Southern Books

I had checked this book out sooo many times from our Public Library I was finally compelled to get online and find a copy for keeps!!! I absolutely love this book... I guess you can tell I love Shrimp and Grits too!
This book is a jewel from cover to cover. There's some history that was great to learn but the recipes are awesome. If you're like me, this is one for your culinary library. Read, Eat, and Enjoy!

You don't have to be from the South to LOVE Nathalie Dupree's Shrimp and Grits.
And who would have thought that an entire cook book on these lowly, but Heavenly ingredients could be so varied, so intriguing and so straight forward.
Every kitchen should have this cook book on the shelf.
Tomie dePaola (from New Hampshire)

There seem to be three basic reactions to grits; in the Southern U.S. it's "Yum, grits!" In the rest of the U.S., "Yuk, grits!" From outside the U.S. ask, "What the heck are grits?"

As a Yankee, I had to read up to learn that grits are white corn kernels with the hull and germ removed by treatment with lye, cooked into a thick porridge. Polenta is similar and may be substituted, but you'll lose the characteristic hominy flavor.

Grits date to the earliest days. In 1607, settlers at Jamestown were met by the local Indians with a slumgullion of boiled ground white corn that they called "rockahomine." The first English appearance of the word (always in the plural) appeared in 1725 according to the OED: "The bigger kind of Oat-Meal, which is call'd Greets, or Corn Oat-Meal."

Dupree has done a brilliant job of celebrating and describing one of the best variations of grits which evolved in South Carolina's Low Country - the coastal strip around Charleston. Shrimp abounded in the region's coastal waters and enhanced the nutritious but bland grits. Shrimp and grits became wakeup grub, or "breakfast shrimp."

Dupree's history of the dish, and her recipes are excellent, the photographs and printing are clear, and the binding is excellent. A perfect introduction to grits and shrimp, and if you want to skip the grits, the book has great value for shrimp lovers.

I've included a recipe for shrimp and grits by my friend Robin Garr, the editor of the Wine Lovers Page and author of The 30 Second Wine Advisor: Learn about wine in 30-second tastes -- quick, easy & fun. The dish has migrated to Louisville Kentucky, 700 miles from the nearest salt water, where a number of restaurants offer excellent variations. Robin's recipe matches the best recipes that Dupree has to offer.

Robert C. Ross 2008

Another fabulous cookbook by my favorite southern cooking author. I've already tried a recipe and it was a huge hit with my family. PS -- They don't particulary like grits.

This is a terrific guide to real southern good food, centering around grits and, of course, shrimp. The truth is that grits are very closely related to polenta, and they can be great. This book is a terrific guide to good grits & good shrimp as they are eaten in the South. I am a California inhabitent myself, but this food is good. The receipes also are not too complicated and good for family or guests.

Good book for southern trees. Photos are small but good quality. Has good descriptions and lots of good information. It covers the ArkLaTex area where I live as well as the Southeast. I have several tree guides and this one is well worth the price.

The book is comprehensive,all I need to be well educated,inspired,and have reference on hand with great quality pictures.

This book does an excellent job at providing a detailed approach to identifying trees. For the beginner, it may take a while to find the tree families on a wholly unknown tree, but the information is there. The flower, fruit, bark, and leaf pictures are excellent as are the very helpful coverage maps. One of the most helpful sections under each species is the "Distinguishing Characteristics" section which not only helps to identify the differences between one species and other similar ones, but also can help point you to other species to look at if you are at the wrong species. The Naturalized Trees of the Southeast section is very helpful as well, though it would have been nice to have detailed information (including pictures) in this section as exists elsewhere. Finally, I really appreciated that the book educates you about the various features and terms in tree identication, raising one's tree IQ if you will.

Native Trees of the Southeast by Kirkman et al. is an excellent field guide. As a professional forest ecologist I'm often faced with field identification problems for several groups of species. As such we usually carry several plant keys, floras, and field guides with us. These manuals are not always helpful because of the broad overlap in characteristics among similar species. Native Trees of the Southeast is a cut above for at least three reasons. First, the keys provided are concise and easy to use. Not all sources provide keys. Second, the inclusion of winter keys (a rare occurrence) is of particular assistance. Third, for each individual species the authors provide a section on how to distinguish that species from others that are similar in appearance. This last item alone makes this book a must have for anyone interested in tree identification.

