Ninety Degrees in the Shade

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, State & Local
Cover of the book Ninety Degrees in the Shade by Clarence Cason, University of Alabama Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Clarence Cason ISBN: 9780817389499
Publisher: University of Alabama Press Publication: March 12, 2001
Imprint: University Alabama Press Language: English
Author: Clarence Cason
ISBN: 9780817389499
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
Publication: March 12, 2001
Imprint: University Alabama Press
Language: English

Clarence Cason belonged to that restless generation of southern intellectuals who, between the world wars, questioned the South's stubborn traditionalism, even as they tried to explain and defend its distinctiveness. From his professorial perch at The University of Alabama, Cason wrote polished essays for leading national publications while contributing weekly editorials for newspaper readers. As a journalist in academia, he cultivated a broad audience for his eloquent though tentative observations about the "character" of a region that seemed to be a separate province of the nation.

In 1935, Cason collected his thoughts in a small book of essays titled 90° in the Shade. In it, he declared that climate and the relaxation afforded by field and stream had given southerners excellent reasons for their notoriously slow pace of life. Still, he wrote, "there is much work that ought to be done below the Potomac." Cason captured the pathos of race relations and other persistent problems and declared that the abominable practice of lynching would end when the best people of the South risked their personal and commercial standing to denounce it. Just days before the book's publication, however, Cason shot himself in his campus office. He left no explanation, but apparently he feared angry reaction from fellow citizens to his mild criticisms and gentle suggestions for change.

The University of Alabama Press brought the book back into print in 1983. This new edition of Cason's classic features an introduction by journalist and UA professor H. Bailey Thomson, allowing yet another generation the enjoyment of Cason's perceptive writing, not so much for any remedy he proposed but rather for the open-minded and loving way in which he addressed the region's tragic experience.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Clarence Cason belonged to that restless generation of southern intellectuals who, between the world wars, questioned the South's stubborn traditionalism, even as they tried to explain and defend its distinctiveness. From his professorial perch at The University of Alabama, Cason wrote polished essays for leading national publications while contributing weekly editorials for newspaper readers. As a journalist in academia, he cultivated a broad audience for his eloquent though tentative observations about the "character" of a region that seemed to be a separate province of the nation.

In 1935, Cason collected his thoughts in a small book of essays titled 90° in the Shade. In it, he declared that climate and the relaxation afforded by field and stream had given southerners excellent reasons for their notoriously slow pace of life. Still, he wrote, "there is much work that ought to be done below the Potomac." Cason captured the pathos of race relations and other persistent problems and declared that the abominable practice of lynching would end when the best people of the South risked their personal and commercial standing to denounce it. Just days before the book's publication, however, Cason shot himself in his campus office. He left no explanation, but apparently he feared angry reaction from fellow citizens to his mild criticisms and gentle suggestions for change.

The University of Alabama Press brought the book back into print in 1983. This new edition of Cason's classic features an introduction by journalist and UA professor H. Bailey Thomson, allowing yet another generation the enjoyment of Cason's perceptive writing, not so much for any remedy he proposed but rather for the open-minded and loving way in which he addressed the region's tragic experience.

More books from University of Alabama Press

Cover of the book The Voice of the River by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book Beautiful Politics of Music by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book Correction of Drift by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book The Swift Creek Gift by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book Beleaguered Poets and Leftist Critics by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book Hunt the Devil by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book American Indians and the Market Economy, 1775-1850 by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book The Rebel Yell by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book Creekside by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book Bluejackets in the Blubber Room by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book O'Hearn by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book Tail of the Storm by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book The Archaeology of Houses and Households in the Native Southeast by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book Sissy! by Clarence Cason
Cover of the book Gertrude Stein and the Reinvention of Rhetoric by Clarence Cason
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy