Country Music and the South: A Cultural Geography Perspective

Cultural geographers have failed to examine one of the most significant culture items unique to the American South— country music. Examination of the history, folklore, and sociology literature provides data on the area of origin and diffusion routes of the vocal and instrumental characteristics of early country music. The mixing of musical cultures in the South led to the origin and evolution of seven substyles of country music during the twentieth century: traditional, singing cowboy, western swing, honky tonk, bluegrass, country pop, and country rock. Despite recent cultural homogenization in the United States, country music continues to maintain its regional association with the American South.     

Western North Carolina: Culture Hearth of Bluegrass Music

This study explores the long-debated question concerning the geographic origins of bluegrass music. Using the Sauerian culture hearth concept, western North Carolina is identified as the source area for the distinguishing elements of the bluegrass sound. Western North Carolinians pioneered the innovative instrumental sounds of bluegrass on the five-string banjo, fiddle, and guitar as well as the harmonies and repertoire of bluegrass vocals. A music culture infrastructure emerged in western North Carolina based on a network of local musicians and social institutions, including fiddle contests, music festivals, radio stations, and recording studios.     

Commentary. The Diseases of Alexander the Great

The accompanying articles that speculate that Alexander the Great had a traumatic carotid dissection or congenital cervical scoliosis demonstrate the difficulties in retrospective diagnosis as a historical enterprise. The extant primary sources were written centuries after Alexander’s death and are ambiguous in their original languages, and even more so in translation. Thus we cannot be certain what illness Alexander actually had. Furthermore, anachronistic diagnosis removes Alexander from the medical context of this time, telling us little of historical significance about him. Such investigations also illustrate the more general limits that the absence of context imposes on the study of ancient history.     

The Neurosciences Research Program at MIT and the Beginning of the Modern Field of Neuroscience

The interdisciplinary field, “neuroscience,” began at MIT in 1962 with the founding of the Neurosciences Research Program (NRP) by Francis O. Schmitt and a group of US and international scientists — physical, biological, medical, and behavioral — interested in understanding the brain basis of behavior and mind. They organized and held specialist meetings of basic topics in neuroscience, and the journal and book publications over the next 20 years, based on these meetings, helped establish the new field.     

Death of a President and his Assassin—Errors in their Diagnosis and Autopsies

On July 2, 1881, Charles Julius Guiteau shot President James Abram Garfield in the right flank. The President died because of infection produced by the unsterile fingers and probes repeatedly inserted into the wound. The major complaint of the wounded President was intractable pain in his legs and feet. This symptom failed to alert the doctors to the possibility of vertebral and spinal cord injury. Garfield died with sepsis after 80 days of intense national concern, and for the patient there was psychological, physical, and nutritional deprivation. His autopsy revealed the bullet was not in the pelvis as his doctors had expected, but adjacent to the first lumbar vertebra it had shattered. The trial and execution of Guiteau split the medical community into those that considered him insane and those who felt execution was justified. Guiteau was delusional and his brain revealed chronic inflammation and histological features suggestive of syphilis. At the time, and since, the propriety of the execution has been questioned.     

The caliphs’ last heritage: a review

EUROPE

The British Isles. By A. Demangeon. Translated and revised by E. D. Laborde, PH.D., F.R.G.s. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xviii +434. 80 figs. 56 plates. London : William Heinemann Ltd. Second edition, 1949. 21s.

British Canals : An Illustrated History. By Charles Hadfield. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. 259. 44 text illustrations. 8 plates. 17 sketch maps. London : Phoenix House Ltd, 1950. 16s.

The Scottish Countryside in Pictures. Foreword and Introductions by F. Fraser Darling. Illustrations described by Alasdair Alpin MacGregor. 9 3/4 × 7. Pp. 128. Illustrated. London : Odhams Press Ltd, 1950. Reprinted, 1951. 125s 6d.

Glossary of the most common Gaelic and Scandinavian Elements used in Place‐Names on Ordnance Survey Maps of Scotland. Compiled by The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. 8 1/4 ×5. Pp. 12. Chessington : Director General of the Ordnance Survey, 1951. 2s.

