I DO SO POLITELY

by Robert Canzoneri ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 10, 1965

A difficult book to describe or assess briefly, this ""Voice from the South"" speaks from both within Southern society as a cousin of Governor Ross Barnett, yet at a slight remove, perhaps because the Southern born and bred author is also half second-generation Sicilian. The words of the title are those spoken by Governor Barnett as he stopped James Meredith at the door of the University of Mississippi. Although the author describes Mississippi as the place ""where an American disease has come to a head, so that we can all see it. But the poison is in us all,"" the book reads neither as indictment nor defense. Rather it is a seemingly disjointed raking-up of personal anecdotes, innocent of sociological commentary. The anecdotes must and do stand by themselves. Mr. Canzoneri has evoked the sensations pertaining to the state of growing up within the white South, unable equally to ignore, combat or understand the torturously complicated business of segregation. His voice carries a message of humor and anguish and reveals a very human predicament.

Pub Date: June 10, 1965

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1965

Categories: NONFICTION