This is an excellent guide- The dichotomous keys rely on traits observable in the field, and are separated into summer and winter keys. Each species entry includes descriptions of relevant leaf, twig, bark, flower, and fruit traits, with color photos (with the text, not in a separate section) and distribution maps. One of my favorite features of the book is the "Distinguishing Characteristics" passage for each species; for some reason, some other keys I've used neglect to mention some very obvious identifying traits that are included here. There is also a glossary and illustrated descriptions of ID terms that would make this an easy key for beginners too.

I've been using this guide in Southern Africa for the last 6 years, and it's never let me down. Great book for those traveling to the region, but keep in mind that most guides at the wildlife parks will already have a copy, so you could save the weight and space in your luggage.

Have not actually been to southern Africa yet, but plan to do so next summer. I have been an avid birder for 3 decades, and it looks like the format of this book will be very useful for my trip.

this is the best bird guide for birds of the region. I have carefully looked over others on the market.

Excellent book with very good graphics and organization. Just what is needed to confirm your observations or identify your sightings.

Now in a fully revised eighth edition, Newman's Birds Of Southern Africa is a field guide to 125 species of Southern African birds illustrated throughout with realistic full-color artwork. Each species has an entry with a map indicating their distribution, their common and scientific name, a brief paragraph with a basic physical description and notes on distinguishing characteristics, and a gorgeous, realistic color illustration. A revised introduction teaches the reader step-by-step how to use the guide to quickly identify avian species, and a glossary, index and birdwatching checklist round out this first-class resource. A treat for bird lovers due to the top-quality artistry alone, as well as being a quintessential identification guide, Newman's Birds Of Southern Africa is enthusiastically recommended for amateur birdwatchers and professional biologists alike.

I purchased this book at a Girls Night Out cooking demo in Charleston. Rebecca is as delightful in person as she comes across in the book. It takes you through the steps so you come out with a delicious product - the macaroni and cheese is to die for ---- just like my mom used to make. A must for those new to entertaining or seasoned cooks looking for great recipes to incorporate into their standard recipes

I love this book. I grew up in the same small town as Rebecca. Reading this book allowed allowed me to recall many of the recipes shared in this book. The entertaining style of Rebecca and those close to her is so familiar. I have purchased this book for several bridal showers. Rebecca did a great job of organizing the recipes and entertaining tips to make them easy for anyone to follow.

This cookbook is a gem - the author's style is warm and her recipes are absolutely fantastic, yet uncomplicated. I am an avid cook and try many new things, but these are truly some of the best. The creamed spinach is a special favorite (she includes chopped tomatoes...delicious!)

I am just learning to cook, and this book has worked perfectly for me! The dishes are easy to make and great for week night dinners as well as dinner parties!

Reviewed by Cynthia A. Olvera for Reader Views (7/07)

As a proud Southern Woman, entertaining friends and family is one of my greatest joys. As a young Southern Woman, "Rebecca Lang's Southern Entertaining for a New Generation" makes entertaining my friends and family as easy as making a cake (see page 174). And while the title directly addresses a new generation, I believe all generations of hosts/hostesses will benefit from this incredible book.

The pages are filled with great sections that will help anyone pull off the perfect party including wine basics, serving basics, and a great section that helps answer the age-old question "to RSVP, or not to RSVP." It even covers little problems that most hosts may overlook such as the appropriate flow of the party through your home and how to seat a table to maximize conversation for successful mingling.

The absolute BEST parts of the book are the timelines that help even the busiest people plan for parties of any size. It's FANTASTIC! Last month my best friend turned thirty, and, of course, we just had to throw her a surprise birthday party. All of sudden, however, our guest list jumped from 15 to 30, and almost overnight, it jumped to 45. Thanks to Rebecca's timelines, it didn't matter how many guests we were going to have, because we were prepared for them all! We held a fun Seafood Supper (see page 144), and followed all the recipes mentioned and we followed the timeline. The party was a huge success, and I believe it was not only the fantastic people in my home, but the superb timeline and information in this wonderful book.

