C. Vann Woodward

“Drawing on his subject’s writings and his voluminous papers at Yale, where Woodward taught from 1961 to 1977, Cobb portrays a scholar impatient with the mythologies, distortions and misguided hero worship that for most of the 20th century inhibited discussion of the South’s many problems.”—Eric Foner, London Review of Books

“Cobb’s biography is a masterpiece. . . . deeply researched, movingly written, and thought-provoking. . . . Cobb’s confident command of every part of the story, his exquisite selection of quotations, and the way he blends sophisticated analysis with folksy jabs keep the reader captivated.”—Journal of Southern History

“Cobb comments intelligently on Woodward’s many scholarly works and essays. He is particularly sensitive to the ways in which Woodward, in writing about historical events, was also working out his own loyalties as a Southerner.”—Wall Street Journal

“A richly detailed biography . . . A rewarding read for scholars of Southern and 20th-century historical references in the United States.”—Library Journal

“Cobb’s engaging prose captures the nuances of Woodward’s worldview and adroitly locates the historian within his evolving political moment. By no means a simple intellectual biography or a hagiography of a momentous scholar, the monograph fairly and cogently contends with the many facets of Woodward’s personality.”—New York History

“Woodward’s concerns presaged ongoing debates that roil the historical profession about the place, purpose, and practice of history. This makes Cobb’s biography a welcome and timely addition to the literature in this moment. It provides unique insights into the power and production of history and the generational conflicts that shape the discipline’s debates.”—Civil War Monitor

“Cobb’s work aims to be the definitive biography of Woodward. It succeeds. . . . This book is good reading for anyone.”—Arkansas Historical Quarterly

“Cobb deserves congratulations for a meticulous and even-handed biography, magisterial in its exploration of one our most celebrated historians.”—Chronicles

“An excellent biography.”—Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

“A fresh and revealing biography.”—South Carolina Public Radio