A Letter From The Publisher, Sep. 27, 1976

To much of the nation, the South is a place apart, with manners and mores all its own. Yet not in 100 years has its role had such implications for the future of America as now. Last month more than 70 TIME correspondents, writers, reporter-researchers and editors set out to assess the South as it is today, to evaluate its present state—and its stimulating future. Working under the direction of Assistant Managing Editor Ray Cave, Washington News Editor Edward Jackson (a native of Mount Airy, N.C.) and James Bell, chief of the Atlanta...