A Whitmanesque foray into America: into its hugeness, its freshness, its scope and its soul. -James Polk, The New York Times Book Review An astonishing debut . . . a genuinely romantic saga that attains the status of literature. --Malcolm Jones, Newsweek As close to a masterpiece as American writing is going to come these days. -Fred Chappell, Raleigh News & Observer Charles Frazier's feeling for the Southern landscape is reverential and beautifully composed. He has written an astonishing first novel. -Alfred Kazin, The New York Review of Books