The People’s Writer: Erskine Caldwell and the South

Mixon (history, Mercer U.) traces the life and work of southern writer Caldwell (1903-1987), author of 25 novels, and once ranked by Faulkner as one of the five best writers of his time. Mixon, finding a fierce indictment of racism, sexism, and economics in Caldwell’s writings, argues that Caldwell’s declining reputation is largely the result of an association of the author with his worst works. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.