Interpreting American history : the new South / edited by James S. Humphreys.

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CHOICE Review

In light of contemporary events, students taking history classes that emphasize the New South may be struck by the fact that often there appears to be much of the Old South that still prevails. Historian Humphreys, author of Francis Butler Simkins: A Life, seeks to revise such impressions and set the record straight by publishing a series of wide-ranging historiographical essays that, taken together, accomplish this goal. The 11 selections offered by different historians range from "Reconstruction along the Global Color Line," which suggests a refreshing transnational approach to that era, to "The New South and the Natural World," an interesting summary of a region once given to a plantation one-crop economy and clear-cutting of longleaf yellow pine with little concern for environmental issues; this selection offers some hope for the future. In addition, women have played more of a role in the transition from old to new than emphasized previously, according to the selection "Women in the New South." Though dated, C. Van Woodward's The Origins of the New South, 1877-1913 (1951) is still useful. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; professionals. --Paul D. Travis, Texas Woman's University