Noodling for flatheads

"The Old South is slow to give up its secrets. Though satellite dishes out-number banjo players a thousand to one, most traditions haven't died; they've just gone into hiding. Cockfighting is illegal in forty-eight states, yet there are three national cockfighting magazines and cockpits in even the most tranquil communities. Homemade liquor has been outlawed for more than a century, yet moonshiners in Virginia still ship nearly one million gallons a year.

Some of these pastimes are ancient, others ultramodern; some are illegal, others merely obscure. But the people who practice them share an undeniable kinship. Instead of wealth, promotion, or a few seconds of prime time, they follow dreams that lead them ever deeper underground. They are reminders, ultimately, that American culture isn't as predictable as it seems - that the weeds growing between its cracks are its most vital signs of life.".

"In these essays, Burkhard Bilger explores the history and practice of eight such clandestine worlds."--BOOK JACKET.