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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Endless stories of people (mostly in the South) keeping the Confederate spirit alive by saving and selling memorabilia or re-enacting battles as authentically as they can. I’m not sure what the point of the book was since I only got through two chapters. Probably each chapter would have made an interesting magazine piece, but a whole book was too much for me.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
File this one under "interesting and well-written, but ultimately frustrating."
I can sum up why the book is frustrating with a single passage. After spending 300 pages describing his travails among various Civil War reenactors, Lost Cause boosters, and open racists, Tony Horwitz goes to an event commemorating the civil rights movement in Selma, Alabama. Listening to people talking about the past struggle, the current setbacks, and the ultimate righteousness of the cause, Horwitz concludes that these people are much the same as the ones lamenting the fact that they had to give up owning people are a cornerstone of their economic and social existence. But these things are not the same, and will never be the same, and only someone utterly ignorant or completely blinded by his own delusions of past Confederate grandeur could treat them as though they are the same.
Is it possible to feel pride in the South's past without being a racist? I don't know, but by the end of the book Horwitz has to acknowledge that an awful lot of the folks he's been hanging around with tend to be at least racist-adjacent, a fact that's been obvious to the reader since about chapter 2. While I don't think any reasonable person would blame a modern Southern for things that happened 160 years ago, it's hard not to resent the way they continue to moan about how awful Yankees are, and how they've been so persecuted because of the unfair way slavery was depicted. Spare me.
In short, probably most appealing to someone with an interest in the Civil War and with an ability to refrain from grinding your teeth while some dinky white computer geek from Atlanta waxes about the pride of Southern heritage.
I can sum up why the book is frustrating with a single passage. After spending 300 pages describing his travails among various Civil War reenactors, Lost Cause boosters, and open racists, Tony Horwitz goes to an event commemorating the civil rights movement in Selma, Alabama. Listening to people talking about the past struggle, the current setbacks, and the ultimate righteousness of the cause, Horwitz concludes that these people are much the same as the ones lamenting the fact that they had to give up owning people are a cornerstone of their economic and social existence. But these things are not the same, and will never be the same, and only someone utterly ignorant or completely blinded by his own delusions of past Confederate grandeur could treat them as though they are the same.
Is it possible to feel pride in the South's past without being a racist? I don't know, but by the end of the book Horwitz has to acknowledge that an awful lot of the folks he's been hanging around with tend to be at least racist-adjacent, a fact that's been obvious to the reader since about chapter 2. While I don't think any reasonable person would blame a modern Southern for things that happened 160 years ago, it's hard not to resent the way they continue to moan about how awful Yankees are, and how they've been so persecuted because of the unfair way slavery was depicted. Spare me.
In short, probably most appealing to someone with an interest in the Civil War and with an ability to refrain from grinding your teeth while some dinky white computer geek from Atlanta waxes about the pride of Southern heritage.
Although this book is two decades old, it taps into the roots of many issues we still face today. As someone who grew up in the North with very little exposure to the South’s perspective, this book was extremely enlightening to me - particularly chapter 5, which was really difficult to read due to the harrowing content (it took me about a week to read it since it contained views with which I deeply disagree). All in all, I think this is an important read for anyone interested in the Civil War, different perspectives of history, and/or racism in the United States
The book starts with the author's own childhood love of the civil war, which was sparked by older relatives, especially his father. Horwitz declares his love of the rebel army, a love forged by their very rebelliousness, mixed with a draw to the underdog. I followed the narrative of this interest willingly, but I noticed a decided lack of comment on the slavery aspect until much farther into the book. In fact, he doesn't seem to touch on the thorny issue of how people can continue to love the confederacy when it was defined by slavery until more than halfway through:
"Rob's comments raised a question I'd been chewing on since the start of my trip. Was there such a thing as politically correct remembrance of the Confederacy? Or was any attempt to honor the cause inevitably tainted by what Southerners once delicately referred to as their 'peculiar institution'?" (page 239 of 386)
It does become central to the ideas he's trying to present, but I felt it should have been present from, if not the start, at least a lot sooner, especially since he had obviously been thinking about it.
Regardless, this was an interesting attempt to portray the issues at the heart of a clash that's still on-going.
"Rob's comments raised a question I'd been chewing on since the start of my trip. Was there such a thing as politically correct remembrance of the Confederacy? Or was any attempt to honor the cause inevitably tainted by what Southerners once delicately referred to as their 'peculiar institution'?" (page 239 of 386)
It does become central to the ideas he's trying to present, but I felt it should have been present from, if not the start, at least a lot sooner, especially since he had obviously been thinking about it.
Regardless, this was an interesting attempt to portray the issues at the heart of a clash that's still on-going.
Explains a lot about the state of our country
These "neo-Confederates" are absolutely MAGA acolytes today, and nothing about their obsessions makes sense without the explanatory variable of racism. Some of the other people he meets are just plain lovely, though, and reading about them makes the whole thing worth it
These "neo-Confederates" are absolutely MAGA acolytes today, and nothing about their obsessions makes sense without the explanatory variable of racism. Some of the other people he meets are just plain lovely, though, and reading about them makes the whole thing worth it
challenging
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Enjoyed this read. I did my own little tour of historic Civil War battlefields when I worked in Virginia. I always had mixed emotions about visiting those places, mostly because of the way a lot of people still cling to the CSA/rebel mindset and the inherent tragedy of it all. It's certainly an interesting facet of American history and modern culture. I was particularly amused by the depth of the "hardcore" culture and pleased to add farb to my vocabulary.
This isn’t a new book - it’s twenty years old at this point - but it’s one I’d like to see more books like. Which is to say, a thoughtful examination of how the Civil War and it’s issues affect us still today. Our racial and racist issues here in America will never move forward until we are all able to admit that race relations has always played a starring role in what it means to be American.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced