My Southern Journey

I cannot deny it: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is a collection of short articles by Bragg that appeared in various magazines, especially Southern Living. Probably my enjoyment was enhanced by the fact that I listened to the audio version, narrated by Bragg himself in his Alabama drawl.

But apart from the drawl, the writing is excellent. Not only is Bragg a wonderful storyteller, he's got a gift for the Southern metaphor, and the whole thing oozes charm.

Having said that, most Southern writers tend to glorify the Southern mystique, and it does get rather tiresome, as if there's nothing at all interesting about the North. In fact, from time to time I was annoyed (mildly) when Bragg would take a jab at Yankees (of which I'm one, although I live in the nominally Southern state of Virginia), but then he would take just as many jabs at the foibles of Southerners, and that evened it all out.

One more criticism, but not enough to lose a star: too much about Alabama football.