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lpar17's review
4.0
A clear eyed and journalistic account of Pennsylvania transplant O'Neill's research into the southern cult of Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first grand wizard of the KKK. Although he delves into the life and lionization of Forrest over the years, this book is more a rumination on how racist structures and symbols persist in the present day. O'Neill examines how collective memory, memorialization, and the enactment of history in public spaces like streets, college campuses, and national parks serve to reinforce deeply held Southern mythologies (like the Lost Cause or Southern redemption) while also violently rejecting any historical narratives that seem to run counter to these personal beliefs. Why there so many monuments to and places named for Forrest across the South when his racism was well documented? How can some southerners continue to insist that Confederate symbols are innocent of their racist historical contexts and should be venerated as unproblematic artifacts of Southern culture and history? How do such attitudes continue to terrorize and oppress black American, underlining the racial disparities that persist to the present day?
I'm writing this review in the midst of demonstrations regarding the horrific extrajudicial killing of George Floyd by law enforcement, a senseless tragedy that is not an anomaly but the norm for the black community. This book is a timely and important contribution to the national discussion that is taking place regarding race relations in America, a conversation that has taken place too many times before with little progress. Let us hope this time sees some lasting change and reform. I definitely recommend keeping an eye out for "Down Along with That Devil's Bones" when it comes out in October, and also for Edward Ball's "Life of a Klansman" (due out August). Many thanks to Algonquin and Goodreads for the giveaway that provided me with an ARC of this book
I'm writing this review in the midst of demonstrations regarding the horrific extrajudicial killing of George Floyd by law enforcement, a senseless tragedy that is not an anomaly but the norm for the black community. This book is a timely and important contribution to the national discussion that is taking place regarding race relations in America, a conversation that has taken place too many times before with little progress. Let us hope this time sees some lasting change and reform. I definitely recommend keeping an eye out for "Down Along with That Devil's Bones" when it comes out in October, and also for Edward Ball's "Life of a Klansman" (due out August). Many thanks to Algonquin and Goodreads for the giveaway that provided me with an ARC of this book
susanbrooks's review
3.0
Worthy discussion about what it means to insist on keeping monuments to white supremacists and glorifying them. While the book gives praise to some activists and historians who want such monuments removed, I already agree with them. The profiles of the racists who make excuses and don’t give a shit other perspectives - did I gain anything from reading those? Do I want to listen to their opinions?
Sometimes I fall in love with the notes at the end of history books about all the research the authors did - point in case.
Sometimes I fall in love with the notes at the end of history books about all the research the authors did - point in case.
hijinx_abound's review
2.0
Although this book is well written and makes some interesting points. It gets lost in its own rhetoric and loses its way.
suetrav's review
4.0
Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
This was a very timely read! The author takes us on a journey to the south in an effort to understand why Confederate statues are more than history. Why are statues/monuments that oppress black Americans still standing? Other statues are gone (King George, Nazi statues in Germany, Saddam Hussein statues in Baghdad) are all gone. Why does America keep statues of people who lost the Civil War?
It also touches a bit on the history of the Klan, both the original Klan and the variations that have come along since. I found myself nodding my head when he talked about how black success threatens white power. I had no idea how prevalent lynchings were and some of the stories were hard to read (the story of Thomas Moss in particular).
This reads like a history book with the author's own personal story mentioned along the way. Highly recommend this if you are interested in the history of the South.
This was a very timely read! The author takes us on a journey to the south in an effort to understand why Confederate statues are more than history. Why are statues/monuments that oppress black Americans still standing? Other statues are gone (King George, Nazi statues in Germany, Saddam Hussein statues in Baghdad) are all gone. Why does America keep statues of people who lost the Civil War?
It also touches a bit on the history of the Klan, both the original Klan and the variations that have come along since. I found myself nodding my head when he talked about how black success threatens white power. I had no idea how prevalent lynchings were and some of the stories were hard to read (the story of Thomas Moss in particular).