A History of Scottish Farming. By T. Bedford Franklin. 7 1/4 ×5. Pp. ix+194. 14 plates. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1952. 12s 6d.

Highlands of Scotland. By Seton Gordon. 8 1/2 ×5 1/2. Pp. 328. 49 illustrations. Map. [The County Books.] London : Robert Hale Ltd, 1951. 18s.

Kayak to Cape Wrath. By J. Lewis Henderson. 7 1/4 ×5. Pp.230. 21 photographs.

The Fame Islands : Their History and Wild Life. By Grace Watt, M.A., M.B.O.U. 8 1/2 ×5 1/2. Pp. 236. 4 figs. 33 photographs. London : Country Life Ltd, 1951. 30s.

Wanderings in the Pennines. By William T. Palmer, F.R.G.S., M.B.O.U., F.S.A. SCOT. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 288. 31 illustrations by G. Douglas Bolton. End‐paper map. London : Skeffington and Son Ltd, 1951. 15s.

Cheshire. By Fred H. Crossley. 8 1/2 ×5 1/2. Pp. xii+376. 49 illustrations. Map. [The County Books.] London: Robert Hale Ltd, 1949. 15s.

Leicestershire. By Guy Paget, D.L., F.R.HIST.S., and Lionel Irvine, M.B.E., M.A.(OXON.). 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xii+307. 49 illustrations. Map. [The County Books.] London: Robert Hale Ltd, 1950. 15s.

Forgotten Ports of England. By George Goldsmith Carter. 8 3/4×5 5/8. Pp. x+206. Photographs. 3 maps. End‐paper plan of Rye. London : Evans Brothers Ltd, 1951. 21s.

Dorset. By Eric Benfield. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. x+232. 49 illustrations. Map. [The County Books.] London : Robert Hale Ltd, 1950. 15s.

The Bailiwick of Jersey. By G. R. Balleine. 8 ×5 1/4. Pp. xxxi+170. 114 photographs. End‐paper sketch map. [The King's Channel Islands.] London : Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, 1951. 12s 6d.

Færoerne : Folk og Erhverv. By Aa. H. Kampp. 8 1/2×5 3/4. Pp. 112. 40 figs. [Geografkredsen.] København : Det Danske Forlag, 1950.

The West European City : A Geographical Interpretation. By Robert E. Dickinson, M.A., PH.D. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xviii+580. 129 figs. 29 plates. [International Library of Sociology and Social Reconstruction.] London : Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd, 1951. 42s.

Belgium and Luxembourg. By Tudor Edwards. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. vii+128. 109 illustrations. 2 sketch maps. London : B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1951. 15s.

Luxembourg: Land of Legends. By W. J. Taylor‐Whitehead. 7 1/2×5. Pp. xiv+130. 17 illustrations. End‐paper sketch map. London : Constable and Co. Ltd, 1951. 12s 6d.

French Châteaux. By Henri Lemaître. 12 ×9 1/2. Pp. 39+224 photographs. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1950. 50s.

Mediterranean Background. By Bernard Newman. 8 1/2 ×5 1/2. Pp.286. 64 illustrations. 10 sketch maps. London: Robert Hale Ltd, 1949. 16s.

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

Geography of Russia. By N. T. Mirov. 9×6. Pp. xii+362. 34 maps. New York : John Wiley and Sons Inc. London : Chapman and Hall Ltd, 1951. 52s.

ASIA

The Scottish Himalayan Expedition. By W. H. Murray. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xiii+282. 4 colour plates. 32 half‐tone plates. 11 sketch maps and diagrams by Robert Anderson. London : J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd, 1951. 30s.

The Far East: A Social Geography. By A. D. C. Peterson, O.B.E., B.A. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 336. 43 illustrations. 25 and end‐paper sketch maps. London : Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd, 1949. 21s.

INDIAN OCEAN

Arab Seafaring in the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times. By George Fadlo Hourani. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp.viii+131. 8plates. 7sketchmaps. [Princeton Oriental Studies, Vol. 13.] Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1951. $3.00. London : Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press. 20s.

