South to America American Classics Edition // A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation

WINNER OF THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION

An elegant meditation on the complexities of the American Southand thus of Americaby an esteemed daughter of the South and one of the great intellectuals of our time. An inspiration. Isabel Wilkerson

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, HarperCollins is proud to present this library of American classics drawn from our storied catalog.South to Americais an essential, surprising journey through the history, rituals, and landscapes of the American Southand a revelatory argument for why you must understand the South in order to understand America

We all think we know the South. Even those who have never lived there can rattle off a list of signifiers: the Civil War,Gone with the Wind, the Ku Klux Klan, plantations, football, Jim Crow, slavery. But the idiosyncrasies, dispositions, and habits of the region are stranger and more complex than much of the country tends to acknowledge. InSouth to America, Imani Perry shows that the meaning ofAmericanis inextricably linked with the South, and that our understanding of its history and culture is the key to understanding the nation as a whole.

This is the story of a Black woman and native Alabaman returning to the region she has always called home and considering it with fresh eyes. Her journey is full of detours, deep dives, and surprising encounters with places and people. She renders Southerners from all walks of life with sensitivity and honesty, sharing her thoughts about a troubling history and the ritual humiliations and joys that characterize so much of Southern life.

Weaving together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences, Imani Perry crafts a tapestry unlike any other. With uncommon insight and breathtaking clarity,South to Americaoffers an assertion that if we want to build a more humane future for the United States, we must center our concern below the Mason-Dixon Line.

• A BEAUTIFUL PACKAGE WITH FLAPS:Featuring French flaps and a unique vivid cover design, each book in the collection is published as a deluxe trade paperback that is a part of a stunning series look.
• HARPER COLLINS AMERICAN CLASSICS:This series includes timeless novels, poetry, childrens books, and groundbreaking nonfiction that has shaped American thought, literature, and identity across generations.
• AMERICAS PUBLISHER:Since its founding in 1817, no American publisher has been so entwined in the history of American letters. Our books enrich, challenge, and defined the American spirit.
• AMERICA 250:The HarperCollins American Classics arrive in time for Americas 250th anniversary celebrations.

Imani Perryis the National Book Awardwinning author ofSouth to America, as well as seven other books of nonfiction. She is the Henry A. Morss Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and is a 2023 MacArthur Fellow.

• Publisher: Ecco
• Publish Date: May 05, 2026
• Pages: 432
• Language: English
• Type: Paperback
• EAN/UPC: 9780063481732
• Dimensions:8.3 in H | 5.5 in W | 0.8 lb Wt
• BISAC Categories: History, Politics, Biography & Memoir, Travel