Hillbilly Hellraisers

Over the years, I have developed a habit of occasionally picking up books on topics I would normally wouldn’t be interested in. Sometimes these catch my attention and stimulate an interest in something new, sometimes they do not. Before reading this book, I never had much knowledge of interest in rural Arkansas life. Unfortunately, I still do not.

=== The Good Stuff ===

* While the nominal topic of the book, the hillbilly culture in the Ozark mountain areas, is somewhat dated, the underlying topic of the book is as relevant as ever. Specifically, do interventionist bureaucracies of state and national governments do more harm or good than more local efforts. J Blake Perkins make the case that national efforts, unless well managed, can be counter-productive to the very people they are supposed to be helping.

* The book does shatter some stereotypes. I had assumed that the residents of 1900 Arkansas would be supportive of moonshiners and against national development of highways and railroads. Indeed, the opposite was often true. Moonshiners were not always admired by honest, hardworking folks, and even the most parochial mountaineer recognized the prosperity that came with national transportation links.

* The book does touch on several interesting topics. For example, residents of 1915 Arkansas had about as much interest in European politics as they did in the soil composition of Mars. And yet, as American citizens, they were eligible for Selective Service induction into the army to fight in exactly those wars. One can only imagine the conflicted loyalties.

=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===

* The book is hardly a page turner. It can get a bit repetitive, dry and tough to read. Again, I was not all that interested in the topic to start with, but I found it a bit of a tough read.

* The author seems to want to draw conclusion on a national level based on a limited geographic dataset. While this may be valid, it seemed a bit of a stretch.


=== Summary ===

I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I had hoped, and found it to be a bit of a tough read. However there was some excellent material buried in the text, and it was certainly worth the time spent to get through it. If you do not already have an interest in this topic, this may not be the book for you.

J. Blake Perkins has written a book from research, history, and empirical knowledge that should be required reading for every high school and college student of sociology, American history, and humanities. There is a strong likelihood that everything you thought you knew about hillbillies, government revenue agents, and the political landscape and philosophies of the Ozarks could not be more wrong.


You can listen to my interview with Perkins on the podcast Madame Perry's Salon here. http://tobtr.com/10605179

Read "Hillbilly Hellraisers", and share it with someone.