From 1861 to 1903 humorist Charles Henry Smith, writing as Bill Arp, a sly Georgia back-woodsman, was the South's most widely read newspaper columnist. Knowing the immense popularity of Smith's writings historian have suggested that southerners saw him as a voice for their concerns.<br />While the idea that Bill Arp spoke for his region is sound, the intent of the writings has been misconstrued over time, argues David Parker. In <i>Alias Bill Arp</i>, Parker shows that Smith was not a contented observer of the post-Reconstruction New South as is widely inferred from his most widely read work--his syndicated weekly column in the <i>Atlanta Constitution</i> that he began writing in 1878. Considering the full range of Smith's work, Parker says, shows him to be one of the South's harshest critics. After a brief survey of Smith's life, Parker surveys the Bull Arp writings, highlighting their major topics, and explaining what they meant to readers of that era.