The Ozarks

By Vance Randolph,

Book cover of The Ozarks: An American Survival of Primitive Society

Book description

Vance Randolph was perfectly constituted for his role as the chronicler of Ozark folkways. As a self-described "hack writer," he was as much a figure of the margins as his chosen subjects, even as his essentially romantic identification with the region he first visited as the vacationing child of mainstream…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Ozarks as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

It is doubtful that anyone has been more associated with an American region than Vance Randolph is with the Ozarks. Ornery and darkly romantic, Randolph was always attracted to people on the margins. Few were more marginal than the Ozarkers in the early twentieth century. While we must take a lot of Randolph’s “nonfiction” with a dose of salt, The Ozarks, originally published in 1931, was the first book-length documentary take on the region and its people. It set the stage for generations of Ozarks observations to come. 

From Brooks' list on the Ozarks.

Want books like The Ozarks?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 86 books like The Ozarks.

Browse books like The Ozarks

Book cover of The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks
Book cover of Rude Pursuits and Rugged Peaks: Schoolcraft's Ozark Journal, 1818-1819
Book cover of The Upland South: The Making of an American Folk Region

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,187

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Ozarks, Missouri, and Arkansas?

The Ozarks 19 books
Missouri 41 books
Arkansas 29 books