This is not as good a work as it had the potential of being. At 199 pages it is short, made shorter still by small pages with large type.

Bouncing from topic to topic, it is an uncoordinated effort. It appears to have been rushed. There are so many ibids and multiple referrals to the same source material in the bibliography that you begin to wonder just how much work went into the research behind it. I was sorry I purchased it.

I enjoyed "Seduced by the West," though it's a quick read that is more of a lengthy magazine article than really a book.

The books focuses on various efforts to explore and claim the American West including, but not limited to, Lewis & Clark.

The most interesting aspect of the book is the description of various characters, e.g., General James Wilkinson. Wilkinson was supposed to be representing US interests in the ill-defined Louisiana Territories, but he was also apparently being paid by the Spanish. The Spanish, intriguingly, didn't recognize the Louisiana Purchase as their deal to turn Louisiana over to the French had a codicil that it wasn't to be sold to someone else.

I would have preferred the book if it had been more specifically focused on a character like Wilkinson and therefore would have been less of a historical review.

But, within the context of what "Seduced by the West" is, it's an enjoyable read.

This is a self-revealing and boring book. Polk argues that he is not a product of his Southern background, no, he is somehow "better." But even if he abhors the fact, nothing could document more thoroughly his being solidly within "the Southern Myth" than his own pronouncements. So he is ashamed of bare feet, who cares? What on earth convinced the press to publish this vain cry of unnecessary self-pity.

An Oxford reader

Hardly the pity-fest that an earlier Amazon reviewer would have you take it for, Noel Polk's Outside the Southern Myth is a fascinating glimpse into a South that, although probably closer to the South that most Southerners live in, often goes ignored in literature, television, music, and film in favor of depictions of hard-drinkin' good ol' boys or genteel aristocrats. Sure, the South has plenty of both (though I haven't seen a white linen suit or a mint julep in a while), but Polk's book complicates the traditional view of Southern life and shows that a middle-class Southern experience can be just as rich, tragic, perplexing, and worthy of study as any Faulkner novel.

new smaller size and revized format inside makes the book much less reader-friendly.

The book has good information but the publisher has change the states included. The most Southeastern state, Florida is not in the 2001 edition (a separate book 16.95). With the additional states Arkansas, Louisiana, North and South Carolina the book is too thick over 750 pages, a new narrower page size and semi hard backs make it difficult to use.

This book wasn't what I had expected it to be.

The author spends too much time discussing the type of fish and
the waters location and no time on fishing locations on those
waters. The author concentrates most of the material on lakes
and streams of southern Mississippi.

Most of the material in this book can be found in the states wildlife dept. fishing guide.

I rated this book a two because I didn't really like this book because it was a kind of slow book. It didn't really catch my attention. I like how Mickey, the main character stood up for himself during the Ku Klux Klan attacts on his house. This book was about a young man name Mickey Schwerner who was very spicious during the civil rights. He was very curious about it. He had a lot of questions that he wanted to have answere. He wondered why there had to be racism in his town. He was one of the Ku Klux Kans enemies. He was one of their top priorities to get rid of him. One day in June 1964 Mickey drove north to theach a traing progran in Ohio. Later on in june the Civil Rights law was passed. Mickey came back from the north will many new friends and strangers that wanted to be free. Thats when the sumer of freedom had come. The once slaved people and disliked people that had been held-up and tormented are now free. This is one of Mickeys and the rest of the balcks,jews, ect. happiest moments in his life. He was happy that all tormenting and hatefulness has stopped. He isn't afraid to walk in town without getting beaten up of torrured.

I have to admit, I had only a half-hearted attraction to the topic. When I first picked up this book I was curious, but skeptical if it would grab and hold my interest. What this little book has to offer is a bit surprising. The casual observer can learn towboat terminology and get a closer glimpse of what the job is like, all told with mild humor from the author. In the back there is a list of frequently spotted towboats and a little information about them.
If you have a secret fascination with river traffic and are curious to know more about what you see. This book is for you.

