All Clever Men (C)

In "All Clever Men, Who Make Their Way," Michael O'Brien, one of the best historians studying intellectuals in the Old South, compiled a number of reviews, articles, essays and diary entries from some of the premier thinkers of the antebellum South. This book is sorely needed. Flip through some of the anthologies of American literature and you will see the early 19th century part dominated by Northerners with Poe (and maybe Simms) as the only Southern writer. The book starts with an informative, and sometimes surprisingly fun and light, introduction by O'Brien. This is followed by quick biographical sketches and then the primary material. While most readers will have never heard of any of the writers, some specialists will be able to recognize a few of the names-Hugh Legare, James H. Thornwell, Louisa McCord. While O'Brien argues that the Southern intellectuals were, like their counterparts in the North and Europe, shaped by Romanticism, he lets the collected pieces speak for themselves. Be warned. This book does not touch that much on slavery and the coming of the Civil War. I once had the severe displeasure of reading an entire collection of pieces on the Civil War without anything from any Southerner. Look one does not have to like the fire-eaters, secessionists, defenders of slavery etc. but you will not be able to understand the Civil War without at least looking at them. For that look at the anthology edited by Drew Gilpin Faust. Still, for a sampling on Southern thought before the Civil War, this book remains an excellent introduction.