The Yazoo River unlocks the door to one of the most unusual and diverse regions in America, the culturally, strategically, and agriculturally rich Delta flatland embraced by two rivers, the Mississippi and the Yazoo. It is a land that has produced the best cotton, the Blues, celebrated personages, and a style of living like that nowhere else.

The author, Frank E. Smith, was a U.S. Congressman from this region. His perspective on the Yazoo Delta Region, therefore, is particularly valuable since it comes from his varied experience as a member of the House of Representatives, where he...