You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Fantastic. Exactly the kind of history/reporting I love. It's about the history, but even more about how that history is remembered.
This book is a powerful yet deeply tangible analysis of the ways in which we remember. Every public historian should read this. Despite the fact that the book is 20 years old many of the same rubs Horowitz comes up against particularly in regards to race and the battle flag are as present today as they were in the early 90s. Really excellent read.
From the title "Confederates in the Attic" I was expecting a different book - perhaps the story of some family's hidden confederate past. What I got instead was a surprisingly moving account of the south at the end of the 20th century.
I'm from the south, though only barely (Louisville is a city with far more mid-western roots, unless the Derby is currently going on for the tourists). Even so, I recognized some of the attitudes portrayed in the book as belonging to my own relatives. This book doesn't always paint the nicest portrait of the south, and certainly it doesn't speak for all southerners. But it's of interest, particularly in light of our current political situation, to consider how the south might still feel as though northerners are telling them what to do.
The book dragged a bit towards the end. My only disappointment was the lack of conclusion - Horowitz seems to allow the reader to draw their own conclusions, but there are some obvious points in the book that I would prefer to be addressed. Even so, the book was very readable, and quietly humorous in its own way. Recommended!
I'm from the south, though only barely (Louisville is a city with far more mid-western roots, unless the Derby is currently going on for the tourists). Even so, I recognized some of the attitudes portrayed in the book as belonging to my own relatives. This book doesn't always paint the nicest portrait of the south, and certainly it doesn't speak for all southerners. But it's of interest, particularly in light of our current political situation, to consider how the south might still feel as though northerners are telling them what to do.
The book dragged a bit towards the end. My only disappointment was the lack of conclusion - Horowitz seems to allow the reader to draw their own conclusions, but there are some obvious points in the book that I would prefer to be addressed. Even so, the book was very readable, and quietly humorous in its own way. Recommended!
Interesting, yet worrisome. As a history lover, I can relate to wanting to preserve history, but there is a difference between preserving history and glorifying a horrific time in our past. I thought the book was very well written and gave a fascinating glimpse into the mindset of those waiting for the South to rise again.
I did not finish this book (past the due date at the Library). While I enjoyed the concept and information in the book, it did not grab me and captivate me nearly as much as "Blue Latitudes."
Confederates in the Attic chronicles Tony Horwitz's journeys through the American South, exploring the ways in which the Civil War continues to echo in the present day, lingering in the hearts and minds of many Southerners. Along the way Horwitz meets members of the Daughters of the Confederacy and Sons of Confederate Veterans, civil rights activists, teachers, politicians, historians, hardcore reenactors, a teenager in prison for murder, a young woman who makes her living as Scarlett O'Hara, the last living Confederate widow, and dozens of others from all walks of life whose lives continue to be shaped by a war that took place well over a century earlier. At times poignant, often disturbing, and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, Confederates in the Attic is a memorable, fascinating read.
A fun look at the Civil War and how it still "lives" in the hearts and minds of many people today.
Very good book and it had humorous moments but overall it was pretty depressing to me. The book’s 20 years old and still way too relevant. I don’t know what it’s gonna take to move people from glorifying the Confederacy Civil War revisionist history stance.