Fourteen Men : The Story of the Australian Antarctic Expedition to Heard Island. By Arthur Scholes. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. x+273. 21 illustrations. 2 sketch maps. London : George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1951. 15s.

AFRICA

Mauretania : Warrior, Man, and Woman. By Sacheverell Sitwell. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 328. 21 photographs by Lady Alexandra Metcalfe. London : Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd. Third impression, 1951. 21s.

Ex‐Italian Somaliland. By E. Sylvia Pankhurst. Foreword by Peter Freeman, M.P. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 460. 21 illustrations. 5 sketch maps. London : C. A. Watts and Co. Ltd, 1951. 12s 6d.

Congo Eden. By Mary L. Jobe Akeley, A.M., LITT.D., F.R.O.S. Foreword by Professor William King Gregory. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xv+356. 13 illustrations. Map. London : Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1951. 18s.

South African Scenery : A Textbook of Geomorphology. By Lester C. King, Ph.D., D.Sc., F.R.S.(S.A.). 8 3/4×5 5/8. Pp. xxxi+379. 79 figs. 267 plates. Coloured map. Edinburgh and London : Oliver and Boyd Ltd. Second edition, revised, 1951. 45s.

Journals of Andrew Geddes Bain. Trader, Explorer, Soldier, Road Engineer and Geologist. Edited, with biographical sketch and footnotes, by Margaret Hermina Lister. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xxxix+264. 19 illustrations. 4 maps. Cape Town: Van Riebeeck Society [Vol. 30], 1949. 20s.

ATLANTIC OCEAN

North Atlantic : Boat against Boat over 3,000 Miles. By Adlard Coles. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 191. 9 figs. 30 plates. End‐paper chart. Southampton : Robert Ross and Co. Ltd. London : George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd. Second edition, 1951. 15s 6d.

AMERICA

The Westward Crossings : Balboa, Mackenzie, Lewis and Clark. By Jeanette Mirsky. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xv+365+xiii. 21 illustrations. 3 maps. London: Allan Wingate (Publishers) Ltd, 1951. 21s.

An Introduction to the Geography of the Canadian Arctic. By J. L. Robinson, N. L. Nicholson, J. K. Fraser, B. V. Gutsell, and D. Leechman. 9 1/4×6. Pp. xiii + 118. 18 maps and diagrams. 17 plates. [Canadian Geography Information Series No. 2.] Ottawa : Geographical Branch, Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, 1951. $0.50.

Chile. An Outline of its Geography, Economics, and Politics. By Gilbert J. Butland. 8×5 1/4. Pp. vii+128. 7 figs. London and New York: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1951. 12s 6d.

OCEANIA

The Pacific Islands. By Douglas L. Oliver. 9 1/2×6 1/4. Pp. xi+313. Decorations and sketch maps by Sheila Mitchell Oliver. Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 1951. $5.00. London : Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press. 32s 6d.

Beyond the Southern Lakes : The Explorations of W. G. Grave. Edited by Anita Crozier. Foreword by Sir T. A. Hunter. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 124. 11 illustrations. End‐paper sketch map. Wellington, N.Z. : A. H. and A. W. Reed, 1950. 12s 6d.

POLAR REGIONS

I married an Explorer. By Miriam MacMillan. 8 1/4×5 1/4. Pp.238. 31 illustrations. London : Hurst and Blackett Ltd, 1951. 15s.

BIOGEOGRAPHY

Zoogeography of the Land and Inland Waters. By L. F. De Beaufort. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. viii +208. 10 figs. [Text‐Books of Animal Biology.] London : Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd, 1951. 30s.

A World Dictionary of Breeds, Types, and Varieties of Livestock. By I. L. Mason, B.A. (CANTAB.). 9 3/4×6 1/4. Pp. 272. [Technical Communication No. 8 of the Commonwealth Bureau of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Edinburgh.] Farnham Royal : Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, 1951. 30s.

EDUCATIONAL

Geography in the Secondary School, with special reference to the Secondary Modern School. By E. W. H. Briault and D. W. Shave. Foreword by Leonard Brooks. 9 1/2×6. Pp. 36. Sheffield : The Geographical Association, 1952. 2s. post free.

