ABOUT THIS BOOK

Half a century after viewers first watched a father and son walking to the local fishing hole, whistling a simple, yet unforgettable, tune, The Andy Griffith Show remains one of the most popular sitcoms in the history of American television. Tens of millions of viewers have seen the show either in its original run, its ongoing reruns, on DVD, or on the internet. Websites devoted to the show abound, hundreds of fan clubs bring enthusiasts together, and a plethora of books and Mayberry-themed merchandise have celebrated all things Mayberry. A small cottage industry has even developed around the teachings of the show’s episodes. But why does a sitcom from the 1960s set in the rural South still evoke such devotion in people today?

In A Cuban in Mayberry, acclaimed author Gustavo Pérez Firmat revisits America’s hometown to discover the source of its enduring appeal. He approaches the show from a unique perspective—that of an exile who has never experienced the rootedness that Andy and his fellow Mayberrians take for granted, as folks who have never strayed from home or lived among strangers. As Pérez Firmat weaves his personal recollections of exile from Cuba with an analysis of the show, he makes a convincing case that the intimacy between person and place depicted in TAGS is the secret of its lasting relevance, even as he reveals the surprising ways in which the series also reflects the racial, generational, and political turbulence of the 1960s.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Born in Havana and raised in Miami, GUSTAVO PÉREZ FIRMAT is currently the David Feinson Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University in New York City, as well as a resident of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. A noted writer and scholar, he is the author of many books, including the award-winning Life on the Hyphen: The Cuban-American Way, and numerous essays and reviews. Newsweek included him among “100 Americans to watch for in the 21st century” and Hispanic Business Magazine selected him as one of the “100 most influential Hispanics” in the United States.

REVIEWS

This is, by far, the best volume about a single television show that I have ever read. . . . Not only is it the most thorough and informed treatment of The Andy Griffith Show available, it also provides many insights and contexts about 1960s television in general. I think, however, that it may find its greatest audience among general readers. . . . The rabid fans—and there are many of them—would consider this required reading, but many other more casual viewers who have a warm and nostalgic relationship to the show will also find it very appealing.

— Robert J. Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture and Trustee Professor, S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University

Once I took a look at the first few paragraphs, I couldn’t put the book down. By the time I finished reading it, Pérez Firmat had convinced me that Mayberry, long regarded as an icon of the rural, pastoral, and nostalgic South, is also a special location on the cultural map of Cuban America. Fans of The Andy Griffith Show—and they are legion—will be thrilled by this smart, witty, and moving book.

— Jorge Olivares, Allen Family Professor of Latin American Literature, Colby College

This 194-page book, the first book about "The Andy Griffith Show" in over 12 years, is the most scholarly book about the show to date. It's sure to be fascinating reading for the many devoted fans of the show, and is certain to expand any fan's knowledge of and appreciation for "The Andy Griffith Show" and what Mayberry means to all of us.

And along the way, we might even learn some things about ourselves, too.

— The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watcher's Club

As always, Gustavo Pérez Firmat’s engaging prose and well researched, detailed analysis of the series and its meaning for him is a pleasure to read. For those of us who, like the author, grew up watching the show, the book brings back fond memories while letting us see Mayberry in a new way. Those who did not grow up watching the show may well be inspired to find it on reruns and enter into Mayberry’s timelessness where home feels, almost, like a place we can go back to.

— South Atlantic Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Introduction: To the Fishing Hole
Part 1: The Place
- 1. A World unto Itself
- 2. Against Change
- 3. Stopping the Story
- 4. Great Pages in History
- 5. From R.F.D. to R.I.P.
- Interlude: The Road to Mayberry
Part 2: The People
- 1. Sheriff without a Gun (Andy)
- 2. Imagination (Mr. McBeevee)
- 3. Life Imitates Fife (Barney)
- 4. A Face in the Crowd (Mr. Schwump)
- 5. Growing Up, Growing Old (Opie and Floyd)
- 6. Old Geezers (Judd and Asa)
- 7. Mayberry Maidens (Aunt Bee, Helen, and Thelma Lou)
- 8. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Ernest T. Bass and the Darlings)
- 9. Otis Regrets (Otis Campbell)
- 10. Love in the Country (Gomer, Goober, and Howard)
- 11. Trashy Women (Daphne and Skippy)
Conclusion: Old Sam
Epilogue: A Cuban in Mayberry
Appendix: List of Episodes
Notes
Index