Frank Smith was truly a man with ideas before his time! He fought and sacrificed to ensure everyone had the same rights that are guaranteed all under our Constitution. This was unheard of in the segregated South in the '50 and '60s. "Mississippi Liberal" is an excellent history of the Mississippi Delta and the environment that shaped the ideas and life of the Congressman from Mississippi--Frank E. Smith. A man who worked hard to make a difference for all races... and he did! A very comprehensive work by Dr. Dennis J. Mitchell--A superb job!

Avoid this Faulkner work. It will not enhance your appreciation for his writing; rather, you are likely to regret ever having guiltily enjoyed Sanctuary. Other than his two Snopes novels, none of Faulkner's work after World War II is worth reading, and I include Intruder in the Dust in that assessment. Instead, go back to the works that demonstrated a gift for story-telling and language, rather than sales. Sanctuary is unique in that the lurid story of course was sellable yet Faulkner was able to infuse it with his own unique vision and style.

Two-and-a-half stars. In Requiem, Faulkner pens a sequel to his sensational novel Sanctuary, attempting to navigate the troubled marriage of Gowan and Temple Stevens. He delves deep into Temple's psyche, revealing a woman unable (or unwilling) to escape her troubled, violent past in Memphis. Just as her marriage is spiralling to destruction, Gowan and Temple's daughter dies at the hands of their nurse, Nancy. Faulkner seems to be trying to lend some serious philosophical weight to the otherwise lightweight Sanctuary. Two problems. First, Sanctuary was fine as it was; a sequel was unnecessary. Second, the narrative structure of Requiem--half prose, half play--while initially intriguing, ultimately hinders Faulkner is his attempt to probe psychological depths. (There's only so much of that you can do when you're limited to dialogue.) Oh, and of course that annoying ubiquitous allknowing lawyer Gavin Stevens has to put his $.02 in. I recommend this book only for true Faulkner lovers.

I'm gonna make this review short. If you've read "Sanctuary", then this book might be worth reading....once. Don't expect the usual Faulkner greatness, however - it's readable and that's all. There are about, oh, say, 20 or so Faulkner works I would recommend before this one. "Sanctuary" really didn't need a sequel, IMHO.

If you haven't read "Sanctuary", don't even bother. I can almost guarantee you'll dislike it and/or be confused by it. Not highly recommended.

I came to know Aaron Henry when he was elected to serve in the Mississippi House in 1980. Initially I thought he was a doddering relic, yet pleasant enough, who tended to pontificate. He was in over his head and didn't really seem to have much interest in the legislative process and, as a result, was not highly regarded by his peers. He had a long history of arrests in city parks in the middle of the night, if you catch my drift. He made advances toward me and several other individuals--it was pathetic. Aaron Henry is indicative of the rotten core of the civil rights movement and liberal politicians in general--you don't have to look far for this. He ranks up there with Al Lowenstein and Bill Clinton. I believe this book is self serving and out of synch with reality.

As a resident of Holly Springs, I was eager to read this book. I'm 41, and among the youngest group to be a part of the white mass exodus from the public school system.
In some cases, reading the book was a learning experience; that is, I found that there were many things I did not know about our town's history.
BUT, the book is poorly written. I frequently asked myself, did this guy even have the book proofread even ONCE. In a couple of places, the copy makes no sense, as if it had been accidently copied and pasted in the wrong place.
What the author does to those being quoted is even worse. I strongly suspect that he went around with a tape recorder, conducted some interviews, and then wrote the book a year or more later. Quotes tend to be presented in "string quote" fashion, with the speaker just rambling on. No nonsensical statement is questioned to perhaps draw out a sensical response. The result is that those being quoted sometimes appear to be blithering idiots. It's really unfair to quote people in this fashion.
The author states that the private school didn't start until 1970, but I know I started attending in 1968. A not-so-minor error, and one that makes me pause before accepting other things presented in the book as fact.
The author is really attempting to share the black story of school integration, and apparently only quotes blacks in the book. I suppose I understand that, but by limiting the views presented, he really only tells half the story. He really needed far more sources, both black and white.
I think the history of the Mississippi private school movement, and the effect of integration on both the public schools and the communities, is one worthly of serious academic inquiry.
Unfortunately, the author in this case is guilty of poor reporting, although the book certainly contains some interesting facts.