Outlines of General Geography. By E. O. Robinson, m.a. 7 1/2×5 1/4. Pp. xi+239. 101 photographs, diagrams, and maps. London : Macmillan and Co. Ltd, 1951. 7s 6d.

The Earth's Crust : A New Approach to Physical Geography and Geology. By L. Dudley Stamp, C.B.E., B.A., D.Sc. Foreword by Isaiah Bowman, 9 3/4×7 1/2. Pp. viii+120. 74 figs. 32 coloured plates. London: George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd, 1951. 18s.

Physical Geography. By Arthur N. Strahler. 11×J 1/2 Pp. ix+442. Illustrated. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1951. $6.00. London: Chapman and Hall Ltd. 48s.

France : A Regional and Economic Geography. By H. Ormsby, D.Sc.(ECON.). 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xiv+525. 103 figs. London: Methuen and Co. Ltd. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co. Inc. Second edition, revised, 1950. 25s.

A Regional Geography of Ceylon. By S. F. de Silva, B.A. Foreword by L. McD. Robison. 8×5 1/2. Pp. xi+264. 97 figs. Colombo : The Colombo Apothecaries’ Company Ltd. Revised edition, 1949. Rs 4.

Exploration and Adventure. By Clifford Collinson, F.R.G.S. 7 1/2×5. Pp. 151. Illustrated. Decorative end‐paper maps. London : George Alien and Unwin Ltd, 1951. 3s 6d.

GENERAL

Vergleichende Länderkunde. By Norbert Krebs. 9×6. Pp. xx+484. 18 maps. [Geographische Handbücher.] Stuttgart : K. F. Koehler Verlag, 1951.

Geography, Justice, and Politics at the Paris Conference of 1919. By Charles Seymour. Introduction by Roland L. Redmond. 8 3/4×6. Pp. iv+24. [Bowman Memorial Lectures, Series One.] New York : The American Geographical Society, 1951. $1.50.

Exploration and Discovery. By H. J. Wood, B.Sc., Ph.D. 7 1/2×4 3/4. Pp. 192. 10 figs. End‐paper sketch maps. London : Hutchinson's University Library, 1951. 8s 6d.

ATLASES AND MAPS

The Oxford Atlas. Edited by Brigadier Sir Clinton Lewis, O.B.E., Colonel J. D. Campbell, D.S.O., with the assistance of D. P. Bickmore and K. F. Cook. 15 1/2×10 1/2. Pp. 96+xxvi (Distribution Maps) +90 (Gazetteer). London: The Oxford University Press, 1951. 30s. School Edition, 25s.

A Palaeographical Atlas of the British Isles and Adjacent Parts of Europe. By Leonard J. Wills. 8 1/2×11. Pp.64. 22 plates. Glasgow and London : Blackie and Son Ltd, 1951. 21s.

Atlas von Niederösterreich. Issued by the Kommission für Raumforschung und Wiederaufbau der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, and Verein der Landeskunde von Niederösterreich und Wien. Edited by Dr ERIK ARNBERGER. 16×22¼. Part I, 20 map‐sheets. Wien: Kartographische Anstalt Freytag‐Berndt und Artaria, 1951.

Main Areas of Tea Production. 18×28. Prepared by Geographia Ltd. London: The Tea Bureau, 1950.     

Difficult but Not Impossible: The ANC's Decentralization Strategy in South Africa

As the neo‐liberal project has spread across the globe, decentralization has been a key component of it. In South Africa, the neo‐liberal macro‐economic strategy of the African National Congress (ANC) involves support for fiscal and administrative decentralization partly as a way to bring the private sector into basic service delivery and supposedly to make local government more efficient and effective. However, the ANC also sees decentralization as a way to empower the historically disadvantaged black population. Community‐based public–private partnerships have been one of the chief initiatives in this regard. In the metropolitan municipality of Port Elizabeth, small black contracting companies have been hired and trained to dispose of waste, construct roads and build houses. While not free of tensions and problems, this approach to decentralization has fostered a form of democratic development. This article uses examples from the Port Elizabeth experience to test and reflect upon a number of issues which are raised in the literature on decentralization.