Plain Folk of the South provides interesting and thought-provoking insights into the yeomen of the Old South. Each essay attacks a different subject with fresh zeal and uncovers new findings. Although one may not agree with the writer's conclusions, one cannot put read this book without learning something new. This collection of essays is a "must-read" for scholars of the Old South.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in southern history with at least one qualification. This is a rather serious work. The book is a collection of thirteen historiographical essays on a broad range of southern historical topics. Because it is a late eighties publication, a good deal of the most recent scholarship is reflected in its pages. If its a quick read on southern history you want, this may not be the book. If you want to understand what historians have said over the years about southern history (a must for graduate students), then this is definitely your book. I recently purchased the book knowing shamefully little about southern historiography, and now consider the book indespensible, without substitute.