In terms of prose, this may not have been Theroux's finest writing but it may have been his most revealing. His exploration of the southern US was fascinating. As a northeasterner like the author, the deep south truly does seem like another country. Also like the author, I lived in Africa and it struck me how much of what he described reminded me of conditions on that continent. My only quibble is that the book was about twice as long as it needed to be. I'm not sure the second half of the book - his return to the area a year (?) after his first trip - really added much to the narrative of the first half. But it was still well worth any American's time to read.