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A review by jimmyjamesnickels
If the South Had Won the Civil War by Mackinlay Kantor
1.0
This book calls to mind a scene from an episode of The Office: During Jim and Pam's wedding, Dwight Schrute is seated at the children's table and proceeds to tell the children a story about the strong, handsome office salesman pitted against the ugly, weak butt kissing regional manager. That's basically what this book is. CSA Fan fiction, as written by Dwight Schrute.
It's an older book and it's of the genre of books that definitely glorifies the Confederacy with a complete and utter tone deafness. And I just don't know how a book such as this is supposed to be received anymore...with a hat tip toward the times during which it was written (published for the first time in 1961), hands gently wrung because folks back then just didn't know no better? I don't know if I'm comfortable with that, honestly.
I found it simplistic, uncomfortable bordering on icky wish fulfillment. A revisionist Confederate wet dream. The brave, noble, honorable CSA topples the sniveling, weak, imperialistic Yankee scourge. And of course, this being the Neo-Confederate view, basically dismissing the horrors of slavery and racism with a hand wave as being unimportant side detail of the main issue of states rights.
It's an older book and it's of the genre of books that definitely glorifies the Confederacy with a complete and utter tone deafness. And I just don't know how a book such as this is supposed to be received anymore...with a hat tip toward the times during which it was written (published for the first time in 1961), hands gently wrung because folks back then just didn't know no better? I don't know if I'm comfortable with that, honestly.
I found it simplistic, uncomfortable bordering on icky wish fulfillment. A revisionist Confederate wet dream. The brave, noble, honorable CSA topples the sniveling, weak, imperialistic Yankee scourge. And of course, this being the Neo-Confederate view, basically dismissing the horrors of slavery and racism with a hand wave as being unimportant side detail of the main issue of states rights.