Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (unbridged)

Rating:
Summary: Reading was like becoming friends with the local gossip.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. It was just like taking a walking tour of Savannah, one of my favorite activities when I travel. On walking tours you learn about the city's history and daily life of some of the residents, not just the travel P.R. A truly interesting and fun read that made Savannah and the characters in the book come alive.

Rating:
Summary: Lighten up, folks
Review: It's fun, silly, evocative and sexy. There's nothing wrong with being all of these things to some or most of the people. OK -- he overdoses on "Southern charm and eccentricities" but, face it, the Southern states harbor more strange and wondrous creatures than...New York City. And, what's wonderful is that Berendt loves all these characters and the town. How many books have you read where the author actually loves what he's writing about? Hey, it's summertime and a fat, juicy glob of gossip ain't a bad way to spend your reading hours on the hammock (or on the beach blanket). Y'all have a fun summer

Rating:
Summary: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Review: This book was not what I exspected. I thought the descriptions of Savannah were inviting but, the story line just didn't hold my attention. Altho some parts of the book were funny I still had a hard time finishing it

Rating:
Summary: utterly obnoxious protrait of a bankrupt culture
Review: as a chronicle of totally gross and despicable characters this book is great. as far as telling a mystery it is also quite good. however, i felt cheated at the end since the mystery is never really cleared up. so really i don't understand what the theme was besides belaboring the obvious point that if one has enough money one can get away with murder. overall a chilling portrait of thoroughly corrupt people and culture. read it if you like high class southern sleaze

Rating:
Summary: as true life goes, a great read
Review: Wonderful, colorful and insightful look at Savannah, its people and its history. Non-fiction? Maybe, but a great addicting read of a story

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and informative
Review: This book was unexpectedly good. I read it reluctantly as a book discussion group selection, and was mesmerized by the tale. The description of modern-day life in Savannah was both enchanting and surprising. The personal stories were funny, horrifying, and too weird not to be true! I can't wait for Volume II

Rating:
Summary: I have already got my ticket to savannah Love the book.
Review: This book has soon of the most intresting characters I have read about in a long time. Our next vacation will be to savannah

Rating:
Summary: One of the great non-fiction books ever written
Review: Mr. Berendt, seeking escape from New York City, stumbled upon a place out of another time, and wrote a facinating book about it. His story of Savannah is insightful His methodical pacing and excellent storytelling are a pleasure to read

Rating:
Summary: A general rolling of the eyes
Review: To use a Southernism worthy of my grandmother: "Oh, please." This airy, feather-weight book is nothing but the rehash of every Southern stereotype to come down the well-worn pike since long before Faulkner and Welty. We might even be talking pre-Glasgow here. I did not sigh, cry, and die as I read it. I thought, well, the sure way, once you are living in Manhattan, to get a book published is to make your way down South and see what the rubes are up to. Read Penn Warren or O'Connor if you want to soak in this murky nostalgia for the Southern eccentric. And then move on, for goodness sake

Rating:
Summary: Grand book exposes Southern hypocrisy
Review: Having lived in some of the grandest, and oldest, cities of the South, this book rings more than true. Southern "society" has all the depth of a dime and this book reveals it in all its infamy. Beautifully written, a compelling page turner, this book is a must read for anyone who has visited the South and left perplexed. I have known many of the prototypical characters in "real life." Berendt 's observations are sharp as glass. My fellow Southerners have wondered aloud how he managed to get so close to so many truths given Southerner's xenophobic, vainglorious nature