Defending Dixie: Essays in Southern History and Culture (Hardcover)

by Clyde N. Wilson (Author), Thomas H. Landess (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Review
...it would be both wise and chastening to read this entire masterly volume, which presents a rare and enlightened view of both our perils and our opportunities.
--Otto Scott -- The Compass

...the compelling quality of these essays speaks broadly to the most vital issues of our national identity and history ... a book that any American could read with profit and pleasure. And I see it as the ideal gift for any young person perplexed by what the late Andrew Lytle called "the present confusion."
--J.O. Tate -- Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture

Professor Wilson is an obstreperous soldier in the great Jacobin wars that have plagued the nation.... The book succeeds magnificently ... must reading for every American interested in the true principles and virtues of republicanism.
Robert C. Cheeks -- Human Events

The range of topics that Wilson covers here is impressive, and he invariably has something interesting to say.... This volume of essays ... is something to celebrate.
--Thomas E. Woods, Jr. -- The American Conservative

This generous collection of Clyde Wilson's essays and reviews, a publishing event that should have occurred long ago, places him on the same level with all the unreconstructed greats in modern Southern letters: Donald Davidson, Andrew Lytle, Frank L. Owsley, Richard Weaver, and M.E. Bradford.
--Joe Scotchie, editor of The Paleoconservatives -- author

Product Description
Defending Dixie is a selection from Dr. Clyde Wilson's voluminous writings about the South---past, present, and future---over a period of more than thirty years. The admiring view of Dixie presented here is rare at the present day. Dr. Wilson writes from a belief that the South is a living and long-lasting reality that continues to offer a valuable alternative vision to Americans of the 21st century. More importantly, as he says of Dixie, "there are plenty of good people who love her still."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 383 pages
• Publisher: The Foundation for American Education (October 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962384224
• ISBN-13: 978-0962384226
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #706,051 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential, July 2, 2007

By	Carlos W. Wilson "Southern Man" (Murfreesboro, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ths is essential reading for anyone from the South (it would not hurt Northerners either)who desires insight into their culture. The book reviews alone give one a large stack of additional reading material(I know Amazon should be pleased, for I have purchased at least three or four books based on Dr. Wilson's reviews thus far).

Another plus is that these essays and reviews are short, ranging from one to seven pages, which allows the reader to sit back and chew on what has been said before moving to the next bite.

Being a collection of essays and book reviews spanning nearly 25 years, one will notice some repetition. I say, "Anything worth saying once is worth saying again."

For those of like mind, these essays will encourage, for those of a contrary disposition, I challenge you to read at least the first 150 pages. Then let us reason together.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating collection of essays, February 10, 2008

By	E. J. (Shenandoah Valley) - See all my reviews

"Defending Dixie: Essays in Southern History and Culture" is a fascinating collection of essays from Clyde Wilson. I can say 'fascinating' truthfully because Wilson's writing is actually enjoyable to read, despite the fact that it is nonfiction. The essays are grouped by content into chapters including "The War: My Myth or Yours" (the content of that chapter is obvious), "The Bloody Banner: Long May It Wave" (about the Confederate flag, and including firsthand information about the late flag battle in South Carolina), "The Other Southerners" (a discussion on slavery, black Confederates, and race relations), "The Agrarian Vision" (about agrarianism as espoused by the Twelve Southerners of "I'll Take My Stand" as well as the belief and practice of later agrarians), and "In Justice to So Fine a Country," which is a catchall bin including essays such as "Confederate Rainbow" (about Catholic and Jewish Confederates), "What to Say About Dixie?" (the South in general), "Confessions of a Neo-Confederate" (a title which Wilson does not appreciate, as he explains in his source notes), and an unusual discussion on tobacco.

"Defending Dixie" has only one real fault: an overly harsh view of the Puritans. The early Puritans who were serious about their Christianity were quite different from their "Yankee," rather than true Puritan, descendents. Where New England went wrong is something that readers will need to investigate further: some argue that its problem was that it continued wanting to be a "city on a hill" after it had deserted the only hill worth standing on.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Defending Dixie--Essays in Southern History and Culture, February 15, 2008

By	John R. Sproat Jr. - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

During recent years, Dr. Clyde Wilson, a professor at the Unviersity of South Carolina, has written numerous essays regarding the Southern states--both contemporary and antebellum. These essays represent his efforts to correct the traditional (northern) versions of Southern society and culture with historical facts.