This reads like a history book with the author's own personal story mentioned along the way. Highly recommend this if you are interested in the history of the South.
rdreading9's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
maggietokudahall's review
2.0
I just saw the title and was interested, but I didn't realize it was largely a white man centering himself in a meditation on Confederate legacy, which is not my favorite genre. Aside from that, I just wasn't compelled by the writing style, which used a lot stretched metaphors. Still, I'm sure this book would be valuable for other white people learning to talk about racism. Did not finish.
eserafina42's review
5.0
Framed around O'Neill's travels through the South from the time leading up to and following the 2016 election through 2018, this examination of the controversy over Confederate monuments and the legacy of white supremacy focuses on one personage: general, slave trader, and first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan Nathan Bedford Forrest, who also commanded the Confederate troops who perpetrated the Fort Pillow massacre in 1864. Although only 250 pages long, it also includes a lot of much-needed context and history for the 150-year span between the Civil War and today.
While it's clear where O'Neill's sympathies lie, he engages people on both sides of the issue with respect, as well as acknowledging the benefits that white Northerners such as himself have received from the inequalities embedded in the system since before the Revolution. His refrain of "it's us" (sorry, English purists - it definitely has more "punch" than "it's we") is a sadly needed corrective to the upbeat message we hear so much these days that "this is not who we are." He also attempts to understand the personality and motivations of Forrest himself (and his admirers) rather than painting them as caricatures of racism and evil.
His journey takes him to places such as Selma, AL; a monumental (and ugly, in many people's view) statue of Forrest on private land facing Interstate 65 created by segregationist Jack Kershaw; and Memphis, among other places, and ends at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL, where he ponders whether the arc of the universe, as Dr. King said, truly bends towards justice.
I see some criticism of this book in other reviews for being centered on the author's perspective as a white Northerner, but while no doubt there are many valuable and meaningful books that could be written on the subject by others, this is the one that this author chose to write, or that chose him to write it, and I found it powerful and enlightening.
While it's clear where O'Neill's sympathies lie, he engages people on both sides of the issue with respect, as well as acknowledging the benefits that white Northerners such as himself have received from the inequalities embedded in the system since before the Revolution. His refrain of "it's us" (sorry, English purists - it definitely has more "punch" than "it's we") is a sadly needed corrective to the upbeat message we hear so much these days that "this is not who we are." He also attempts to understand the personality and motivations of Forrest himself (and his admirers) rather than painting them as caricatures of racism and evil.
His journey takes him to places such as Selma, AL; a monumental (and ugly, in many people's view) statue of Forrest on private land facing Interstate 65 created by segregationist Jack Kershaw; and Memphis, among other places, and ends at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL, where he ponders whether the arc of the universe, as Dr. King said, truly bends towards justice.
I see some criticism of this book in other reviews for being centered on the author's perspective as a white Northerner, but while no doubt there are many valuable and meaningful books that could be written on the subject by others, this is the one that this author chose to write, or that chose him to write it, and I found it powerful and enlightening.
aumann's review
5.0
Quite simply, everyone should read this book, particularly every white American. It serves as a "think-aloud" - a model for how a white person living in the 2020s can reckon with America's racial history and the work that remains today.
rpanny's review
5.0
I understand, and think there is a place for, the criticism of this book for centering a white man's personal experience as a book about white supremacy - but it's actually one of the things I found most effective. O'Neill begins thinking he's going to write about the reverberations of American history, the past that "some" people haven't moved on from. But as he continues he research, he learns that he, by nature of being a white, is implicated in this story. It's a lesson that many Northern white people refuse to learn, but O'Neill uses this reality to guide his story. He implicates all white readers with the history of white supremacy, refusing to pull any punches.
O'Neill does a deft job threading antebellum and postbellum American history to our contemporary moment. He builds up specific fights for monument removal - while still giving space to activists who think symbols should take a secondary priority in the fight for ending white supremacy. He refuses easy answers and, through the very epilogue, makes it clear that the onus is on us to move our country forward and face our history of white supremacy (and so stomp it out) for good.
O'Neill does a deft job threading antebellum and postbellum American history to our contemporary moment. He builds up specific fights for monument removal - while still giving space to activists who think symbols should take a secondary priority in the fight for ending white supremacy. He refuses easy answers and, through the very epilogue, makes it clear that the onus is on us to move our country forward and face our history of white supremacy (and so stomp it out) for good.