Given all the great southern lit available, read this book only if you have to. It reads like a traveler's guide of pretty places with little purpose driving character's actions in the plot. As it compares to current pop fiction, it is well written but by no means near the calibre of Faulkner, Lee, Conroy, or Penn. It is dull and shortsighted in its scope and goal. Would not recommend for any literary or Civil War aficionado.