The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South
By Clint Johnson
Regnery Publishing
Reviewed by J. Keith Jones

This book usually garners a knee jerk reaction. The politically correct and the anti-Southern factions often will reflexively tense up and shake their fingers saying, “how dare Johnson write a book like this.” Well that is unfortunate because this is a book that should be read by all that wish to understand the South and those with real Southern roots. Johnson begins the book with an apropos quote, the famous one from Faulkner about the past not being dead in the South. I won’t reproduce it here since I have read that the Faulkner estate has been known to sue people for using it without permission. This review is hardly worth paying a licensing fee, but the quote clearly fits with this book.

I jokingly have stated that this book should be required reading for any northerner before being granted a visa or green-card to live or work in the South. This is only half joking, since it would prosper anyone greatly who wants to understand the Southern mind and the Southern way of life. You see, the more the media establishment attempts to eradicate Southern heritage and the Southern way of life, the more those with Southern blood dig their heels in. Johnson does the non-Southerner a favor by taking you into the Southern mind and giving you a good old tour and by the end, you will thank him. Upon finishing this book, the reader will better understand what Southerners are trying to hold onto and why they are so determined to do so. In fact, you just might understand so well that not only will you not want to destroy all things Southern, you just might want to become a Southerner yourself.