The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South (and Why It Will Rise Again) [Paperback]

Clint Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 2007

The latest installment in the New York Times bestselling Politically Incorrect Guide series expands on the pro-South slant of the hugely successful Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. Author Clint Johnson shows why the South, with its emphasis on traditional values, family, faith, military service, good manners, small government, and independent-minded people, should certainly rise again.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

What the PC Police don't want you to know--and what they got plain wrong--about the South

From the Founding Fathers to the frontiersmen who tamed the West to the country music, NASCAR, Biblethumping heart of "Red State" America, the South is the quintessence of what's original, unique, and most loved about American culture. And with its emphasis on traditional values, family, faith, military service, good manners, small government, and independent-minded people, the South is just plain more livable than the North--which is one reason why millions of Yankees, white and black, have been moving down South in droves.

The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to the South gives you the facts behind scores of revelations like these:

· How Southerners led the way in drafting the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights

· How the Northern victory led to today's all-powerful federal government

· Why race relations in today's South are much better than in the North--or anywhere else in America

· Why the South is naturally conservative (and the North is naturally liberal)

· How American jazz, blues, and rock and roll all came from the South

· Why Southerners are overrepresented in the military--and no, it's not poverty

· The best American literature? Southern, of course

"The South is all about memory, heritage, and pride of place," writes Clint Johnson. "I refuse to go along with the expunging of that memory, heritage, and pride, and I hope the readers of this book, Northern and Southern, will rise up and join me in protesting those who are trying to do it."

About the Author

Clint Johnson, a native of Fish Branch, Florida, has written seven books about the War for Southern Independence. He and his wife live in the mountains of North Carolina, a state his ancestors colonized more than three hundred years ago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing; First Edition edition (January 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596985003
• ISBN-13: 978-1596985001
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Florida before it was ruined by Disney; back when you could find cypress bayheads, cows, cow catchers, and orange groves. A native of The South with a 350 year family history in the region, Clint Johnson (the one in North Carolina)specializes in American history, particularly Southern history.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Those who win the war write the history books..., December 2, 2007

By 

skyward01 (Carrollton, GA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South (and Why It Will Rise Again) (Paperback)

To start, let me say that I'm not a full-blooded Southern boy though I was born and raised in Georgia. My mother was from Michigan and my father from New York. I've never developed an interest in hunting, NASCAR, or country music. Nevertheless, I'm proud of the South, our way of life, and what I perceive to be a slower and friendlier pace than other parts of the USA.

My mom loved to say that it takes two to make a fight. Once this book gets into actual history review, it does a nice job of providing another perspective about why and how the Civil War transpired. As other reviewers have noted, the book isn't intended to provide an exhaustive or balanced viewpoint about the Southern Confederacy but it raises enough concern to inspire serious history buffs to dig deeper elsewhere.

For me, the first four chapters were fluff and I found it hard to stay engaged through discussions of race cars, sweet tea, and Southern hospitality. The fun reading started in Chapter 5 with the history of the States and things got deeper in Chapter 9 with a review of slavery (in both the North and South) and the Civil War. It was here that I was confronted with a historical perspective quite different from what I'd been taught in school.

Was the Civil War really about slavery or did the North have a hidden agenda that it continues to carry out even today? Were Union troops truly interested in a united, free country? Was the North hypocritical when it came to states rights? And was Abraham Lincoln the hero of emancipation that we celebrate today?

These questions and more are addressed in plain English and supported by enough shocking quotes from Sherman, Grant, and Lincoln themselves to send anyone serious about American history back to the bookshelf for more research.

If you are particularly interested in light reading about the Civil War period from a Southern perspective, this book is worth the time and money if you only read Chapters 9 - 13.

75 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The South's Gonna Do It Again, March 7, 2007

By 

Bryan Carey "Bryan Carey" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South (and Why It Will Rise Again) (Paperback)

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South is one of many books sold under the "Politically Incorrect" series. Much like the "For Dummies" series of books before it, the Politically Incorrect guides base themselves on a common theme that is then applied to different areas, usually of controversy. In this guide, author Clint Johnson explains what the South is all about and he points out many of the misunderstandings commonly associated with this region and its people.

