If you go down tothe south today... (Noodling for Flatheads - Burkhard Bilger)

Member Name: fizzywizzy

Product:	Noodling for Flatheads - Burkhard Bilger
Date:	26/09/06 (181 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quirky, offbeat and surprising

Disadvantages: Some of the subject matter unpopular in general

Americans are really not like us; and those Americans from the Southern states are entirely different again. Not in a bad way though...just different. Different in the way that they spend their days engaged in curious activities they consider normal but which to us Brits are slightly odd to say the least. In "Noodling for Flatheads", Burkhard Bilger presents an assortment of tales of these curious Southern folk from frog farmers to catfish catchers, taking in moonshine makers and squirrel hunters along the way.

The concept is similar to Bill Bryson's books in which the author points out some the idiosyncracies of American life with humour and not a little fun-poking. Bilger, however, does not just give his own wry view of these activities. He investigates them, speaking to doyens of each pastime, meeting editors of magazines devoted to these bizarre subjects and trying his own hand at some of them. The activities described are as diverse as the people who practice them; some activites are now illegal, some as old as the hills, some are carried on by passing the skills down to the next generation. All of them have in common a thriving little community of afficionados; in essence this book describes a collection of sub-cultures which gives the American south it's own special flavour.

In the title chapter "Noodling for Flatheads" Bilger exposes those hardy folks who catch one of America's most fierce freshwater fish by sticking an arm in the water and encouraging the catfish to clamp their piercing teeth around their limbs. The practice is known as "noodling" and is illegal in seven American states but a surprisngly large hardcore set of noodlers are devoted to it ; a biologist from Mississippi State University spent three years noodiling rivers for the benefit of his thesis and Miss Teen USA, 1987 is one of the group's chief spokes-people. Keith Sutton, editor of "Arkansas Wildlife" tells Bilger that "in almost any small town cafe, you can meet some guy who says he knows a noodler who lost three fingers to an alligator snapping turtle".

In "Moonshine Sonata" Bilger looks at the homemade whisky industry which has been illegal since 1791 when George Wahington imposed a tax on liquor. Jim Stoat takes Bilger to meet some moonshiners in Virginia where, between 1985 and 1988 special agents seized 538 stills in just six counties. He introduces the author to men in whose families moonshining has been a tradition for generations. On the flipside he also meets some of the special agents whose job it is to track down these illegal stills (follow the smell!); he learns from them how dangerous some of the brews can be - moonshine actually means "poison" - a truth which is acknowledged by the participants themselves.

"The Mall of the Wild" came about when Bilger chanced upon a press release by the "Future Frog Farmers of America" and discovered the extent of the burgeoning frog breeding industry in Georgia - some two million frogs are dissected in American classrooms each year, before you take into account the number required by the food industry. Unti lthe mid-eighties, most of these were imported but the "Future Frog Farmers of America" hope to change all this having spotted a lucrative opportunity. Bilger meets at the frog farming entrepreneurs and finds out there is mmore to the job than meets the eye.

Some chapters may be unpopular and distasteful to many readers; cock-fighting is a subject that is pretty much taboo in Britain and while it is almost entirely illegal in the US there are still pockets of people who carry out this barbaric ritual. Similarly, the hunting of squirrels so that their brains may be cooked and eaten is likely to upset more than a few people. Whatever your take on these activities, though, the people who practice them are the people who make the southern states what they are; a place where old traditions die hard and the locals are often looked upon with disdain by the Yankees.

Herein perhaps lies a word of warning to British politicians. While it is possible to legislate against these age-old pastimes, ensuring that they do not happen is somewhat more difficult. The people featured in this book proves that many people will break the law to uphold what they see as traditions inherent to their cultures.

The style of writing is relaxed and witty, a mixture of childdood reminisces, folklore, sources from history and literature (for example, Mark Twain) and dialogues with proponents of the various pastimes featured. Bilger tries to see both sides of the story when writing about contentious issues and while the general trend is towards humour he does listen with interest to the people he meets and gets his point across with mocking the more eccentric characters.

The book is an insight into the south and paints a picture of a culture which is trying to resist being totally swallowed up by the twenty-first century. It is debatable whether some of the pratices are worth saving but nevertheless Bilger describes them in sympathetic and eloquent style, never disparaging, even in the face of indefensible acts. This is a book for those people interested in the quirkier side of life and the dark underbelly of popular culture; not everyones cup of tea, and certainly not served with a teaspoon of sugar!

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Published in 2002 through Arrow Books
ISBN - 009941595X
Priced at £6.99 but deals to be found through the usual sources no doubt

Summary: Secrets of the strange American south revealed