Dixie: A Personal Odyssey Through Events That Shaped the Modern South

by Curtis Wilkie

In this riveting political and social history of the American South during the second half of the twentieth century, acclaimed journalist Curtis Wilkie tells the story of a region and a man -- himself -- intimately transformed by racial and political upheavals. In 1969, in the wake of the violence surrounding the civil rights movement, Wilkie left the South and vowed never to live there again. But after traveling the world as a reporter, he returned in 1993, drawn by a deep-rooted affinity with the territory of his youth. Here, he endeavors to make sense of the enormous changes that have convulsed the South for more than four decades. Through vivid recollections of landmark events, Dixie becomes both a striking eyewitness account of history and an unconventional tale of redemption full of beauty, humor, and pathos.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Curtis Wilkie is a Mississippi-born journalist, author, and professor who has chronicled the changing South since 1963. During his career, Wilkie also covered presidential campaigns, the White House, the Middle East, and major events of the twentieth century in both the United States and abroad.

Reviews

[Brandon Kriplean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for anyone interested in a quick, yet personal, survey of modern events that have shaped the South!

[Joel Coon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As most of the events in this book take place in my hometown area of McComb and Summit Mississippi, I was particularly interested in it. The detailed descriptions of the culture were shockingly accurate.

[Okralaw]

One of the best books I've ever read about the New South.

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I was going to love this. Curtis has such incredible stories to tell & such a way of telling them. He makes me a proud Mississippian and I am so thankful to know him.

[Virginia McGee Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curtis Wilkie’s book Dixie, chosen by a member of our Mississippi writer’s book group in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (lovingly called OLLI), became a trip down memory lane for me. Covering the second half of the twentieth century, the book is part memoir, part Mississippi political history, and entirely interesting.

I made personal connections early as the book began with his ancestry in Toccopola, where my father once served as pastor of the Baptist church, and the author’s own childhood upbringing in Summit – not that far from where I live today in Hattiesburg. Threaded throughout are Mississippi governors’ races where his family voted with mine for candidates classified as “moderates,” his attendance at Ole Miss one year behind me, and even a mention of his friendship with a high school classmate of my sister’s.

After his graduation, he returned to the Delta as a journalist and became involved with many leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Eventually, he became disenchanted with the progress of Mississippi toward equality and moved away to continue his journalism in what seemed to be a more inviting environment, intending never to return. The draw of Mississippi with all its flaws, was strong for Curtis Wilkie, as it has been for many of her children who thought themselves ready to leave for good. The story of how he wandered and how he returned home is filled with a myriad of emotions in a readable account of the history of the period.

I recommend the book for its accurate view from a personal standpoint at this time in the recent past even if you have no connections to Mississippi – and especially if you do.

[Justin Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I have to plead bias. A good portion takes place in Clarksdale, MS (my hometown).

Wilkie worked as a journalist in the Mississippi Delta in the 1960s. He went on to work for the Boston Globe where he covered Jimmy Carter's campaign and did a stint as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East. It is an interesting memoir by a journalist who reported on many of the significant events that happened in the second half of the 20th century.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I came home to be with my people.”

[Gary Beene · Rating 5 out of 5]

DIXIE was published in 2002, it, therefore, doesn’t cover more recent events that shaped the “modern south” of 2019. However, the surprising results of the special senatorial elections in Alabama and Mississippi made me start thinking about Curtis Wilkie’s excellent memoir. I read DIXIE in about 2010. While reading it, I realized that many of us who grew up during the voter rights / civil rights struggles of the 1960s and 1970s, probably had the experience of witnessing and perhaps even participating in the movement, yet may have missed the meaning.
______________
The following is an excerpt of a review by Steve Neal (Chicago Sun-Times and author of HARRY AND IKE):

“Curtis Wilkie’s DIXIE is a worthy companion to William Alexander Percy’s LANTERNS ON THE LEVEE and Willie Morris’s NORTH TOWARD HOME. In the tradition of these classics, DIXIE is both memoir and social history, and it is written with candor, honesty, and fresh insights. The author is particularly good at showing how the old order gave way to change in the nation’s most fascinating region. For anyone interested in the Southern experience, Wilkie’s DIXIE is essential reading”
_____________
Recent events have shown that the struggle for the right to vote and equal protection under the law is far from over. That being the case, now is a good time to read or reread Wilkie’s witty and often heart-wrenching personal memoir of his own coming of age in DIXIE.

[KayG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this was wonderful! So glad my Mississippi bookclub chose it to read.

I loved getting information on Mississippi history about which I remembered little. I must be about ten years younger than Wilkie, and he clarified many of my childhood memories. Oh, I ate this book up! So interesting; he is a wonderful story teller.

Should you choose to read on kindle as I did, be aware that it has hundreds of typos! They are the annoying kind of errors, such as changing our to out, or Helfrich to Heltrich. I reported ALL I found, and only wish I had counted them. AMAZON: this is such shoddy work on this fine book.

I would love to know if Amazon makes the corrections to all the things I reported! If you read it on kindle, I would love to know! I am really steamed about this!

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging story of the South - principally Mississippi.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye opening story of behind the scenes happenings of which I was not aware.

[John Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

A first hand perspective of the turbulent times during the civil rights struggle of the sixties by a native of the Mississippi delta. He flees the region in 1969 and becomes a successful journalist at the Boston Globe but
returns in 1993 to Mississippi to analyze the changes that occurred over the past quarter of a century. It is a compelling and convincing account that discloses the bad as well as the good aspects of life in Dixie following the desegregation of the region.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw Curtis Wilkie speak at the Southern Writer's Conference a few years ago at UT Chattanooga. Also saw Reynolds Price and Edward P. Jones. Picked this book up after the lecture. Wilkie had a great energy about him, not to mention a great craft for storytelling.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great perspective on the evolution of race relations in the South.

[Susan Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fabulous nonfiction book written by Curtis Wilkie about Mississippi politics from the late 1950's to present.