Description:
In Deep South Dynasty: The Bankheads of Alabama, historian Kari Frederickson delivers a richly detailed and compelling account of one of the South's most influential political families. Tracing generations of the Bankhead dynasty--from local power brokers to national leaders--this book reveals how personal ambition, family legacy, and regional identity shaped politics in Alabama and beyond. Set against the backdrop of a transforming South, Frederickson illuminates the interplay of power, policy, and personality in American political life. Essential reading for historians, political scholars, and anyone fascinated by the enduring legacy of political families, this work offers a vivid portrait of influence in the Deep South.
Review Quotes:
"The title of the [introduction] of this fascinating book, 'Family Biography as Regional History, ' says it all. Kari Frederickson's account of how two generations of a powerful Alabama family spearheaded the twin projects of enlisting the federal government in the economic development of the South and excluding Blacks from the benefits of that project goes to the heart of southern and American political history from the New Deal to World War II. An engaging page-turner, Deep South Dynasty is set apart by its attention to how the female members of a male-dominated dynasty--the actor Tallulah Bankhead and her aunt, the longtime director of Alabama's Department of Archives and History--both contributed to and, in the case of Tallulah, undermined the family project.--Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, author of Sisters and Rebels: A Struggle for the Soul of America