Alabama Getaway: The Political Imaginary and the Heart of Dixie

Politics and Culture in the Twentieth-Century South

by Allen Tullos, Bryant Simon (Editor), Jane Dailey (Editor)

In Alabama Getaway Allen Tullos explores the recent history of one of the nation's most conservative states to reveal its political imaginary--the public shape of power, popular imagery, and individual opportunity.From Alabama's largely ineffectual politicians to its miserly support of education, health care, cultural institutions, and social services, Tullos examines why the state appears to be stuck in repetitive loops of uneven development and debilitating habits of judgment. The state remains tied to fundamentalisms of religion, race, gender, winner-take-all economics, and militarism enforced by punitive and defensive responses to criticism. Tullos traces the spectral legacy of George Wallace, ponders the roots of anti-egalitarian political institutions and tax structures, and challenges Birmingham native Condoleezza Rice's use of the civil rights struggle to justify the war in Iraq. He also gives due coverage to the state's black citizens who with a minority of whites have sustained a movement for social justice and democratic inclusion. As Alabama competes for cultural tourism and global industries like auto manufacturing and biomedical research, Alabama Getaway asks if the coming years will see a transformation of the "Heart of Dixie."

Genres: Nonfiction

380 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2011

Reviews

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

way too stuck in the second half of the 20th century for me but i guess we have to write about the world we know. this is a very thorough overview of the especial weirdness that is alabama politics, cut with a solid knowledge of the state's place in the cultural id. a little too newspaper-columnist-y in its insistence on adjectival qualifications, and dad-sweaty overwriting, but valuable as a repository of info. like, if you wanted to talented mr ripley as someone who grew up in alabama, you could use this book to reverse-engineer the political consciousness of a native. unclear who your dickie is, but do your thing man

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A frank, intricate, lovingly crafted criticism of "the sez-you state" by an expat historian who made his own "Alabama Getaway" to Atlanta, GA, to teach at Emory. Tullos weaves an opinionated yet fact-rich yarn on the political and economic stagnation in the state in the past century or so, incorporating many juicy details in a way that elbows you and says, "You won't believe what happened next."

A quick read this book is not. But, as an expat I found Alabama Getaway immensely helpful in reconciling the Alabama I grew up with and the Alabama that exists to the rest of the world. I would recommend it for folks who have the fortitude to read 300 pages about just how fucked up Alabama's political and economic situation truly is.

If nothing else, this book is a well-argued plea for constitutional reform and major changes to the tax structures for the state of Alabama. The slowly growing progressive movement in Alabama may find this book's analysis useful as a handbook of what NOT to do to make truly lasting change in a place that tries its best to stay the very same.