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A review by deecue2
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz
5.0
Full disclosure: I've spent my entire life in the northeast U.S. so I fall into the Yankee category.
On to my biased review:
What I liked: Everything. Horwitz is a very talented writer. His style is fluid, thoughtful and engaging. I wouldn't say he's funny so much as amusing and I was amused quite often. He has a great eye for interesting details and presents his material very well. (I would say the same about Peter Hessler except that Hessler is very funny.) We meet a wide variety of people in Horwitz's travels through the southeast U.S. and all were worth knowing. I particularly liked chapter 5 (Kentucky: Dying for Dixie) and his treatment of the Michael Westerman murder. Westerman came to epitomize what fit the point of view of very different groups of people, good and bad. I could read that chapter again and again. Horwitz also did a great job delving into people's feelings about race and confronting inconsistencies in their beliefs. Chapter 14 (Alabama: I Had a Dream) was also excellent. (Horwitz's verbal battle with Rose Mary Sanders was excellent and worth revisiting.)
What I didn't love: Some sections were a tad long. Chapter 10 (Virginia and Beyond) could have been effectively shortened. It was never less than good so this is merely a quibble. The final chapter was below the higher standards of the earlier chapters but it was very short.
What I disliked: Nothing.
Parting thought: I held off reading this book because the cover photo was off putting. That was a mistake. I'm too easily influenced by cover art. There's probably a saying that fits this situation.
On to my biased review:
What I liked: Everything. Horwitz is a very talented writer. His style is fluid, thoughtful and engaging. I wouldn't say he's funny so much as amusing and I was amused quite often. He has a great eye for interesting details and presents his material very well. (I would say the same about Peter Hessler except that Hessler is very funny.) We meet a wide variety of people in Horwitz's travels through the southeast U.S. and all were worth knowing. I particularly liked chapter 5 (Kentucky: Dying for Dixie) and his treatment of the Michael Westerman murder. Westerman came to epitomize what fit the point of view of very different groups of people, good and bad. I could read that chapter again and again. Horwitz also did a great job delving into people's feelings about race and confronting inconsistencies in their beliefs. Chapter 14 (Alabama: I Had a Dream) was also excellent. (Horwitz's verbal battle with Rose Mary Sanders was excellent and worth revisiting.)
What I didn't love: Some sections were a tad long. Chapter 10 (Virginia and Beyond) could have been effectively shortened. It was never less than good so this is merely a quibble. The final chapter was below the higher standards of the earlier chapters but it was very short.
What I disliked: Nothing.
Parting thought: I held off reading this book because the cover photo was off putting. That was a mistake. I'm too easily influenced by cover art. There's probably a saying that fits this situation.