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Better Off Without 'Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession Paperback – July 16, 2013

3.7 out of 5 stars 193 customer reviews

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (July 16, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 145161666X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1451616668
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (193 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Format: Hardcover
First things first; I'm a Southerner, born and bred (not inbred, I think). Chuck Thompson's new book "Better Off Without 'Em" should make me angry, and it does. But not for the reasons you might think, what with this review coming from below the Mason-Dixon line. Much like Bill Bryson before him, Thompson uses sarcastic and acid-tongued humor to arrive at some uncomfortable truths. How you respond to those is your call, but I'm writing this review.

There are a lot of things here that Thompson uses to indict the South that strike me as of the "duh!" category (slavery, Jim-Crow-era-and-beyond systemic racism, backwardness, Larry the Cable Guy)in terms of "reasons to hate the South and wish it gone" (as he advocates quite clearly in his subtitle, "A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession"). But he also uncovers some facts that show pretty clearly that we as a region are indeed dragging down the rest of the country.

Labor unions are unwelcome in the South, which boasts a "pro-business" mindset that would make Charles Dickens weep. Wages and benefits in the South are the lowest in the country, and we've managed to poach Detroit's auto industry because we bend over backwards to accomodate outside businesses (to hell with the workforce as a result). Racism is everywhere, but in the South it's the not-so-subtle motivation behind "Christian academies" and the subtle motivation behind the closing of an historic all-black elementary school in Biloxi because it outperforms white schools. The BCS, which is supposedly how the college football rankings are arrived at "scientifically," seems to favor the SEC at the cost of other conferences (many with better overall records, as Thompson shows).
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This is a gritty, hard hitting, political commentary on why our political system is in trouble. Thompson will gain no popularity, in southern political circles, for his "tell it like it is" appraisal of the south. As a southerner, I see first hand exactly what Thompson exposes. Those people who study political systems will see the book as a likely start in opening a dialog where the myths of the southern systems are opened to full examination.
If you believe that humans rode dinosaurs, that the BCS is a fair system, and that education is not something that everyone is entitled to, then this book is not for you.
If you're even debating the purchase, then you may already have a more liberal stance on social issues than is prevalent throughout the south.
Thompson backs up his assertions with references, and although his commentary is laced with his own brand of sarcasm, he makes case after case that the south has not yet decided to join mainstream America.
Fascinating reading, well put together. This would not be something that I would take to the local gun club in SC to read while waiting my turn at the range.
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Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Unlike most of the one star reviewers, I actually read this book. To be sure, this book is obviously a polemic. In between statistics are a lot of .stories like the one of the Maryland black state senator from ten years ago who stopped in a Florida bar and was told "we serve blacks in the back room." In short, the south is full of racism and uneducated people many for which the "War of northern aggression" happened yesterday. I wouldn't recommend this book if it was just an amusing polemic, but it comes at a time when the Supreme Court is set to invalidate major portions of the most significant civil rights legislation, The Voting Rights Act. The Court is also set in this term to overturn affirmative action in college admission (ironically Clarence Thomas, who benefited more from affirmative action than anyone in America, is set to cast the deciding vote against it). At the same time the South is increasingly causing significant economic damage to the U.S. and it's reputation by being the refuge of Northern industry (eg Boeing), high wage European companies (eg Ikea) and auto manufactures worldwide who want a nonunion U.S. factory.
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I spent the first 31 years of my life in the northeast, followed by the next 19 in Atlanta, and the last two back in the northeast. Thus, I feel qualified to speak about the topic of this book. As other reviewers say, there is still some good in the south, some good people, good educational institutions, etc. However, the good are overwhelmed by the majority this book describes, stuck in the past, wanting to govern by religion and only their religion and their interpretation of religion at that, clueless as to what constitutes a good education, unwilling to fund public education sufficiently, uncaring about the well being of others as long as they personally are okay - I could go on. As the U.S. becomes more diverse and multicultural, the South fights to remain the country of the white male. I can only hope that the younger generation in the South starts to wake up and change things, or we will be "better off without 'em." If Southerners are offended by this book, then I would ask them to look in the mirror and do something about it. For me, this book was a catharsis. For others who feel as I do, you will find yourself nodding your head in agreement as you read this book just as I did.
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