporter and essayist who has written about subjects ranging from psychiatry to law to the Civil War. She is the author of The Beast: A Reckoning with Depression and The Ghost in the House. She lives just outside Washington, D.C., with her husband, their two daughters, one tabby cat, and an enthusiastic beagle named Max. s 31233_New Mind of the South.indd 1 8/13/12 12:42 PM also by tracy thompson The Beast A Ghost in the House 31233_New Mind of the South.indd 2 8/13/12 12:42 PM the new mind of the south Tracy Thompson simon & schuster New York London Toronto Sydney New Delhi 31233_New Mind of the South.indd 3 8/13/12 12:42 PM s simon & schuster 1230 avenue of the americas new york, ny 10020 copyright © 2013 by tracy Thompson all rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address simon & schuster subsidiary rights Department, 1230 avenue of the americas, new york, ny 10020 First simon & schuster hardcover edition march 2013 sImon & schUstEr and colophon are registered trademarks of simon & schuster, Inc. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact simon & schuster special sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. The simon & schuster speakers bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the simon & schuster speakers bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com. Designed by manufactured in the United states of america 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 library of congress cataloging-in-publication Data Isbn 978-1-4391-5803-6 Isbn 978-1-4391-6013-8 (ebook) 31233_New Mind of the South.indd 4 8/13/12 12:42 PM For my husband 31233_New Mind of the South.indd 5 8/13/12 12:42 PM 31233_New Mind of the South.indd 6 8/13/12 12:42 PM contents 1. It’s complicated 1 2. salsa with your Grits 17 3. The big lie 41 4. shadow history 59 5. Jesusland 106 6. The sorting out 141 7. atlanta 178 8. old times There are not Forgotten 229 Acknowledgments 237 Notes 239 Index 000 31233_New Mind of the South.indd 7 8/13/12 12:42 PM 31233_New Mind of the South.indd 8 8/13/12 12:42 PM
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