2760. The Wild Ass of the Ozarks: Jeff Davis and the Social Bases of Southern Politics, by Raymond Arsenault (read 18 Jun 1995 This is a really excellent book: a very straight-forward telling of the strengths and weaknesses of its subject Jeff Davis (born 6 May 1862, died 2 Jan 1913). Davis was a demagogue but one has to admire his skill in pandering to Arkansas weakness. He was a great campaigner, and each of his governor races is of high interest. He was a flop in the Senate, where he was looked on as a buffoon, and was relatively inactive. Yet he was reelected, tho he died before beginning his new term. His use of race was on a par with Tillman and Vardaman (usually considered the worst of Senate racists in that era). This is a most excellent work, a great scholarly volume, and I fail to see how it could be improved. Excellent footnotes and an interesting bibliography. ( )