Exploring the southern world of Britney Spears; an epic battle between Clint Eastwood and Bill Gates; The hunt for alleged serial bomber Eric Rudolph; the Seminoles who stole Shakespeare; and laying down the burden of southern history.
"People are always asking what the South really is, what it means, where it is, whether it's disappearing, does it have a future, will it rise again, and back around to the meaning of it all in a sort of endless mantra."
"'CNN is Eric's best friend. If it hadn't been for the media, Eric Rudolph would have been caught in the first two days. The media's the worst thing that ever happened to this case. The worst thing.'"
"When William Forbes and his company of actors steamed out of Savannah in May 1840, they were about to enter the Second Seminole War. Before they had been in Florida for more than a full day, the actors were ambushed by real-life Indians, lost two of their number, and had their props and costumes sacked."
"The tension between individualism and organization is a central theme of American history, a running argument between Clint Eastwood and Bill Gates. It occurs in the South with a regional flavor."
"The controversial stage outfits, she reassured us, ' were the kind of clothes we used to wear in Kentwood. It can be scorching during the summer, so the barer the better!'"
"I realize now it was a trap, one he would have sensed in advance . . ."
"Southerners are at least as likely to agree as to disagree that 'it's important to remember our history, but the Civil War doesn't mean much to me personally.'"
Vintage Books, 2000; University of Texas Press, 2000; Texas A&M University Press, 2000
University of North Carolina Press, 2000; University of Tennessee Press, 1999
University of Illinois Press, 1999
