About this item
From the bestselling authors of The Southerner's Handbook, Good Dog, and The Southerner's Cookbook comes a lively compendium of Southern tradition and contemporary culture.The American South is a multifaceted region with its own vocabulary, peculiarities, and cultural touchstones. Even for those born in the South, the unspoken rules - layered in local nuances and complexities - can sometimes be confounding. Tennessee whiskey may technically be bourbon, but don't let anyone in Kentucky hear you call it that. And bless your heart, don't you dare make the mistake of confusing a magnolia blossom with a Japanese tulip.Now, from the editors of Garden & Gun - the magazine known as "the soul of the South" - comes this encyclopedia of Southern living, culture, and history. Covering age-old traditions and current zeitgeists, S Is for Southern includes more than 500 entries spanning every letter of the alphabet, from absinthe to zydeco. The book also includes 100 signature essays from notable Southern writers, including:Jon Meacham on the Civil WarSean Brock on Waffle HouseRoy Blount, Jr. on humidityJessica B. Harris on field peasJason Isbell on the Atlanta BravesJack Hitt on pluff mudThe Lee Brothers on boiled peanutsJonathan Miles on Larry BrownJulia Reed on the DeltaInformative and irreverent, illustrated with black-and-white line drawings throughout, S Is for Southern celebrates and demystifies the traditions of the South, and is a must-read for all fans of the region and culture enthusiasts.
About the Author
David DiBenedetto is the senior vice president and editor in chief of Garden & Gun, where he oversees all print and digital platforms. Formerly the executive editor at the title, DiBenedetto was part of the team responsible for the magazine's National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2011. Previously he was the editor of Salt Water Sportsman, where, in addition to implementing a complete redesign of the 78-year-old magazine, he led the title to its first-ever National Magazine Award nomination (General Excellence) in 2007. Salt Water Sportsman was the first and is still the only, fishing publication to be nominated for such an honor. Prior to his time at Salt Water Sportsman, DiBenedetto was the deputy editor of Field & Stream. He began his career at Men's Journal in 1995 as an editorial assistant just three days after graduating from college and worked his way to senior editor in 2001.Also an author, DiBenedetto wrote On the Run: An Angler's Journey Down the Striper Coast in 2003 for HarperCollins. The book received numerous accolades, including a coveted starred review in Publisher's Weekly. The magazine has so far published four books during his tenure: New York Times best-selling titles The Southerner's Handbook, Good Dog, The Southerner's Cookbook, and the latest edition, S is for Southern: A Guide to the South, from Absinthe to Zydeco.DiBenedetto was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, and now resides in Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife, Jenny; their children, Rosie and Sam; and their two dogs, Boykin spaniel, Pritchard, and Labrador Retriever, Story.