Here are my final thoughts on "Rebecca Lang's Southern Entertaining for a New Generation" -- Southern cooking is special. It is traditional and usually passed from mothers to daughters or grandmothers to granddaughters. The fact that Rebecca has dedicated this book to her grandmother, and she has included many of the family recipes her grandmother passed to her, is nothing short of beautiful. It is a wonderful homage not only to her grandmother but to true Southern family tradition. I felt as though I was sitting across from Rebecca herself in my kitchen sharing stories....as Southern women do. Thank you Rebecca!

I have recommended "Rebecca Lang's Southern Entertaining for a New Generation" to many of my friends who are very pleased with their purchase, and if you enjoy the true Southern tradition of hosting in your home, whether it's an intimate dinner party or a large fiesta, you absolutely NEED this book.

I have all of the River Road books and this one is the best of the series. It is not only beautiful, with colorful picture, but it has a durable hard cover to sustain a long life. I can't wait to try the wonderful recipes inside.

I came into this marriage with a husband who had his own river road cookbooks. And a mother-in-law on the committee.... (who hates to cook- guess???) and I LOVE the first, despite the plastic comb, like the second, really appreciated the 3rd, (but healthy and cookbook don't go that well together), and this is a beauty.

I LOVE the hardback, killer format. The photos, and ESPECIALLY the stories. But come on you guys, it is starting to really LOSE the regional flavor that made the first so great. And ASIAN??? I mean, yes, you can get great Asian food almost anywhere now, but I buy regional cookbooks for the regional flair- thus knocked off one of the stars...

what I REALLY WANT to see is a 'BEST OF RIVER ROAD' with all the glitz of the last cookbook, and all the HEFT (number of regional recipes, I have enough Lasagna thanks very much) of the first.... PLEASE

This is my new favorite cookbook. Everything I have made from it has been wonderful. I especially love the recipes for crawfish pie, pecan praline bacon and spinach salad sandwiches. Plus it is a beautiful book. This is a must for all Southern cooks!

This new River Road Recipes is absolutely beautiful! The pictures are gorgeous and the text reads like a Louisiana traveloge. The recipes are new and current but still reflect the types of food people like to eat in Louisiana. Not the same old gumbo recipes but no weird ingredients you have to look up either. We are loving it.

This is a truly wonderful cookbook. It looks beautiful, is laid out well, and most importantly, has lots of terrific recipes. The recipes are not difficult, the ingredients are generally easy to find, and yet they all have that special flare that great southern cooks are known for. I'm buying a second copy to give to my sister-in-law. It is a great addition to your cookbooks and makes a great gift.

I can't believe how close I came to missing out on this wonderful book. I checked it out of the library and started reading it the day it was due, thinking, "I'll give it a page, then it's outtahere." I paid the late fee. Ziegler has created in Annie Bartlett one of the most poignant, hilarious and beautifully crafted characters I have ever met and plunks her down in a setting so seductive, nostalgic and rich I can't wait to go back there to breathe underwater again, and experience Annie's imagined transformation into a mermaid. Not only did I buy this book for myself, but I'm buying it as gifts from now on. And to think I almost gave it back.

Irene Zeigler's "Rules of the Lake" is written with a clean, simple style which goes hand in hand with the subjects the author has chosen. More elaborate prose would spoil the rural nature of these stories, and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings did something similar in "Cross Creek." But unlike Rawlings, Ms. Zeigler's narrative never becomes precious. It's a look into the past from a contemporary and adult perspective. The stories involve Annie, a preteen girl living on a lake in rural Florida. Annie watches her older sister, Leigh, experiencing adolescent angst, only to find herself suddenly facing it as well. Annie and Leigh's father is a central figure, equally charming and inept in both his relationships with his daughters and his various brainstorms which rarely amount to anything.

My favorite of the 13 stories is "The Raft," and its companion piece, "The Stranger." In these two tales, Ms. Ziegler fascinates her readers with a balance of power between the sexes. In "The Raft," Annie challenges a neighbor boy, Petey, to a swimming race. If she loses, she agrees to strip naked for him. Annie knows that she is more than capable of beating Petey, and so totally controls him. Yet she remains vulnerable to the siren song of compassion and sexual attraction. Ms. Zeigler creates a situation that is filled with feminine power, yet allows Aniie to give young Petey a thrill that's both visceral and vicarious at the same time. In "The Stranger," she subtly shifts the balance of power in Petey's favor. Now more mature, Petey is in far more control of Annie than in the previous story. But after a short time in her presence, she has a palpable impact. By the end of the story, they have a whole new relationship that's built on the foundation of the old and a promise for the future.

