From the Tidewater through Appalachia, down the Blue Ridge country and into the sunbelt, B. C. Hall and C. T. Wood take us through the American South, inviting us to listen to its music--blues, country, gospel, and rock--and to the voices that have shaped its extraordinary, distinctive literature. Interweaving interviews with people both ordinary and famous with thought-provoking reflections on Southern life, history, politics, humor, religion, and cultural icons, The South is a matchless, impressionistic portrait of a people and a place.