Speak Now Against the Day: The Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement in the South

Egerton, author of several books on Southern culture and history (Generations), has put together a sprawling history of the South from 1932 to 1954-the Depression to the landmark Brown desegregation decision. His title derives from Faulkner's lament against Southern white intransigence, and his underlying question is: why wasn't change grasped sooner? Egerton answers by probing the writings of infrequently daring intellectuals (Myles Horton and Don West of Tennessee's Highlander Folk School were among the few real radicals) and often-reactionary politicians (``feudal barons'' like Virginia Senators Carter Glass and Harry F. Byrd), describing the modernizing impact of radio and roadways, and charting cataclysms like the New Deal and WWII. He captures neat anecdotes: the white director of the University of North Carolina Press, who commissioned the 1943 book What the Negro Wants, was shocked by black demands for equality. Egerton's near-encyclopedic approach, surveying lists of academics, writers, organizations and institutions, makes his book read like a compendium, but given his ambitious topic, he has done yeoman work to recapture an era. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)