Savannah Style: Mystery and Manners

A Savannah gentleman, asked to explain his hometown, recently said, ""This is a city where men own their own white tie and tails. We don't rent them."" That, writer John Berendt notes in an introduction to Susan Sully's Savannah Style: Mystery and Manners, ""says it all."" Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil made the elegant Southern city a site of national fascination. Sully (Charleston Style) guides readers through its lavish architecture and interiors. Plantations, lush gardens, shady wicker-furnished porches, townhouses and parlors are invitingly presented, and their diverse styles which include Spanish, French, Asian, Federalist, English Arts and Crafts, Greek Revival, Baroque and Gothic influences are cogently explained. Those who love Southern architecture will welcome this book, and so will Berendt readers intrigued by Savannah and its secrets. 130 color, 20 b&w photos by Steven Brooke. ( Aug.)