In its sensory details, Rules of the Lake recreates an earlier, largely undeveloped Central Florida. There's a backyard lake and an undiscovered natural spring. The pre-Disney tourist attractions are tacky. And in orange groves and the pleasures of fishing and walking barefoot, Irene's Ziegler's stories of childhood take the reader to a Florida that is now much harder to find. And, if that's all there was to the book, it would still be a pretty good read. But into this Florida Ziegler puts Annie Bartlett. To discover her is to rediscover the experience of being a child. Annie longs to be one of the popular girls with an ache that will make the reader relive terrible preadolescence. She longs to be loved by her father. She longs to understand adult mysteries that are as elusive as the shadows that swim in the backyard lake. And if the stories stopped there they'd be well worth reading. But of course there's more. The thread that holds together the stories and the images of Florida and Annie is the author's voice. It's a great voice. Sometimes it speaks in kid-real dialect and inner thoughts and sometimes it changes mid-sentence to deliver a zinger. Sometimes it's poetry. I saved my reading of Rules of the Lake for late evening just before sleep, and always closed the book with the "Ah!" of discovery.

I always know I've really enjoyed a book when I don't want it to end, as is the case with this book. I still want to know more about Annie's childhood and what happens to her as an adult. Ms. Ziegler's writing style is very real--she describes the tragedy and comedy of human nature in a down-to-Earth way. My very favorite story is about Annie's quest to become a Girl Scout. I laughed but also felt her pain. I hope Ms. Ziegler comes out with another book soon. I'll volunteer to be one of the first to read it. Thanks for taking me back to my own childhood.

I love this book.

When I finished it, I closed the book, took a deep breath, then opened it and read the prologue again: ("When my sister, Leigh, was in junior high and still enamored of Widow Lake, and I was in fourth grade and still enamored of Leigh...") I forced myself to put it down, and to wait a few days before reading it again. I am in the middle of my second reading as I write this.

Irene Ziegler has managed to bring to life the developing pre-adolescent Annie in such a delightful way. (One suspects that Ziegler was once a developing pre-adolescent girl herself, and that she was paying close attention to her feelings during that time.) She has a gift.

I normally read fast. But this book is a Slow Read. I felt the need to slow down, and to savor each sentence, each phrase, as I read it.

("Leigh?" I said through my tears. She drew near, her face close to mine. "Take me with you," I whispered, and in the single tear that moved in a slow, erratic path down her cheek, I saw my lonely, wounded self reflected.)

Thank you, Irene Ziegler. I love this book.

This is a good, informative book, but the title is misleading. It is actually an encyclopedia of general cooking knowledge with a few tips thrown in.

It has 5000 short articles, in alphabetical order, primarily on cooking ingredients and dishes, but also cooking techniques, equipment and a few recipes. The articles are from 2 lines to 1 page with an average of 9 per page. It calls them `secrets', but descriptions of basil and banana pepper are not secrets or tips. However, it does have a few sidebars that qualify as secrets and tips.

It spite of the misleading title, it is a good book and I recommend it. It has useful information for beginner to intermediate cooks. Because it is an encyclopedia, it is not a good choice for a book to just sit down and read or to learn cooking from. For that, try `Cooking' or `I'm Just Here for the Food'. It is most useful when you need to know something specific, such as how to knead bread, what is kosher salt or which knife to use.

Southern Living never lets me down. I have never tried a recipe from them that is not outstanding. This book with helpful hints and tips will be much used.

What a pleasant surprise!!!!!! Southern Living always publishes great cookbooks, which is exactly what I expected here. But, this really isn't a cookbook. It's a great reference book. The lay out is like a food dictionary with an alphabetical listing of cooking terms and ingredients and along the way there are recipes that accompany the ingredient or term being referenced. You will pull this one from the shelf over and over again.

