The South Through Time: A History of an American Region, Volume II

by John B. Boles

Incorporating the enormous amount of very sophisticated revisionist scholarship that has appeared over the past 25 years, this book provides a consistent, overall reinterpretation of southern history — from Reconstruction to the present (1997) — offering a less fact-filled, more narrative and more interpretative approach that expands the concept of southern history both chronologically and geographically. Reflects the author's first-hand familiarity with the newest scholarship — as the editor of the Journal of Southern History and co-editor of a major study of southern historiography, Interpreting Southern History. Explains why things happened the way they did rather than just telling what happened. Tells more about the entire South — not just the eastern seaboard. Introduces and explores new research on topics such as women's history, the rise of sharecropping, the cause of Populism, and the impact of World War II. Features better, more extensive coverage of blacks and women than earlier histories of the South. Offers insights gained by what is now called a “gendered analysis.” Explores southern environmental history — including flora and fauna, pesticides and pollution, and attempts to shape the landscape. Discusses the recent South (politics, urban and economic growth, cultural change) through the summer of 1997 — drawing on the newest monographic, periodical, and newspaper documentation. For anyone interested in the history of the South or Southern civilization.

Genres: History, American History

252 pages, Paperback

First published December 28, 1994

About the author

John B. Boles is an American historian who retired as the William P. Hobby Professor of American History at Rice University in 2019. Born in Houston, Texas, he grew up in a rural, racially segregated Bible Belt town where his family farmed cotton and later raised chickens. Raised in a staunchly Baptist household, Boles’ early experiences shaped his later research in Southern social history. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Rice University in 1965 and a PhD from the University of Virginia in 1969. Boles began his academic career at Towson State University, later teaching at Tulane University before joining Rice University in 1981, where he held prominent chairs and contributed extensively to scholarship. He authored numerous books on the social history of the Southern United States, including religious, black, and women’s history, and edited multiple volumes. Boles served as editor of the Journal of Southern History for over 30 years and was president of the Southern Historical Association in 2017-18. His 2017 biography Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty is widely regarded as a definitive one-volume study of Thomas Jefferson.

Reviews

[Tom Darrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good survey of the history of the south. Easy to read, well researched and has numerous useful maps, charts and pictures. A note on the page count... 613 pages is for both volumes together. This volume is only about 250 pages total.