Part I of this guide talks about Southern culture and tradition and it helps to dispel some of the common myths about southerners while reinforcing others. However, the bulk of this guide is dedicated to setting the record straight about the South and its role in American history, especially the American Civil War. This begins with Part II and there are many tidbits about the South during this era that many will find surprising. Some of what is discussed here isn't new. For example, most people know that Abraham Lincoln didn't view blacks as equals to whites and most people know that states' rights was the primary motive for Southern secession. But other facts are less known, including those about the attitudes in the North and why, in the author's opinion, the people in the North were actually harsher in their treatment of blacks then the people down south.

Some of the author's statements and conclusions are certain to stir up controversy and because the book takes an exclusively pro- Southern stand, there is little to find in this book as far as open debate goes. For example, the book talks about the decision to count blacks as three- fifths of a person and how this confirms that the North was racist. However, the South also had its own selfish motives for wanting to count all blacks as full persons (it would give them greater representation). The author, in his effort to remain completely politically incorrect and root for the Land of Cotton, fails to mention this or other important facts.

More than anything else, this book is a literary cheerleader for Southern traditions and its author is especially frustrated by the actions of some people to rid the South of its political, social, and cultural heritage. The book talks about the actions of activist groups to ban the Confederate battle flag; the movement to discourage reverence toward Southern Civil War heroes; and other actions taken by politically correct organizations who want to remove the unique identity of the South and make it more homogeneous with the rest of the nation. I can sympathize with anyone who wants to maintain his/her cultural heritage and I respect the fact that the author chooses his words carefully in these discussions, taking care not to be offensive. But I can also understand the position of those who have been oppressed. I think this is a good example of when you need to put yourself in the position of the other side and ask how you would feel if things were in reverse. Would you be offended by the Confederate Battle Flag and other Civil War reminders if your ancestors had been sold into slavery? This is a good question, and it is one in which I am undecided.

Overall, the "Politically Incorrect Guide to the South" is an interesting book about Southern life and the contribution of Southerners to American history. It's a book that presents some obvious facts about the South and its way of life but it also offers opinions that many will find unusual and debatable. Are Southern women really prettier? Are universities in the South better than those in the northern states? Were northerners during the 1800's really more racist than their Southern counterparts? These questions are open to debate, but author Clint Johnson makes no qualms about the position he supports. He feels that political correctness has resulted in much misinformation about the South and its people. He wants to set the record straight about the Southern states and what he offers in this book, while sometimes controversial, is certainly entertaining and eye- opening.

44 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the modern politically correct world we live in today, this book is a breath of fresh air!, March 12, 2007

By 

Steven Laden "Steve Laden" (Morris Chapel, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South (and Why It Will Rise Again) (Paperback)

Yankee intelligentsia and the PC Crowd won't give this book rave reviews, either will revisionist historians. In fact, I will surmise they will write ten poor reviews for my one just to keep you from reading it, which should tell you right away that if it make them this mad, it's probably true.

This is a great book, it's not going to win Nobel prizes, makes no apologies for being a whole lot biased, but for the casual reader interested in learning the Southern side of things, it's a welcome addition.

It's important to note that the book is not just about the "War Between The States". It's so much more revealing than just the Civil War.
This is the book I would recommend to parents interested in countering the left leaning indoctrination Southern and for that matter, Northern children are getting in public schools and Academia. While it's important to note, there are other more "intellectual" works done on Southern history such as Charles Adam's "In the Course of Human Events" or any of James Ronald Kennedy's works, this is the perfect book for the casual reader.

This is in no way saying that the author hasn't done their homework, or there is anything un-intelligent about the book. On the contrary, the author has done a superb job of keeping this insightful book simple and easy to digest and doesn't delve so far deep into little known archives and microfiche that otherwise might lose the casual reader.

The book takes a progressive step into a new form of history writing that will attract new readers, casual readers who might otherwise not be interested in history. This is tremendously important in an age where most young people get very little exposure to history at all, let alone the Southern side of it, which in most history books is non-existent.

I recommend this book for just about anyone, I think it could be most useful for parents who are home schooling a child, for high school and college students, and would be especially good for the culture shocked-transplanted Yankee, trying to make sense their new Southern neighbors.