South to America

A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation

By: Imani Perry

Narrated by: Imani Perry

“An elegant meditation on the complexities of the American South—and thus of America—by an esteemed daughter of the South and one of the great intellectuals of our time. An inspiration.”

—Isabel Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

An essential, surprising journey through the history, rituals, and landscapes of the American South—and a revelatory argument for why you must understand the South in order to understand America

We all think we know the South. Even those who have never lived there can rattle off a list of signifiers: the Civil War, Gone with the Wind, the Ku Klux Klan, plantations, football, Jim Crow, slavery. But the idiosyncrasies, dispositions, and habits of the region are stranger and more complex than much of the country tends to acknowledge. In South to America, Imani Perry shows that the meaning of American is inextricably linked with the South, and that our understanding of its history and culture is the key to understanding the nation as a whole.

This is the story of a Black woman and native Alabaman returning to the region she has always called home and considering it with fresh eyes. Her journey is full of detours, deep dives, and surprising encounters with places and people. She renders Southerners from all walks of life with sensitivity and honesty, sharing her thoughts about a troubling history and the ritual humiliations and joys that characterize so much of Southern life.

Weaving together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences, Imani Perry crafts a tapestry unlike any other. With uncommon insight and breathtaking clarity, South to America offers an assertion that if we want to build a more humane future for the United States, we must center our concern below the Mason-Dixon Line.

©2022 Imani Perry (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Like a wandering conversation with a friend

Perry’s reflective book is full of powerful insights and useful details. I especially appreciate her honest sharing of what it was like to travel as a well-off Black U.S. Southerner in other places of deep racial conflict. Her willingness to press past romantic interpretations and look for deeper meanings, such as the challenges of socialist Cuba, are important. The book feels like an enjoyable deep and rambling conversation with a good friend; there were points that I wished for a bit more connective tissue between themes and stories, something that can be explored in a conversation, but which is harder in a book. Still, highly recommended.

Thoughtful

Thank you! So interesting and thought provoking. Learned so much about the history of the US and interconnections with other parts of the world.

totally engrossing

i so much enjoyed the multidimensional travel through the south as i will never know it. thanks for sharing

Outstanding!!!

Simply a great performance and piece of literature! I immediately purchased a hard copy… so looking forward to a second reading. As a man, born & raised in the South, this hit especially close. Just beautiful & true!

It cuts

At the intersection of history and poetry, there is Imani Perry and this book. Thank you.

Required reading

Every American should read this book and be changed by it. I learner much from this book,

Best history lesson ever!

Really enjoyed this in depth journey. I suggest you take your time me and let the history soak in.

Audio Made it so Much Better

Our book club selected this book and for me after reading the first third, it was a hard read. Having the author read the book gave it a whole different perspective for me and I was able to visualize through her eyes. Great performance and so glad I gave the book a second chance this way

Fantastic personal stories and well researched history

I absolutely loved this book. Perry’s inclusion of her own history accompanied by well researched and told history of the US South makes for an outstanding and recommended read!

Perhaps this isn’t what you expected and that’s the gift.

This book is beautiful, painful, familiar, and vexing, as it should be. As the south, which is my home too, most certainly is. Imani Perry has created an important work, offering us a vital perspective with which we may come to understand more fully ourselves and our history.