Honor and Slavery

Rating:
Summary: Excellent look at the importance of honor in the Old South.
Review: Greenberg has written an informative and entertaining book on the importance of honor among men of the Old South. He is able to link such diverse topics as P.T. Barnum and the Feejee Mermaid, duels, men dressed as women, nose-pulling, and baseball to the idea of honor. He theorizes that the emphasis of this idea is rooted slavery and the fact that slaves had no honor. While he accurately describes the playing out of honor in everyday white Southern life, the notion that this all found a basis in slavery is somewhat difficult to heartily agree to. Certainly other factors played a part of honor's development such as religion, heritage, politics, etc. Despite this, the book is very entertaining and would be enjoyed by both the serious student of Southern history and the average reader wanting to learn more about Southern life.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book for Casual Readers and Historians Alike
Review: Greenberg's book addresses some of the more quirky aspects of old Southern culture. I first read this book for an Old South class. I found the sections on dueling so interesting that I became a history major and am now composing my thesis on Dueling in America. The most appealing aspect of this work is that it is simaltenously entertaining and scholarly. So many books addressing this topic are lacking in scholarly merit, without footnotes and bibliography. THis book is a pleasant alternative. I particulary enjoyed the few pages about John Randolph.

Rating:
Summary: shallow psychology
Review: This book is based more on psychological theory then hard fact. The author's attempt to explain why southerners allegedly did not like baseball is laughable. Greenburg would have been better served to do more solid research, as there actually were a lot of southern baseball teams. Still, it's always fun to read about the Jeff Davis in drag story.