Gerald W. Johnson of North Carolina and Baltimore was one of the most
prominent American journalists of the twentieth century and one of the
outstanding essayists of any age. The author of some three dozen books
of history, biography, and commentary on American politics and culture,
he was an editorial writer for the Baltimore Sunpapers from 1926 to
1943, a contributing editor of the New Republic from 1954 until his
death in 1980, and an advocate of liberal causes for half a century.
Johnson was, as Adlai Stevenson said, "the conscience of America."
Before Johnson examined the health of America, however, he examined the
health of the South--and generally, in the 1920s, he found it poor. The
revival of the Ku Klux Klan, the Scopes trial, the anti-Catholicism
sparked by Al Smith's presidential candidacy, and the labor violence of
1929 made the South the nation's number one news item, reinforcing the
national image of a Savage South.
In South-Watching, Fred Hobson contends that Johnson's most important
accomplishment was his role as brilliant critic and interpreter of
Southern life during this crucial stage in the making of a modern
Southern mind. This volume is the first collection of Johnson's essays
about the South, and Hobson's perceptive introduction is the first
biographical treatment of a man whose vision shaped the destiny of his
native region.
Originally published in 1983.
A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the
latest in digital technology to make available again books from our
distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions
are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in
affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and
cultural value.
