This edited collection of essays on the American South is based upon a dissertation and symposium organized by Anthony Stanonis. And what a symposium that must have been, for this is a rich collection, fizzing with ideas, examples and reifications of America's South. The authors of the various essays are dominantly historians, assisted by sociologists. So for the reviewer, coming from a business-school perspective and with a tourism specialism, it has been both interesting and enjoyable to review a book rooted in other disciplines. To me, it demonstrates just how much common ground there is between the various social sciences and how much we lose by retreating within our disciplinary boundaries.

Dixie Emporium is about how culture is packaged and sold and how myths and ideas about places become reality through food, music and souvenirs. The book begins with an excellent introduction by Stanonis, creatively mapping out the field of studies of the American South and then going on to discuss the sections of the book. Dixie Emporium is split into three key themes, each with a useful, scene-setting introduction. The first theme focusses upon “Buying Memory: Souvenirs of the American South” and is introduced by Ownby's consideration of “thoughtful souvenirs.” In this theme the essays examine souvenirs as abstractions of regional culture. They are organized chronologically, beginning with Plaag's essay on the Antebellum South, followed by Cox's “Branding Dixie,” examining the period from 1890 to 1930. Finally, Huber analyses the origins and meanings of a particularly iconic souvenir – the “horny hillbilly.” The second theme, “Coloring the Market: Race and Consumerism,” has an introduction on the “identity market” by Brundage. Four essays follow, ranging from Giggie's on “Refining Religion,” through essays on the hillbillies by Ketchell, the Mexican identity symbol of the sombrero by King, to Eskew's excellent essay on selling the civil rights movement. The book closes with the foodway theme on “Consuming the South.” This is introduced by Read and ranges through Stanonis on foodways in the Jim Crow South, through de le Pena's fascinating review of the history of the Krispy Kreme doughnut to Baltimore's essay on the “hon café.” There is no conclusion or attempt to draw the essays together, which is perhaps a shame, although Stanonis's introduction does an excellent job of orienting the reader into the book and to the themes.

For anyone interested in the American South, this book is an essential purchase. Running through the volume is the notion of the South as a self-defined creation of the imagination; indeed there are many Souths identified in this book, reinforcing the idea of a place that in reality is difficult to capture save through the souvenirs, music and food so well articulated in this volume. The book is very well written and edited, the photographs bring the essays alive, the footnotes are meticulous and the index is comprehensive. I thoroughly enjoyed this volume and both the editor and publisher should be congratulated on an excellent work of scholarship.