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High Cotton: Four Seasons in the Mississippi Delta
In this dirt-under-the-fingernails portrait of a year in the life of a present day cotton farmer, Gerard Helferich captures the hope and heartache that collide under the scorching sun of the Mississippi Delta. High Cotton follows small-time farmer Zack Killebrew through the annual cycle of planting, laying by, and picking, as he struggles to defend his crop from perennial menaces such as insects and drought, and against the twenty-first-century threat of globalization.
In the course of his tumultuous year Zack teeters between the promise of a six-figure payoff and the threat of financial ruin. Then, as the harvest nears and the delicate cotton is at its most vulnerable, two hurricanes named Katrina and Rita come ashore on the Gulf Coast and steam toward the Delta.
Interwoven with Zack's narrative is the rich history of cotton, a crop dating back to ancient India, Egypt, and Mexico. In America cotton played a pivotal role, fostering the spread of slavery, fueling the tensions that led to the Civil War, and setting the pattern of race relations for the better part of two centuries. Even today the United States remains the world's leading exporter of cotton, and the humble plant still shapes our literal and social landscape.
Combining personal narrative, a palpable sense of place, and a meticulous attention to process, High Cotton documents the farming life in the Mississippi Delta, "the South's South," with precision, honesty, and much affection.
In the course of his tumultuous year Zack teeters between the promise of a six-figure payoff and the threat of financial ruin. Then, as the harvest nears and the delicate cotton is at its most vulnerable, two hurricanes named Katrina and Rita come ashore on the Gulf Coast and steam toward the Delta.
Interwoven with Zack's narrative is the rich history of cotton, a crop dating back to ancient India, Egypt, and Mexico. In America cotton played a pivotal role, fostering the spread of slavery, fueling the tensions that led to the Civil War, and setting the pattern of race relations for the better part of two centuries. Even today the United States remains the world's leading exporter of cotton, and the humble plant still shapes our literal and social landscape.
Combining personal narrative, a palpable sense of place, and a meticulous attention to process, High Cotton documents the farming life in the Mississippi Delta, "the South's South," with precision, honesty, and much affection.
308 pages, Hardcover
First published June 5, 2007
2 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Gerard Helferich
12 books10 followersGerard Helferich, a former editor and publisher, is the author of "Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Latin American Journey That Changed the Way We See the World." He lives with his wife in Yazoo City, Mississippi, and San Miguel Allende, Mexico.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 31, 2021
3.5 stars
An interesting book about modern-day American farming. The author is originally from upstate New York but married a woman from the Mississippi Delta, and spends a year following her cousin Zack through a cotton-farming year there. Woven through the drama of modern-day farm life is an overview of cotton’s role in the history of the United States: as the author presents it, slavery might have died a natural death had cotton’s profitability not exploded in the early 19th century; after the Civil War, the need for labor in the fields led to sharecropping (which at least at first the former slaves preferred to being wage laborers under the control of some boss); and the mechanization of farming coincided with the great migration of African-Americans out of the South. By 2005, the year this book is set, Zack farms about 1,700 acres of cotton, corn and beans with the help of just four employees, two of them part-time—and his operation is considered small by farm standards. Everything is done on a large scale and by machine (usually someone driving a tractor), though that age-old farming problem, bad weather, still causes trouble, particularly since this book is set in the year of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Nothing mindblowing about this book, which is pretty much what I expected, but it’s interesting and quite readable (except maybe that milling chapter that describes in detail the assembly-line machines that turn cotton into thread!). There’s some good storytelling in the farmer-Zack sections, and looking at the history of the U.S. through the lens of cotton turned out interesting; there’s something to be said for a history of a single thing, done well. I’m still a bit confused about why it’s difficult for Zack to compete with West African farmers planting two acres of cotton by hand (sadly economics is not my strongest subject), particularly given the scale of his operation and the massive (by normal American standards) government subsidies he receives. But I came into this without any real idea how modern American farms operate, so I learned a fair bit and enjoyed my time with it.
An interesting book about modern-day American farming. The author is originally from upstate New York but married a woman from the Mississippi Delta, and spends a year following her cousin Zack through a cotton-farming year there. Woven through the drama of modern-day farm life is an overview of cotton’s role in the history of the United States: as the author presents it, slavery might have died a natural death had cotton’s profitability not exploded in the early 19th century; after the Civil War, the need for labor in the fields led to sharecropping (which at least at first the former slaves preferred to being wage laborers under the control of some boss); and the mechanization of farming coincided with the great migration of African-Americans out of the South. By 2005, the year this book is set, Zack farms about 1,700 acres of cotton, corn and beans with the help of just four employees, two of them part-time—and his operation is considered small by farm standards. Everything is done on a large scale and by machine (usually someone driving a tractor), though that age-old farming problem, bad weather, still causes trouble, particularly since this book is set in the year of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Nothing mindblowing about this book, which is pretty much what I expected, but it’s interesting and quite readable (except maybe that milling chapter that describes in detail the assembly-line machines that turn cotton into thread!). There’s some good storytelling in the farmer-Zack sections, and looking at the history of the U.S. through the lens of cotton turned out interesting; there’s something to be said for a history of a single thing, done well. I’m still a bit confused about why it’s difficult for Zack to compete with West African farmers planting two acres of cotton by hand (sadly economics is not my strongest subject), particularly given the scale of his operation and the massive (by normal American standards) government subsidies he receives. But I came into this without any real idea how modern American farms operate, so I learned a fair bit and enjoyed my time with it.
February 5, 2015
Briskly paced, clearly organized and compulsively readable, which is saying a lot considering how much technical information the book contains, High Cotton starts with the ancient, rich soil of the Mississippi River plain and travels through three centuries of colonial and American history till Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Delta in 2005. It tells the story of cotton farming and how it shaped the culture and economy of the United States by focusing on a single year on a single farm in northwestern Mississippi. The book covers everything from the nature of cotton seeds to the way thread is loomed from cotton fiber, but the heart of the story is the particular farmer at its center, with all the anxieties and pleasures he finds in the farming life. The author often surprises with his poetic descriptions of light and landscape.
January 19, 2021
This engaging ethnographic portrait of a Mississippi Delta cotton farmer skillfully weaves together patient observation, political economy, and science to show the stresses on a fading way of life in an impoverished place.
November 9, 2021
Even if you never thought you cared about “the fabric of our lives,” I can near about promise you will find this book fascinating. High Cotton is a compelling look at the cotton trade and a region told through the experience of Mississippi Delta farmer Zach Killebrew through a year of planting, catastrophic weather (the author shadowed Killebrew the year that Katrina devastated the state), worrying, strategizing, and harvesting that iconic crop.
Interwoven (pun intended) through Killebrew’s story is the history of cotton in the region, which is largely a tale of racial inequality and injustice, as well as the government’s involvement in the industry.
As a Mississippian, I am trying to learn more about my state, and this was such a well-written and informative read.
Interwoven (pun intended) through Killebrew’s story is the history of cotton in the region, which is largely a tale of racial inequality and injustice, as well as the government’s involvement in the industry.
As a Mississippian, I am trying to learn more about my state, and this was such a well-written and informative read.
December 29, 2018
With a year in the life of a Mississippi cotton farmer as a base, this book connects cotton to US History and world economics all while telling the quite harrowing story of the journey of cotton in the fields to the clothing we wear.
July 9, 2020
An easy read and personal tale of a challenging way of life. I appreciate the drive to farm, despite the hardships. And the complexity of this farming and its ecological consequences and unsustainable nature.
March 22, 2008
I bought this because it's very rare for me to see books about the Mississippi Delta in bookstores here in Florida, and I felt that anyone who was going to write about the subject should be encouraged. But frankly I thought that it might turn out to be a little boring, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this wasn't the case.
Mr. Helferich has a fluid and engaging writing style. He supplied background on both the Delta's history and the modern methods of growing cotton - quite helpful for someone clueless on these subjects - but most importantly he wrote a very human story. I was caught up in the farmer Zack's life and now I'm wondering what happened to him after the book ended.
I think anyone interested in the South, Southern history or agriculture would find this book a good read.
Mr. Helferich has a fluid and engaging writing style. He supplied background on both the Delta's history and the modern methods of growing cotton - quite helpful for someone clueless on these subjects - but most importantly he wrote a very human story. I was caught up in the farmer Zack's life and now I'm wondering what happened to him after the book ended.
I think anyone interested in the South, Southern history or agriculture would find this book a good read.
April 20, 2014
This book was interesting. It followed Zack Killebrew for a year as he grows cotton, corn and siybeans. Not only do you learn what cotton farming is all about but the history behind the cotton, before and after the Civil War, and the plight of the Negroes, from slaves to sharecroppers to free men.
You learned the biology of the cotton plant, and the pests that lived off the plants such as the boll weevil and the boll worm.
The third factor was economics--how did the farmers such as Zack survive when the weather turned against them such as Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
For anyone wanting to learn about the Mississippi Delta and its history, this is a must read.
It was well written and easy to understand. I learned a lot about our history and the cotton plant.
You learned the biology of the cotton plant, and the pests that lived off the plants such as the boll weevil and the boll worm.
The third factor was economics--how did the farmers such as Zack survive when the weather turned against them such as Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.
For anyone wanting to learn about the Mississippi Delta and its history, this is a must read.
It was well written and easy to understand. I learned a lot about our history and the cotton plant.
December 6, 2007
Wasn't sure whether I would find this book engaging--I'm not from the South and don't know anything about cotton other than that I like wearin' it--but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The author does a great job of bringing all the drama and risk inherent in the cotton farming lifestyle to the page, and does so with the help of a very sympathetic character in Zack Killebrew. Not just a true portrait of one man's annual tangle with the elements, with his machinery, with his not-always-reliable help and with his surroundings, the book delves deeply into social and historical issues of the South, from slavery and sharecropping to the history of the cotton industry. Definitely a great read.
March 26, 2009
Interesting book about cotton farming, race, and the Mississippi Delta. Author follows a farmer through one growing season, which happens to coincide with hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A little too much detail on the many, many machines involved in growing, harvesting, and ginning cotton.
July 5, 2009
I live in a cotton growing region of Texas and bought this book to understand the technology, seasons, problems etc. It fit the bill. It was fun also to follow the author around on GoogleEarth.
August 26, 2010
A great book on cotton - growing, society, economics.
January 21, 2013
Excellent, well written. Kudos to Helferich.
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January 7, 20127.66 Rating (Jane)
June 5, 2014
Like any book that hones in on one item, this one tends to take its subject to be the be-all-end-all for all of Mississippi Delta history. It's interesting, but a little too narrow minded.
April 11, 2023
Very very dry........ hard to get through
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews