In Delta Empire: Lee Wilson and the Transformation of Southern Agriculture Jeannie Whayne employs the fascinating history of a powerful plantation owner, Robert E. "Lee" Wilson, in the Arkansas delta to recount the evolution of southern agriculture from the late nineteenth century through World War II. Whayne provides a compelling case study of both one man's strategic innovation and the changing economy of South.

Jeannie Whayne is a professor of history at the University of Arkansas and the author of A New Plantation South: Land, Labor, and Federal Favor in Twentieth-Century Arkansas and editor of several books, including Shadows over Sunnyside: Evolution of a Plantation in Arkansas, 1830-1945 and Arkansas Delta: A Land of Paradox.