In considering the pleasures and absurdities of her native culture, Julia Reed quotes another Southern writer, Willie Morris, who said, “It’s the juxtapositions that get you down here.” These juxtapositions are, for Julia, the soul of the South, and in this warmhearted and funny new book she chronicles her adventures through the highs and the lows of Southern life―taking us everywhere from dive bars and the Delta Hot Tamale Festival to a coveted seat on a Mardi Gras float. She writes about the region’s music and food, its pesky critters and prodigious drinking habits, its inhabitants’ penchant for making their own fun―and, crucially, their gift for laughing at themselves.