By far one of the best books out there for people who find themselves in the kitchen alot. I have been cooking for too many years to count and I still reference this book frequently. Most of my friends and family own this book because I have recommended it or given it as a gift.

I've been cooking for 29 years and still find a need to use this book on a regular basic. I LOVE IT - no home should be without it!!!!

I am so impressed with this Junior League Cookbook! As everyone else says, it is beautiful, but the recipes is what makes it even more appealing to me. You will find the recipes in categories such as:
Appetizers and Beverages, Breads and Brunch, Soups and Salads, Side Dishes and Vegetables, Entrees, Seafood, and Desserts. It has 191 Pages of Scrumptious Recipes such as: Miniature Pastry Shells with Shrimp, Stuffed Mushrooms, Country Ham Rolls, Green Chili Bites, Blue Cheese Biscuits, Chili Bacon Breadsticks, Smoked Salmon Spread, Crab Cheese Dip, Black Bean Dip, Mango Salsa, Hot Mocha White Chocolate, Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread, Blueberry Bread, Mexican Corn Bread, Bacon Cheddar Scones, Almond Coffe Cake, Macadamia Banana French Toast, Artichoke Quiche, Crustless Crab Quiche, Basil Breakfast Strata, Breakfast Pizza, Cheesy Hash Browns, Homemade Granola, Mediterranean Seafood Stew, Pasta Fagioli, Chicken Corn Chowder, Chicken Lime Chili, Wild Rice Shrimp Salad, Cobb Pasta Salad, Asian Chicken Pasta Salad, Summer Corn and Black Bean Salad, Wasabi Potato Salad, Barley and Mushroom Casserole, Corn Souffle, Ratatouille, Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini, Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Mexican Chicken, Turkey Stroganoff, Shredded Pork, Bodacious Blue Cheese Burgers, Lemon Shrimp Casserole, Linguini and Clams, Baked Tilapia with Vegetables, Lemon Stuffed Baked Trout, Kahlua Cake, Molten Chocolate Cakes, Pumpkin Cake Roll, Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Iced Pound Cake with Chocolate Filling, Kahlua Brownies, and so much more! This is such an Excellent Cookbook, and if you have a chance to pick one up, I would definitely do it! It is worth every penny! You just can't go wrong on this Junior League Cookbook!

I think this book is the most beautiful cookbook I have ever seen. The organization of the cookbook is so helpful. My favorite part is the beautiful photographs from the area, as well as the helpful hints to cooking at the bottom of the pages.

Not only are the pictures gorgeous but it actually has recipes that are easy to prepare and look like you spent all day in the kitchen. A wonderful gift for all of your family and friends. Everything we have tried is absolutely delicious and your guests will leave wanting the recipes. This cookbook is one you can definitely use for years to come.

Just like the title says, the recipes in this book are simple, yet creative. I'm not a gourmet cook, but these wonderful recipes can make others think I am. I have a nice collection of League cookbooks and this may be the most beautiful, visually, and is certainly one of the best for variety of recipes. I've had success with a couple of desserts already and have made selections to serve on Christmas Day. Highly recommended and a great gift idea too.

If you collect cookbooks, this may be your favorite too. The pictures are frame-worthy, but the recipes are what keeps this book off my coffee table and in my kitchen.

Ruth Farley is a rock. She is stubborn. She is strong. She is self-centered. And she is as undeniably irresistible as the natural stone sculptures in Monument Valley.

Ruth ventures West, determined that she will not yield to society's limited expectations and dull conventions for women. She will live on her own in her beloved canyon. She will build her house where that huge boulder rests, the one two men have told her cannot be moved. She will have sex and enjoy it, thank you very much. She will do it all despite the cost to herself and her loved ones. And Ruth exhibits all this staunch feistiness in 1920s rural, tiny-town America.

In Ruth, novelist Susan Lang has created a character who arrests the reader's interest and refuses to free it. She is far more compelling and believable than another female character untypical of her time, Jane Smiley's Lidie of The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton. And she is as intriguing as Kate Horsley's Sara Franklin, another young woman who travels to the Southwest in Crazy Woman.

The novel's only flaw is that it seems a little rushed toward the end. But perhaps that is only because Ruth is so fascinating that we don't want to let her go.

