The Best Southern Nonfiction of All Time

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Oxford American, 25 Books

The best southern United States nonfiction books of all time judged by 130 literary experts and authors.

This list was originally published in 2009 and was added to this site over 12 years ago.

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Cover of 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men' by James Agee

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

Cover of 'Black Boy' by Richard Wright

Black Boy

Cover of 'The Mind of the South' by W. J. Cash

The Mind of the South

Cover of 'One Writer's Beginnings' by Eudora Welty

One Writer's Beginnings

Cover of 'The Civil War' by Shelby Foote

The Civil War

Cover of 'In Cold Blood' by Truman Capote

In Cold Blood

Cover of 'Killers of the Dream' by Lillian Smith

Killers of the Dream

Cover of 'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass' by Frederick Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

Cover of 'A Childhood' by Harry Crews

A Childhood

Cover of 'North Toward Home' by Willie Morris

North Toward Home

Cover of 'Mystery and Manners' by Flannery O'Connor

Mystery and Manners

Flannery O'Connor

Cover of 'All Over But The Shoutin'' by Rick Bragg

All Over But The Shoutin'

Cover of 'The Habit of Being' by Flannery O'Connor

The Habit of Being

Flannery O'Connor

Cover of 'Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl' by Harriet Jacobs

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Cover of 'Lanterns on the Levee' by William Alexander Percy

Lanterns on the Levee

William Alexander Percy

Cover of 'Salvation on Sand Mountain' by Dennis Covington

Salvation on Sand Mountain

Dennis Covington

Cover of 'Mary Chesnut's Civil War' by Mary Boykin Chesnut

Mary Chesnut's Civil War

Mary Boykin Chesnut

Cover of 'I'll Take My Stand' by Twelve Southerners

I'll Take My Stand

Twelve Southerners

Cover of 'Life on the Mississippi' by Mark Twain

Life on the Mississippi

Cover of 'The Burden of Southern History' by C. Vann Woodward

The Burden of Southern History

C. Vann Woodward

Cover of 'The Message In the Bottle' by Walker Percy

The Message In the Bottle

Cover of 'The Earl of Louisiana' by A. J. Liebling

The Earl of Louisiana

Cover of 'Origins of the New South' by C. Vann Woodward

Origins of the New South

C. Vann Woodward

Cover of 'Rising Tide' by John Barry

Rising Tide

Cover of 'The Unsettling of America' by Wendell Berry

The Unsettling of America