I just finished Tony Horwitz's Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War. While I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, I found it profoundly unsettling. Horwitz spent three years traveling through the 10 states that made up the Confederacy, exploring his childhood obsession with the Civil War as well as the continuing impact of the war on the psyche of the American South. Throughout the book he asks why this war, unlike any other in our history, resonates so forcefully, but he never really finds one definitive answer. He meets many different people along the way -- Civil War scholars, hardcore reenactors, kooks, neo-Confederates, and ordinary people just trying to get by -- and everyone seems to have a different answer.One thing is for certain: what we learn as history is not carved in stone. I appreciate the writers like Horwitz who take the time to dig deeper and look at the whole thing with a sympathetic eye, while still asking hard questions.
I didn't find the book to be "hilarious" as one reviewer wrote. It was certainly amusing in parts. Maybe the unfinished business of the Civil War affects me too; I find it a very compelling subject.
I finished the book feeling rather dispirited. Horwitz wrote this book 12 years ago, and at the time found little to be hopeful about regarding race relations in the U.S. If anything, it seems as if that gap has widened in the ensuing years. As the economy continues to tank people who are suffering need to find someone to blame, and there are plenty of people out there who willingly fan the flames of hatred. Like that country singer whose initials are TK, or any number of media loudmouths.
Still, I recommend it -- highly recommend it, in fact. It is immensely readable and explores some pretty important ideas along the way.
