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lakecake's review against another edition
3.0
The timing of this book—originally published in 1998–makes this now seem like a really quaint nostalgia tour versus the intimate, illuminating work it probably was when it was published. Though you can see the threads of our current national attitudes and difficulties here, and it’s fascinating to look back on this book through that lens, the original idea of this being some sort of hilarious travelogue documenting scattered weirdos who can’t let go of a loss 130 years in the past doesn’t hold up. Still an easy read and a good primer for folks who maybe don’t know much about their Civil War history or the reason we’re in this mess currently, but adjusting the lens seems key to enjoying this today.
joelafond's review against another edition
5.0
Everyone who has ever wondered why the US is the way it is should read this book. I'm not saying that as in "let's blame the South for everything," but in the sense that a very small portion of population knows or understands how the legacy of the Civil War still impacts us today. This book forces the reader to consider that. Though it is rounding on 20 years old, this book is still remarkably relevant to readers in 2017, especially in today's shaky political/racial/cultural climate.
I picked up this book in an effort to learn about a portion of the country and population that I know very little about, and boy did I learn! I learned a lot about the South and the Southern "way of life," some of it surprising, some not, but I feel a little more familiar with Southern culture all the same. Well-researched and accessible, this book made me feel like I was in the passenger seat next Tony Horwitz, barreling down some stretch on rural highway in Kentucky or marching shoulder to shoulder through a dewy field on the way to yet another Civil War historical site. As someone who relishes nostalgia, I loved every page of this book.
I picked up this book in an effort to learn about a portion of the country and population that I know very little about, and boy did I learn! I learned a lot about the South and the Southern "way of life," some of it surprising, some not, but I feel a little more familiar with Southern culture all the same. Well-researched and accessible, this book made me feel like I was in the passenger seat next Tony Horwitz, barreling down some stretch on rural highway in Kentucky or marching shoulder to shoulder through a dewy field on the way to yet another Civil War historical site. As someone who relishes nostalgia, I loved every page of this book.
islandkate's review against another edition
4.0
Hilarious and terrifying. I read this for an Anthropology class in college --"Folklore and the American South", by far the best book all quarter. A reporter travels around the South interviewing people and getting their views on the Civil War, civil rights and the current state of the South in America.
katiep481's review against another edition
4.0
Took me awhile to get to it, but it was worth the read even 15 years after the author's travels. Troubling as it is, it's a read that provokes thought and perspective. It dragged a little for me after the halfway point but picked up again the last chapters.