Growing Up Country: What Makes Country Life Country

Country star Daniels assembles a slight collection of essays from 59 self-described ""country folk""-from Dolly Parton to Jimmy Carter-on the appeal and influence of rural life. Organized into sections such as ""Faith,"" ""Home"" and ""Stars and Stripes,"" the essays share a saccharine perspective on the past (""when hugging was in style,"" reports Daniels) and a contradictory urge to keep their recollections of it short: many entries are no more than a page, and some clock in shorter than the author bio they follow. Indeed, with the exception of Joe Ely's-about ""finding the true sound of my music and my Texas roots"" in Europe, of all places-these repetitive, often one-note essays are not so much about music or growing up as they are about reinforcing an American rural mythology (Barbara Mandrell sums up nicely: ""We were raised to realize that God, family, and America are the most important things in life""); for those already invested in their vision, these essays should prove sporadically rewarding.