A time, a place, a person, a community of settlers separated by miles of miles, a philosophy of spirit -- all flow forth in Susan Lang's quiet drama of survival in an untamed wilderness by an untamed woman.

Lang obviously knows her landscape of place and soul. She risks and sustains the characterization of a woman beyond her time, yet, within it, allowing her to make the mistakes such a woman could make in the era in which she makes them. The core standard of such a character is that she is better than she has to be while being no better than she needs to be, according to her own dictates.

The absolute strength of Lang's writing is her own intercourse with the mysterious and magnificent sensuality of comprehending a wilderness of land and being. She understands tiny things that, for her, and now for her readers, loom large.

The only thing I didn't love about this book is the fact that it kept me up late at night until I finished it. The writing just puts me right there, as if I'm watching it the way I would a movie, encountering bears and cowboys myself. I loved Ruth, too, the main character and enjoy her stubborn ways, even when she's finding out she has to change-which she does in some way, though not at her core. I like the way Lang has her trying to force her will on the land until she learns that the place has a spirit "stronger than that of a person." I only hope the author has another book around somewhere so I can find out what happens to Ruth next!

In 1929, barely 21 years old, Ruth Farley heads west and claims a homestead in an isolated canyon in Southern California, at that time still the land of rough-and-ready miners and cowboys. What is she looking for? She doesn't quite know, but she knows what she doesn't want - a conventional woman's life of settled domesticity. To her this means she must be totally self-sufficient and independent. Ruth is stubborn, brave, strong, and subject to fits of free-ranging lust that she is not always successful at keeping under control, although she makes weak attempts at it. With 21-year-old chutzpah, she has the delusion that she can spit in the eye of conventional norms for women without paying a high price for it, and she protects this delusion with a cavalier disregard for what people think of her.

Part of her delusion is that she can carve out an independent life for herself in an isolated mountain region without the help and support of neighbors, and a major early story line of the book is her stubborn insistence on moving, entirely alone, a boulder that must be removed before she can lay the foundation for her cabin. The boulder could be easily moved with the help of neighbors, or by using a couple of horses and rope to drag it to a new location, but Ruth is determined to do it herself. The story of her struggles with the boulder, and her eventual triumph over it, becomes a metaphor for Everywoman's struggle to achieve independence against overwhelming odds, and any woman who has learned from hard experience that "what doesn't kill us makes us strong" will identify deeply and emotionally with this element of the story.

Unfortunately, succeeding at moving the boulder by herself reinforces Ruth's delusion that she doesn't need anybody. The rest of the book is a harrowing account of what she pays for this delusion, coming close to death at the hands of violent men and again at the hands of Nature, and seeing the first true love of her life killed because she is a white woman who has taken an Indian lover. Ultimately, of course, she has to learn to see life, Nature, and people as they really are - complicated, unpredictable, sometimes violent, and sometimes unexplainably compassionate.

If the book has a weakness, it is that even though Ruth is complex and multifaceted, some of the other characters are rather flat - her Indian lover Jim, for example, is unbelievably flawless. But in the context of this compelling story, I wasn't bothered much by that. I was much more impressed by Lang's tackling of reality themes I seldom see novelists deal with: a woman struggling with the paybacks of unrestrained lust, for example.

True "literary" writing expresses the universal through the particular, and in my view this book may well become a classic parable of what we pay, men as well as women, for defying cultural norms, and what we must do to come to terms with those norms without losing our truest Selves in the process.

Susan Lang does the impossible in her book, Small Rocks Rising. The story is as big, bulky, and unwieldy as the boulder her main character, Ruth Farely, encounters in Chapter One, while the writing is frequently as polished as any gemstone.
Amid fast action and female lust, there is the slow revealing of Ruth's background. The complex composition of Ruth's character comes from her half-breed mother, a strong-willed aunt, two years of finishing school, training to be a nurse---and the will to be free of it all.
This novel rings with the authenticity of place, and of a woman's unambiguous sexual longings. In Ruth's insightful self-talk and dreaming, there hangs the reality of a woman alone. She is impatient with life and all the people she encounters in her struggle to forge a place for herself in the wilderness. Ruth is an unconventional woman whose thoughts and actions are well ahead of her time. Her courage is matched only by her desires.
As the novel reveals Ruth's story, it also reveals a parallel to the male myth of passage, initiation into adulthood. Ruth experiences the trials of being alone in the extremes of nature, life-sapping heat to freezing snowstorms. She also encounters the extremes of the nature of men---violent to tender. She loses her way in the wilderness of the mountains and her own desires to discover she has the resources not only to survive, but to overcome all that nature, and man, has to throw at her.
Overall, the novel is a great read. Let's hope there is more.

I had only limited knowledge of this subject in that I had interest in a few of the Artists that I knew were represented in the book before purchasing it. I was amazed at the quality of the reproductions and the text included. There are multiple reproductions for each Artist giving you a great basis to explore the development of their work. I now feel that I can really grasp a personal knowledge of these Artists and it great to have fantastic examples of Art that is now due to market demands and deteriorating mediums impossible to own.
This book is probably the best investment I have ever made. It will go straight to the top shelf. Do yourself a favour and buy it.

The first volume of Souls Grown Deep is an essential book for any American folk art collector. Many of the great African American folk artists of the 20th century are covered and all have a short write up and some pictures. The only problem is that some artists get short change with a one paragraph write up (really short) and 2 or 3 small images on a single page. Clementine Hunter for example, gets this treatment. And Mose Tolliver gets much more space than Bill Traylor, possibly because most of the artwork shown is from the author's own folk art collection, but apparently the author doesn't have many Bill Traylor artworks compared to Mose T's. But it's such a large book that it will still be required for any folk art library. Beware, the second volume is just as big but seems like an entire book of filler. There are some interesting artists presented, but overall the quality isn't as high as the first volume. Perhaps because the artists in the 1st volume are already "established"' it's easier to see their place in folk art history whereas the artists in volume 2 are still relatively new. Both books have high production values in paper and binding. My recommendation is definitely buy volume 1, but be careful of volume 2.

Combine the literay precision of John Stuart Mill with the passion of W. B. Yeats, pour over the artistic brilliance of Cezanne and Rothko and infuse the philosophical profundity of Kant and Aristotle; the result is the monumental genius of Souls Grown Deep. An epic achievement, William and Paul Arnett's masterpiece transports the reader deep into southern America in which a genre of art is explored that rivals, if not puts to shame, any existing work anywhere in the world. Souls Grown Deep is a necessity for any individual even remotely concerned with understanding the very first thing about art.

This book is a marvel in both production quality and content. If ever a set of books deserved the "tome" designation, this set wins big. They opened my eyes to a world I hoped existed but feared did not. I have long appreciated and understood the contributions of African Americans in the arts, but often wondered why the visual arts traditions hadn't reached the heights that the music (blues, jazz, gospel, hip hop, R&B, Rock n' Roll), literary, athletic, fashion, theater, etc.. reached? I have also always been dismayed that many of the great African Americans have had to leave the south, and often this country, to receive recognition at all. It is an old story that is far to common. These books tell a different story. The art work is of the highest caliber, and often created with the humblest of materials?found wood, roots, house paint, discarded materials?yet the artists find ways to make the most glorious objects. It was certainly a revelation to see work that would rival what I see in the many museums in town, made by men and women who don't seem to have any regard, or perhaps knowledge, of these institutions. Work made for themselves, their families, or their communities enjoyment and education. The true meaning of art. It would be impossible for me to say which book I prefer. Both were so eye opening. Now that I have both, I can't imagine not having either. I hope that these volumes will find their way into the libraries and schools across America, for they tell a story that has long been unkown, which is unfortunate. Or, I fear, ignored, which is tragic. Kudos to both, and I hope that there will be a Volume 3. I must add that if you are interested in the "real" American story, history, art (of any kind), then these books are a must read (and look). And as a lover and collector of Twentieth Century art, I realize I have not been, up until now, told the WHOLE truth.

Gorgeous photos and very high quality printing and paper. The artwork is very interesting and continues to offer surprises further and further into the book. I enjoyed the stories and recollections of the artists which added a personal and human side to the visual splendor. The editors' own energy and passion for the subject matter shines through. This is a rare gift I will go back to time and time again.